The Three
Doctors
30TH DECEMBER 1972 - 20TH
JANUARY 1973
(4 EPISODES)
It was Doctor
Who’s fans that originally suggested bringing back both William
Hartnell and Patrick Troughton for an adventure alongside incumbent Time
Lord Jon Pertwee. The production team initially dismissed the idea out of
hand, only to find themselves mulling over its merits again as the series’
tenth anniversary loomed large and realising that The Three Doctors
might actually work. And, despite the apparently insurmountable obstacles
that threatened to derail the project, The Three Doctors did far
more than just work – it proved to be such a success that it would serve
as a template for many future celebratory stories.
“So you’re my replacements — a dandy and a clown!”
The Three Doctors
would live and die by its gimmick, and so when it became clear that
William Hartnell’s infirmity would preclude an active role for him, script
editor Terrance Dicks was called upon to carry out some hasty and
significant rewrites of Bob Baker and Dave Martin’s
script. Dicks’ solution was inspired, allowing the retired actor to
interact with his “replacements” by way of a number of pre-recorded
inserts, which where all shot in a single day with the assistance of cue
cards. The resultant performance was regrettably as vaporous as it was
caustic, but it was marked by a few dazzling moments of barbed lucidity.
The first Doctor’s seminal line “So you’re my replacements — a dandy and a
clown!” would unwittingly set the tone not just for this serial, but for
all of the many multi-Doctor romps that would follow.
Happily Hartnell’s limited role is papered over wonderfully by the
antagonistic second and third Doctors, whose on screen banter left viewers
hungering for more. Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee’s interpretations of
the Doctor couldn’t be any farther apart, really, and so Baker and
Martin’s script takes great delight in highlighting these differences to
comic – and, eventually, dramatic – effect. Their script is equally kind
to UNIT, however, gifting the paramilitary taskforce great swathes of
action. The Three Doctors is a particularly successful outing for
John Levene’s Benton, who inherited much of the material originally
planned for Frazer Hines’ Jamie, as well as Nicholas Courtney’s Brigadier,
who would unwittingly find immortality through his deadpan delivery of the
line: “Oh nonsense, Doctor. It’s probably Norfolk or somewhere… I’m pretty
sure that’s Cromer.”
The Bristol Boys’ storyline is also original and engaging; more so, I’d
argue, than many of the subsequent multi-Doctor capers. Not only does it
introduce us to the daunting Time Lord Omega (who would return for the
series’ twentieth anniversary as the main protagonist in Arc of
Infinity, and then again for its fortieth as the eponymous focus of
the superlative Big Finish audio drama, Omega), but it also
explores some fascinating – if woefully implausible – scientific conceits,
and unwittingly sews the seeds of Gallifreyan mythology.
Above: Katy Manning, Jon Pertwee and Nicholas Courtney on stage at
Panopticon
The
Revisitations 3 box set’s special edition DVD may be missing the
quaint little die cast model of Bessie that accompanied many copies of the
original 2003 release, but it does boast all of its bonus material. The
commentary is a vibrant one, as Katy Manning and the late Barry Letts and
Nicholas Courtney look back on this serial with great humour and
remarkable fondness. Two trailers are also included on the first disc –
one for the programme’s original 1972 transmission (it’s beyond atrocious)
and one for the Five Faces of Doctor Who 1981 repeat season. The
interviews relevant to The Three Doctors from BSB’s 1990 Doctor
Who Weekend are all also included, as is a clip from Blue Peter
celebrating ten years of Doctor Who, hosted by former companion
Peter Purves and featuring Jon Pertwee in his Whomobile. Best of all
though is the uproarious footage from Pebble Mill at One – first
off, they usher out a special effects expert who can’t get any of his
effects to work, and then they introduce Patrick Troughton, who gets into
an argument with the woman interviewing him, accusing her of misquoting
him and making up lies! And on top of all this, just under half an hour’s
worth of footage featuring Pertwee, Manning and Courtney is included from
the 1993 Panopticon convention. It’s entertaining stuff, and particularly
notable for allowing the late Jon Pertwee to share his memories of the
show with future generations.
Above: The
Revisitations 3 DVD box set wishes Happy Birthday to Who
To the gaudy sound of Altered Images, the new bonus disc’s flagship
feature says a twenty-four minute Happy Birthday to Who. Boasting
what was, at the time, quite an abundant selection of special features,
2003’s Three Doctors DVD was only really lacking a ‘making of’
feature – an omission that this programme seeks to redress. Both Letts and
Dicks are on hand to share their memories of reversing the “bad decisions”
of the preceding production team,
acquiescing to the fans’ requests to
unite the three Doctors on screen and all the logistical problems that
would follow, given Hartnell’s advanced arterio-scerosis and Troughton and
Pertwee’s reported real-life rivalry.
With The Three Doctors itself now given due service, it comes as
little surprise that the remainder of the revisitation’s features
are broad in nature. The first, Was Doctor Who Rubbish?, gives
prominent fans Karen Davies, Thomas Guerrier, Katreena Dare and Joseph
Lidster the opportunity to defend the series against cheap journalists’
often ill-considered jibes and, in doing so, dispel many of the myths that
continue to put followers of the revised series off its forerunner.
Despite only being allowed fourteen minutes, the contributors do a
decisive job of putting the usual criticisms to bed – allegations of
wobbly sets, poor effects, ubiquitous quarries, bubblewrap monsters, hammy
acting and emotional detachment are all effectively put down. For every
Myrka there’s a stairs-climbing Dalek or Gallifreyan Time Station; for
every quarry there’s an English castle; for every “Dodo’s just left a
note” there’s The War Games’ affecting finale, or Sarah Jane’s
heartbreaking goodbye. Of course, the only trouble with this feature is
that the only people who will ever see it are already fans of the classic
series, who will just sit there, as I did, nodding sternly in approval.
This really needs to be on television alongside an episode of the new
series so that its viewers get the chance to appreciate “the huge
brilliance of the rest of it.”
Above: Karen Davies defends bubblewrap monsters in
Was Doctor Who Rubbish?
The new bonus disc is rounded off with the 1970s’ instalment of Girls!
Girls! Girls! With erstwhile companions Caroline John (Liz Shaw), Katy
Manning (Jo Grant / Iris Wildthyme) and Louise Jameson (Leela) on hand to
discuss the morality of appending bikini pics to their curricula vitae and
such like, these twenty minutes threaten to encroach upon Loose Women’s
territory, but thankfully they are saved thanks to some interesting
anecdotes about their similar Who experiences.
All told, my only grouse about The Three Doctors would have to be that
it was broadcast only a couple of months after the programme’s ninth
anniversary, rather than on its tenth. However, even this ultimately
worked to its advantage as it allowed William Hartnell to make one final
bequest to his legacy – one that I think will be treasured for decades to
come.
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