Story #140 - The Two Doctors (1985)

Harry -
Sarah, I think we should start by getting this out of the way:

SQUEEEE!


Sarah -
I will happily SQUEEEE for Patrick Troughton and Frazer Hines!

Multi-Doctor stories can be tricky affairs, but it's always wonderful to see beloved friends again.


Harry -
What a charming opening scene. The chemistry between Patrick and Frazer is like they'd never been apart. With Victoria off on a side trip of her own, the boys are traveling to a research centre aboard a space station.


Sarah -
Further deepening the Season 6B fan theories!


Harry -
I love how Season 6B has taken on a life of its own in alternate Doctor Who media. Especially how it helps explain away the obviously older looking Doctor and Jamie.

As a 1985 three-parter, "The Two Doctors" is equivalent to a classic six-parter. If these two had spent the entire time talking in the console room, I would have been just fine with that.


Sarah -
I love the black and white opening, with its shift to color.


Harry -
In keeping with the notion of Season 6B, the Doctor is visiting Dastari -- head scientist at the research station -- as an unofficial emissary of the Time Lords.


Sarah -
Oh, the Time Lords and their meddling ways. So much for non-interference.


Harry -
The TARDIS lands in the station's kitchens, lair of the repulsive chef Shockeye, an Androgum savage who feasts his eyes on Jamie's flesh.


Sarah -
Shockeye has got to be the most disgusting character in Doctor Who history. There's really nothing to like about him, is there?


Harry -
As villains go, Shockeye is a triumph. I absolutely, positively loathe him. Bravo to John Stratton on a memorably repugnant performance.

Beating a hasty departure from the kitchens, the Doctor and Jamie find their way to Dastari's office. This is another eye-catching example of 80s future-design. Dark greys and light neons combine in the background, and a large collection of globes takes up almost an entire wall. With his grey combed-back hair, thick white sunglasses and metallic black bodysuit, Dastari looks like some kind of Italian fashion designer.


Sarah -
Doesn't he just? I'm sure I must have been quite impressed by the design back in the day.


Harry -
The Doctor presents him with a cease and desist request on behalf of Gallifrey. The Time Lords are concerned about time experiments being conducted at the station by Kartz and Reimer, who have assembled a nearly-functional time travel machine.

Dastari laughs the request off, suggesting that the Time Lords only concern about the experiments is that they threaten their monopoly on time. He then introduces his own subject of experimentation, another Androgum savage named Chessene, whose body and mind he has augmented to the level of super-genius. After a quick introduction, she departs and sets about her own business: arranging an attack on the research station. Unbeknownst to Dastari, she has been conspiring with an invasion force that suddenly makes its strike.


Sarah -
Sontaran battlecruisers on the scene! Dastari collapses! Jamie runs away at the Doctor's command! The Doctor finds himself facing the business end of a Sontaran gun! Feels like old times!


Harry -
Multiple-villain stories are my favourite. So many rivalries, double-crossings and double-double-crossings, as we'll see later on.


Sarah -
Meanwhile, the Sixth Doctor and Peri are fishing and sunbathing on the shore of a lake somewhere.


Harry -
Confession time: after the brilliant opening with the Second Doctor and Jamie, I was a bit disheartened when they cut to the fishing scene, where the JN-T era played out in microcosm. We see the smarty-pants Doctor in a horrendously over-thought costume, the bosomy companion bored and whiny, and not much else happening. Gah, what a letdown from the first scene.


Sarah -
I'm so glad you brought up the costuming. What the hell is with Peri's? I spent the entire story thinking her breasts should have gotten separate billing, given all their screen time.


Harry -
Not even Robert Holmes could pen a smooth transition between the eras. Of all the Doctors to set up side-by-side with the belovèd Patrick Troughton, it fell to poor old grumbly Colin Baker. His entire time as the Doctor plays out like a series of short straws.


Sarah -
Poor Colin -- how many times have we typed that so far? I think he makes the most of what he's been given in "The Two Doctors" and has some really good moments, even if he has to be cranky towards his former self.

When gumblejacks aren't biting, they pack it up and head into the TARDIS -- where the Doctor collapses. Meanwhile, the Second Doctor is trapped in a glass chamber, being tortured by a Sontaran.

One of the most interesting things about this story is seeing the impact of what is happening to the Second Doctor on the Sixth Doctor. This is the first example of many in this story and each time it happens, I find myself wondering how the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Doctors are reacting.


