‘THE FIVE DOCTORS’

Please feel free to comment on my review.

The Game of Rassilon with Five(ish) Doctors – Celebrating 20 Years of ‘Doctor Who’

So, here we are! 🙂 This is the big one! What we’ve all been waiting for! What Season 20 has been building up to. It’s time to check out the 20th anniversary special of ‘Doctor Who’ called ‘The Five Doctors’. This is considered a very well-loved special by the fans. 🙂

And rightly so. 🙂 Incidentally, ‘The Five Doctors’ wasn’t transmitted on the 23rd of November 1983 as one would expect. Whilst ‘The Day of the Doctor’ was shown on the 23rd of November 2013, ‘The Five Doctors’ was shown on the 25th of November 1983. 🙂

This shouldn’t be a surprise nowadays, since ‘The Star Beast’, the first of the three 60th anniversary TV specials by Russell T. Davies, was shown on the 25th of November 2023. Frankly, I’d prefer to see ‘The Five Doctors’ in 1983 compared to ‘The Star Beast’ in 2023.

Incidentally, according to what I’ve read on Wikipedia, ‘The Five Doctors’ was shown in the USA first on the actual 20th anniversary date – 23rd of November 1983 – which is shocking. I wish ‘The Five Doctors’ was shown the same time in the UK as well as the USA.

The reason for the delay of ‘The Five Doctors’ being shown on the 25th instead of the 23rd in the UK was because it was to coincide with the BBC’s Children in Need charity night. This would occur again with ‘Dimensions In Time’ shown for the 30th anniversary.

‘The Five Doctors’ is very unique for several reasons. As well as being the 20th anniversary special, it was first ‘Doctor Who’ story to be shown as a special feature-length episode. Not as a four-part story like so many ‘Doctor Who’ stories preceding it. 🙂

It’s also the first ‘Doctor Who’ story to be considered an actual TV special in-between Seasons 20 and 21. This is before ‘Doctor Who’ Christmas Specials happened in the new TV series. Beforehand, there hadn’t been any standalone TV specials in ‘Doctor Who’.

It must have been very exciting for ‘Doctor Who’ fans to check out ‘The Five Doctors’ on BBC TV when it was shown on Children in Need night back in November 1983. I can imagine the hype that built up to it, particularly in the BBC TV promotional items for it. 🙂

I truly wish I can go back in time to 1983 to experience the celebrations of 20 years of ‘Doctor Who’. This isn’t just with ‘The Five Doctors’. There was plenty of other things happening back then with breakfast TV items, news reports, conventions and lots more.

It must have been heaven for ‘Doctor Who’ fans back then who cherish many fond memories of celebrating the 20th anniversary of the TV show. Or not as the case may be considering the busy and chaotic nature of the 1983 Longleat Celebration convention. 😐

I don’t know how that compares to the Edexcel ‘Doctor Who’ 50th anniversary celebration in London in November 2013, but I imagine it was as chaotic as Longleat was in 1983. I know from chatting to and hearing from Sarah Sutton that she didn’t like both. 😐

With all this said, I’m glad I’ve experienced the celebrations of ‘Doctor Who’s landmark anniversaries in the 50th and 60th years, especially when there were so many expectations to be fulfilled. They might not have all been fulfilled, but the excitement is still undeniable.

Of course, ‘The Five Doctors’ was the highlight and the main event of the 20th anniversary celebrations. It’s not hard to see why, as ‘The Five Doctors’ encompasses everything I expect a ‘Doctor Who’ anniversary story to do to celebrate a landmark year.

There’s no denying ‘The Five Doctors’ has its flaws, but I consider it to be the definitive anniversary celebration of ‘Doctor Who’. This is how you make a ‘Doctor Who’ anniversary special and it’s a story that I look back on with great appreciation and fondness.

It’s what inspired me and many fans to write their own anniversary stories in ‘Doctor Who’ over the years. There’s my 60th anniversary story ‘The Thirteen+ Doctors’ and the ‘A Sparkle of Doctors’ anthologies by the Divergent Wordsmiths, which I took part in.

I regard ‘The Five Doctors’ more fondly than ‘The Day of the Doctor’ and the three 60th anniversary TV specials by Russell T. Davies, especially as it celebrates every aspect of the TV show’s history at this point. A pity that can’t be reflected in modern anniversary stories.

So, yes! I love ‘The Five Doctors’. It’s a tremendous celebratory adventure and I consider one of my favourite ‘Doctor Who’ stories. Granted, it doesn’t have Nyssa in it, which is a shame, but when I first saw this ‘Doctor Who’ story, I was still getting to know the series.

I first saw ‘The Five Doctors’ on DVD in December 2006. I purchased the original DVD, which was released in 1999. It contained the 1995 Special Edition version of the story, which was what I was brought up on before seeing the original 1983 version. More later.

‘The Five Doctors’ helped me to get to know more about the TV show’s history, as I was relatively a newcomer to ‘Doctor Who’ back in 2006. Granted, I know more about the show’s history these days, but back then, I didn’t know what had gone on beforehand. 🙂

If you’re new to classic ‘Doctor Who’, I highly recommend ‘The Five Doctors’ as a story to ease your way in getting to know about the original TV show. 🙂 This is especially when the story supposedly contains the first five Doctors and you’re given a chance to know them.

Mind you, I need to warn you to not be fooled by the story’s title. Whilst the story is technically about the first five incarnations of the Doctor, it doesn’t necessarily mean there are five Doctors actively taking part in the story or interacting off with each other. 😐

As David Tennant said in the Easter Egg DVD audio commentary with producer Phil Collinson and writer/script editor Helen Raynor, it’s ‘three Doctors, stock footage and a bloke in a wig’. 😐 I will get into explaining more about these aspects later in the review. 🙂

Talking about ‘The Five Doctors’ 1999 DVD release for a bit, as well as containing the 1995 Special Edition version of the story, it had very few special features on it. There was a guide booklet for the tale, including character descriptions for the main heroes. 🙂

This included the first five Doctors, Susan, the Brigadier, Sarah Jane, Romana, Tegan, Turlough and the Master. I still have the guide booklet after giving away the original 1999 DVD. There was also a selection of ‘special music’ tracks on the original 1999 DVD disc.

It was amazing to see ‘The Five Doctors’ on the 1999 DVD release over the Christmas period in December 2006. I recall watching the story again and again. I now know the lines off by heart whenever I think about it or when I’m rewatching it on DVD and Blu-ray.

It was a couple of years later that I discovered that the 1995 Special Edition version of the story is about 100 minutes as opposed to 90 minutes. The 1995 Special Edition version also contains CGI effects compared to what the original 1983 version contains.

Whenever I revisit ‘The Five Doctors’, I tend to veer more towards the 1995 Special Edition version as opposed to the 1983 version, especially as it was the first version of the story I came across and I prefer the extended versions of stories than shorter versions.

It’s what happens when I check out ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’ movie trilogies on Blu-ray. I always go for the extended versions of those films as opposed to the theatrical cuts, as I prefer more scenes in stories than less in the original versions. 🙂

In 2008, a 2-disc 25th anniversary edition of ‘The Five Doctors’ was released on DVD by 2Entertain (as it was called back then). The 2-disc edition contained two versions of the story. The original 1983 version on Disc 1 and the 1995 Special Edition version on Disc 2.

I’m pleased I saw the 1983 version on the 25th anniversary edition of ‘The Five Doctors’, as it was interesting to compare and contrast what was different in the 1983 version and the 1995 Special Edition version. Again, the 1995 Special Edition version is still a winner for me.

Over the years, I’ve had my 25th anniversary edition DVD cover of ‘The Five Doctors’ signed by four actors who have been in the story. I’ve had the DVD cover signed by Peter Davison at the two-day ‘Science of the Time Lords’ event in Leicester, January 2016. 🙂

I’ve had it signed by Janet Fielding at the ‘MCM Birmingham Comic Con’ at the NEC in Birmingham in November 2017. And I’ve had it signed by Mark Strickson and Paul Jerricho at ‘Fantom Events at Memorabilia’ at the NEC in Birmingham in March 2016. 🙂

I’ve had a photo of Turlough in ‘The Five Doctors’ signed by Mark Strickson at ‘Time Warp’ in Weston-super-Mare in July 2014. And I’ve had a photo of the Castellan signed by Paul Jerricho at the ‘Acceptable in the 80s’ event in Chiswick, London in October 2011. 🙂

When ‘The Five Doctors’ was re-released on Blu-ray in the Season 20 Blu-ray box set, a third version of the story was provided. As well as the original 1983 TV version and the 1995 Special Edition, a 40th anniversary edition version of the story was made for Blu-ray.

This does seem very exciting, especially from watching the Blu-ray trailer containing ‘The Passenger’, as the 40th anniversary edition of the story contains brand-new CGI effects. Honestly, I’d rate the 40th anniversary edition so highly if it weren’t for one thing.

The 40th anniversary edition is an updated CGI version of the 1983 TV version. It doesn’t combine both 1983 and 1995 versions together. This annoys me, especially as I prefer the longer version of the story as opposed to the shorter version when checking it out. 😐

For the sake of this review, I’m basing it on my experience of the 1995 Special Edition version of the story as opposed to the 40th anniversary edition. I’m glad there are three versions of the story to see on Blu-ray, but the 1995 Special Edition version is superior. 🙂

John Nathan-Turner was instrumental in getting a special ‘Doctor Who’ story to celebrate 20 years of the TV show’s history. I’m also very glad Peter Moffatt directed this story, especially as he directed ‘Mawdryn Undead’, the third story in the 20th anniversary season. 🙂

‘The Five Doctors’ is by Terrance Dicks, who contributed very significantly to ‘Doctor Who’ at the end of Patrick Troughton’s era, the whole of Jon Pertwee’s era and the beginning of Tom Baker’s era. He also penned ‘Horror of Fang Rock’ and ‘State of Decay’.

