The Three Doctors
daveyboy7472
Posts: 16,408 Forum Member
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Season 10 is my fave Season of the Pertwee Era. There's a really simple reason for this and it happened right at the end of The Three Doctors, the irritating exile scenario was finally done away with and the show returned something like it used to be with The Doctor travelling and the UNIT stories reduced.
It always always bugs me when I read people say this doesn't work as a Multi-Doctor Story. I think it does. For a start, there is mainly only one extra Doctor in Troughton with Hartnell appearing for about five minutes throughout and hardly has an impact. This story is as much in tune with the Pertwee Era as all the others, it could have been a solo Pertwee story with a few tweaks. With Troughton, there is no baggage that comes with him, no former companions, and just a few references here and there to accommodate the fact he was the original Doctor the UNIT team had met first. Once the initial introduction to the story is over in the first episode, the story then goes it own way with no need for indulging in the show's history whatsoever. The two Doctors even have an episode apart so it's not as if they spent most of the time reminiscing. And Troughton had only been gone for 4 years by this point so he didn't really look that different to when he left. Hartnell obviously did but as I said, he had very little screentime. So how people can say it doesn't work is quite frankly, baffling. It definitely works best of all the Multi-Doctor stories.
The story itself is quite an enjoyable one, though. The rapport between the Two Doctors is a good one and though Hartnell is obviously in ill health by this time, he still manages to put in a performance. Jo is very feisty in this and Benton once again has a strong part in the story, especially his scenes with the Brigadier, who hits an all time low in this story. It probably was the worst one to feature him as he became a bit of a idiot in this but saying that it was still funny to watch.
Stephen Thorne does a good turn as Omega and I sort of preferred this ranting version to the one that came later in Arc Of Infinity. It was also good to see the Time Lords back, still a world away as we know them today.
The only downside to this is the gell guards who look a bit silly, and like the Daleks it feels a good sprint would get you away from them!
Oh, and one final word on Mr Ollis. What a character, so unPC as he asks his wife if the dinner's ready at the end and I love his scenes with The Brig as well!!!!
It always always bugs me when I read people say this doesn't work as a Multi-Doctor Story. I think it does. For a start, there is mainly only one extra Doctor in Troughton with Hartnell appearing for about five minutes throughout and hardly has an impact. This story is as much in tune with the Pertwee Era as all the others, it could have been a solo Pertwee story with a few tweaks. With Troughton, there is no baggage that comes with him, no former companions, and just a few references here and there to accommodate the fact he was the original Doctor the UNIT team had met first. Once the initial introduction to the story is over in the first episode, the story then goes it own way with no need for indulging in the show's history whatsoever. The two Doctors even have an episode apart so it's not as if they spent most of the time reminiscing. And Troughton had only been gone for 4 years by this point so he didn't really look that different to when he left. Hartnell obviously did but as I said, he had very little screentime. So how people can say it doesn't work is quite frankly, baffling. It definitely works best of all the Multi-Doctor stories.
The story itself is quite an enjoyable one, though. The rapport between the Two Doctors is a good one and though Hartnell is obviously in ill health by this time, he still manages to put in a performance. Jo is very feisty in this and Benton once again has a strong part in the story, especially his scenes with the Brigadier, who hits an all time low in this story. It probably was the worst one to feature him as he became a bit of a idiot in this but saying that it was still funny to watch.
Stephen Thorne does a good turn as Omega and I sort of preferred this ranting version to the one that came later in Arc Of Infinity. It was also good to see the Time Lords back, still a world away as we know them today.
The only downside to this is the gell guards who look a bit silly, and like the Daleks it feels a good sprint would get you away from them!
Oh, and one final word on Mr Ollis. What a character, so unPC as he asks his wife if the dinner's ready at the end and I love his scenes with The Brig as well!!!!
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For some reason I always think that this is such a colourful story, with so much going on. It really was a fitting and proper anniversary story.
Some dodgy acting by some of the UNIT soldiers but generally, everyone else is on top form. The banter between 2 and 3 is a joy to watch and the introduction of Omega and some Gallifrey lore/history is a bonus!
Months later a letter came with details about the shooting schedule and Mrs Hartnell naturally freaked out, called the BBC and said he'd never be able to do it. A frantic rewrite resulted in The Three Doctors as we know it today.
