The Three Doctors

Chapter The 127th, where three heads prove better than none.

Plot:

A power drain affecting the Time Lord home planet coincides with some unusual emissions from a black hole that seem to be targeting the Doctor on Earth. A blobby energy thing arrives, trying to capture the Doctor but zapping away instead a professor who happened to be working in the Doctor's lab, the Doctor's car Bessie, bits of the lab furniture and the warden of a local wildlife reserve. Soon, more (and funnier) blobby creatures arrive, and surround UNIT HQ. The Time Lords - using time technology and filmed inserts - team up the current Doctor with his previous two incarnations. Between them, they work out that it's best to be zapped off to where the action is, so Doctor 3 - with Jo rushing off after him - deliberately walks into the path of the blobby energy; they both then find themselves transported to an anti-matter world within the black hole (which looks remarkably like a quarry) - the blobby stuff has somehow processed them so that matter and anti-matter can co-exist. They find various bits of the Doctor's lab, then Bessie, which allows them to drive to the only tourist attraction - Omega's palace. They pick up the professor on route (though they needn't bother - he doesn't really add anything).

Meanwhile, Doctor 2, Benton and the Brigadier are transported to the anti-matter world too, when the whole of Unit HQ is zapped there. The Brig does a recce, teaming up with the warden from the wildlife reserve (though the latter doesn't really add anything), and they witness Doctor 2 and Benton being captured, and marched off to Omega's palace too. The bemasked Omega is a pioneer of the Time Lords, and childhood hero of the Doctor(s), who ventured into the black hole to help set them all up with time travel in the early days. He's keeping his world intact only by force of will, and wants the Doctor to take his place in maintaining the world, so he can escape back to the universe of matter once more. Unfortunately, Omega's will is all that is left of him. The corrosive effect of his world has taken its toll, and under the mask there is nothing. Helped by the Brig, everyone escapes back to UNIT HQ and takes shelter in the TARDIS. Along with Doctor 1, who appears on the TARDIS monitor screen, they hatch a plan. Doctor 2's recorder had accidentally dropped into the TARDIS's force field generator before it was transported, meaning it's the only unprocessed matter in this world. They trick Omega into knocking it from its housing, and there's an almighty explosion. This frees the trapped TARDIS and lets them all go home. The Doctor says goodbye to his other selves; the Time Lords, in gratitude for their power being restored, end his exile on Earth, and give him a mended de-materialisation circuit for the TARDIS.

Context:

Even though I said I wouldn't get suckered in to buying Doctor Who all over again on another home video medium, this is becoming a ritual now. As with the first three Blu-Ray season box sets, I couldn't resist snapping this one up, pre-ordered and arriving on its day of release. As before, I have watched some of the stories on the set (Carnival of Monsters and Planet of the Daleks) for the blog already. So, I introduced a random factor by rolling a four-sided die, with 1, 2 and 3 representing the remaining stories in order, and a 4 meaning I wouldn't blog a story from the set at this time. It came up '1', so The Three Doctors it was! My youngest child (girl of 7) was super keen to watch with me. We saw the first episode mid-week after the set came out, and for the rest of that week, she was badgering me to watch the rest, but I was too busy. This shows a new enthusiasm for the show, which I haven't seen from her before. At the weekend, we were sitting down to watch episode 2, when the middle child (boy of 9) insisted that we start again; he and his brother (boy of 13) joined us, and the four of us watched thew whole thing in one go, from the top. They loved it. At the end of each episode, there was a bellowing of "Next ep!!!!". This blog post now done, I will proceed to watch the other episodes and extras from the box set slowly over the next couple of months, all the while cursing my completionist fetish. And I've paid for the privilege too. Oh well.

First-time round:

The Three Doctors was made as a celebration of Doctor Who lasting ten years on the air. Because of quirks of scheduling and season length, though, this tenth season, of which The Three Doctors was the kick-off story, started only a smidgen on from Doctor Who's ninth anniversary in November 1972, and the whole season finished before November 23rd 1973 rolled around. Even so, it must have been special at the time, as - so I've heard, this was all long before I started watching Doctor Who - it was difficult to ever see Doctor Who from previous eras back then. Affordable methods of recording the visuals of programmes were not available in the years leading up to The Three Doctors, nor quite a few years beyond. Repeats and novelisations were in their infancy, and still concentrated on stories featuring the incumbent Doctor. To get Patrick Troughton and a little (last) bit of William Hartnell back must have been a gift for longer term fans.