Interestingly, ‘The Five Doctors’ was going to be something else entirely before Terrance Dicks became involved in the 20th anniversary story. There was going to be a different 20th anniversary story called ‘The Six Doctors’ and it was to be written by Robert Holmes.

The script editor Eric Saward wanted to bring back a classic ‘Doctor Who’ writer like Robert Holmes to celebrate the TV show’s 20th anniversary. The producer John Nathan-Turner was reluctant to bring back former ‘Doctor Who’ writers, but he did agree to this recommendation.

To me, it makes sense, as you’d want someone who’s experienced with ‘Doctor Who’ and knows the TV show’s history from beginning to end to encompass everything about the show in an anniversary special. A shame Russell T. Davies didn’t live up to that, but still.

As I understand it, ‘The Six Doctors’ was going to feature two First Doctors – with one of them being a robot and called Doctor Will. I’ve also picked up Susan, Jamie, the Brigadier, Sarah Jane, Tegan and Turlough were going to be the companions of the story.

I’m not sure how it would have all worked out in the production stages, but it was soon discarded as Robert Holmes couldn’t write the story. He was under a lot of pressure with so many expectations put upon him by producer JNT and script editor Eric Saward.

Therefore, he decided to abandon the project for good. It’s a shame that this happened, as Robert Holmes is one of ‘Doctor Who’ greatest writers, but he wasn’t able to do a multi-Doctor story on that scale. He preferred more original stories with less fan service. 😐

At least Robert Holmes did contribute to Peter Davison’s era afterwards with the four-part story ‘The Caves of Androzani’ in Season 21. And he contributed to Colin Baker’s era with ‘The Two Doctors’ in Season 22 and two segments of ‘The Trial of a Time Lord’. 🙂

As I understand it, elements of ‘The Six Doctors’ did end up in ‘The Two Doctors’, which was interesting. That’s more to do with Time Lord symbiotic nuclei than with robot doubles. And it was the Cybermen that wanted the nuclei instead of the Sontarans then.

With the uncertainty of Robert Holmes not being able to deliver, Terrance Dicks was recruited as a second option, and it’s just as well as he did the 20th anniversary special instead, since he’s competent and disciplined when it comes to writing a TV adventure.

I can imagine how challenging Terrance Dicks found the process of writing ‘The Five Doctors’, especially when adjusting to all the requests given to him by Eric Saward. Thankfully, it turned out alright, and I’m glad the finished result won over many people. 🙂

It should be noted that writing a multi-Doctor story isn’t easy. I’ve learnt from experience when putting together my 60th anniversary story ‘The Thirteen+ Doctors’. But if you’re able to achieve it on that scale, there’s no reason why it can’t be done at all.

Let’s talk about the story itself, shall we? I like how ‘The Five Doctors  begins with a clip of William Hartnell as the First Doctor saying goodbye to Susan in ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’. It’s a great way to start the story, especially to commemorate William Hartnell. 🙂

It pays homage and tribute to the actor who first started playing the role of the Doctor back in 1963. I’d not long seen ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’ on DVD in November 2006 before seeing ‘The Five Doctors’ in December 2006, so I knew what that clip was about.

It’s thanks to ‘The Five Doctors’ that the First Doctor’s speech from ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’ has become famous, as it’s been in ‘An Adventure In Space and Time’ with David Bradley and I’ve included that speech at the beginning of ‘The Thirteen+ Doctors’.

The story truly begins with Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor and his companions Janet Fielding as Tegan and Mark Strickson as Turlough. They’re on the Eye of Orion, as promised by the Doctor at the end of ‘The King’s Demons’, which is pretty astonishing. 🙂

And yes, it must be peculiar that no mention of Kamelion is made, especially when he joined the TARDIS in the previous story. I would need to hear the Kamelion audio stories by Big Finish to appreciate the gap between ‘The King’s Demons’ and ‘The Five Doctors’.

The Doctor, Tegan and Turlough hope to spend some quality time on the Eye of Orion, which is regarded as one of the most tranquil places in the universe. Mind you, I wish they could’ve found somewhere sunnier as the place is ‘like Earth after a thunderstorm’.

Those are Tegan’s words, not mine. 😀 Most of the location work of ‘The Five Doctors’ was filmed in North Wales, particularly for the Eye of Orion scenes and the Death Zone on Gallifrey scenes. Well, at least they went to Wales to do the filming, not England. 🙂

Whilst they’re on the Eye of Orion, the Doctor soon receives a twinge of cosmic angst. It gets worse when he gradually realises that he’s being ‘diminished. Whittled away, piece by piece’. In other words, the Doctor’s lives are being stolen, as he gets taken out of time.

We cut to various scenes of the Doctors being taken out of time by a Time Scoop, which can be depicted as either a black triangle in the 1983 version, a black oblong shape in the 40th anniversary edition, or a ghostly swirly thing in the 1995 Special Edition version.

I prefer the one in the 1995 Special Edition version. For fans watching ‘The Five Doctors’ for the first time, it must have been very exciting to see past Doctors as well as past companions like Susan, the Brigadier and Sarah Jane making their return in this TV story.

Helped by Tegan and Turlough, the Fifth Doctor and his friends return to the TARDIS and he sets the coordinates. They soon end up on Gallifrey, the Time Lords’ home planet, but they find themselves in the Death Zone, a place where deadly games used to be played.

As the Doctors explain to their companions throughout the story, the Death Zone was once used for the amusement of the Time Lords. This, I assume, is before the Time Lords took more responsibilities in their roles as the observers throughout the universe.

This is especially since Rassilon, the founder of Time Lord society, forbade the use of the Time Scoop in the Death Zone. ‘The Five Doctors’ was my first encounter of the name Rassilon as well as my first encounter of his character as soon as he’d appeared.

Very soon, the Fifth Doctor finds himself facing his past when his past selves and his companions come together to play the games of Rassilon. According to Peter Davison, he wishes that the Doctors met sooner rather than later for them to interact in the story.

However, producer JNT was anxious about the clashes of egos among the Doctors interacting with each other behind-the-scenes. This is considering that Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee didn’t see eye-to-eye when they made ‘The Three Doctors’. 😐

Whilst that is a shame, I agree with Peter that it would have been nice to have had the Doctors meeting up sooner rather than later. Although from writing ‘The Thirteen+ Doctors’, it can take a while for all the Doctors to meet up when trying to establish them.

The reintroduction of the first four Doctors is fine enough, as you need to know how they stand as particular incarnations of the character, and they need to have their own type of adventure before they can meet up together as one for the story’s grand showdown. 🙂

Granted, you need to consider that it’s not all the five Doctors in this story, as four appear in the climax and one of them is not played by the original actor. But the progression to the story’s climax by having all the Doctors come together is good enough.

Peter Davison is excellent as the Fifth Doctor throughout this ‘Doctor Who’ adventure. At the time of seeing ‘The Five Doctors’ on the 1999 DVD release in 2006, this was my second encounter with Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor. The first one was ‘Earthshock’.

I found ‘The Five Doctors’ a happier experience compared to ‘Earthshock’, especially as nobody died at the end of this story. It was great to see Peter as the current Doctor in this 20th anniversary special and it was fun to see him interact with the other Doctors. 🙂

Peter excels as the Doctor in this story. I greatly enjoyed his meeting with the First Doctor once he came inside the TARDIS with Susan. It was very poignant, especially with the current Doctor meeting the first incarnation of the character who began it all. 🙂

It was also good to see Peter Davison’s Doctor get into the heart of things, especially with the Time Lords on Gallifrey. As I understand it, that material was originally meant for Tom Baker’s Doctor before he declined to be involved in the story after much indecision.

I’m thankful that it’s Peter Davison’s Doctor who gets to encounter Borusa and the Time Lords of Gallifrey in the heart of the Capitol, as it would make sense for the current Doctor to try and solve the mystery whilst the other Doctors had their own adventures. 🙂

To think that years later, I would get to meet Peter Davison at many conventions from watching ‘Earthshock’ and ‘The Five Doctors’ in my early days as a fan in late 2006. I don’t think my younger self would have believed it, as it’s so amazing that it’s happened.

I’m sure Peter must have been very lucky to be the current Doctor in ‘The Five Doctors’, as he does well in leading the show whilst having to contend with the other Doctors supporting him. It was also good to see his confrontation scenes with Borusa in the story.

It’s unfortunate that Peter’s Doctor is succumbed under Borusa’s power, but thankfully the first three Doctors help him to break out of that control. It’s very amusing when Peter’s Doctor is offered the role of Time Lord President and he backs out of it quickly. 🙂

The First Doctor makes a return in this ‘Doctor Who’ story, but of course this isn’t William Hartnell, as he passed away in April 1975, which is sad. Instead, the First Doctor is now played by Richard Hurndall. It’s fascinating how he was cast in the special role. 🙂

The series’ continuity advisor Ian Levine showed an episode of ‘Blake’s 7’ to producer JNT called ‘Assassin’, which featured Richard Hurndall in it. Believing that he looked like William Hartnell, they decided to cast him in the role to fill the spot of the First Doctor. 🙂

Seeing Richard Hurndall as the First Doctor is fascinating indeed. I enjoyed his take on William Hartnell’s Doctor and it’s clear he’s very enthusiastic playing the role. He does all he can to get the part right. I commend him for delivering an enjoyable performance.

With that said, it’s clear he’s not William Hartnell. He’s certainly not David Bradley and I don’t think he matches to Stephen Noonan who voices the First Doctor in some of the Big Finish audios (which I’ve yet to hear), but he still brings in the spirit of the character.

Despite not looking like William Hartnell, I was able to suspend my disbelief and be convinced that this was the First Doctor interacting with everyone else in the story. I’m thankful Richard Hurndall was able to play the role when he did, as he does a fine job. 🙂

Sadly, Richard Hurndall passed away in April 1984, not long after he played the First Doctor in ‘The Five Doctors’. It’s a shame he didn’t get to play the First Doctor in more stories beyond ‘The Five Doctors’. I’m glad he’s remembered fondly for playing the role.

