The Five Doctors (TV story)

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A man is a sum of his memories — a Time Lord even more so.The Fifth Doctor

The Five Doctors was a special ninety-minute story which celebrated the 20th anniversary of Doctor Who. The story united the then-current Fifth Doctor with his predecessors in an adventure which also featured several of his past and current companions and enemies.

In addition to its inclusion of a number of characters not normally seen together, it was significant for a number of behind-the-scenes novelties. It was the first — and, as of 2008, only — episode of Doctor Who to premiere in the United States, aside from the American co-produced TV movie. It was also the first Doctor Who narrative broadcast as a part of the UK's Children in Need charity telethon.

In its subsequent home video releases, it was the first episode of Doctor Who to receive an "update" to its special effects and the first to be substantially re-edited. It was also the first to be released in the DVD format, and the first to be re-released with significantly new features. Indeed, the 2007 DVD release made it the first episode of the 1963 series to receive a commentary track exclusively by members of the 2005 series' creative team.

Synopsis

Someone is plucking all the incarnations of the Doctor out of time, and placing them in the Death Zone on Gallifrey where they will meet old friends and enemies and play out the deadly Game of Rassilon, for the ultimate prize. But to lose is to win, and he who wins shall lose...

Plot

The Fifth Doctor, Tegan and Turlough are taking a break on the Eye of Orion, one of the most tranquil spots in the universe, when the Fifth Doctor suddenly collapses. Tegan and Turlough bring the Fifth Doctor back into the TARDIS, where they discover to their distress that he is literally fading away. The Fifth Doctor manages to set the TARDIS controls for a destination and the ship dematerializes.

In a hidden chamber, a dark figure is manipulating the controls of a Time Scoop and kidnapping the Doctor's previous incarnations out of his time stream along with some of his former companions. The First Doctor is taken while he is walking in a rose garden, the Second Doctor and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart from a UNIT reunion and the Third Doctor while he is out driving his roadster, Bessie. Also taken out of time are Sarah Jane Smith and the Doctor's granddaughter Susan Foreman. The Fourth Doctor and Romana are taken while punting along the River Cam, but whoever is doing this is frustrated as the two are trapped in the time vortex by a time eddy and unable to rematerialize. All of them, save the Fourth Doctor and Romana, are deposited on a desolate, rocky landscape — the Death Zone on Gallifrey.

Meanwhile, in the Capitol on Gallifrey, the Inner Council of Time Lords, headed by Lord President Borusa and consisting of Chancellor Flavia and the Castellan, watches in concern. The Eye of Harmony is being drained by whomever is taking the Doctor out of time, endangering all of Gallifrey. Despite Borusa's misgivings, the High Council has unanimously voted to call in the Master to assist by going into the Death Zone to help the Doctors. Offered a pardon and a new cycle of regenerations, the Master accepts, and is given a copy of the Seal of the High Council by the Castellan to prove his bona fides, and a matter transmitter (transmat) recall device. He is then teleported via transmat to the Death Zone.

In the Zone, the Doctors face various dangers. The First Doctor and Susan are pursued by a Dalek through a hall of mirrors, finally escaping when they push the Dalek into a dead end, where the discharge of its energy weapon ricochets back and destroys itself. The Second Doctor and the Brigadier escape from a squad of Cybermen, and the Third Doctor rescues Sarah from her fall down an embankment. Sarah is mildly confused, as she had seen the Third Doctor regenerate into the Fourth ("Planet of the Spiders"), but is glad to see the Doctor she once knew. The Second and Third Doctors explain to their companions that in Gallifrey's past, known as the Dark Time, the Time Lords misused their powers. A device called the Time Scoop was used to pluck beings out of their times and place them in the Death Zone, where they would fight each other in a sort of gladiatorial game. The Doctors' goal now is to reach the Dark Tower, where the Time Lord founder Rassilon is entombed, although there is some doubt as to whether Rassilon is actually dead.

