The Five Doctors

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Site added: 29 December 2004 · Last updated: 12 July 2007

Someone is taking the Doctor’s past selves out of time and space, placing them in a vast wilderness – a battle arena with a sinister tower at its centre.

As the five various incarnations of the Doctor join forces, they learn they are in the Death Zone on their home world of Gallifrey, fighting Daleks, Cybermen, Yeti… and a devious Time Lord traitor who is using the Doctor and his companions to discover the ancient secrets of Rassilon, the first and most powerful ruler of Gallifrey. As with The Three Doctors, the Dalek appearance is all too brief.

The forth Doctor (Tom Baker) puts in a brief appearance, which in fact is footage from an unscreened Doctor Who episode, Shada. The first Doctor is played well by William Hurndall.

Where the three Doctors worked well, this is almost total overload, with more Doctors and companions than you can shake a stick at – and it shows, because there isn’t enough to keep everyone busy, so actors are left in the background chatting while others carry the plot forward. The biggest casualty here is the reunion between the Doctor and Susan, which should be a centrepiece for the episode but ends up being little more than wallpaper.

Overall, though, still and enjoyable story – and great to see Pertwee and Troughton again.

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