It was lovely to see the First Doctor’s reunion with Susan, especially when they were trapped in a series of corridors and being chased by a Dalek. Richard Hurdnall brings in the balance of humour and seriousness to the William Hartnell’s Doctor quite superbly.

It was amusing to see the First Doctor’s interactions with Tegan, especially when they ventured into the Dark Tower. Plus, it was funny when the First Doctor told Tegan, “And kindly refrain from addressing me as Doc”, which was done in William Hartnell’s time.

Patrick Troughton returns to play the Second Doctor in ‘The Five Doctors’. This is his second return to ‘Doctor Who’, having reprised the role in ‘The Three Doctors’ back in 1973. He would make one more return to the ‘Doctor Who’ TV show in ‘The Two Doctors’.

This was the second time I saw Patrick Troughton’s Doctor in ‘Doctor Who’, as I’d previously seen ‘The Invasion’ on DVD. It was great to see Patrick’s Doctor again and a sheer delight. It’s clear he hasn’t lost his quick wit and charm throughout this TV adventure.

He still comes across as very funny and reassuring as ever, especially when he interacts with the Brigadier. It was fun to see them bounce off each other, especially as Patrick’s Doctor visited the Brigadier to hear his speech as ‘guest of honour’ at a U.N.I.T. reunion.

For most of the story, Patrick’s Doctor is wearing the Yeti-like fur coat that he wore in ‘The Abominable Snowmen’. I’m sure Patrick Troughton was very grateful for wearing that fur coat, especially when the temperatures in North Wales were very cold in March 1983.

I like how Patrick’s Doctor explains to the Brigadier about what the Death Zone is and how they could be playing the Game of Rassilon. It was amusing when the Doctor and the Brigadier were cornered by a Yeti in the cave tunnels and he went through his pockets.

I also found it funny when Patrick’s Doctor patted the Brigadier first before attending to the Cyberman causing him pain. Even Elisabeth Sladen made a comment about that in the DVD audio commentary for the 1983 TV version of ‘The Five Doctors’, which is funny.

It was tense when Patrick’s Doctor and the Brigadier came across Jamie and Zoe in the Dark Tower and he worked out they weren’t real when recalling the events of ‘The War Games’ when they had their memories erased. A shame that they weren’t real, but still.

It’s good when the Second Doctor as well as the First and Third Doctors explained what the Gallifreyan text on the obelisk at Rassilon’s tomb said in the Dark Tower. It’s funny the Second Doctor pushed the First and Third Doctors out of the way to see the obelisk.

Jon Pertwee returns to play the Third Doctor in a long while since he left the role in 1974. This was my first encounter with Jon Pertwee’s Doctor in a ‘Doctor Who’ story. I did see him in a clip from ‘The Sea Devils’ in the ‘Did You See?’ item on the ‘Earthshock’ DVD disc.

But that wasn’t really enough, and ‘The Five Doctors’ was like my first proper exposure to the Third Doctor before I saw him in ‘The Three Doctors’. It was great to see him play the Third Doctor in ‘The Five Doctors’, especially when he drives around in his car Bessie.

It was nice to see him reunite with Sarah Jane in this ‘Doctor Who’ story. Mind you, it does get confusing when you consider Sarah Jane last met the Doctor as Tom Baker, and it’s puzzling for her when she’s meeting the Third Doctor again and didn’t expect it.

I agree with Terrance Dicks in the DVD audio commentary for the 1995 Special Edition version of the story that it doesn’t make sense when Jon Pertwee’s Doctor deduces from Sarah Jane that he became ‘teeth and curls’. That line was initially meant for Sarah Jane. 😀

It was good to see Jon’s Doctor and Sarah Jane driving around in Bessie to get to the Dark Tower before they come across the Master. I enjoyed Jon’s interaction with Anthony Ainley’s Master, especially as he almost looks like Roger Delagdo’s Master in a sense. 😀

It was good to see the Third Doctor and Sarah Jane tackling the Raston Warrior Robot when it was guarding the entrance to a cave that led towards the top of the Dark Tower. It’s fortunate for them the Cybermen came along and the Raston Warrior Robot sorted them out.

In fact, ‘The Five Doctors’ might be the only time in the TV series where Jon Pertwee’s Doctor gets to tackle the Cybermen in ‘Doctor Who’, since he never encountered them in his era of the TV series. There have been Big Finish audio stories made since then, but still.

It’s nice that Jon’s Doctor looks out for Sarah Jane throughout this adventure and it was intriguing to see him come across apparitions of Mike Yates and Liz Shaw that weren’t really there. Jon’s Doctor also gets to lasso a long rope to the top of the Dark Tower in this. 🙂

Tom Baker, whilst technically speaking is in ‘The Five Doctors’ as the Fourth Doctor, didn’t really make a proper appearance in this story, which is a shame. Now beforehand, I’d only seen Tom Baker in the ‘Doctor Who’ story ‘Genesis of the Daleks’, which I love. 🙂

I had no idea that Tom turned down to take part in the 20th anniversary special. Nor did I know that the little of him that’s in ‘The Five Doctors’ is actually footage taken from the lost story ‘Shada’ where he’s punting on the River Cam in Cambridge with Lalla Ward as Romana.

This would have been the first time that ‘Shada’ was ever shown on TV in that small form when being presented in ‘The Five Doctors’ 20th anniversary special. It’s rather fitting it should be included in this story, otherwise ‘Shada’ wouldn’t have had the legacy it’s had.

It’s a shame that Tom Baker didn’t want to be in ‘The Five Doctors’, as he hadn’t long left the role in 1981 and he probably still didn’t get on well with producer John Nathan-Turner when he was asked to be in it. I’m happy a small part of him is in the story though.

Even if it’s footage of him from an abandoned story. Apparently, Terrance Dicks wrote the original script of ‘The Five Doctors’ with Tom Baker in mind. When told by Eric Saward that Tom wasn’t going to be in the story, Terrance had to rejig things in the script.

It’s fortunate that ‘Shada’ was abandoned back in 1979 and that footage of the story still survived to allow Terrance a point for where Tom’s Doctor could be captured and taken out of time for him to be trapped in a time warp before he was returned to where he was.

It does mean that Tom Baker’s Doctor is inactive for most of the story, but at least he is included in the 20th anniversary special in a technical sense. Otherwise, the story wouldn’t live up to the title ‘The Five Doctors’ if Tom Baker didn’t end up appearing in it.

The 1983 TV version of the story contains more scenes of Tom Baker’s Doctor and Lalla Ward as Romana in the story, whilst the 1995 Special Edition version shows him being put back on the Cam. It’s likely many prefer more scenes of Tom in ‘The Five Doctors’. 😀

Very soon, all the Doctors (except Tom, of course) meet up where Rassilon’s tomb is in the Dark Tower. I’m pleased the First, Second, Third and Fifth Doctors got to meet each other in the story’s conclusion, even if there was a lot of build up for it to occur at all in the tale.

As well as the moment where the first three Doctors work together to set the Fifth Doctor free from Borusa’s mind control, I’m glad they got to interact with each other in the farewells after defeating their enemy. 🙂 It was intriguing how the four differed to each other.

It’s also good to see the Doctor’s companions joining their Doctors in this story. Again, it’s a shame not all the companions got to appear in the story, including Sarah Sutton as Nyssa (my favourite) as well as Katy Manning as Jo, which would have been terrific to see.

I believe Susan was to be paired with the First Doctor, Jamie with the Second Doctor, the Brigadier with the Third Doctor, Sarah Jane with the Fourth Doctor, and Tegan and Turlough with the Fifth Doctor. A shame these pairings didn’t actually happen in the story.

Whilst Frazer Hines is in the story as well as Wendy Padbury as Zoe, from what I’ve gathered, he couldn’t get any time off from ‘Emmerdale Farm’, which he was currently working on. So, the cameo appearance he and Wendy did in this was all they could do. 😦

I’m not sure if it was the same for Richard Franklin playing Mike Yates and Caroline John as Liz Shaw, but I imagine they were brought in to provide more of the fan service by guest cameos in the story. A shame that’s not done so much in modern ‘Doctor Who’. 😐

‘The Day of the Doctor’, perhaps, with the cameo photograph shots of past companions in U.N.I.T.’s Black Archive vault. However, there’s not much effort on Russell T. Davies’ part for the 60th anniversary TV specials, which I still find annoying as I’m writing this review.

I’m pleased I’ve been able to include the pairings I wanted in my 60th anniversary story ‘The Thirteen+ Doctors’, including the First Doctor, Susan, Ian and Barbara, the Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe, the Third Doctor and Jo, and the Fourth Doctor and James Darby.

There’s also the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa and Billy, the Sixth Doctor and Peri, the Seventh Doctor and Ace, the Eighth Doctor and Jen, the Ninth Doctor and Rose, the Tenth Doctor and Donna, the Eleventh Doctor, Amy and Rory, and the Twelfth Doctor and Bill in that. 🙂

And there’s the Thirteenth Doctor, Yaz and Dan. There’s plenty more cameos of past and future Doctors and companions, including the Fourteenth Doctor, and the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby, which I’m pleased I’ve included in my 60th anniversary celebration story.