The Master meets and tries unsuccessfully to convince the Third Doctor that he is there to help, and is forced to flee when thunderbolts fall from the sky. The Third Doctor only sees this as confirmation that this is all a plot of the Master's. The First Doctor and Susan find the TARDIS and the presence of the First Doctor seems to stabilize the Fifth for the moment. Together, they scan the tower and find three entrances — one at the apex of the tower, the main gate at the base, and one underground, but a force field prevents the TARDIS's entry. The Fifth Doctor takes Tegan and Susan to go to the main gate, but encounters the Master, who has no better luck convincing the Fifth Doctor than he did the Third. At that moment, the two are surrounded by Cybermen, and when they try to run away, the Master is knocked out by a cybergun blast. The Fifth Doctor finds the Master's recall device on his unconscious body, and transmats himself to the Capitol. The Master, confronted by the Cybermen, offers himself as a guide to the Tower.

In the Capitol, the Doctor is informed of the situation by the High Council. The Doctor realizes not only that he has done the Master an injustice, but also that they were found too easily by the Cybermen. He opens the recall device and finds a homing beacon inside. The Castellan, who gave the Master the device, is arrested and his quarters ordered to be searched. There is found a box containing the Black Scrolls of Rassilon, forbidden knowledge from the Dark Time. The scrolls spontaneously combust before anyone can examine them, and Borusa orders the Castellan taken to the mind probe for interrogation. However, as the Castellan is escorted outside, there is a shot. The Doctor rushes out to find the Castellan dead, and the Captain of the guard reporting that he was shot while trying to escape. The Doctor voices his concerns to Chancellor Flavia — the Castellan was stubborn, but not a traitor. There is more to this than meets the eye.

The Second Doctor and the Brigadier are exploring a series of caves when they encounter a Yeti, left over from the games. Taking refuge in an alcove, the Doctor tries to chase the Yeti off with a firework, but only succeeds in maddening it, causing it to collapse the entrance to the alcove. However, the Doctor detects a breeze blowing further back, and discovers the underground entrance to the Tower.

On the surface, the Third Doctor and Sarah come across a Raston Warrior Robot, according to the Doctor the most perfect killing machine ever devised. Able to move with blinding speed and fire bolts of metal at its targets, it detects its victims by motion. The Doctor and Sarah are unable to move without attracting the robot's attention, but luck is on their side when a squad of Cybermen come over the ridge and are rapidly eliminated by the robot. Taking advantage of the distraction, the Doctor and Sarah run past the robot's position, taking some rope and spare bolts from the robot's cave. Reaching a cliff face just above the Tower, the Doctor uses the rope and bolts to form a grappling hook, and both he and Sarah abseil across to the top of the Tower.

Tegan and Susan have told the First Doctor what happened to the Fifth Doctor. The First Doctor decides to head for the main gate himself, with Tegan insisting on accompanying him. Opening the main gate through the means of a keypad hidden under a bell, they find a chessboard floor pattern blocking their way. The First Doctor determines that the chessboard is a trap — electrical bolts will destroy anyone attempting to cross unless they find the safe path. The Master appears at this point, warning them the Cybermen are close behind. While the Doctor and Tegan hide, the Master lures the Cybermen onto the chessboard and they are all killed. The Master blithely steps across the board, moving into the Tower after telling the Doctor that "it's as easy as pie." The Doctor realizes that the Master means the Greek letter pi, and that the safe path is calculated by means of the mathematical constant. Armed with this knowledge, the Doctor and Tegan make their way across the trap. In the Zone, the TARDIS is being surrounded by Cybermen, who start to assemble a bomb to blow it up. Inside, Turlough and Susan watch helplessly, not knowing what to do.

The Second and Third Doctors encounter more obstacles while moving separately through the Tower, with the mind of Rassilon exuding a feeling of intensifying fear. They also encounter what appear to be their previous companions, the Third meeting Captain Mike Yates and Liz Shaw, and the Second meeting Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Heriot. The Doctors soon realize they are just phantoms designed to impede their progress through the Tower, and the spectres vanish with a scream. Finally, all three Doctors reach the tomb, where Rassilon's sepulchre is. While the Brigadier, Sarah and Tegan get re-acquainted, the three Doctors try to translate an inscription written in Old High Gallifreyan on a pedestal near a control panel.

