Written by Bob Baker, Dave Martin, and Sydney Newman
Directed by Lennie Mayne

Doctor Who is a British science fiction television series which has been around off and on since 1963. The main character is just known as “The Doctor” and is a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. This means he travels through time to various places. One of his favorite places to visit is Earth. Typically, he has a companion traveling with him, usually female, sometimes male, sometimes one of each. He travels in a time machine known as a “Tardis” which is disguised as a British Police booth.

A Time Lord can regenerate if fatally wounded, which has accounted for all the different actors who have played The Doctor throughout the years. In this episode, he is primarily portrayed by Jon Pertwee, although the first two incarnations of the Doctor also make appearances.

A weather balloon used for cosmic ray research has crashed out in a wildlife sanctuary. One of the nearby residents goes out to investigate and disappears. The Doctor is at UNIT headquarter in England when the box doing the recording is brought in. They leave Dr. Tyler (portrayed by Rex Robinson) to work on the box. He too disappears, leaving behind some type of energy blobs. Soon UNIT finds itself under siege.

So you’re my replacements… A dandy and a clown…

When the energy blobs infiltrate the building, the Doctor, Jo Grant (portrayed by Katy Manning), and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (portrayed by Nicholas Courtney) run to the TARDIS for safety. They soon find themselves trapped inside and the Doctor sends a distress signal to the Time Lords. Since the situation is dire and they are unable to send anyone else, the Time Lords break all the rules and send in the Doctor in his previous form (Patrick Troughton). The two begin arguing, so the first Doctor makes an appearance (William Hartnell). He turns up on one of the monitors to admonish them.

I am he and he is me…. Goo goo goo goo joob

The current Doctor and Jo end up being sent over the event horizon and are shown in what appears to be a barren desert-like planet. They begin walking and first come across various objects from the laboratory, then Dr. Tyler who disappeared earlier. Little do they know that they are all being watched. Soon the blob-like monsters appear in more solid form and corral them.

Sergeant: What are we going to do now?
Doctor: Keep it confused… Feed it with useless information… I wonder if I have a television set handy?

The three are brought down into caverns below the surface. There lies Omega (portrayed by Stephen Thorne), once a time lord who was considered to be their greatest hero. He has been suffering in exile and has gone insane. Now he is seeking revenge.

Meanwhile, the first Doctor tells the second Doctor to drop the force field around the TARDIS, thereby allowing the Doctor – and the entire UNIT headquarters – to be transported across the galaxy with all inside. The Doctor and Sergeant Benton (portrayed by John Levene) are also captured by the blobs while the Brigadier scouts the area. He comes across Ollis, the game warden who originally came across the balloon and is running around the area, gun in hand. Can he help the Doctor(s) set everything right?

One thing that The Three Doctors featured quite a bit more than many other shows was smart, witty dialogue. The snappy back and forth between the second and third doctors is a real highlight, although at times Patrick Troughton threatens to steal the show from Jon Pertwee.

There was an idea to have Jamie back with the second Doctor as well. Unfortunately, scheduling prevented that and his lines ended up going to Sergeant Benton. There were also issues with the health of William Hartnell, which is why he is only seen several times on view screens, rather than interacting physically with his two subsequent forms.

This is the first appearance of Omega in the series, although he has factored into events that take place both before and after this time. His story is a complicated one and not very well fleshed-out here. That’s a problem with all of the secondary characters, as they take a backseat to the interplay between the second and third doctors. I was never sure how I felt about Troughton, but his performance here is excellent. The irritation between the various incarnations of the Doctor is hysterical and the two who have the most screen time do well to make the most of it. It’s funny to watch the contemporaries of the third Doctor deal with the more effervescent personality of the second.

The supporting cast takes a backseat to the Doctor(s) quite a bit. They have less to do than usual, and when they are given lines they are often weak and occasionally out of character. Much of what the Brigadier says has me wondering how he managed to rise to the level he has unless you believe the adage about what floats. However, that hasn’t been the way he has consistently been portrayed in the series, so it is disappointing.

The special effects are as delightfully cheesy as you’d expect from the series. The energy blobs are initially an animated colorful blob that looks more like television interference than a threatening villain. When they take shape in real life, they are the typical rubber-suited characters which are somewhat laughable, but what fans of the series have come to expect.

The restoration is done quite well. The picture is excellent as is the sound. The extras are also well worth it. All three of these Doctors are now deceased, but hearing reminiscing from their co-stars is quite entertaining. I did like the clips of Jon Pertwee at conventions and he is much more interesting than I ever thought he would be. I came away from it wishing I had managed to catch him at one of the many conventions I once attended.

There’s a lot to like about The Three Doctors and some parts that aren’t as good. Fans of the series should definitely check it out, and those who are new to the series should wait a bit and become more familiar with the characters and events before attempting to process three different incarnations of the same character in one place. It’s aimed at series fans, and they will enjoy it quite a bit.


SPECIAL FEATURES:

• 40th Anniversary Celebration
• Pebble Mill At One
• Blue Peter
• BSB Highlight
• PanoptiCon ’93
• Five Face of Doctor Who Trailer
• Information Text
• Commentary with Barry Letts, Katy Manning, and Nicholas Courtney
• Photo Gallery
• BBC1 Trailer
• Who’s Who