Doctor Who – 'The Three Doctors' (1973)


Thank you everyone who voted in my 'What Doctor Who story should I watch next?' Twitter poll, yesterday afternoon, and thank you even more everyone who voted for 'The Three Doctors'. That was my preferred choice but I'd started the poll and had to stand by the results. I owe you one ;o)

'The Three Doctors' actually first aired a couple of years before I was born but I managed to see it as part of the anniversary celebrations in 1981 (I think it was 1981... give me a break, I was tiny back then...) I've seen 'The Three Doctors' precisely once since then so it was definitely overdue a watch... which leads me very nicely to this post... ;o)

UNIT HQ comes under attack by an alien force, and the Doctor has no other option but to call on own people, the Time Lords, for help. Breaking the First Law of Time, the first two Doctors are lifted out of their time-streams and sent to help the third. But in a universe of anti-matter, an all-powerful figure from Time Lord history is waiting, and even three Doctors may not be enough to stop him...

I had forgotten just how enjoyable 'The Three Doctors' is... It's just crazy :o)

Before you even get anywhere near the plot, you have an anti-matter creature gobbling up anything except the one person it has been sent to catch. You've got jelly monsters attacking UNIT soldiers after suddenly appearing like something out of 'Chorlton and the Wheelies' (look it up, I loved Chorlton as a kid...) and it's just gloriously chaotic, no rhyme or reason at all.

And if that wasn't enough, we also have the spectacle of the Third Doctor meeting the Second Doctor and the two winding each other up something rotten but somehow having to find a way to get on. I'd totally forgotten how I enjoy watching Patrick Troughton's Second Doctor, aptly described as 'the clown' but with a hint of steel underneath. Not taking anything away from Jon Pertwee's Doctor but Troughton is a little scene stealer whenever he pops up. I've also got a lot of time for Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in this story as well, absolutely no idea what is happening but approaching the problem as any soldier would. I'm not entirely sure if 'unflappability' is a word but if it is, it definitely applies to the Brigadier. I'm not going to say too much about the First Doctor because to be honest, we hardly see him. There's no doubt who is charge when he does show up though ;o)

And if all that wasn't enough for you, we have Omega; the main villain of the piece and the thrower of the biggest tantrums I've ever seen in a Doctor Who villain (and I've seen Davros throw some pretty epic tantrums). I shouldn't poke too much fun actually, being exiled to the anti-matter universe is like the biggest lockdown ever and it has clearly impacted on Omega's mental health. Having said that though... If Omega can create anything, why didn't he create something that he could have an actual conversation with? The jelly monsters look cool but are pretty limited... Oh well, lets just say that Omega and his tantrums are just what a story like this needs, more madness ;o)

You can see the ending coming but this is a story where the journey is a lot more fun so it doesn't really matter all that much. After a week like the one I've just had, 'The Three Doctors' was the dose of fun that I was looking for. Give it a go and you'll see what I mean ;o)

(I read the Target Novelisation a while ago and reviewed it Here)

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