Harry -
Guessing that the Third Doctor might have felt temporarily woozy before resuming his Venusian aikido lesson. The Fifth Doctor would have collapsed into a coma for sure. As for the Fourth Doctor, maybe it was like those times where he'd go still and stare off into space for a moment, before someone snapped him out of it again.


Sarah -
All those moments are now a permanent part of my head canon!


Harry -
Sixie immediately identifies that a timeslip has occurred, and decides he needs to see a professional, setting course for the research station and his old friend Dastari. What a coincidence! Maybe Dastari's name flickered across the Doctor's mind as an echo of the encounter that the Second Doctor had just had.


Sarah -
Say what you will about Sixie, he's a man of action while those other three can't be arsed to lend a hand to their previous self!


Harry -
The TARDIS arrives, after the events in the Second Doctor's timestream. The station is darkened and cloaked with the scent of death. The Doctor finds Dastari's journal, which recorded the intervention of the Time Lords, but not what happened after.

While Peri and the Doctor set off into the station's infrastructure and deal with an aggressive onboard computer, we see that the Second Doctor has been kidnapped to Earth. The Sontarans, Chessene, Shockeye and Dastari set up in an isolated hacienda in Spain. There is where they will complete the Kartz-Reimer time machine, using the Doctor's DNA to stabilize the biometric thingamajiggy.


Sarah -
How convenient that they should select Spain as their destination -- just when JN-T was in need of a holiday! What were the chances of that?


Harry -
No kidding eh! This story was originally proposed for New Orleans, but the BBC wouldn't spring for the travel budget so they had to settle for Spain. Honestly, it's not until the final chase through the streets of Seville that the location ever really figures in the story. The villains could have holed up in a house in Croydon and it would have been the same story.


Sarah -
Holiday in Croydon? Perish the thought!


Harry -
Back on the research station, the Doctor and Peri spend an inordinate amount of time climbing through the infrastructure piping before Peri is attacked and the Doctor momentarily rendered unconscious by a spray of gas triggered by the computer. Cue extreme close up of the Doctor's unconscious face! When Peri slaps him awake again, they discover that Jamie has been hiding out in the same place. After Jamie gives them the rundown on his Doctor's argument with Dastari and the Sontaran attack, the Doctor forges a mind link with his previous incarnation. After hearing the bell of Seville cathedral, he knows where they must set off in pursuit. It was so easy to figure out!


Sarah -
That's quite the distinctive bell. Peri's initial run in with Jamie is just creepy. He attacks her under a tarp with some awkward rolling around before she knocks him out. It's icky.


Harry -
They did do a good job making Frazer look filthy and he played "disoriented" well, giving an indication of how long Jamie had been hiding out in there.

The TARDIS arrives in a field near the hacienda, where our friends encounter Oscar -- thespian, restauranteur and moth collector -- and his probably very patient friend Anita. Oscar relates that he saw a group matching the villains description carrying the Second Doctor into the hacienda. Our heroes draw up a plan of action. Anita is to guide the Doctor and Jamie to the back entrance, where they will sneak inside through the cellar; Peri is to distract the baddies by knocking on the front door; and Oscar will basically stay put.


Sarah -
Oh, Oscar. Poor, unfortunate Oscar. He's like a poor man's Henry Gordon Jago -- without the charm.


Harry -
Exactly.

So, when Dastari augmented Chessene, she was given the ability to read minds. This sets up the odd scene where the Second Doctor is hauled up from the cellar and wheeled around so that Chessene can observe Peri's reaction. Only, this isn't Peri's Doctor, and Peri decides to depart of her own accord. She had provided enough of a distraction for the Doctor to -- once again -- help himself to tinkering with someone else's time machine. It's like an addiction with him. Anyway, he and Jamie hang around too long, as the Sontaran Stike captures them.


Sarah -
Is it just me or do these Sontarans look a bit anemic? Someone should feed them a proper meal, not that we need to encourage Shockeye with that...


Harry -
I must have seen this story before any of the earlier Sontaran ones, because it was implanted in my mind early on that the Sontarans were tall, lean and wore black, as we see here. In the new series, the short Sontarans in blue armour blew my mind. I wouldn't mind a new non-Strax Sontaran story, especially during the Capaldi era.

Anyway, Peri doesn't get far before realizing that Shockeye is in pursuit, determined to make a meal of her flesh. She stumbles and he looms over her looking disgustingly lecherous. Cue extreme close up of Peri's frightened face! Part three continues the scene, as Shockeye knocks her unconscious and carries her back to the hacienda.