Incidentally, whilst Nyssa isn’t in ‘The Five Doctors’, she is in ‘The Five Companions’ along with Ian, Steven, Sara and Polly, which is a story set during ‘The Five Doctors’ itself. I’m pleased Nyssa was in that to ease my anxiety about her absence in ‘The Five Doctors’. 🙂

Going back to ‘The Five Doctors’, it was good to see Janet Fielding as Tegan in this adventure. Plus, she gets to wear a different costume. It’s not like the one she wore in ‘The King’s Demons’, but at least she doesn’t get to wear the white tube top anymore. 😀

Plus, she wears a fur coat when it gets cold on the Eye of Orion and in the Death Zone on Gallifrey. Good for her! 🙂 I like that Tegan gets to take part in ‘The Five Doctors’ TV adventure, especially when joining the First Doctor as they both enter the Dark Tower. 🙂

I found it interesting to see Tegan in this story. When I saw ‘The Five Doctors’ for the first time, it was my second encounter with Tegan after seeing her in ‘Earthshock’. I didn’t know anything about what had occurred between ‘Earthshock’ and ‘The Five Doctors’. 🙂

Tegan comes across as a little happier and friendly when being with the Fifth Doctor in the story’s opening scenes. I wish we could have seen more of that in the TV show, and not see her be grumpy for most of Season 20 as well as Season 21, which I feel is a pity.

Terrance Dicks has written for Tegan in the Target novelizations of ‘Four to Doomsday’ and ‘Kinda’. Not sure if he wrote those before ‘The Five Doctors’, but it’s intriguing how he writes for her on TV. I know Janet objected to the tea-making scene in the story. 😀

Whilst I’m glad Tegan gets to wear a different costume in the story and I’m pleased she wears a fur coat to keep herself warm, I’m not sure about the footwear. The high-heeled shoes she wears in the story aren’t that good for the rugged conditions of the Death Zone.

When I saw ‘The Five Doctors’ for the first time, it was the first time I encountered Mark Strickson as Turlough. It was quite a shift from seeing Nyssa, Tegan and Adric as Fifth Doctor companions in ‘Earthshock’ to seeing Tegan and Turlough in ‘The Five Doctors’. 🙂

On the story alone, Turlough seems a decent enough character. It took me a while to discover that he was a dark and shifty character. I had no idea that he’d been assigned by the Black Guardian to kill the Doctor in ‘The Black Guardian Trilogy’ in Season 20. 😮

In ‘The Five Doctors’, he seems pleasant. Mind you, that might have to do with the fact that he doesn’t have any scenes in the story, as he’s mostly stuck in the TARDIS with Susan. I wonder how frustrating Mark Strickson found that when doing this specific story.

The standout moments I can think of regarding Turlough are when he’s about to do a drawing when sitting on a rock on the Eye of Orion. Who knew that Turlough was an artist at heart. I wonder whether he had time for art classes at Brendan School on Earth.

It was funny to see Turlough’s reaction to how big the Cybermen’s bomb was when he and Susan were watching it on the TARDIS scanner screen and soon saw three more bombs being set up. Almost as if he was thrilled first before realising he and Susan were about to die.

In fact, when Susan asks what they’re going to do once they see the Cybermen walking off after setting up the bombs, Turlough replies, “Die, it seems”. Gee, thanks, Turlough. Thanks for being cheerful. 😀 At least Turlough and Susan do survive the bombs going off.

It was nice to see Carole Ann Ford as Susan in this ‘Doctor Who’ story. It makes sense for Susan to be in this story. She was the first ‘Doctor Who’ companion in the classic TV series and is of course the Doctor’s granddaughter when she was with William Hartnell.

Before seeing ‘The Five Doctors’, I’d seen Susan in ‘The Beginning’ DVD box set, containing ‘An Unearthly Child’, ‘The Daleks’ and ‘The Edge of Destruction’. I’d also seen her departure from the classic TV series in the Season 2 story ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’ on DVD.

So, I was already familiar with who Susan was before checking out ‘The Five Doctors’ on the 1999 DVD release. It was quite a surprise to see Susan turn up when she did, as she reunites with the First Doctor in a corridor and before they’re being chased by Daleks. 😀

I wonder how Susan got there in the first place, since we didn’t see her being picked up by the Time Scoop like the First Doctor, the Second Doctor and the Brigadier, the Third Doctor and the Fourth Doctor were picked up. 😐 I’d like to know what happened to her. 😐

There might have been a deleted scene where Susan is on 22nd century Earth before she was picked up by the Time Scoop, but whether it wasn’t filmed because of lack of time, I can’t tell. Despite that, it’s still very nice to see Susan in this ‘Doctor Who’ story. 🙂

Mind you, Susan doesn’t get to do much in this story, which is a shame, as she mostly spends her time stuck in the TARDIS with Turlough. Also, it’s unfortunate that she trips over in this story and sprains her ankle. I’m sure there’s more to Susan’s character than that.

It was great to see Nicholas Courtney return as the Brigadier in this ‘Doctor Who’ story. This is Nick Courtney’s second return to ‘Doctor Who’ for the 20th anniversary celebrations, as he previously returned in the third Season 20 story ‘Mawdryn Undead’.

For me, when I saw ‘The Five Doctors’ on the 1999 DVD back in December 2006, I’d only just seen the Brigadier in ‘The Invasion’ back in November 2006. It was nice to be familiar with these characters and see them come together for this anniversary TV story.

As established, the Brigadier was supposed to be paired with the Third Doctor in the story, but I’m glad the Brig gets to pair up with the Second Doctor in this story. This is especially as the Brig first met Patrick’s Doctor in ‘The Web of Fear’ and ‘The Invasion’. 🙂

It was fun to see the Brigadier and the Second Doctor end up in the Death Zone. The Brig keeps his cool, but does get impatient with the Doctor at times. This is especially when they go into a cave tunnel, and they’re chased by a Yeti that attacks them in a corner. 😮

I’m sure the Brigadier must have found it very baffling when he reunited with everyone at Rassilon’s tomb in the Dark Tower, including Sarah Jane, Tegan and the Third Doctor. The Brigadier also gets to be Basil Fawlty for a bit by saying, “Typical. Absolutely typical.” 😀

The Brigadier does get to punch Anthony Ainley’s Master in the face when coming up behind him, which was funny. I also liked it when the Brig gets to say, “Wonderful chap. All of them” about the Doctors as well as say, “Splendid fellows. All of you” by the story’s end.

It was very lovely to see Elisabeth Sladen return as Sarah Jane Smith in this ‘Doctor Who’ story. Beforehand, Lis Sladen previously returned to play Sarah Jane in the one-off ‘K-9 & Company’ TV special ‘A Girl’s Best Friend’. K-9 also appears briefly in this story. 🙂

For me, I’d seen Lis Sladen as Sarah Jane in the new TV series episode ‘School Reunion’ with David Tennant. Shortly before seeing ‘The Five Doctors’, I saw Lis as Sarah Jane in ‘Genesis of the Daleks’ with Tom Baker’s Fourth Doctor and Ian Marter as Harry Sullivan.

Sarah Jane is of course one of the Doctor’s best and popular companions in the TV series. So, it makes sense for her to appear in the 20th anniversary special. A pity she didn’t get to work with Tom Baker again, but nice she got to work with Jon Pertwee again.

It was amusing to see Sarah Jane’s reaction to Jon Pertwee’s Doctor instead of Tom Baker’s Doctor when she arrived in the Death Zone. Speaking of which, that slope she was meant to fall down on was meant to be steep. A shame it didn’t turn out like that. 😀

It was great to see Sarah Jane and Jon Pertwee’s Doctor tackling Cybermen as well as the Raston Warrior Robot. It was also interesting to see Sarah Jane meet the Master for the first time in ‘Doctor Who’, as she never did when she was a companion in the TV series.

I also liked it when Sarah Jane got to meet Tegan at Rassilon’s tomb in the Death Zone, even if it was a brief hello and shaking of hands. I wonder what Sarah Jane and Tegan talked about whilst whispering. 😀 Also good she got to reunite with the Brigadier in this story.

Going back to Tom Baker’s ‘Shada’ appearance in ‘The Five Doctors’, it was nice to see Lalla Ward appear as Romana in the story, even though it is stock footage. This was like the first time I’d ever seen Romana in a ‘Doctor Who’ story and I wondered who she was.

It would take some time before I got to see the ‘Doctor Who’ stories featuring Romana, including when she was Mary Tamm in ‘The Key to Time’ season (Season 16) and when she was Lalla Ward in Seasons 17 and 18. I’m glad I was introduced to her via this story.

I do wonder if Lalla Ward as well as Tom Baker are aware that they’re in ‘The Five Doctors’ as a ‘Doctor Who’ story. They probably do and they probably had to give permission to the 1980s production team to allow the ‘Shada’ scene to be featured in the story.

They and Douglas Adams, who wrote the story. Incidentally, when Tom Baker refused to be involved in ‘The Five Doctors’, the producer JNT rented the Madame Tussauds waxwork of Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor to be featured in the story’s publicity photos.

It sounds like a good idea and it was probably done to sell to the press that ‘The Five Doctors’ would feature all five Doctors in them. But honestly, I wouldn’t have used the waxwork model of Tom Baker, especially when knowing he isn’t in the TV story itself. 😐

With that said, I’ve included the Tom Baker waxwork model at Madame Tussauds in London in my 60th anniversary story ‘The Thirteen+ Doctors’. So, it must have some legacy. I wonder what became of it. What will happen to Ncuti Gatwa’s waxwork model? 😀

This ‘Doctor Who’ story was the first time I’d seen Anthony Ainley as the Master in the series as well as the Master as a character in general. I didn’t know who the Master was before seeing this ‘Doctor Who’ story and it was interesting to see how he was depicted.

It was fascinating to discover that the Master is an evil Time Lord and one of the Doctor’s greatest enemies. As I saw more ‘Doctor Who’ stories, it was intriguing to see how much he was like the Doctor, except that he sought power and galactic domination.

Anthony Ainley is tremendous as the Master in this ‘Doctor Who’ adventure. I quite like his elegant evil in this adventure, especially when he chuckles and is full of mischief and delight. It was fun to see him interacting with the High Council of Time Lords in this story.

This is when he’s assigned on a mission to rescue the Doctor from the Death Zone. I did feel sorry for the Master when his offers of help were rejected by the Doctors he encountered, including the Third Doctor and the Fifth Doctor, which are great scenes. 🙂

I found it intriguing how the Master allied himself with the Cybermen in this ‘Doctor Who’ story, as I believe that’s the first time that’s happened in the TV series. It’s also intriguing the Master backstabs the Cybermen in going over the gameboard-like square.

