Review: Doctor Who Classic: The Five Doctors (Revisited)

"Three Doctors and a Bloke In A Wig"

See here for my inital look at this story.

Doctor Who - Season 20, Story Seven - The Five Doctors (20th Anniversary Special)
No, not the mind probe!

The first time I tried to cover this story, I collapsed into gushing about how much I loved it because of its association with my discovery of Doctor Who. Without The Five Doctors, I wouldn't be posting Classic Reviews, and I certainly wouldn't have the ingrained love for Who that has defined my television experience for the vast majority of my life. But I am (or at least pretend to be) a critic, and that means that I have to look past the rose tinted spectacles.
     Of course, as this is the JNT Era, the title is a bit of a misnomer. Tom Baker refused to return to the series only two years after the end of his seven year tenure, and so his role was reduced to that of stock footage. William Hartnell had passed away in 1975, and so the production team decided to replace with with similarly aged actor Richard Hurndall. To this day that choice is incredibly controvertial; the First Doctor is shown through stock footage at the beginning, and the difference between the two actors is clear. There are also some clear differences in characterisation; unavoidable, perhaps, but ones that affect the story. Hurndall contains none of Hartnell's deep subtley in his blend of grouchiness and curiosity, with only the former being expressed. That at least can be explained by a different actor; the Third Doctor is a tad more pleasant than his 70s characterisation, and Five suddenly becomes endlessly bland. And is struck down by Spearhead Syndrome at the beginning of the story.

The Master attempts to help but turns evil anyway.

     There isn't so much a plot as there is a series of simple events, with heavy amounts of fanwank in-between them. The Daleks, the Cybermen, the Yeti and the Master return, the latter from only the previous story. We also see the Castellan and Borusa from Arc of Infinity, although Borusa has regenerated yet again. The Doctors and their seemingly-randomly assigned companions (Sarah Jane Smith, Susan. Tegan, Turlough and The Brigadier) all head to the Tower of Rassilon by themselves, and after Borusa reveals himself as the villain they gather in Rassilon's chamber and see Borusa turned into a sentient statue.
      What it lacks in plot or even decent characterisation is in its sheer fun value. It may just consist of trekking around parts of North Wales and treading very carefully down some corridors, but for fans or even long-time casual viewers, the ability to see multiple Doctors and Companions interacting is a big draw. That, and it's terrible. But The Five Doctors, unlike Time-Flight or parts of Arc of Infinity, is terrible in all the good ways. The acting is melodramatic and often camp, and some of the line-reads have become legendary for their complete failure to display realistic human behaviour. Of note is Paul Jericho's final line as the Castellan (see page quote) which has gone down in history as one of the worst acted lines in Doctor Who's history.

I love it, I love it, I love it!

     Really, The Five Doctors shouldn't work. Its writing is a bit of a shambles, expressed through caricature-like distortions of the Doctors' characters. But it's really, really quite fun and strangely enough I would recommend this to anyone who wanted to get into the show. The Five Doctors is a cornerstone in Doctor Who fandom, a television event that serves to competantly celebrate two decades of one of the best sci-fi shows in the world. And I adore it.

Thanks.