Sarah -
Shockeye is so vile and creepy, but I'm pretty sure he's the first alien who isn't trying to snog Peri. Just, you know, have her for dinner. Ick.


Harry -
He's so disgusting it's unreal. Back in the cellar, a quick stab of the knife by Jamie disables Stike long enough for he and the Doctor to escape the cellar, where they are reunited with the Second Doctor, still stuck in his wheelchair.


Sarah -
I love their first encounter:

Sixie: "I've come a long way for you."
Second Doctor: "Naturally. Don't expect any thanks."

Can you imagine having to have a conversation with yourself? The horror!


Harry -
Here is where the story becomes a runaround through the hacienda. It seems like everyone takes a turn chasing someone, or being chased, or being captured and escaping again while the plot sits there unfurthered. It harkened back to the Pertwee six-parters, where there was a lot of this kind of padding, and repeated cycles of capture-escape-capture. It almost felt like Patrick Troughton had been under-utilized since his kidnapping from the space station.


Sarah -
Despite all the running about, the third episode is by far my favorite episode of the story.


Harry -
But wait, a brain storm of Bob Holmesian proportions!

Chessene suddenly declares that she wants a consort, and demands that Dastari converts the Second Doctor into an Androgum hybrid.


Sarah -
Of course she does, while offering Shockeye as the donor of the Androgum DNA. Such a delightful lady she is.


Harry -
A quick couple of procedures and the transformation takes place. That Dastari is good. Did I mention under-utilized characters? The Sontarans finally get bored of all the standing around waiting for their time machine, so they plot to kill off everyone in the hacienda. Chessene of course hatches a counter-plot and attacks them with poison gas.


Sarah -
A double double-cross!


Harry -
Amid all that mayhem, Shockeye and his new Androgum cousin sneak off to town for a spot of lunch. And so begins one of the most bizarre chases in all of Doctor Who.


Sarah -
The restaurant scene is what I most remember about this story. Patrick Troughton is hysterical and looks like he's having the time of his life, chewing up the scenery.


Harry -
In his final performance as the Doctor, Troughton gives it his all and it's unforgettable. He pulls the maddest faces as an Androgum, marching arm-in-arm with Shockeye to Seville.


Sarah -
They end up in poor Oscar's restaurant, which features my favorite moment of "The Two Doctors":

SHOCKEYE: Do you serve humans here?
OSCAR: Most of the time, sir. Yes, I think I could venture to say that most of our customers are certainly human.
SHOCKEYE: I mean human meat, you fawning imbecile.
OSCAR: No, sir. I'm afraid the nouvelle cuisine has not yet penetrated this establishment.

I was dying over the last line. Only Bob Holmes could have written that!


Harry -
The restaurant scene is like a crazy-ass mashup of Doctor Who, Fawlty Towers and Are You Being Served?, quite literally. It was worth it for JN-T to finagle a vacation in Spain, just so we could get to watch the madness at Las Cadenas.


Sarah -
Alas, things don't go well when poor Oscar has to demand payment. Still, he performs the most over-the-top death scene in the entire history of Doctor Who, so that's something.


Harry -
Oscar's death scene is the best, no exaggeration. His self-absorbed pathos and flair for language leads to one of my favourite quotes, ever:

OSCAR: I'm afraid this is Botcherby's last curtain call.
ANITA: Oh, no!
OSCAR: No one will ever see my definitive Hamlet now.

Rolling on the floor laughing, every time.

Like I said, it was worth it for JN-T to go abroad if we were able to enjoy the death scene of all death scenes.


Sarah -
It's absolutely perfect.


Harry -
After all that, Shockeye leads everyone in beating a retreat to the hacienda for a final showdown. After trying -- and failing -- to slaughter Jamie, Shockeye finally meets his "just desserts" when the Doctor murders him with some of Oscar's bottled cyanide (another very convenient thing). In a last minute face-turn, Dastari declares regret for his attempts to put Chessene above the gods, and she responds by shooting him dead. She then dives into the Kartz-Reimer time machine to make a run for it, but thanks to Sixie's earlier tinkering it blows up and takes her with it.


Sarah -
Anyone who believes the Doctor can't be violent has clearly never seen "The Two Doctors". It's all in self-defense, but he's fairly ruthless about the whole thing.