Speaking of which, the whole ‘easy as Pi’ scene with the gameboard-like square in the story doesn’t really work. As Lis Sladen pointed out in the 1983 TV version’s DVD audio commentary, there’s no circle for the mathematical formula of Pi to work on the square.

Like I said, as well as cameos of companions like Frazer Hines as Jamie, Wendy Padbury as Zoe, Richard Franklin as Mike Yates and Caroline John as Liz Shaw, there’s a cameo of K-9 (voiced by John Leeson) in a nice scene where he warns Sarah Jane not to leave home.

This would be the first time that Sarah Jane and K-9 are seen together in ‘Doctor Who’. The previous time they were together was in the one-off spin-off ‘K-9 & Company: A Girl’s Best Friend’. I wonder if many were totally baffled without seeing that special here.

I bring this up because new TV series fans would be thinking that K-9 travelled with Sarah Jane and the Fourth Doctor whereas in actual fact he didn’t. It’s only in a spin-off special that it happened, which could potentially be known as the first ‘Sarah Jane Adventure’. 😐

It’s a pity the First Doctor didn’t get to have any returning companions make cameo appearances once he and Tegan were going through the Dark Tower to get to Rassilon’s tomb. Surely Maureen O’Brien as Vicki and Peter Purves as Steven could have appeared. 😐

Maybe there wasn’t enough time to film extra cameos, and it’s a shame Sarah Sutton didn’t cameo as Nyssa to appear to Tegan in a Dark Tower scene. The First Doctor meanwhile is resolute that there’s nothing to fear and that it happens to be an illusion. 😐

First Doctor: Fear itself is largely an illusion. And at my age, there’s little left to fear.

In terms of the rest of the story’s guest cast, they’re mostly members of the High Council of Time Lords. There’s Phillip Latham as President Borusa. Philip Latham is the fourth actor to play Borusa, following Angus Mackay, John Arnatt and Leonard Sachs. 🙂

With ‘The Five Doctors’ being early in my viewing of classic ‘Doctor Who’ stories, this was my introduction to Borusa before seeing ‘The Deadly Assassin’, ‘The Invasion of Time’ and ‘Arc of Infinity’. It was a shock for me when he turned out to be the villain here.

Paul Jerricho returns to play the Castellan in this ‘Doctor Who’ story, having previously appeared in ‘Arc of Infinity’. It’s interesting that Paul Jerricho is the only cast member from ‘Arc of Infinity’ to return in ‘The Five Doctors’. Not anybody else like Leonard Sachs.

And of course, this is the ‘Doctor Who’ story where Paul Jerricho is remembered fondly for saying the immortal line, “No, not the mind probe!” I’m glad I’ve been able to meet him at conventions over the years and I’m pleased he guest starred in ‘Lucky Day’ lately.

There’s Dinah Sheridan as Chancellor Flavia in this story. For some, Dinah Sheridan is well-known for being in the 1970 film ‘The Railway Children’ with Jenny Agutter. She’s been in a ‘Keeping Up Appearances’ episode with Bernard Archard, which I’ve enjoyed.

I’m puzzled as to why Dinah Sheridan’s character is called Flavia and not Thalia. I mean, surely it’s not that long since ‘Arc of Infinity’ and surely it’d make sense for her to be called Thalia, not Flavia. They sound similar in terms of names. Is it the same character or not?

The story also features David Saville as Colonel Crichton, who happens to be the Brigadier’s replacement at U.N.I.T. HQ. David Saville has been in ‘Doctor Who’ before, having played Lt. Carstairs in ‘The War Games’ and played Winser in ‘The Claws of Axos’.

Stuart Blake guest stars as the Commander of the Chancellery Guard on Gallifrey. Although not confirmed, I assume this was Commander Maxil following his regeneration from being Colin Baker. It would fit well with my story ‘The Prime Factor’.

There’s Stephen Meredith as a Time Lord technician, Ray Float as the sergeant at U.N.I.T. HQ who informs Colonel Crichton about the Second Doctor wanting to see the Brigadier, and there’s John Tallents who plays one of the Time Lord guards in the story. 🙂

A Dalek makes a cameo in this 20th anniversary special. I suppose this makes up for the loss of the four-part season finale ‘The Return’ or ‘Warhead’, but all the Dalek does is chase the First Doctor and Susan down some corridors and shouts “Exterminate!” at lot.

It’s good that Roy Skelton returned to voice the Dalek and John Scott Martin returned to operate it. Eventually, the Dalek gets blown up by its own gunfire and we get to see the inside of a Dalek for the first time with the mutant creature wriggling inside its casing. 😐

The Cybermen also appear in this ‘Doctor Who’ story. They appear more than the Dalek, unfortunately. 😦 These, of course, are the ‘Earthshock’ Cybermen with their leader played by David Banks who says “Excellent!” a lot. I wonder if it’s Gordon Brittas as the Cyber Leader.

There’s also Mark Hardy as the Cyber Lieutenant and William Kenton as the Cyber Scout. The Cybermen don’t do well in this story, especially when lots of Cybermen are blown up by the Raston Warrior Robot and their alliance with the Master doesn’t go well.

An interesting point made by scifimike is that the Daleks allied with the Master in the TV show’s 10th anniversary in ‘Frontier In Space’ whilst the Cybermen allied with the Master in the TV show’s 20th anniversary in ‘The Five Doctors’. Interesting parallels that.

This ‘Doctor Who’ story introduces the Raston Warrior Robot, played by Keith Hodiak. The Raston Warrior Robot was a last-minute, yet inspired creation by Terrance Dicks for the Third Doctor and Sarah Jane segment. It’s the ‘perfect killing machine ever devised’.

The Raston Warrior Robot can kill you whenever it senses movement and it moves like lightning. It’s a frightening being and is in an exciting and violent scene where the Raston Warrior Robot kills off the Cybermen. I’m surprised it hasn’t come back to ‘Doctor Who’.

It was good to see a Yeti appear in the story, especially when it attacks the Second Doctor and the Brigadier in a cave. The Yeti appeared twice in ‘Doctor Who’ in the TV stories ‘The Abominable Snowmen’ and ‘The Web of Fear’, which I hadn’t seen nor heard by this point.

It’s fitting they should appear in this ‘Doctor Who’ 20th anniversary special, although I must question something. Is the Great Intelligence in the Death Zone too? Because, otherwise, who’s controlling the Yeti if not them. Are the Time Lords controlling the Yeti?

At the story’s end, Rassilon appears where his tomb lies, and he’s played by Richard Mathews. In the original 1983 TV version, he does sound ‘very plummy’ according to David Tennant and producer Phil Collinson in the Easter Egg DVD audio commentary of the story.

Thankfully, his voice is treated to sound deeper in the 1995 Special Edition version of the story as well as the 40th anniversary edition. And of course, Rassilon sorts out Borusa in the story. Rassilon is different here compared to how he is ‘The End of Time’. 🙂

I like how the story ends with the Doctors and companions saying goodbye to each other. I went the extra mile in giving two codas in ‘The Thirteen+ Doctors’ for the Doctors and companions to say farewell to each other. I know it’s long, but I did enjoy writing it. 🙂

After the Doctor is offered the Presidency of the Time Lords by Chancellor Flavia, he escapes in his TARDIS and much to Tegan and Turlough’s surprise, he’s doesn’t take up the Presidency. He’s going to keep journeying in his ‘rackety old TARDIS’ to have adventures.

Fifth Doctor: Why not? After all, that’s how it all started.

The original DVD special features were as follows. On the 25th anniversary Special Edition 2-disc DVD set, there was the original 1983 broadcast version of the story with a dual mono sound audio mix option, the DVD audio commentary with Carole Ann Ford, Elisabeth Sladen, Mark Strickson and Nicholas Courtney, the Easter Egg audio commentary with David Tennant, producer Phil Collinson and writer/script editor Helen Raynor, and an isolated music option by Peter Howell to enjoy. There was an info-text commentary option to enjoy on the original 1983 broadcast version of the story, and the ‘Celebrations’ making-of documentary, which focuses on the making of ‘The Five Doctors’ and the 20th anniversary celebrations, featuring behind-the-scenes cast and crew interviews. There were BBC trailers and continuity announcements for the story, a photo gallery of the story and a ‘Radio Times Listings’ PDF of the story.

There was the 1995 Special Edition version of the story with a 5.1 surround sound audio mix option, a Dolby surround sound audio mix option, the DVD audio commentary with Peter Davison and writer Terrance Dicks, and an isolated music option by Peter Howell to enjoy. There was ‘The Ties That Bind Us’ featurette that focuses on the continuity elements in ‘The Five Doctors’, narrated by Paul McGann. There were studio footage highlights items, including ‘Five Doctors, One Studio’, outtakes of the story and ‘(Not So) Special Effects’. There was a selection of TV promotional items for ‘The Five Doctors’, including a ‘Saturday Superstore’ item with Peter Davison, Janet Fielding and Mark Strickson (which has been updated and extended, and is now included on Disc 6 of the Season 20 Blu-ray box set containing ‘The King’s Demons’), a ‘Blue Peter’ item with Peter Davison and Richard Hurndall, a ‘Nationwide’ item with Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee and Peter Davison as well as producer Verity Lambert (which is now included on Disc 6 of the Season 20 Blu-ray box set containing ‘The King’s Demons’), and a ‘Breakfast Time’ item with Peter Davison and Patrick Troughton (which has been updated and extended, and is now included on Disc 5 of the Season 20 Blu-ray box set containing ‘Enlightenment’). There was a ‘coming soon’ trailer for ‘The Invasion of Time’, starring Tom Baker, Louise Jameson and K-9, and an info-text commentary option to enjoy on the 1995 Special Edition version of the story. There was an Easter Egg to be found on Disc 2 of the 25th anniversary Special Edition 2-disc DVD set, which was a BBC Video Ident for the 1995 Special Edition VHS release, I believe.