I would so love to read the original script where Hartnell had a full role in proceedings. Would be interesting to see how he would have handled his other selves in full!
Hope someone kept a copy of that!
Normally I don't like multi Doctor stories but this one is an absolute delight there's some great banter between Pertwee and Hartnell and Nick Courtney again has the best line with"I'm fairly sure that's Cromer"
The blobby monsters were a bit hit and miss (more miss!)Omega was a good OTT villain. I felt a bit sorry for him by the end......he's simply gone nuts!
And when it was over - the news I had been waiting for for what seemed an eternity - the Doctor had been rewarded and given the Tardis back properly!
So good to see someone else shares my dislike for the exile scenario!
When watching the Pertwee Era in order, it is such a rewarding moment when that dematerialisation circuit turns up. It feels like one of those moments as a kid when you have something purposefully taken away from you as a punishment and you eventually get it back after doing something good, which really is in a roundabout sort of way happened to The Doctor!
And yes, with this event order was finally restored in the Whoniverse! Fingers crossed nobody ever does it again! :eek::D
The Five Doctors feels like an awkwardly formal reunion show in comparison.
I don't really care for the exile scenario either, but Pertwee managed to do some great things with the cards he was dealt.
I agree, it wasn't the stories themselves that were the problem, neither to a degree was it Pertwee himself, just that the type of variety between stories was absent due to most of them being set on Earth and that can really bore after a while. Thankfully the last two Pertwee Seasons mixed it up a lot more and was more enjoyable as a result.
I think Jamie was initially down to be in this story but due to Emmerdale was unavailable. Thus Benton replaced him.
To be fair, even if Hartnell had been able to do a full story, I'm not so sure it would have worked giving him and Troughton a companion. I think maybe it would have eaten into the story or extended it to six episodes and that would probably have meant more padding.
In some ways, I think Hartnell's absence sort of worked for the story, in the same way Tom Baker's did for The Five Doctors. Looking at the story as transmitted it's hard to see really where he could have fitted in but without seeing the original script we shall never know.
I've just started a thread on that very subject!
If he did - that would be THE END! :eek:
I am going to slightly revise my opinion of this because I love Season 8 and that has The Daemons in it so it just now shades this in my fave Pertwee order of Seasons. Season 10 still is only just behind for all the reasons mentioned above.
Having just rewatched this, I love Benton's role in this, it seems at this point he was getting more screen time than Yates and it was probably a good thing Yates wasn't in it. I don't see where you could have had him tbh. Love all the little moments of humour he had with the Second Doctor and indeed The Brigadier in places.
Overall I think it worked really well. Obviously some things as mentioned above could have been improved upon. I would like to have seen The Second Doctor and The Brig getting on well as they did in The Invasion but he'd changed so much by this point that was always going to be impossible.
I would love to see Mr Ollis have a bigger role as well. as I said above, he was very un pc!
Love all the small continuity references back to The Web Of Fear and The Invasion which at this time were very rare indeed.
Love love love The Three Doctors and think it works well as a multi Doctor in fact it's my favourite of them. Benton's great although I seem to recall originally Frazer Hines was going to do it and when he couldn't do it Benton was given his lines/role. (I may have made this up!)
love the fact The Brigadier and Benton get to travel in the Tardis, the relationship between Pertwee and Troughton and that my home town (at the time) gets a mention.
only recently found out that Dr Tyler and Mrs Ollis are married, fancy that, poor old Mr Ollis!
Supper ready yet?
What I really like is that it is a character piece really between the 3 doctors and Omega. There are scenes which stay in the memory, Hartnell chiding his replacements ' the clown and the dandy' about their lack of action, the banter between the 2nd and the 3rd which works. Its really good to see
Visually there are some nice touches although the UNIT interiors do look a little tired. I like the gelly aliens appearing suddenly outside UNIT. seeing Troughton appear IN COLOUR in the Tardis. ' the contact scenes between the doctors ( which I don't think has appeared since) the mind battle of Omega and the 3rd.
The humour also bubbles along (the Brigadiers belief that the doctor has changed his face back).
Definitely a rewatch story
I don't really consider Omega a villain. Steven Thorne actually gave a good performance to show Omega's anger at feeling abandoned. (His voice reminded me of Yul Brynner 's self confidence or arrogant tone in the King and I). I felt sorry for him seeing his anguish at realising he no longer has a form,