Harry -
And ready with a quip of course.  The Doctor's capacity for murder is glossed over in this era, despite the particularly violent examples of it. 

So with all the baddies destroyed, the Doctors and companions make their farewells. I think this model is a better example of how to do a multiple-Doctors story. Instead of cramming every living Doctor into it, Robert Holmes crafted a fun adventure featuring the current 80s Doctor and a loveable favourite from the 60s. I wish we could have this kind of pairing in the new series. Smith and McCoy, Capaldi and McGann, Tennant and Davison... oh wait we did get that one, however brief!


Sarah -
I've love to see McGann get some more screen time -- especially with Capaldi!


Harry -
Padding and runarounds aside, I could watch this one over and over.


Sarah -
While I'm a huge fan of Bob Holmes' work, I think he worked best under a strong script editor. I imagine Eric Saward just telling him to have at it and Holmes feeling like a kid in a candy store. The script has a lot of problems that I can't get past, despite all the delightful moments with old friends.


Harry -
Best Line: "No one will ever see my definitive Hamlet now." Always!

Favourite Moment: the Second Doctor's ineffectual ranting while confined in the cellar. "Oh my giddy aunt. Oh crumbs."

Lasting Image: the Second Doctor and Shockeye at the restaurant.

8/10


Sarah -
Best Line: "No, sir. I'm afraid the nouvelle cuisine has not yet penetrated this establishment."
Oh, but imagine when it does!

Favorite Moment: The Second Doctor and Shockeye in the restaurant.

Lasting Imagine: The Second Doctor and Shockeye walking into town.

6/10

 



Our marathon continues with Story #141: Timelash...

Story #129 - The Five Doctors (1983)

Harry -
It's the twentieth anniversary special -- we have watched 20 years' worth of Doctor Who. Time for a celebraish! Pop that champagne, Sarah!


Sarah -
Hang on, Chuck. The cork is sticking. *POP* Ah, there were go. Cheers, Old Boy!


Harry -
Cheers ducks.

Well, when it came to producing a fitting tribute to mark two decades of Doctor Who, JN-T followed the impulse that most of us would have, and he threw absolutely everything into it. He asked the legendary Terrance Dicks to pen the adventure and Peter Moffatt to direct it, and he managed to cram almost every Doctor and companion up to that point into the thing.


Sarah -
We Doctor Who fans do love to complain, but there's something here to make everyone (at least a little bit) happy.


Harry -
It continues the template from "The Three Doctors" and would be emulated in future anniversary specials. The story serves as a vehicle for a seemingly endless round of cameo appearances, each one delightful. So good to see characters like Jamie and Zoe, and Liz and Yates, even if just for a moment. Characters like Susan, the Brigadier and Sarah Jane get bigger billing in the story and Carole Ann Ford, Nicholas Courtney and Elisabeth Sladen step right back into the Whoniverse with ease.


Sarah -
It's like a school reunion!


Harry -
Best of all...five Doctors! Squee!


Sarah -
Well, five(ish).


Harry -
Technically, it was three actual Doctors. The late William Hartnell appears in a brief prologue, reciting his famous "One day I shall come back" speech. For the main story, his Doctor was played by Richard Hurndall. Tom Baker -- recently departed from the show -- chose not to appear in the story, so the producers made use of the punting scene from "Shada", which had not yet been broadcast. Both moves worked out for the best. Hurndall captured Hartnell's cantankerous feistiness, and the Doctor-Romana punting scene is one of my favourites. It's so sublime. We need to go punting sometime.


Sarah -
I'm game. Have you punted before? Do I get to lounge and read while you do all the hard work, or will we have to fight it out?


Harry -
We'll figure it out as we go, Doctor & Romana style.


Sarah -
That's the spirit! I love, love, love that the story opens with the Hartnell clip. It's reassuring to have the First Doctor inviting us into the adventure, isn't it?


Harry -
One of the best moments in Doctor Who's history, despite its sad context.


Sarah -
Only if you consider being abandoned by your grandfather on a planet that had been invaded by Daleks, after having lost your shoes, to be sad. Richard Hurndall really did a wonderful job. It was so good that Mr. Smith -- who is admittedly a casual viewer but has also been watching the show with me for more than 25 years -- didn't initially realize that it wasn't William Hartnell.

It sounds like there were weeks of back and forth between Tom Baker and JN-T -- he was coming back, he wasn't coming back, he was coming back, no he really wasn't coming back. Using the "Shada" footage was a brilliant way to have the Fourth Doctor in the story without having Tom Baker in the story.