On Disc 7 of the ‘Doctor Who – The Collection – Season 20’ Blu-ray, the original 1983 broadcast version of the story with its dual mono sound audio mix option, its two DVD audio commentaries and its isolated music option, ‘The Ties That Bind Us’ featurette, the studio footage highlights items including ‘Five Doctors, One Studio’, the story’s outtakes and ‘(Not So) Special Effects’, the Blue Peter item, the BBC Video Ident for the 1995 Special Edition VHS release can be found on there. The info-text commentary option on the original 1983 broadcast version of the story, the ‘Celebrations’ making-of documentary, and the story’s photo gallery have been updated for 2023 on the Blu-ray. The BBC trailers and continuity announcements for the story have been divided into two parts – one for the story’s original 1983 broadcast version and one for the story’s four-part 1984 repeat screening.

The new special features on Blu-ray include the ‘Behind the Sofa’ feature on ‘The Five Doctors’ with Peter Davison (the Fifth Doctor), Sarah Sutton (Nyssa), Janet Fielding (Tegan) and Mark Strickson (Turlough) as well as Colin Baker (the Sixth Doctor) and Sylvester McCoy (the Seventh Doctor) as well as Katy Manning (Jo) and Sophie Aldred (Ace). There are more TV promotion items for ‘The Five Doctors’, including ‘The Late, Late Breakfast Show’ item featuring a Dalek, a ‘Pebble Mill at One’ item with Nicholas Courtney, Mary Tamm, Janet Fielding and Mark Strickson, a BBC2 closedown photo montage, a ‘Breakfast Time’ item promoting ‘The Five Doctors’, a Children In Need item with Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor and Terry Wogan, a BBC News report on the 1983 Chicago convention, a ‘Saturday Superstore’ preview of ‘The Five Doctors’ and a ‘Saturday Superstore’ item on the Radio Times 20th anniversary special of ‘Doctor Who’. As well as an item for the BBC trailers and continuity announcements for the story’s four-part 1984 repeat screening (including cliffhangers and credits), there’s a ‘Breakfast Time’ item to promote the repeat screening of ‘The Five Doctors’. There’s a BBC Radio interview with producer John Nathan-Turner, conducted in November 1983. There’s a brand-new 5.1 surround sound audio mix option for the story and a Dolby Atmos audio mix option for the story.

On the PDF front, as well as the ‘Radio Times Listings’ of ‘The Five Doctors’, there are production documents, two rehearsal scripts, one camera script and design drawings. You need a special Blu-ray computer drive for that.

On Disc 8 of the ‘Doctor Who – The Collection – Season 20’ Blu-ray, the new special features on Blu-ray include the 40th anniversary edition version of the story. There’s location footage of the story, studio footage of the story, and some Australian convention footage with Peter Davison and his then wife Sandra Dickinson. There’s ‘The Panopticon Archive’ panel interview with four Doctors, including Jon Pertwee, Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy. There’s also the ‘coming soon’ trailer for the 25th anniversary Special Edition 2-disc DVD set of ‘The Five Doctors’. And there’s ‘Messages From Space’ with Sarah Sutton and Janet Fielding, which should be on the ‘Logopolis’ Blu-ray disc for the Season 18 Blu-ray box set and was on the ‘Doctor Who Magazine’ 40th anniversary disc for ‘The Collection’ range of classic ‘Doctor Who’ Blu-ray box sets. For the 40th anniversary edition version of the story, there are brand-new audio options, including a Dolby stereo audio mix option for the story, a 5.1 surround sound audio mix option for the story, a Dolby Atmos audio mix option for the story, and a Blu-ray audio commentary with Peter Davison, Janet Fielding and Mark Strickson.

On Disc 9 of the ‘Doctor Who – The Collection – Season 20’ Blu-ray, the 1995 Special Edition version of the story with its 5.1 surround sound audio mix option, its Dolby surround sound audio mix option, its DVD audio commentary and its isolated music option can be found on there. The info-text commentary option on the 1995 Special Edition version of the story has been updated for 2023 on the Blu-ray.

The new special features on Blu-ray include ‘Look Who’s Driving’ where Peter Davison, Sarah Sutton and Janet Fielding do a road trip to the ‘TimeLash’ convention in Germany in October 2019. There’s also ‘Let’s Go Dutch’ where Peter Davison, Sarah Sutton, Janet Fielding and Mark Strickson visit Amsterdam in July 2022.

On the PDF front, there’s the 1984 ‘Doctor Who Annual’, ‘The Radio Times ‘Doctor Who’ 20th Anniversary Special’ and the ‘Doctor Who Office’s Production Bible’ (taken from the ‘Enlightenment’ 2-disc DVD set), ‘The Radio Times ‘Doctor Who’ 20th Anniversary Special’ promotional material, the BBC Enterprises Season 20 sales sheets, and the Programme as Broadcast information for Season 20.

I’ve found ‘The Five Doctors’ to be a truly tremendous anniversary special to celebrate 20 years of ‘Doctor Who’. It’s no surprise that it’s spun its own legacy as well as continued to provide a line of anniversary specials following in the footsteps of ‘The Three Doctors’.

As well as ‘The Day of the Doctor’ and the three 60th anniversary TV specials by Russell T. Davies, there’s ‘The Light At The End’ by Big Finish, ‘The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot’ (which I love so much) by Peter Davison, and the ‘Once and Future’ audio series by Big Finish.

And I know this doesn’t technically count as an anniversary special, but I regard ‘The Power of the Doctor’ highly for featuring past Doctors and companions as well as being Jodie Whittaker’s swansong and for featuring the Master, the Daleks and the Cybermen.

In my opinion, ‘The Five Doctors’ is the definitive anniversary special on how to commemorate a milestone year in a TV show. ‘Dimensions In Time’ may have copied that formula from ‘The Five Doctors’, but there’s no denying ‘The Five Doctors’ impact. 🙂

‘The Five Doctors’ is also a great way to introduce new ‘Doctor Who’ fans to the classic TV series. I highly recommend checking out this classic TV series to see what the classic TV series is like and to see some well-loved Doctors and companions appearing in it. 🙂

There’s not much disappointment found in this story, as it’s a love letter to the TV show’s past and it helps to maintain its future. I’m glad Terrance Dicks wrote this ‘Doctor Who’ TV story and that he was able to include as many Doctors and companions in the special.

I’m pleased I took inspiration from ‘The Five Doctors’ to write my 60th anniversary special ‘The Thirteen+ Doctors’ with including as many Doctors and companions as possible. It was a daunting task but so rewarding when I managed to complete the story.

‘The Five Doctors’ is a story that I’ll always look back on with fond memories, and I’m pleased I can enjoy it in the Season 20 Blu-ray box set in its three versions – the 1983 TV version, the 40th anniversary version and, of course, the 1995 Special Edition version. 🙂

As for Season 20 itself, well, it’s a season that I’m very fond of and consider my second favourite out of the Peter Davison/Fifth Doctor era. But I wouldn’t hold it in high regard compared to Season 19, which I enjoyed more in terms of the stories and characters it had.

My main issue with Season 20 is the consistency of the regular cast. We start off with the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan for a bit, then we’re joined by Turlough, Nyssa then leaves, and we finish with the Fifth Doctor, Tegan and Turlough. It’s not what I’d prefer. 😐

I would have preferred it if it was the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan for the whole of Season 20. Whilst introducing Turlough as a companion is interesting, his role as an assassin was limited in ‘The Black Guardian Trilogy’ and his character wasn’t developed further. 😐

I find Nyssa a reassuring presence in ‘Doctor Who’. Whilst I’m glad she’s in four of the six stories in Season 20, it would’ve been nice to have seen her in ‘Enlightenment’ and ‘The King’s Demons’ as well as ‘The Five Doctors’ to make her time in the TV series fulfilling.

Tegan’s return in Season 20 is rather haphazard when she maintains the grumpy side to her character. I would have liked it if she enjoyed more adventures rather than having to succumb to ordeals involving the Mara, Mawdryn and his kind, the Eternals and more. 😐

I’m pleased the Big Finish audios have expanded more of the Season 20 story in exploring more of the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan’s relationships as a trio, plus exploring the Fifth Doctor, Tegan, Turlough and an older Nyssa as a TARDIS foursome. 🙂

It’s a shame the TV series didn’t delve much into the character relationships of the Fifth Doctor and his companions, but then, those aspects weren’t the main priority. The plots had more priority. Character development was considered an afterthought in the series.

Despite that, it was easy to be engaged with the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan and Turlough as characters, and it’s thanks to the performances of Peter Davison, Sarah Sutton, Janet Fielding and Mark Strickson when they portray their characters in the Season 20 stories.

In terms of the 20th anniversary celebrations in ‘Doctor Who’, I’m pleased producer John Nathan-Turner did everything he could to get as much of the TV show’s history celebrated through the TV series itself as well as the publicity, including TV items and many conventions.

There’s no doubt the celebrations were chaotic, particularly in the Longleat event that happened in April 1983, but it goes to show how much enthusiasm there was for the TV show back then. It must have been a delightful time for the fans celebrating ‘Doctor Who’.

It’s also good that the celebrations in the Season 20 stories were represented in the past characters that appeared like Omega, the Mara, the White and Black Guardians, the Brigadier and the Master before building it up to the big celebration in ‘The Five Doctors’. 🙂

Season 20 is arguably flawed, but the passion behind the making of the stories is undeniable. I’ll always regard Season 20 fondly, especially for Sarah Sutton’s appearances as Nyssa as well as the 20th anniversary celebrations that went on throughout the season’s tales.

With the 20th anniversary celebrations over, it was time to move on to pastures new. Several changes would occur with the departure of companions and the introduction of a new one as well as the departure of a well-loved Doctor and the introduction of a new one.

