The Three Doctors is my first chance to talk about the first three Doctors – thankfully though I’ll have more time to talk about them individually soon enough. It’s also my first – and only – chance to talk about The Bristol Boys, Bob Baker & Dave Martin, coming in with their third of many Doctor Who scripts. Sorry you Underworld fans out there, but this is the only one that makes the Top 601.
It’s the first anniversary special and it’s the one that sets the standard for all the rest. Returning Doctors? Check. Doctors bickering amongst themselves? Check. TimeLord mythology? Check. The only thing that’s missing is returning companions, but if Frazer Hines were available then that wouldn’t be the case. These elements have become such a staple that as we head into the 60th Anniversary, the fact that we only have One Doctor feels very off, very, well, unspecial for such an auspicious occasion2.
The story itself is pretty low key for an Anniversary Special, in that it’s just part & parcel of Season 10 (albeit the season opener). No stand alone special, no November broadcast date, just a run of the mill entry. But that’s not to say it isn’t special, it totally is, it just needs to work a bit harder at its specialness.
We have TimeLords coming out the wazoo. There’s been the odd cameo here & there, but this is where we see the most of them since War Games Part 10 and until Deadly Assassin 4 years later – and as we’ve discussed, that doesn’t go to well for them. They’re not quite the all powerful demigods of Season 6 but neither are they the blundering, corrupt fossils of Season 14. Somewhere in the middle, they are a sort of Space Local Council.
Of course, the biggest and most important Time Lord of them all is Omega, and what a delight he is! Something big and bold and exciting was needed here – no use bringing The Master back, having used him so much in the previous seasons. We need a fresh Big Bad, and there’s none fresher than Stephen Thorne. The Bristol Boys’ dialogue could have been clunky in any other hands, but Thorne wrings every ounce of Shakespearean tragedy & melodrama out of it that he can. The script is a gift to him – Omega is an unusually nuanced villain, with a motivation that garners sympathy rather than just a Ludicrous Scheme of the Week3 – but much like the character’s physical form being held together by sheer will, Omega succeeds through the pure power of Thorne. Just like Sutekh before him (in terms of this list I mean), to get that much character through a static mask is an acheivement.
Did I say he was the most important Time Lord in the story? Silly me. There is another one we need to talk about – or three, actually. Whoever had the idea of bringing back the previous incarnations needs all the praise we can throw at them: it’s such an obvious idea looking back but only because, like I say, it’s become part of the Doctor Who furniture. Sadly, William Hartnell’s health restricts him to cameos, but aren’t they glorious?!? Passing down judgment on his successors form the TARDIS screen, he’s playing the pre-Spooner more crotchety version of the 1st Doctor, but he’s never less than a delight. Patrick Troughton is there to do what Patrick Troughton does best – run around like a clown while actually being cleverer than everyone else – and gives us our supporting characters a fascinating snapshot into what the man they are used to working with used to be like: cuddly grampa rather than stern uncle!
Pertwee is the main man, though, and thankfully the story never forgets it. He gets the lion’s share of the plot and gets to do the kind of things that the others can’t. You couldn’t imagine Troughton wrestling with Omega, but it’s part & parcel for the 3rd Doctor – in fact you’d be left feeling disappointed if there was no kung-fu or Action by HAVOC in this. The following season Letts & Dicks will revisit all that made Pertwee’s time in the TARDIS great, but there’s none of it missing here.
A big part of that of course is the UNIT family, who are front and centre; the lack of Hines is a godsend to John Levene, who gets his role ramped up as a result. Levene may be a more controversial character outside the confines of the show nowadays4, but his Benton is always a joy to watch, always the MVP of whatever episode he is in – his entry into the TARDIS for the first time is a delight. Contrast that with Nick Courtney’s Brig, who by this time is pretty much a sitcom character, but who gets some of the best lines. I’ll admit I didn’t get the “Cromer” line until very recently, but The Brigadier is as essential a part of this era as is Bessie & Jo Grant, so to not have him here would be a travesty. Speaking of Jo, she’s the glue that holds the Doctors together while they have their spats, Katy Manning being just adorable in the role.
So what’s not to love in this story? Anyone who says “The Gel Guards” can get out now. If my thoughts on Erato didn’t make it clear, then there is no such thing as a shit Doctor Who monster. They’re all the product of someone’s hard work and creativity, made under difficult conditions doing the best they can. There will be shit monsters right up to the end of this list; if the VFX or costumes take you out of a story and make it bad for you then I can understand that, but it doesn’t apply to me. I’ve always been able to look past some dodgy effects, as long as I can see what they are aiming for, so I feel sad for anyone who’s enjoyment of the show is ruined by them. In this case I think the Gel Guards add more than they take away: they are the product of a deranged mind, and there’s just something so camp and 70s about them that I can’t help but love them.
So it’s a great story this one, not just delivering the perfect 10th Anniversary but really setting the standard for the rest to come. The Bristol Boys come back to Doctor Who time and time again with their stories full of humour, pace and big sci-fi ideas, but rarely do they do it better than here. A true Top 60 tale 😊
COMING TOMORROW: “you’ve got a little shop. I like a little shop…”
- If it’s any consolation, DWM Issue 591 has an excellent defence of Underworld in it… ↩︎
- If you’re reading this post The Giggle & there’s been a No Way Home style set of cameos from other Doctors & companions, feel free to hunt me down and say “HA!” very loudly in my face ↩︎
- Yes, I’m referring to The Master here. Go watch Go Jetters & tell me Grand Master Glitch wasn’t inspired by S8. ↩︎
- What is it with Doctor Who and Levines…? ↩︎
Skies Full of Diamonds 