The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot (TV story)

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The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot (TV story) was a tongue-in-cheek Red Button release showing the attempts by Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy to get into the 50th anniversary special.

Synopsis

With the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who about to film, the 'Classic' Doctors are keen to be involved. But do they manage it?

Plot

Sean Pertwee and Olivia Colman sit and discuss their upcoming projects. Both seem frustrated that they are not involved in the "five Doctors reboot thing", with Colman adding "I'm usually in everything."

Christmas 2012 - Peter Davison is at home watching The Snowmen with his two sons Louis and Joel (who is watching from behind the sofa). When asked if there will be a 50th anniversary special, and if he will be in it, his sons seem delighted at the prospect of it featuring just Matt Smith and David Tennant.

Peter Davison walks through BBC Television Centre to the admiration of Matt Smith, Jenna Coleman, Steven Moffat, as well as several other Doctor Who crew members. Suddenly Janet Fielding tells him that they are not going to call him, and he awakes in bed. It has all been a dream. While walking his dog he rings his agent to see if he has been asked to appear in the special.

February 2013 - Sylvester McCoy checks his mobile phone but has no messages. Colin Baker sits by his phone waiting, as do Davison and McCoy.

March 2013 - In his car Davison listens to the radio and the upcoming 50th anniversary being discussed, and phones his pregnant daughter, Georgia Moffett, who hangs up before using a celery stick to dig into (quite literally) a carton of ice cream. He checks into a hotel and asks if he has any messages. He hasn't. When signing photographs at a convention he appears somewhat vexed, something which isn't helped by a fan wearing a Tom Baker T-shirt asks if he will be in the 50th anniversary special.

He phones the Doctor Who production office to make sure they have his mobile phone number so that they can get hold of him. The receptionist is unimpressed, and reminds him that he already phoned the day before, and the day before that. He asks to speak to Steven Moffat, who instructs the receptionist to tell Davison that he is in a meeting, and carries on playing with Matt Smith and David Tennant action figures.

Later, Moffat is receiving voice mail while on a car to Cardiff. All of the messages are from actors who have portrayed the Doctor in the classic series. He deletes every single one of the voice messages, frustrated.

The trio picket the BBC Television Centre until John Barrowman informs them that Doctor Who is filmed in Cardiff. Barrowman agrees to give them a lift to Wales where they sneak into the production studio and manage to become part of the special by disguising themselves first as Daleks (after locking Nicholas Briggs and the other Dalek opeartors in the Green Room) and then as Zygons pretending to be covered statues in the undergallery.

Cast

All of the roles are individuals playing themselves, unless noted otherwise.

Crew

References

  • Olivia Colman mentions the TV series Broadchurch, in which she starred with David Tennant and Arthur Darvill.
  • Joel Davison watches Doctor Who from behind the sofa, something many children are said to do when scared by the show.
  • Frequent references are made to Sylvester McCoy's casting in the feature film adaptation of The Hobbit, much to the irritation of Colin Baker who is nevertheless seen reading the original novel with a tie-in cover.
  • A radio presenter admits that his favourite Doctor is Peter Cushing.
  • Georgia Moffett eats her ice cream with a stick of celery, something often associated with the Fifth Doctor.
  • When phoning the Doctor Who production office, Davison stands in front of an Ood. The office is also decorated with memorabilia.
  • Colin Baker references him filming "I'm a Celeb-" in the forest and eating possum ears on TV, both references to Colin's role in the reality show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!.
  • Tom Baker is once again stuck in a time eddy using footage from TV: Shada, a reference to TV: The Five Doctors.
  • Davison, Baker and McCoy all wear T-shirts depicting the costume of their own Doctors, and also steal back their old jackets that are on display at The Doctor Who Experience.
  • The fact that David Tennant is married to Georgia Moffett, Peter Davison's daughter, is the subject of a running gag, as is Georgia's pregnancy. Other real-life family members of Davison and Baker are also featured.
  • Colin Baker receives a copy of the Special Edition DVD release of TV: Vengeance on Varos and forces his family to watch it.
  • Several production office staffers are shown reading copies of Doctor Who Magazine.
  • Steven Moffat's dream is based upon the regeneration sequence from TV: The Caves of Androzani. Matthew Waterhouse ends the dream by quoting his final line as Adric from TV: Earthshock.
  • Sylvester McCoy (mis)quotes his tea-rumination dialogue from TV: Remembrance of the Daleks. Colin Baker, meanwhile, quotes the Sixth Doctor from TV: The Two Doctors.
  • Dan Starkey is shown in his Strax make-up. Although the actor did not appear as Strax in The Day of the Doctor, he did record several Strax Field Reports videos related to its production, as well as a special sequence presented before the cinema showings, so he is not out of place.
  • Davison's children are shown watching TV: The Snowmen and later playing one of the Adventure Games featuring Amy Pond.
  • While being on the new TARDIS set, Peter Davison is disappointed that it is not "wobbly."

Story notes

  • Classic Doctor Tom Baker does not appear in the film (although Jon Culshaw provides a voice over cameo). Baker actually appeared in The Day of the Doctor as the Curator.
  • It is mentioned that although Paul McGann is willing to join his fellow classic Doctors, he is unable to do so as he has other acting commitments. This may be a possible reference as to why he did not have a bigger part in the film, as well as his appearance in TV: The Night of the Doctor.
  • During the scene where the trio infiltrate the studio where a scene is being shot, audio from the sequence in The Day of the Doctor in which the Doctors discuss the TARDIS' roundels is heard.
  • The final scene of the production features an alternate take of the first Undergallery scene with dialogue not heard in the broadcast version of the special; in the version featured here, the Eleventh Doctor, after examining the statue dust, proceeds to taste it. Clara asks if he can tell anything from tasting it, and the Doctor replies he's just feeling peckish.
  • At the end of the film, Davison, Baker, and McCoy do in fact play small parts in The Day of the Doctor, albeit as the hidden Zygons underneath the National Gallery. This leaves the possible implication that they may have actually appeared in the episode.

Ratings

to be added

Filming locations

Production errors

to be added

Home video releases

DVD releases

to be added

Blu-ray releases

to be added

External links

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