Around the time I did finally start watching Doctor Who, there was a similar problem for a different reason. Tom Baker's longevity in the title role meant that - although video recording and novelisations of older Doctors had come on a small bit - there was a generation of kids who had no memory of Who before Tom. To address this, the producer of the time put on a series of vintage repeats (see blog post here for more details). They played in an early evening slot on BBC2 for a few weeks leading up to the end of 1981, before Peter Davison was planned to debut in his first season in the new year. I started watching midway through the first of these, also the first ever Doctor Who story (An Unearthly Child); there was then a story each for the second and third Doctors, and later the most recent of the fourth Doctor's stories, ending with his regeneration into Davison. Before that, though, they showed the one where the first three teamed up. This time they arranged it correctly, with the first episode broadcast on the 23rd November 1981, when Doctor Who was 18 years old exactly. I, on the other hand, was only a smidgen on from my ninth anniversary, which seems apt somehow.

Reaction:

A couple of months ago, Doctor Who Magazine ran a series of twitter polls, forming overall the 'World Cup' of Jon Pertwee stories, the results of which were published in the most recent issue. I participated in each one, through group rounds, quarter finals, and so on, and at every stage the same thought was running through my head: how come so many people are voting for The Three Doctors? I mean, I know it's okay, but it's no Spearhead from Space, or Carnival of Monsters, or even The Green Death. It came second in the end, only being pipped to the top spot by Inferno. You may be reading this thinking I'm an idiot for being surprised: it after all has the first three doctors. Together. For the first time ever. In my head, though, all I saw were two strong visual images colouring my judgement: a naff coloured blob disappearing down a drain, and the mysterious, unknowable, almost mystical scientific concept of singularity represented by a pathetic wisp of studio smoke. The Three Doctors is of course much more than that, but much of what is so great about it is easy to take for granted.

In fact, what this viewing reminded me of a lot was watching The Dalek Invasion of Earth for the blog a few years back. That story was the first time Doctor Who ever did an Earth invasion plot, but because that style became so ubiquitous - to the point of becoming a template - almost immediately afterwards, it's harder to see in retrospect how big a step it was. Similarly, The Three Doctors sets up that the Doctor's old selves can pop up in his present, which becomes the standard for future anniversary years, and also creates a semi-mythological history for the Time Lords that will be a rich seam for the programme to mine in future years. It blazed a trail, for sure, but there's more to it than just pioneering spirit too. The key thing that ensures the quality of this show as well as the longevity of some of the ideas, and this is something which is also pointed out on some of the extras on the Blu-Ray, including by Steven Moffat in a interview, is the characterisation of the interactions between the Doctors. They don't get on. It may be obvious with hindsight, but it's a stroke of genius. It could easily have been decided to make their relationship much more safe and respectful, and that would have been very dull.

A lot of it comes down to the performers too. Pat Troughton, who may be the least starry of the trio of Doctors old and new collected here, is still the best actor by miles, and so is selfless in giving up a lot of the spotlight, letting Pertwee be the lead. He acts for the most part as a more comic second fiddle, but - perhaps inevitably - ends up stealing the show. He makes it look effortless too, and maybe it was - he stepped back into the role a few more times when even more years had elapsed since his tenure, and each time it was as if he'd last played the part the previous day. I'd guess, though, that the effortless feel took a lot of effort. Hartnell's Doctor is undiminished by the circumstances: very ill and having to pre-record his segments with idiot boards as he was no longer up to learning lines, he nonetheless recreates his old character as well as Troughton, and his presence still feels almost equal to the others with only a fraction of the screen time. The story as a whole lucks out here, I think. If the original plan to feature Hartnell equally in all the studio scenes had been possible, things would have got too crowded.