‘The Five Doctors’ rating – 9/10

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‘LOOK WHO’S DRIVING’

Please feel free to comment on my review.

So, way back in 2019, when I saw Sarah Sutton at the ‘Film & Comic Con Glasgow’ at the Braehead Arena in August, we chatted about her upcoming trip to the ‘TimeLash’ convention in Kassel, Germany in October. She told me she was going with Janet Fielding.

That was before Peter Davison decided to join Sarah and Janet for the trip and eventually the producers of the ‘Doctor Who’ Blu-ray box sets decided to do a road trip documentary surrounding the trio’s journey to Kassel in Germany. I had no idea this was going to occur.

There was a preview for ‘Look Who’s Driving’ with Peter, Sarah and Janet at the ‘Gallifrey’ convention in Los Angeles in February 2020. This was before the Covid-19 pandemic happened. No doubt it delayed things in terms of the Season 20 Blu-ray box set’s release.

Thankfully, I was able to see the preview for ‘Look Who’s Driving’ via my friend Mary Ellen Daughtery, who runs the Peter Davison Hub on Facebook. She sent me the preview via a private e-mail in August 2020. Most of us were still in lockdown by that stage in the year.

I’m very thankful I got to see the preview since it cheered me up when the ‘Bedford Who Charity Con’ I was looking forward to in October 2020 got rescheduled for April 2021 before being rescheduled again for October 2021. It lifted my spirits during that dreary year.

Of course, I had to hold back from sharing anything I’d seen in that preview for the Germany road trip featuring Peter, Sarah and Janet. Thankfully, I’ve now seen the whole ‘Look Who’s Driving’ documentary in the Season 20 Blu-ray box set and I’ve enjoyed a lot.

It’s a very entertaining road trip documentary showcasing Peter, Sarah and Janet as friends when they journey to the ‘TimeLash’ convention in Kassal. They stop off at various places on their journey from the UK to Germany and very often with arguments galore. 😀

I’ve grown to getting to know Sarah, Peter and Janet at conventions over the years and know how they interact as friends. They’re clearly very fond of each other, even though they pick on each other a lot, which is pretty evident when driving up to the convention. 🙂

I mean, woof! The atmosphere in that car! 😀 Peter was losing at one point when Sarah was driving slowly ‘like a snail’. I found it funny when Sarah told Peter, “He (producer Russell Minton, I believe) said “Go slowly!” and Peter was like, “Yes, but not that slowly!!!”

I was laughing uncontrollably at that point as much as Janet and Sarah were. I enjoyed how they started off their journey by going on a ferry from Dover to get to Dunkirk. It was good to see Sarah coming prepared with language books like French, German and Dutch.

I liked it when the trio stopped for a night in France and they got to make chocolate. This included making chocolate containing portraits of themselves as the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan. I fancy having some of those chocolates myself. They seem really delicious. 😀

Of course, Peter, Sarah and Janet took it in turns when driving up to Kassel. It was amusing to see Janet getting anxious when she had to drive the car herself and this did result in her swearing a lot. Thank goodness the ‘bleepometer’ was on once she was swearing away. 😀

There’s a point in the journey where Peter, Sarah and Janet stopped at a café to have lunch and they had gooseberry crumble instead of apple tart, I believe. 😀 There’s also a point where the trio stopped off at a forest and Janet got to recite this poem out loud in German.

Peter and Sarah didn’t seem impressed when Janet recited the poem. Even I must admit, I’m not sure what the point of that was and I think that was Janet showing off. 😀 Thankfully, the trio didn’t have any accidents on the road, and arrived safely in Kassel. Phew!

‘Look Who’s Driving’ is a fun road-trip adventure featuring my favourite ‘Doctor Who’ people – Peter Davison, Sarah Sutton and Janet Fielding. It lasts for an hour and seven minutes, but it’s worth the entertainment in showcasing the friendship of three superb people.

‘Look Who’s Driving’ rating – 10/10

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‘LET’S GO DUTCH’

Please feel free to comment on my review.

I believe the Season 20 Blu-ray box set was meant to be released sometime in 2020 after Peter Davison, Sarah Sutton and Janet Fielding did their Germany road trip in ‘Look Who’s Driving’. Sadly, that didn’t occur, since the Covid-19 pandemic happened back in 2020. 😦

The ‘Behind the Sofa’ items for the Season 20 Blu-ray box set probably hadn’t been done yet, as Mark Strickson would need to return to the UK from New Zealand to do them. After the pandemic, as well as the ‘Behind the Sofa’ items, a new documentary was produced.

In this documentary, Mark Strickson organises a trip for Peter Davison, Sarah Sutton and Janet Fielding to return to Amsterdam where they made ‘Arc of Infinity’. Ideally, this documentary should have been on the ‘Arc of Infinity’ disc of the Season 20 Blu-ray box set.

On reflection, it’s good to close off the Season 20 Blu-ray box set with ‘Let’s Go Dutch’, as not only is it a documentary to revisit the filming locations of ‘Arc of Infinity’, but also a chance for Peter, Sarah, Janet and Mark to share memories on making Season 20 overall.

I greatly enjoyed ‘Let’s Go Dutch’. There’s more ‘Doctor Who’-related content in this documentary compared to ‘Look’s Who Driving’. Despite that, both ‘Look’s Who Driving’ and ‘Let’s Go Dutch’ do showcase the friendships of the regular cast of the Fifth Doctor era.

Apparently, if Janet Fielding’s tweet is to be believed, ‘Let’s Go Dutch’ was recorded in July 2022. Beforehand, Janet recorded a Big Finish audio story for two days. I believe it was ‘The Merfolk Murders’, as that story was recorded from the 21st to the 22nd of July 2022.

‘Let’s Go Dutch’ is sort-of presented in a similar style to the making-of documentaries of ‘Castrovalva’, ‘The Visitation’ and ‘Black Orchid’, where Mark Strickson gets to guide cast members like Peter Davison, Sarah Sutton and Janet Fielding on revisiting their stories. 🙂

Of course, ‘Let’s Go Dutch’ isn’t exactly a making-of documentary. That was done in ‘Anti-Matter From Amsterdam’, the making-of documentary on the ‘Arc of Infinity’ DVD disc now transferred to Blu-ray. But Peter, Sarah and Janet do get to share memories of this TV story.

It was funny how the documentary starts with Peter, Sarah and Janet waiting for Mark to turn up at London St. Pancras International railway station. That’s where you need to go if you want to catch the Eurostar train and get to Amsterdam from London, which is handy.

I’ve chatted to Sarah about the possibility of going to Amsterdam via Eurostar at ‘MegaCon Live Birmingham’ in March 2025. When I get my passport that is. 😀 Sarah and I had a lovely chat about Amsterdam and she encouraged me about going to visit the place.

It was great to see Peter, Janet, Sarah and Mark aboard the Eurostar on their way to Amsterdam and discussing about ‘Doctor Who’ in general. All four seemed to be reading books at first when aboard the Eurostar. Mostly ‘Doctor Who’-related books, apparently.

Peter was reading his autobiography ‘Is There Life Outside the Box?’, Janet was reading a Special Edition issue of ‘Doctor Who Magazine’, Mark was reading the ‘Arc of Infinity’ Target novelization and Sarah was reading the 1983 ‘Doctor Who Annual’. Nice choices.

It was good to see Peter, Sarah, Janet and Mark revisit ‘Arc of Infinity’ locations in Amsterdam like Frankendael House and Amstel Sluize. They got to re-enact scenes from ‘Arc of Infinity’, including one where Mark gets to play Omega and Peter’s Doctor shoots him. 😀

Towards the end of the documentary, Peter, Sarah, Janet and Mark greet the Dutch Whovian Community that come touring the ‘Arc of Infinity’ locations. It was nice to see Peter, Sarah, Janet and Mark meet the fans. I’m sure the fans enjoyed meeting their stars.

‘Let’s Go Dutch’ is a wonderful documentary featuring Peter Davison, Sarah Sutton, Janet Fielding and Mark Strickson revisiting Amsterdam. It’s very good at 1 hour and 15 minutes. From seeing the documentary and chatting to Sarah, I hope I’ll visit Amsterdam someday.

‘Let’s Go Dutch’ rating – 10/10

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‘DOCTOR WHO – THE FIVE DOCTORS’

Please feel free to comment on my review.

Revisiting the Death Zone with Five(ish) Doctors and Companions

I purchased ‘The Five Doctors’ audiobook in Bath in November 2017! 🙂

I enjoyed reading and listening to ‘The Five Doctors’ Target novelization/audiobook by Terrance Dicks very much. I’ve wanted to read and listen to this novelization, since ‘The Five Doctors’ is one of my ‘Doctor Who’ stories from the classic TV series to celebrate 20 years of the show. This was a rewarding and very invigorating experience.

The audiobook for the Target novelization was released in November 2017. I purchased it a day after attending the ‘MCM Birmingham Comic Con’ in that month, where I saw Peter Davison, Sarah Sutton and Janet Fielding. It was at a Waterstones in Bath where I purchased the audiobook. I was looking forward to hearing it.

I later purchased the Target novelization from Amazon and received the 1991 paperback edition in the post. I was disappointed that I didn’t get the original 1983 paperback edition of ‘The Five Doctors’ novelization, but so long as the audiobook followed what was already in the novelization, it was fine.

I think its common knowledge that ‘The Five Doctors’ Target novelization was released a day before the actual transmission of the TV story in November 1983. I’m not sure how fans coped with resisting the temptation to read ‘The Five Doctors’ novelization before seeing the TV story, but it must have been a great struggle for them.

I like how Terrance Dicks has novelized ‘The Five Doctors’ for the Target range of ‘Doctor Who’ books. Instead of matching the novelization to the TV story that was transmitted in 1983, he added in all the extra scenes included in the 1995 Special Edition version of the story, as well as a new scene and some new dialogue.