The Fifth Doctor finds that Borusa has vanished from the Council chamber, but the guards insist the President could not have gotten by them at the only entrance. The transmat is out of power, so the Doctor deduces there must be a secret door. He finds it hidden behind a painting of Rassilon playing the harp. The key to opening the door is a series of notes played on the actual harp standing in front of the painting, notes indicated by the sheet music in the painting itself. The Doctor enters the secret chamber, and finds the dark figure that had taken his other selves out of time: Borusa. The Lord President is not satisfied with ruling Gallifrey for his lifetimes — he wants to be President Eternal. Borusa has determined that Rassilon discovered the secret of immortality, and he means to claim it, sending the Doctors into the Zone to clear the way for him. Using the Coronet of Rassilon, Borusa overwhelms the Fifth Doctor's will, forcing the latter to obey his commands.

In the tomb, the Doctors have deciphered the inscription. Rassilon did discover immortality, and was willing to share it with whoever overcame the obstacles to the tomb and took the ring from his body. However, a line troubles the First Doctor: "To lose is to win and he who wins shall lose." The Master steps out of the shadows, wanting to claim immortality himself, but is attacked from behind by the Brigadier and tied up by Sarah and Tegan. The Third Doctor fixes the control panel by reversing the polarity of the neutron flow, allowing the TARDIS to transport itself to the tomb just seconds before the Cybermen's bomb detonates.

The Second Doctor contacts the Capitol, and the Fifth Doctor answers, still under Borusa's control. The Fifth Doctor tells his other selves to await his and Borusa's arrival. Transmatting over to the tomb, Borusa paralyzes the Doctors' companions with a command and tries to control the minds of the Doctors as well, but fails as all four Doctors combine their wills against him. However, a booming voice echoes through the chamber, the voice of Rassilon, demanding to know who disturbs him. Borusa steps forward to claim immortality and while the other Doctors protest, the First Doctor holds the others back and says to the projection of Rassilon that Borusa deserves the prize. Borusa takes the ring from the body and puts it on, but finds himself paralyzed, then transformed into one of several stone faces carved into the side of the casket. Rassilon then sends the Master back to his own time, and frees the Fourth Doctor from the time vortex before returning to eternal rest. The First Doctor smugly tells the Fifth that he finally understood the proverb. The prize was another trap — a means for Rassilon to discover who wanted immortality and get them out of the way.

The Doctors and their companions say their good-byes to each other and re-enter the TARDIS save for the Fifth Doctor, Tegan and Turlough. As the three watch, the others are transported back to their proper timezones. Chancellor Flavia arrives with guards and tells the Doctor that with Borusa's disappearance, the Council has appointed the Doctor as President. The Doctor orders Flavia back to the Capitol, saying that he will follow in his TARDIS and that she has full powers until his return. Once in the ship, however, he reveals to Tegan and Turlough he has no intention of returning. Tegan asks if the Doctor really intends to go on the run from his own people in a rackety old TARDIS. The Doctor replies, smiling, "Why not? After all, that's how it all started."