It's pretty crowded as it is with some later TARDIS scenes requiring a 'tight seven shot'. I don't know if it was a side effect of re-writing to allow for casting and scheduling changes (not only Hartnell's reduced role but also the non-availability of the actors that played Troughton era companion Jamie, and other UNIT regular Mike Yates, who were both intended to appear), but the show ends up with a couple of characters included in proceedings that don't really need to be there. UNIT could be called in immediately to investigate the mystery, which would remove the need for Doctor Tyler; Mr and Mrs Ollis contribute nothing apart from the unfunny tag scene at the end. If they were gone, it might be stronger - for an anniversary show - if the main team up against the antagonist were all regulars. Of those regulars, John Levene gets the biggest break, and it's probably Benton's best moments in the whole series. It's great to see Benton and the Brig finally get to see the inside of the TARDIS. Nicholas Courtney looks like he's very much enjoying playing his part for laughs; he does it very well, and it's a lot of fun, even though he's clearly not playing the same solid, efficient and open-minded character he was in previous years. I'm conflicted, to be honest: I think of the heroic Brig of the first couple of years after Lethbridge-Stewart's introduction, and I feel that's how the role should be played. But, the double take that Courtney does when he first realises the Doctor looks like Pat Troughton again is one of the best double takes ever recorded for entertainment - who am I to deprive anyone of that?

There's lots of other riches: Omega is a great villain and the scene where he removes his mask to reveal there's is literally nothing underneath is a very strong image. The sound effects and twinkly bits of score that accompany the Time Lord planet or Omega's palace are so evocative and magical. And, although it has dwelt mainly on past glories, the story still manages to propel the series in a new direction at the end, with the Doctor once again free to roam in space and time. Yes, the gell guards look crap, wobble like jelly and have blobby-blobby-blobby voices, but don't let that define the story for you: it's really very good indeed.

Connectivity: 

This story and The Tsuranga Conundrum each contain a conversation about anti-matter and matter not normally being able to co-exist without annihilating each other, but a technological solution present in both stories prevents this from happening. In both stories, the Doctor is teamed up with three regulars and lots of guest characters to save the day. And the monsters in both (the Gell Guards, the Pting) are more cute than frightening.

Deeper Thoughts:

Spiridon Mission update to Dalek Supreme: BFI Planet of the Daleks screening and Katy Manning Q&A Saturday 15th June 2019. I was never a joiner in my youth, and the idea of being part of a local group affiliated to the national Doctor Who Appreciation Society would have filled me with fear and dread. I similarly have mostly shied away from conventions and regular fan meet-ups in London pubs. So, it has been nice to attend a lot of these BFI sessions, which has given me my first real chance to attend fan gatherings.This time, I was with fan friends, oft mentioned on the blog, Trevor and Chris. David, who really wanted to come along, was double booked again, as he was for The Macra Terror in March. Next time though, he'll hopefully be able to join us (and it would have been nice for the BFI to advertise these last few a bit better and further ahead so we could plan, but they seem to be learning, with Mindwarp and a Colin and Nicola panel already announced for September).

The change from the normal order was that the presenting double act of these events, Dick Fiddy and Justin Johnson, were cast asunder. Dick did the introduction to proceedings, then shot off to another engagement, while Justin was travelling to London in time to do the later links and interview. Before he went, Dick paid tribute to Paul Condon in his intro; Paul is one of the fans of the show who've been hard-working over the years behind the scenes at events such as this, but very sadly has recently died. A warm round of applause followed for someone who I did not know, but may well have stood next to at the bar at the BFI previously. It's very very sad that he's gone at the terribly young age of 48. This follows on from Graham Strong (home recorder and therefore saviour of many 1960s episode soundtracks) being similarly commemorated after his passing the last time I was at the BFI. Longer term Doctor Who fans, including myself, are getting on a bit. It was impossible to dwell too long on this, though, as it was rapidly down to business: six episodes had to be squeezed in to a packed programme.Three episodes of the remastered Planet of the Daleks with new effects, then a brief interval, then the final three.

