C10S01 The three Doctors
Synopsis
The Time Lords are in crisis. A powerful force is draining their energy into a mysterious black hole — and they must recruit the Doctor to save them. But one Doctor isn't enough for this mission. Breaking the First Law of Time, the first two Doctors are lifted out of their time-streams and sent to help the third.
Aided by Jo Grant and UNIT, they must face the wrath of Omega, a powerful figure from Time Lord history trapped for millennia in a universe of anti-matter. Driven mad by his exile, Omega now has just one thing on his mind — revenge, and even three Doctors may not be enough to stop him...
Cover notes
in 1973, Doctor Who celebrated its tenth birthday with old friends, new thrills and a big jelly.
Keen to open the anniversary season with a bang, producer Barry Letts and script editor Terrance Dicks commissioned an ambitious story that would see the return of William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton's Doctors, while retaining the UNIT-family elements of Jon Pertwee's era.
The resulting celebratory romp has a distinct pantomime flavour in places, with the Doctors battling a giant anti-matter jelly and the globular Gell Guards, before arriving on the glittery fairy-tale domain of Omega; the shouty man in the shiny cloak. In 1973 it was a bold new concept for multiple Doctors to share an adventure. William Hartnell, sidelined due to ill health, nevertheless brings gravitas and charm to his scenes as the First Doctor. It's a treat to see a mischievous Patrick Troughton back in action, and Jon Pertwee is as dashing and imperious as ever.
The fractious scenes between the Second and Third Doctors are arguably the highlight of the story, and the success of this pairing established a recurring device — various Doctors reunite in The Five Doctors (1983), The Two Doctors (1985), and the charity specials Dimensions in Time (1993) and Time Crash (2007), while Omega would return in Arc of Infinity (1983).
A colourful, nostalgic celebration of the first ten years of the programme, The Three Doctors is best enjoyed with a fizzy drink and a big slice of birthday cake. But no jelly.
Cast
| The Doctor | Jon Pertwee | listed as Dr. Who |
| The Doctor | Patrick Troughton | listed as Dr. Who |
| The Doctor | William Hartnell | listed as Dr. Who |
| Jo Grant | Katy Manning | |
| Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart | Nicholas Courtney | |
| Sergeant Benton | John Levene | |
| Dr. Tyler | Rex Robinson | |
| President of the Council | Roy Purcell | |
| Mr. Ollis | Laurie Webb | |
| Chancellor | Clyde Pollitt | ep. 1,2 |
| Time Lord | Graham Leaman | |
| Mrs. Ollis | Patricia Prior | ep. 1,4 |
| Corporal Palmer | Denys Palmer | ep. 1,2 |
| Omega | Stephen Thorne | ep. 2,3,4 |
Crew
| Written by | Bob Baker | |
| Written by | Dave Martin | |
| Title music | Ron Grainer and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop | |
| Incidental music by | Dudley Simpson | |
| Special sound | Dick Mills | |
| Film Cameraman | John Baker | listed ep. 1,4; probably all |
| Film Sound | Bob Roberts | listed ep. 1,4; probably all |
| Film Editor | Jim Walker | listed ep. 1,4; probably all |
| Visual effects designer | Michealjohn Harris | listed ep. 1,4; probably all |
| Costume designer | Jim Acheson | listed ep. 1,4; probably all |
| Make-up | Ann Rayment | listed ep. 1,4; probably all |
| Lighting | Clive Thomas | listed ep. 1,4; probably all |
| Sound | Derek Miller-Timmins | listed ep. 1,4; probably all |
| Script Editor | Terrance Dicks | |
| Designer | Roger Liminton | |
| Producer | Barry Letts | |
| Director | Lennie Mayne |
DVD Extras
| Katy Manning Nicholas Courtney Barry Letts |
commentary track | |
| BBC1 trailer [1972] | The trailer for the 1972 BBC1 transmission of the first episode is featured; note uses the Delaware version of the theme. | |
| Pebble Mill at One - Patrick Troughton interview [1973] | Shortly after The Three Doctors was transmitted, Patrick Troughton appeared on the BBC's lunchtime magazine programme Pebble Mill at One, and gave a rare interview about his time as the Doctor. Also featured in this segment is a demonstration by Bernard Wilkie of the BBC Visual Effects department, and a selection of monsters from the programme - including the Gell Guards. | |
| Jon Pertwee at Panopticon [1993] | Jon Pertwee and Katy Manning take to the stage at the lavish 1993 Panopticon convention staged by Dominitemporal Services Ltd to celebrate thirty years of Doctor Who. Highlights from this panel are exclusively included on this disc for the first time. | |
| Blue Peter [1973-11-05] | The long-running BBC children's programme Blue Peter celebrated the tenth anniversary of Doctor who on 5th November, 1973. This look back at the history of the programme features the only surviving clip of the Doctor's first regeneration from William Hartnell to Patrick Troughton in The Tenth Planet episode 4 - an instalment now missing from the BBC Archives. | |
| BSB 31 Who weekend highlights [1990] | On September 22nd and 23rd 1990, satellite TV company BSB devoted a whole weekend to Doctor Who. The Three Doctors was screened, alongside interviews with Terrance Dicks (script editor), Nicholas Courtney (The Brigadier) and Bob Baker and Dave Martin (writers) discussing their contributions to the story. | |
| The Five Faces of Doctor Who [1981] | When BBC2 decided to host a season of repeats of old Doctor Who stories in 1981, The Three Doctors was chosen for transmission. Included is the full trailer for this repeat season, which also featured the stories An Unearthly Child, The Krotons, Carnival of Monsters and Logopolis. | |
| photo gallery |
Special Edition DVD Extras
| 40th Anniversary trailer | This popular anniversary trailer appeared on the original 2003 DVD release. | |
| Happy Birthday to Who | Cast and crew recall the making of The Three Doctors in this brand-new documentary. | |
| Was Doctor Who rubbish? | Four fans of the classic series defend traditional claims that the programme was nothing more than a quarry-bound romp with wobbly sets and dodgy effects. | |
| Girls, Girls, Girls - The 1970s | Continuing this popular series, Caroline John and Louise Jameson join Katy Manning for a discussion on the perils of being a 1970s Doctor Who girl. | |
Commentary
| serial code : | RRR |
| episode count : | 4 |
| initial broadcast date : | 1972-12-30 |
| DVD release date : | |
| DVD SE release date : | |
| BluRay release date : | |
| 40th Anniversary Edition | |
| part of The Third Doctor Collection boxset | |
| Special Edition part of the Revisitations 3 boxset | |