The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot

The fans have always looked forward to multi-Doctor stories from "The Three Doctors" to "The Two Doctors" to "The Five Doctors".

This is no different with the possible exception that this is the 50th anniversary one of the top science fiction franchises in the world and the demand for a multi-doctor story, however impractical, was there.

Enter Peter Davison...

Scene: Christmas 2012-Filming is fast approaching for the actual 50th anniversary episode (Day Of The Doctor) with three actors anxiously awaiting a phone call from show runner Steven Moffat. It becomes more and more clear that Mssrs Davison, C. Baker and McCoy are not penciled into the cast. Desperate times call for desperate measures. They picket The BBC building in London. Enter John Barrowman who informs the picketers that Doctor Who is filmed in Cardiff, Wales.

Road Trip!! The boys arrive in Cardiff and promptly steal t-shirts resembling their old costumes from the Doctor Who Experience. Luckily, Peter Davison has an inside contact on the set, a certain actor with a Scottish accent who happens to be married to his daughter. That's when the fun begins as they are hunted by security, wander through some of the offices, sign autographs for one of the guards, lock the Dalek operators in their waiting room and manage to get on set disguised as Daleks. Mission Accomplished! Or is it? Cut to (after closing credits) two weeks later where Producer Steven Moffat and an associate are viewing and editing the programme. The show is running 10 minutes over, the Dalek scene is then cut from the programme. When Mr. Moffat is distracted by a phone call, the editor moves onto the next scene, one with The Doctor, Clara and Kate first enter the under-gallery. Guess who might be under those shrouds? Lightly poking fun at itself for almost the entire 30 minutes, there are many 'insider references' and inside jokes that will delight the fans (particularly ones of the classics) but do not have to be understood to enjoy the programme.

The cast list is impressive and the show needs multiple viewing to see who's who. And despite the title, there are references or nods to each of the other doctors with the exception of the late William Hartnell, Chris Eccleston, and the upcoming doctor, Peter Capaldi. Or if there were, I missed them.

Doctors 2 and 3 are referenced by their sons, David Troughton and Sean Pertwee respectively. Tom Baker is referenced when Colin calls him and we hear his voice on a voice-mail. And of course, Matt Smith and David Tennant physically appear.

30 minutes of fun at least semi-sanctioned by the BBC judging from the cast and use of opening credits. Very enjoyable.

IMDb legend Bob The Moo mentioned in passing that I should check out this short comedy film poking fun at DOCTOR WHO . Truth be told I'd known it had existed for a couple of weeks but had zero interest in it as other comedy specials namely DIMENSIONS IN TIME and THE CURSE OF THE FATAL DEATH were so awful as to being unwatchable and the story seemed to revolve around the three Doctors from the 1980s . Let's analyse the history of classic Who

Hartnell 1963-66 ) Stories are clearly defined in to being either historical dramas or experiental sci-fi . A bit hit and miss but you never knew what was coming next

Troughton 1966-69 )The show evolves in to being a tea time horror show for all the family

Pertwee 1970-74 ) More of the same but mainly Earth bound

Early T Baker 1974-77 ) More of the same but more sophisticated and really pushed the boat out with the horror element

Latter T Baker 1978-81 ) Pythonesque humour that was an accuquired taste

Davison 1981-84 ) Bland Doctor in very many bland stories

C Baker 1984-86 ) Dreadful Doctor in very many dreadful stories

S McCoy 1987-89 ) The absolute nadir of the series that saw the BBC commit a mercy killing by cancelling the show

So watching a bland Doctor , a dreadful Doctor and the worst Doctor since Josef Mengele didn't fill me with any hope but I gave Mr Moo the benefit of the doubt since I normally mirror his opinions with the exception of Aronofsky's THE FOUNTAIN

I needn't have worried because this is the most effective tongue in cheek tribute we've ever seen dedicated to the show and was totally surprised why it wasn't broadcast on BBC 1 during peak hours . The premise is simple - three forgotten Doctors played by washed out actors try to gatecrash the anniversary special . This isn't where the comedy succeeds in Peter Davison's script , though it is enjoyable . The major success is in the casting that literally caused my jaw to hit the floor several times as household names appeared on screen . Do yourself a favour and watch this without reading the cast list on this page because you might be literally shocked as to who is appearing

Any downside ? Well truth be told we can't travel through time and time always catches up with us in the end and some of the cast have been ravaged a bit too much by time . That said the years have been kind to Steven Moffat and doesn't look a day older than when he played McClaren in PORRIDGE all those decades ago

With all the overblown hype and excitement around the flagship Doctor Who I did feel that something was missing; it really doesn't feel very British to always be cheering for something and not be allowed to say that anything about it is anything other than perfect. In particular, although the newest episodes do have plenty of humor, not much of it is directed at itself and the show does tend towards an importance that maybe it doesn't full warrant. Thank goodness I managed to stumble upon this special short film written and directed by Peter Davidson and original put on the BBC website.

The plot sees Davidson realizing that he may not be part of the 50th Anniversary special and his two sons really don't seem bothered by the news that it may just focus of Tennant and Smith. Turns out he is not the only one frantically trying to have a meeting with Steven Moffat because Colin Baker has been neglecting his garden waiting for the call while Sylvester McCoy has been eagerly awaiting the call despite being busy on the set of The Hobbit (something he mentions quite often). With Paul McGann in the same boat but busy with filming commitments ("television?" sniffs McCoy), the three former Doctors combine to try to get into the 50th Anniversary episode one way or the other.

What this plot allows for is an effective frame for lots of self- deprecating jokes and references – to the fans, to the Doctors, to John Barrowman and so on. It is all done with great affection but yet also has some teeth as jokes are made about the new episodes and the distance between them and the Doctors of the 80s (which was the era I started watching). I really appreciated this sense of mischief and affectionate lack of respect – it was the perfect antidote for a show which is swimming in OTT praise and gives itself too much side in my opinion. It is frequently funny and when it isn't, it is still amusing. The cast are generally very good, with Davidson, McCoy and Baker all in on the joke and playing themselves up really well and it is hard not to be impressed when the film manages to even get Peter Jackson and Ian McKellen to deliver a nice gag. Likewise Barrowman, Colman, Tennant, Pertwee and others all show good senses of humor and timing.

It isn't perfect but it is refreshingly lacking in an inflated sense of its own importance and I loved the affectionate nature of the comedy which fans will really love. Well worth seeking this out if you remember that Doctor Who didn't start with Christopher Eccleston.

Being full of in-jokes, I'm not sure how entertaining this would be for those not familiar with Doctor Who, but if you know the series, this is pretty brilliant and laugh-out-loud funny (I suspect it's even funnier if you know the older episodes, which I don't). This goofy tale of ex- Doctors desperate to get a guest shot in the anniversary episode is elegantly constructed and quite ingenious.

Most of the projects surrounding the anniversary episode were appalling, dreary clips and comments shows that represented the worst instincts of cheerleading television (although that short piece on how the "warrior doctor" came to be was pretty good). I'm happy that amidst all the self congratulation, someone thought to poke a little fun at the series.

Sweet and silly, and great companion to the real show, for the real fans.