Doctor Who: The Two Doctors (1985)

Doctor Who: The Two Doctors (1985)

Dir. Peter Moffatt | 3 episodes, approx 45 mins each

Given that the five previous Doctors had each met at least one former or subsequent version of themselves, it was a pretty safe bet that the Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker) would get a similar opportunity to do the same. In his case, he crossed paths with the Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton).

The Sixth Doctor has a larger part to play, which is natural seeing as how he was the lead in that particular era, but fans of the Second will be happy to see him included, although perhaps not entirely thrilled with how he's portrayed (see below).

On paper it sounds exciting: the current Doctor must rescue his past self from imminent death lest it causes his existence in the present to cease. It falls apart under analysis, but most time travel stories involving that kind of drama tend to do the same.

The Sixth Doctor certainty leaves an impression, least of all because of his colourful patchwork coat, which makes him look like an understudy for Joseph in a theatre musical, but I don't have any meaningful connection to him, despite him being the one that I remember seeing most on TV in my youth. I've even less time for his companion, Peri (Nicola Bryant), which influences my engagement and interest on a surface level.

But a good story can always overcome such things, right? Yes, absolutely. Unfortunately, the actual three-part adventure isn't a good story. It's cynical, meandering, and too often padded out with technobabble and unnecessary scenes involving secondary characters. And while I wholeheartedly agree with the 'meat is murder' message that's present, the carnivorous character that's supposed to highlight the notion is a badly written, demonised, one-note bore whose repetitive longing to eat anything that moves damages the intended goal.

And why is the Third Doctor so damned discriminatory all of sudden? He wasn't like that in his own era. Scriptwriter Robert Holmes wrote (or edited) dozens of stories for the show, so it's not like he didn't know the format. Whatever his other agenda was, it isn't enjoyable viewing. 

It's fair to say that The Two Doctors isn't a serial I'll be revisiting any time soon. The reason I feature it at all is because it was Patrick Troughton's final onscreen appearance in the role before his death in 1987, and with so much of his tenure lost due to a lack of foresight at the BBC (only 53 of his 119 episodes are complete), it would be remiss of me to ignore it completely.

NOTE: if you like your Doctor Who in book form, the story was adapted into a novel of the same name by Robert Holmes himself. Published by Target Books in 1985, it's #100 in their Doctor Who Library series. Page Count: 159.