Harry -
Once we've made the rounds and watched the first four Doctors getting scooped out of their time streams with varying degrees of success, the fifth and present Doctor collapses in pain. "I am being diminished," he says. Tegan and Turlough drag him back into the TARDIS, where he lies prone and fades in and out as if he himself is dematerializing. The TARDIS lands in a foggy wasteland. Whomever has been kidnapping the various Doctors has been plunking them down in the Death Zone. It's Gallifrey! It's time for another Time Lord conspiracy!


Sarah -
Oh, those Time Lords and their conspiracies!


Harry -
The high council of Gallifrey has been observing these events. In a strange turn, the Master is brought before them. President Borusa asks the Master to go to the Death Zone and rescue the Doctor in exchange for a new cycle of regenerations.


Sarah -
I quite like Anthony Ainley in this scene. He’s so wonderfully smarmy – like the class smart-ass called to the principal’s office. “What makes you think I want your forgiveness?” His reaction when they ask him to save the Doctor is priceless: “A cosmos without the Doctor scarcely bears thinking about.” This is probably Ainley’s best performance so far.


Harry -
Meanwhile, the various Doctors team up with their companions and head to a tall tower in the middle of the Death Zone -- the tomb of Rassilon.


Sarah -
The First Doctor and Susan get to dash down some quite stylish corridors, trying to evade a Dalek, before finding the Fifth Doctor’s TARDIS. I love when the companions all sit down to fancy drinks and snacks in the console room while the Doctors work out the problem.

Don’t you love the moment when the Third Doctor and Sarah meet the Master and the Doctor doesn’t recognize him? He’s so dismissive of the Master and even steals the seal from him. He gets the same reaction from the Fifth Doctor, who steals the recall device when they are attacked by Cybermen. The Master can’t catch a break when he’s trying to be good, which leads him to an faux alliance with the Cybermen.


Harry -
The First Doctor and Tegan take the high road, straight into the tower. The Second Doctor and the Brigadier take the low road, entering from beneath but not before a couple of scary encounters: first with a Yeti, then with Zoe in a bubble wrap costume.


Sarah -
Don’t forget our dear Jamie, who’s looking quite fetching in his kilt – sans bubblewrap – and Mike Yates and Liz Shaw!


Harry -
Great to see Liz Shaw get one more appearance after her abrupt departure from the show. After lifting Sarah Jane Smith from a perilous ditch of death, the Third Doctor takes her all the way to the top of the tower via zipline and they enter from above.


Sarah -
Speaking of Sarah Jane, what the hell is she wearing? That jacket makes her look hugely pregnant. It’s an absolute relief when she takes it off.


Harry -
The fashions of the 80s are something we shall never understand, even if we did live through them.


Sarah -
They weren’t all bad. I distinctly remember wanting Tegan’s dress when I watched this for the first time.


Harry -
In addition to the Master, there are brief encounters with some classic monsters (Daleks, Cybermen) and a new one: a Raston Warrior Robot, the most perfect killing machine in the universe. Is it terrible to admit that I get a kick out of imagining Terrance Dicks saying "Raston Warrior Robot" out loud?


Sarah -
It seems you haven’t watched the featurette, where you get to hear him say it! It’s brilliant!


Harry -
Hah!

I guess we could spare a moment to talk about the actual story here. "The Five Doctors" completes the informal Borusa cycle. We have seen Borusa four times over the years, each time played by a different actor. His rise began in "The Deadly Assassin", when he was a Cardinal. In "The Invasion of Time" he was Lord Chancellor and teamed (loosely) with the Doctor to combat the Vardans and Sontarans. In "Arc of Infinity" he was finally Lord President of Gallifrey, but something of a tired character while someone else's conspiracy played out around him. Finally, here in "The Five Doctors", Borusa's ambitions have been rekindled as he seeks the secret of true immortality and ultimate power from Rassilon himself. Thankfully, Philip Latham was not required to act with his hands for half the story.


Sarah -
Lantham is really brilliant as Borusa. The scene where he frames the Castellan, leading to his death, is chilling. What a bastard!


Harry -
Borusa was cool, calm and collected throughout the story. This is one of my favourite Borusas.


Sarah -
He's the most cunning Borusa, that's for sure.


