The Five Doctors
- Episode aired Nov 23, 1983
- TV-G
- 1h 30m
IMDb RATING
8.1/10
1.5K
YOUR RATING
The Doctor and his previous incarnations are brought to the Death Zone on his homeworld Gallifrey as part of a renegade Time Lord's scheme.The Doctor and his previous incarnations are brought to the Death Zone on his homeworld Gallifrey as part of a renegade Time Lord's scheme.The Doctor and his previous incarnations are brought to the Death Zone on his homeworld Gallifrey as part of a renegade Time Lord's scheme.
Tom Baker
- The Doctor
- (archive footage)
William Hartnell
- The Doctor
- (archive footage)
Lalla Ward
- Romana
- (archive footage)
- Directors
- Peter Moffatt
- John Nathan-Turner(uncredited)
- Pennant Roberts(uncredited)
- Writers
- Terrance Dicks
- Douglas Adams(uncredited)
- Sydney Newman(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn April 2013, Carole Ann Ford revealed that producer John Nathan-Turner had initially insisted that Susan not refer to the Doctor as her grandfather: "You will not believe why. They said, 'We don't really want people to perceive him as having had sex with someone, to father a child.' I just screamed with hysterical laughter and said, 'In that case, I'm not doing it.'" The script was changed to include mentions of the characters' relationship.
- GoofsWhen the Master warns the First Doctor and Tegan Jovanka of the imminent arrival of his unfriendly associates, the Cyberleader turns the corner and reacts to the room while looking directly at the Doctor before he and Tegan manage to hide, his view unobstructed. The Cyberleader shows no sign of registering anyone other than the Master on his visual receptors.
- Quotes
[the second Doctor is peering around the office of Colonel Crichton, the Brigadiers replacement]
Second Doctor: You've had this place redecorated, haven't you?
[shaking head]
Second Doctor: I don't like it.
- Crazy creditsWhen the series was released on video in 1995, this episode has BBC VHS logo be consumed by the Time Scoop device.
This logo also appears on the series' 25th anniversary DVD.
- Alternate versionsIn 1995 a "Special Edition" was released on video. It contains many new lines of dialogue, extended scenes of Tom Baker (from Shada), updated and vastly improved special effects, and a new Stereo Dolby Surround soundtrack.
- ConnectionsEdited from Doctor Who: Flashpoint (1964)
Featured review
Should be called 'The Four Doctors' ...
This particular Dr Who episode, which screened during Peter Davison's (the 5th Doctor) tenure, was intended to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Dr Who. The plot - a mysterious individual has summoned all incarnations of the Doctor to the Death Zone on Gallifrey for some unknown purpose. The Doctors, unsure of why they are here try to reach the Tower of Rasselon (sp?) to find answers, where along the way they confront various obstacles (a Daalek, Cybermen, a Yeti etc.) Apparently the mysterious individual wants something within the tower and is using the Doctors to get it - one Doctor would not have been enough, but FIVE doctors might be (well 4 really, read below).
It's pretty much well known that Tom Baker (the 4th Doctor) declined to appear in this special episode so the producers were forced to use some old footage from Baker's tenure as the Doctor and then use the plot device of having him 'stuck' in the vortex (or whatever they called it) to explain his absence, so contrary to the title the story from the outset only really involves 4 doctors. In addition William Hartnell (the 1st Doctor) had passed away in 1975 so a replacement in Richard Hurndall had to be found. Hurndall does a good job in keeping to the character as originally played by Hartnell but it's pretty obvious to all that it's another actor, but that couldn't be helped.
As far as the quality of the episode goes, it depends on what you want to get out of it. As an exercise in seeing all of the Doctors (well 4 of them - and 1 with a replacement actor) it's not too bad, especially seeing how each Doctor reacts to the others being present (the verbal sparring between Patrick Troughton (the 2nd Doctor) and Jon Pertwee (the 3rd Doctor) is hilarious). However as far as plot goes its pretty weak on the ground - 90% of the episode seems to be made up of shots of each of the respective Doctors running from something, with the 5th Doctor killing time outside the zone trying to figure it all out and token references being made concerning the 4t Doctor being 'stuck' and thus not present. And the Master has a few scenes too. Clearly for the amount of Doctors involved (not counting all the sidekicks they bring along) 90 mins is nowhere long enough to adequately tell a story involving all of them (or 4 of them)
Worth a look to see all 5 (sorry, 4 ::sigh::) Doctors together in action, just don't expect anything major in the plot department.
It's pretty much well known that Tom Baker (the 4th Doctor) declined to appear in this special episode so the producers were forced to use some old footage from Baker's tenure as the Doctor and then use the plot device of having him 'stuck' in the vortex (or whatever they called it) to explain his absence, so contrary to the title the story from the outset only really involves 4 doctors. In addition William Hartnell (the 1st Doctor) had passed away in 1975 so a replacement in Richard Hurndall had to be found. Hurndall does a good job in keeping to the character as originally played by Hartnell but it's pretty obvious to all that it's another actor, but that couldn't be helped.
As far as the quality of the episode goes, it depends on what you want to get out of it. As an exercise in seeing all of the Doctors (well 4 of them - and 1 with a replacement actor) it's not too bad, especially seeing how each Doctor reacts to the others being present (the verbal sparring between Patrick Troughton (the 2nd Doctor) and Jon Pertwee (the 3rd Doctor) is hilarious). However as far as plot goes its pretty weak on the ground - 90% of the episode seems to be made up of shots of each of the respective Doctors running from something, with the 5th Doctor killing time outside the zone trying to figure it all out and token references being made concerning the 4t Doctor being 'stuck' and thus not present. And the Master has a few scenes too. Clearly for the amount of Doctors involved (not counting all the sidekicks they bring along) 90 mins is nowhere long enough to adequately tell a story involving all of them (or 4 of them)
Worth a look to see all 5 (sorry, 4 ::sigh::) Doctors together in action, just don't expect anything major in the plot department.
helpful•141
- Gunbarrel
- Mar 24, 2004
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- Runtime1 hour 30 minutes
- Color
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- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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