Cast

Crew

References

Real Earth people

Story Notes

  • This story commemorated the twentieth anniversary of Doctor Who.
  • The Five Doctors was co-produced with the Australian Broadcasting Commission who put in AUD $60,000.
  • William Hartnell was deceased by this time, and Tom Baker declined to return to his role as the Fourth Doctor. An early idea to incorporate footage of Hartnell and Baker into the story's action in a way similar to the contemporary film Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid was abandoned in favor of hiring actor Richard Hurndall to give his own impression of the First Doctor, while clips of Baker and Lalla Ward from the unfinished and (at the time) never-before-seen story "Shada" were used to show only the Fourth Doctor's abduction and return, without any interaction between himself and the other Doctors. For a publicity cast photo, a figure from Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum of Baker as the Doctor was used.
  • Terrance Dicks is said to have been displeased with Eric Saward's changes to his original story. He especially felt the Cybermen, for whom Saward had a particular fondness, were overused in the finished story.
  • The story was revamped for a mid-1990s video release with scenes and dialogue added or deleted, and some of the visual effects and the voice of Rassilon redone. The resulting version continues to receive mixed reactions from fans.
  • The Five Doctors marks the end of a string of linked serials that began with The Leisure Hive.
  • This is only the second time in the series' history that there was a pre-credits sequence. Castrovalva (1982) was the first such story. Subsequently, Time and the Rani (1987) and Remembrance of the Daleks (1988) also featured pre-credits teasers. The pre-credits sequence became a regular occurrence starting with the 2005 series episode The End of the World.
  • This serial explicitly indicated in dialogue that the Davison incarnation of the Doctor was in fact the fifth, officially discounting fan speculation dating back to The Brain of Morbius that the First Doctor wasn't actually the first.
  • Just as the Doctor is (almost never) referred to as "Doctor Who", so too are the terms First Doctor, Second Doctor, etc. never actually uttered on screen. This episode comes closest to breaking that precedent when the First Doctor asks the Fifth, "Regeneration?" and the Fifth replies "Fourth".
  • The Quarks were set to return to Doctor Who for The Five Doctors but were removed from the script at an early stage and replaced by the Raston Warrior Robot. The Quarks appear on the cover of the Five Doctor's VHS as this was not changed to match the TV swap.
  • This story marks the end of a long series of linked storylines that began with The Leisure Hive. Each story had been linked in some way, either as direct continuations, or in more subtle ways such as dialogue references to previous events. In this case, The Five Doctors is linked to The King's Demons and earlier stories by the fact it resolves the subplot of the Doctor finally arriving at the Eye of Orion.


Ratings

  • 7.7 million viewers

Myths

  • The Five Doctors was to feature Omega.

Location Filming

to be added

Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors

  • After being frozen by Borusa, the Brigadier clearly moves his head to watch Borusa go. Perhaps he has military training that allowed him to somewhat fight the effects. There is after-the-fact precedent in Army of Ghosts when a Torchwood 1 official mentions similar training that allows him to ignore the psychic paper. Perhaps UNIT (or even Torchwood) offered similar training to the Brig.
  • When the Cyberman attacks the Brigadier, his jeans are visible.
  • The Cybermen following the Master into the Tomb must be blind not to see the Doctor.
  • If the Time Lords can offer the Master a new life, then why is Borusa so worried about his own mortality?
  • The rope that the Third Doctor slides towards to tower on clearly goes up at the end.
  • The Master meets the Fifth Doctor on his way to the Tomb, then offers to lead the Cybermen to the Tomb. He is then beaten to the Tower by the First Doctor, who only started his journey when Susan and Tegan arrive back.
  • Like in Earthshock a Cyberman uses the phrase Excellent when they are said to have no emotions.
  • How could the Brigadier say "Nice to see you again!" to the Master after the latter has just regenerated and so the Brigadier wouldn't recognize him at all? (He figures it out like the Thid Doctor - they don't really look that different. Also there is nothing to indicate the Brigadier hadn't met the Master in his current form at some earlier time.)
  • No reference is made to the Doctor's newest companion, Kamelion, who only joined in the preceding serial; even the android's former owner, The Master, makes no reference to him. It is not indicated how much time has elapsed for the Master since he lost Kamelion - or even if, in the Master's personal timeline, that event might occur later. As for Kamelion, it's not known if the Doctor actually considered the android an "active" companion in the way he considered K-9.
  • Left unexplained is why the "younger" incarnations don't remember this incident of meeting themselves, a fact muddied by the much later Time Crash in which the Doctor carries memories of an encounter from his Fifth to his Tenth incarnation. The incidents depicted here, along with those of The Three Doctors and The Two Doctors are the result of Time Lord interference (sanctioned and unsanctioned) and as such it's probable they erased the memories of some or all of the participants. For example, neither Sarah Jane Smith nor the Tenth Doctor seeming to remember their previous meeting in School Reunion). The Third Doctor does not recall having met Jo Grant briefly as the Second Doctor during the Omega Crisis. The Fourth Doctor in Logopolis, does not seem to recognize Tegan Jovanka from having met and talked with her as the First Doctor during the Borusa Crisis. This is also supported by the fact that the Fourth Doctor encounters Borusa in The Deadly Assassin and The Invasion of Time and the Fifth in Arc of Infinity with no indication the Doctor is aware of Borusa's eventual fate.