I have already covered Planet of the Daleks for the blog here, but there's always more to see when watching on the big screen. The most outstanding aspect of the story on this viewing was episode three. This has had its colour restored (it only existed in broadcast standard as a black and white film copy) for previous releases, but work for the Blu-Ray version has been started from scratch, as I understand it, and the quality is identical to the surrounding episodes, even on a big screen: seamless. Given the time and budget limitations, the CGI work by Rob Ritchie makes a very good alternate version. Some sequences are more effective than others - the best bits for me were use of CG models to subtly enhance sequences where the invisible Spiridons are picking up objects, removing the obvious fringing of the original CSO method used to achieve this visual. Best of all for me, though, was the cleverness and artistry of Mark Ayres' new surround sound audio mix. I got the chance later in the bar to tell him as much, like the fanboy that I am! As ever, moments of humour in the story - both intended an unintended - became obvious when watching with a large audience. The Dalek with a map on its sucker arm provoked mass hilarity, for example, though it has never stuck out to me when watching this serial so many times previously. Another source of laughs was the drippy Latep's clumsy attempts to woo Jo Grant. I'd also never noticed on a smaller screen that the Thals' rations are in fact Milky Bars without the wrappers.

The entertainment continued after the story was finished: Justin arrived on stage to start with the obligatory quiz. Without Dick to assist him as the roving microphone operator, he needed someone else: enter the irrepressible force of nature that is Katy Manning, who shot off in all directions into the audience, every one of which I feel certain was in awe of her. It meant there was less opportunity for double entendres, though Justin did manage to say "Who needs Dick when you have Katy in the house" at one point. After that, we were treated to some sneak peaks at some of the extras planned for the discs: the trailer (a wonderful rematch between some Jo and Clifford Jones and some giant maggots), then excerpts from a Matthew Sweet fronted documentary, the Behind the Sofa featurettes, and a doco of Jo and Clifford actors Katy and Stewart Bevan revisiting locations for The Green Death.

Finally, Katy got back on stage for a Q&A; this was even more the main event for many attending than the episodes (certainly Trevor, who has had a crush on Katy since she first appeared on Doctor Who). To sum up her appearance that day, I'd say she proves herself worthy of every bit of that mass affection. She is a superstar, the bright and warm centre of attention, owning the stage. She also performs, dropping into accents, leaping up and doing physical bits. When she managed to sit still for brief periods, there were quite a few anecdotes and fun comments that came out of the chat with Justin, and the subsequent audience questions. Katy described the Behind the Sofa commentary, where she sits between John Levene and Mike Yates actor Richard Franklin a being like a tennis match: having to look back and forth between the two of them, keeping both of them happy. She highlighted, as she consistently does, how Jon Pertwee was a team leader who made everyone - regular or guest - welcome; how they all laughed a lot, but got it all out of their systems in rehearsal, as there wasn't time during studio recording for mucking about. She and Jon did everything together, driving to set together, lunching together; she recounted the sad tale of walking downstairs from her flat above a shop, on the first working day after leaving Doctor Who, and expecting to see Jon there in his car to pick her up like every previous working day for the last three years... but he was of course not there.

An amusing theory put forward by Katy for Jon's expanding hair-do size over the years is that he was developing a bald spot, and the bouffant was an attempt to hide it. She recounted the oft occurring sight of walking in to Make-up to find him sitting with his hair in curlers. Roger Delgado is, of course, Katy's Master of Masters, but she has a lot of time for Missy too, and thinks there is a resemblance between Delgado and Michelle Rodriguez who plays Missy. She described the infamous budget-strapped finale of earlier Dalek serial Day of the Daleks as "three Daleks storming an old people's home". There was also a lot of nice memories about her return to the screen in the 2010 "Death of the Doctor" episode of The Sarah Jane Adventures, including being telephoned before she knew the precise details of the gig by Gary Russell who told her she couldn't tell anyone. "But what am I not telling anyone, Gary?" she asked. This was followed by a pause of the other end of the line, before he added finally: "I can't tell you." Also, she and star of the show Liz Sladen crept out of the press screening rather than watching the episodes as "Even youngsters don't look good in HD".

It was a good four hours of entertainment all in all, which was very good value. And afterwards, Trevor and I got to drink a few beers in the BFI bar and have a great chat with Chris, plus Chris's friends Dave and Tim - a trio of Behind the Scenes royalty, each having been part of the effects team of modern era Doctor Who. Looking forward to the next one immensely. 

In Summary:

The story is like Omega: a pioneering adventurer from the distant past, that may have faded a bit from memory. Unlike Omega, it was much better than it had been remembered (at least by this viewer).