The Target novelization is divided into 12 chapters, although ironically the divisions don’t match the cliffhangers of the four-part version of the story when it was repeated again on TV in August 1984. Thankfully ‘The Five Doctors’ isn’t a four-part adventure anyway. The audiobook has the story spread out on a 4-disc CD set.

The audiobook is read by Jon Culshaw. I’m disappointed that none of the original actors from ‘The Five Doctors’ TV story were chosen to be the narrator of the Target audiobook. It would have been nice if Peter Davison read this audiobook instead, but I don’t mind Jon Culshaw, as he’s a very good narrator.

This wasn’t the first time I heard Jon Culshaw read a ‘Doctor Who’ audiobook. The first time I heard him read an audiobook was when he read the ‘The Pirate Planet’ BBC novelization by James Goss, published in January 2017, which I enjoyed. I’ve also met Jon Culshaw in real life at ‘The Capitol II’ convention at the Arora Hotel in Gatwick in May 2017.

Jon Culshaw is a very good voice impersonator. So in a sense, he was ideal to be the narrator of ‘The Five Doctors’ audiobook. In the audiobook, Jon provides the voices for the Doctors as well as the companions and the supporting characters. Some voices aren’t exact recreations, but they’re close enough.

I like how Jon Culshaw provides the voices for Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker’s Doctors, since they sound exactly like the actors playing them. I don’t think Jon provides exact recreations for the Second Doctor, the Brigadier and other companions, but he manages to get the tones of the characters fine enough.

My favourite voice by Jon Culshaw is the one he provides for the First Doctor. Instead of creating Richard Hurndall’s performance in the Target audiobook, he recreates William Hartnell. That, for me, makes the First Doctor authentic, and I could easily hear William Hartnell’s voice in the story when Jon provided it.

Jon Culshaw is also joined by Nicholas Briggs, who does the voices for the Dalek and the Cybermen in the audiobook. As ever, Nick provides a great voice for the Dalek that chases the First Doctor and Susan in the corridors. It’s a shame there are only a few scenes with the Dalek, but what can you do?

The Cybermen however are a different story. I was disappointed with how the Cybermen made their appearance in the audiobook. Instead of the new TV series Cybermen voices I love, Nick Briggs did the ‘Earthshock’ Cybermen instead. And I know it’s supposed to match the dialogue in the novelization.

But this is the issue I have. In the ‘Earthshock’ novelization/audiobook by Ian Marter, the Cybermen sounded like new series Cybermen. Couldn’t they have matched what was in the ‘Earthshock’ audiobook for this one? It makes the continuity in the ‘Doctor Who’ Target novelization/audiobooks inconsistent.

In terms of what’s different in the novelization compared to the TV story, there aren’t a lot of changes to the plot. Bear in mind, Terrance Dicks novelized the story before it was transmitted on TV. So, he more or less had to match what was already in the TV script, as he didn’t see the story first.

But there is a brand-new scene featured in the novelization that wasn’t shown in the TV story. This is the scene where Susan gets abducted by the Time Scoop. I wish we could have seen that scene in ‘The Five Doctors’, as I like how Susan gets captured and that this story is set years after her time in ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’.

I also like how the Target novelization highlights that the First Doctor is on his way towards the end of his first regeneration. It makes sense to highlight this, considering that all the Doctors would be at their end of their regeneration points for this story. This also fits in to my timeline for the First Doctor. 😀

In the novelization, there are points where Susan addresses her grandfather as ‘Doctor’ in the story. This is especially when they’re being chased by a Dalek and Susan calls him ‘Doctor’. The Dalek is supposed to realise that ‘it is the Doctor’ when Susan calls him that in the original TV script for the story.

But during the shooting of ‘The Five Doctors’, Carole Ann Ford refused to call her grandfather ‘Doctor’, since that’s not what she called him in her era of the TV show. I’m surprised that Terrance Dicks never took note of this when novelizing the story and kept that scene where she called him ‘Doctor’.

A significant aspect to the novelization is the Fourth Doctor and Romana punting on the Cam in Cambridge scene. This is actually derived from the abandoned TV story ‘Shada’. So, this is the first time where Terrance Dicks actually novelized a scene from a ‘Doctor Who’ adventure by Douglas Adams.

Now I know that the Terrance Dicks’ novelization version of that scene doesn’t match to the one featured in the Gareth Roberts’ novelization of ‘Shada’ in March 2012. I’m surprised Gareth Roberts didn’t follow it in Terrance Dicks’ novelization. But the fact that it’s there in ‘The Five Doctors’ novelization is very intriguing.

I like how the Fourth Doctor and Romana are restored back to their proper place and time after the crisis with Rassilon has finished. Instead of having the scene of the Fourth Doctor and Romana restored which featured in the original 1983 TV version of the story, it matches more to the 1995 Special Edition version.

The Fourth Doctor and Romana are put back on their punt on the Cam from where they were last picked up. The Doctor is even given a line of dialogue after he and Romana are put back, which wasn’t in the 1995 Special Edition version. It works better compared to the extra scene in the 1983 TV version of the story.

There’s one disappointment I have about the novelization. The “No! Not the mind probe!” scene with the Castellan is not the same as in the TV story. The Castellan doesn’t even say the line as Paul Jerricho says it. He just says “No!” in the novelization. What the heck?!!! Is this some kind of joke?!!!

The most memorable scene in the TV story where the Castellan is terrified about having the mind probe used on him! And it’s all reduced him just saying “No!”? (Pause) FAILED!!!!!! (Pause) Novelization, you FAILED!!!!!! (feeling absolutely gobsmacked) HOW DID YOU SCREW THIS UP?!!!!!!!!!! 😀

I quite like how Rassilon is voiced at the end of the story in the audiobook. Jon Culshaw’s voice for Rassilon is given a treatment similar to the 1995 Special Edition version. This is scarier and deeper compared to the original 1983 TV version. It makes him sound less like Jon’s voice in the audiobook.

I like the novelization has Sarah Jane being upset about the Fourth Doctor’s absence in the story. This is when she has a conversation with Tegan about the Fourth Doctor in the Tomb of Rassilon. The original dialogue was in the TV script, but it’s sadly not featured in any versions of the TV adventure.

The climax of the story did feel rushed with everyone saying goodbye to each other. Even the Third Doctor’s comeback to the Second Doctor’s insult where he calls him ‘scarecrow’ is omitted in the novelization. There isn’t any dialogue of the Doctors talking about their dress sense and manners.

But at least the story ends with the Fifth Doctor escaping in the TARDIS with Tegan and Turlough and giving Chancellor Flavia the ‘Deputy President’ powers until he returns. Also, it wouldn’t be ‘The Five Doctors’ Target novelization without the Fifth Doctor saying, “Why not? After all, that’s how it all started!”

‘The Five Doctors’ Target novelization/audiobook has been an enjoyable read and listening experience. I’m glad I’ve read and heard the novelization/audiobook. Jon Culshaw does a terrific reading of the story. I’m disappointed with the Cybermen voices and a few other things, but this is a good purchase for me as a ‘Doctor Who’ fan.

Incidentally, a Dalek and a Cyberman have been watching me read and listen to ‘The Five Doctors’ Target novelization/audiobook. I hope I won’t get exterminated or deleted by them. 😀

‘Doctor Who – The Five Doctors’ rating – 8/10

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‘THE FIVE DOCTORS’ ALTERNATIVE SCENE

Originally posted on May the 10th of 2021.

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TEGAN: Doctor, you’ve changed the TARDIS console!

DOCTOR: Yes Tegan, I have. Looks rather splendid, doesn’t it?

NYSSA: Doctor, we seem to be heading for Gallifrey.

ADRIC: And there are four other TARDISes nearby.

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The previous story For the First Doctor was ‘Roses’ (DWM) ‘Punting’ (TS) For Susan was ‘After the Daleks’ (Audio) For the Second Doctor was ‘Test Flight’ (Comic) ‘Punting’ (TS) For the Brigadier was ‘Mawdryn Undead’ (TV) ‘Punting’ (TS) For the Third Doctor was ‘We Are the Daleks!’ (RT Special) ‘The Name of the Doctor’ (TV) ‘Punting’ (TS) For Sarah Jane was ‘Farewells’ (YB) ‘Punting’ (TS) For K-9 Mk III was ‘Farewells’ (YB) For the Fourth Doctor was ‘Shada’ (TV) ‘Punting’ (TS) For Romana was ‘Shada’ (TV) ‘Punting’ (TS) For the Fifth Doctor was ‘The Kamelion Empire’ (Audio) ‘The Five Companions’ (Audio) For Tegan was ‘The Kamelion Empire’ (Audio) For Turlough was ‘The Kamelion Empire’ (Audio) For the Daleks was ‘Nightmare of the Daleks’ (Audio)	The next story For the First Doctor is ‘Punting’ (TS) ‘Cambridge Previsited’ (YB) For Susan is ‘Birth of a Renegade’ (RT Special) For the Second Doctor is ‘Punting’ (TS) ‘The Name of the Doctor’ (TV) For the Brigadier is ‘Punting’ (TS) ‘Avatars of the Intelligence’ (LWM) (Book) For the Third Doctor is ‘The Name of the Doctor’ (TV) ‘Punting’ (TS) ‘Island of Death’ (Book) For Sarah Jane is ‘Punting’ (TS) ‘City of Devils’ (Comic) For K-9 Mk III is ‘City of Devils’ (Comic) For the Fourth Doctor is ‘Punting’ (TS) ‘Shada’ (TV) For Romana is ‘Punting’ (TS) ‘Shada’ (TV) For the Fifth Doctor is ‘The Five Companions’ (Audio) ‘The Eight Doctors’ (Book) For Tegan is ‘The Eight Doctors’ (Book) For Turlough is ‘The Eight Doctors’ (Book) For the Daleks is ‘The Five Companions’ (Audio)
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