Continuity

Perspectives

the propositions below does not take into account the Fifth Doctor's statements in BFA: Excelis Dawns which offers an alternate explanation.
  • This story takes place after The Dalek Invasion of Earth from the point of view of the First Doctor and Susan, given Susan's mature appearance and the implication that they have been separated for some time.
  • It is strongly implied that it takes place after the events of The Three Doctors for The first three doctors. The Second Doctor mentions Omega while reminiscing with the Brigadier, and also makes a comment about his replacement being "unpromising" when he is in UNIT headquarters. The Third Doctor refers to “that fellow in the check trousers and black frock-coat” when he meets the illusions of Mike Yates and Liz Shaw, and the First Doctor refers to the Second as "the little fellow". For the Second Doctor it could be locked in the back of his mind and therefore take place between chapters 36 and 37 of World Game.
  • The Second Doctor's statement that Jamie and Zoe should not recognise him because they had their memories wiped (a reference to the events of The War Games) is an error because he states that the Time Lords "erased your memories of the period you spent with me" when in fact the Time Lords stated they would remember the their fist adventures with him (The Highlanders and The Wheel in Space respectively) - although he is not suspicious until they name the brigadier (neither of them should remember meeting him in The Web of Fear or The Invasion). The Television series does not explain how he could know this, as just after their memories were wiped, the Second Doctor regenerated, seemingly creating a continuity error, (and rendering the Second Doctor's earlier meeting with the Brigadier in this story a continuity error). There are various theories to explain this, including Season 6B (in which several spin-off material is set).
  • This story takes place some time between The Time Warrior and Planet of the Spiders from the Third Doctor's point of view as he recognises Sarah Jane (who was his last companion before his regeneration). For Sarah, events take place after the spin-off K-9 and Company.
  • The Third Doctor reacts to Sarah's mimed description of the Fourth Doctor by saying, "Teeth and curls?" and telling her the change has not happened yet for him. Although the Third Doctor may just be interpreting her gestures, his accuracy has led some fans to believe that it implies a previous unseen encounter with the Fourth Doctor. In the short story The Touch of the Nurazh from the anthology Short Trips: Monsters, an injury makes the Third Doctor begin to regenerate into the Fourth but the process is reversed. This is witnessed by Jo Grant, and the theory is that she subsequently describes the Fourth Doctor's appearance to the Third.

(According to Terrance Dicks the "all teeth and curls" line was supposed to be Sarah's, but Jon Pertwee appropriated it for himself.)

  • Romana has her second known appearance (in the Shada footage), which implies that the story takes place between Destiny of the Daleks and Meglos and not yet trapped in E-Space.

DVD, Video and Other Releases

VHS releases

  • The Five Doctors has had 2 separate VHS releases:
  • It was released on video by BBC Enterprises in 1985.
  • It was released on video by BBC Worldwide in 1995 as part of a boxed set, however this was the Extended/Special Edition version of the story.

Laserdisc releases

  • The original (broadcast) version of the story was released on Laserdisc in 1994.

DVD release

  • In 1999 The Five Doctors was released on DVD by BBC Worldwide, this was the same Extended / Special Edition as the 1995 VHS release, with no additional features. Only the North America release had commentary and the Who's Who features.
  • In 2008 The Five Doctors was re-released celebrating the story's 25th anniversary, in this case it was a dual DVD release showcasing the original version of the story and the Extended / Special Edition.
  • Drfivebig 2.gif

    UK cover

  • Australian/New Zealand cover

    Australian/New Zealand cover

  • North American cover

    North American cover

Second release

  • UK cover

    UK cover

Audio Release

A soundtrack album of the music from this serial was released by Silva Screen Records as The Five Doctors: Classic Music from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop Vol. 2 (FILMCD 710).

Target Novelisations

Main article: The Five Doctors (novelisation)

A novelisation by Terrance Dicks was published in conjunction with the broadcast. This was the first and only time that the release of a novelisation more or less coincided with the broadcast of an episode.

See also

External Links

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