Doctor Who: The Five Doctors (1983)

Doctor Who: The Five Doctors (1983)

Dir. Peter Moffatt | 90 minutes (Original Broadcast) / 101 minutes (Special Edition)

A decade after The Three Doctors (1972-73) serial the sci-fi franchise celebrated its 20th anniversary with a feature-length five Doctors TV Movie.

There are technically 'five' versions of the Doctor in the story, but only four play an active role. Actor Tom Baker (the Fourth Doctor) refused to take part and so footage from a previously unfinished serial (Shada) was used to pretend that he was there - the ruse fails, it's blatantly obvious that he wasn't. [1]

And in case there's anyone who's experiencing Doctor Who for the first time, the rubbish FX and amateur dramatics acting is the norm. In the correct frame of mind, it's actually part of the charm. But the rescue of Sarah Jane on the grassy knoll is a definite low point. If you listen carefully, you might even hear the scraping of a barrel in the distance.

But what of the story? Written by Terrance Dicks it has each of the five Doctors plucked from their individual time-streams by a cheapo Phantom Zone effect and dropped into a situation that'll require all (well, four) of them to overcome.

In reality it's a collection of set pieces that mostly take place separate from each other and with varying degrees of believability. The Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee) gets some of the worst.

Fans of the show may enjoy the references to the previous decade's celebration event, as well as seeing some past-companions back in the passenger seat, although some are merely cameos.

It's a colourful adventure with some cringeworthy moments and some pretty awful plotting, but I enjoy it more than The Three Doctors, for various nostalgic reasons.

NOTE: if you like your Doctor Who in book form, the story was adapted into a novel of the same name by Terrance Dicks himself. Published by Target Books in 1983, it's #81 in their Doctor Who Library series. Page Count: 128. It was reprinted in 1991 with different cover art.

[1] William Hartnell appears in a moving introduction, but The First Doctor is played primarily by actor Richard Hurndall due to Hartnell having passed away a decade before.