Harry -
Eventually, everyone arrives at the tomb of Rassilon and the slow-moving story comes to a rapid conclusion. Borusa is unmasked as the conspirator du jour, having used virtually everyone else in the story as a dupe for his ambitions. He seeks the ring of Rassilon and the promise of immortality and never-ending power. Rassilon appears and offers it up without hesitation.

Naturally, Borusa is undone by his own wickedness and becomes imprisoned in the tomb for eternity. Having sorted that out, Rassilon gives a Brian Blessed-like laugh and fades away again.


Sarah -
Say what you will about the silly Great and Powerful Oz-like appearance by Rassilon, Borusa's entombment is horrifying. I feel absolutely claustrophobic just thinking about it.


Harry -
It's all in the eyes. Horrible fate. An eternity of living entombment is a chilling prospect.

Sadly for Borusa, no one felt too bad about what happened to him. That leaves our Doctors and their friends to make a big series of goodbyes as the story wraps up. I say "story" but "The Five Doctors" is more of a celebration, a greatest hits or whatever cliché you want to attach to it. This would be one of the first stories I would encourage new viewers to watch, just because it gives you a sampling of all the eras from the first 20 years of Doctor Who.


Sarah -
The story is a bit of an afterthought, which makes sense when you consider all the rewriting Terrance Dicks had to do as actors dropped in and out during the planning. Still, it's a delightful romp and a moment to pause and feel the love.


Harry -
Well, looks like the champagne didn't last very long. Shall we move on to Peter Davison's third and final season?


Sarah -
Final season? It feels like we just got started!


Harry -
I know, it's crazy!

Best Line:
SECOND DOCTOR: "And, er, and who is this?"
BRIGADIER: "That's Colonel Crichton, my replacement."
SECOND DOCTOR: "Ah. Yes, mine was pretty unpromising, too."

BAM! HAHA!

Favourite Moment: Really, every cameo was a favourite.

Lasting Image: The Doctors all congratulating themselves at the end.

8/10


Sarah -
Best Line: There are so many, but I have to go with the closer,

Tegan: "You mean you're deliberately choosing to go on the run from your own people, in a rackety old TARDIS?"
The Doctor: "Why not? After all, that's how it all started."

Favorite Moment: The Second Doctor meeting up with the Brig.

Lasting Images: All the Doctors together!

8/10

Our marathon continues with Story #130: Warriors of the Deep...

Story #65 - The Three Doctors (1972-73)

Harry -
With the hype starting to build for this year's 50th anniversary multi-Doctor mega-special, how fitting that we just watched the very first multi-Doctor mega-special from 40 years ago.

This is one of the few classic Who stories that I can watch in one sitting without even shifting on the sofa. What a jolly, breezy romp "The Three Doctors" is.


Sarah -
I absolutely love this story. It will always have a special place in my heart because it was my first glimpse of the First and Second Doctors. I remember seeing it for the first time in the 1980s and being so intrigued by these two new (to me) Doctors.

It's an utter delight!


Harry -
And so utterly light!

Some may argue, but I think "The Three Doctors" is the first time that the show takes a big step over the line into panto territory.


Sarah -
It does get rather broad at times, doesn't it?


Harry -
It's a celebration more than an adventure, almost like a "greatest hits" pageant. The actual plot of the thing is there just so everyone can hang their favourite lines and expressions on it, while hamming it up for the cameras. The bouncy glob monsters are funny, and Omega is so over-the-top even Brian Blessed might have urged him to tone it down.


Sarah -
Stephen Thorne is so wonderful as Omega. I love every moment he's on screen.


Harry -
Do you remember what your first impressions of these other Doctors were?

By the time I got around to watching this, I was already familiar with Hartnell and Troughton from old photos, and I recall accepting the notion that there was always more than one Doctor with childlike ease.


Sarah -
I'd certainly seen photos of the first two Doctors before this, but it was the first time I'd seen them in the series. I'd already been through my first regeneration -- Baker to Davison -- so the idea of many Doctors wasn't new to me.

Because of the vagaries of the broadcast schedule on my local PBS station, Tom Baker was my first Doctor, followed by Davison, and then back to Pertwee. I guess that makes the first and second Doctors my fourth and fifth Doctors!

I remember being so charmed by Troughton and wishing I could see more of him. Hartnell's appearances were so limited, due to his ill health, that I didn't know what to make of him. He seems so stern in the story and it was a delight to eventually discover the lighter sides of his character.


Harry -
Gosh, isn't Troughton's first appearance magical?


Sarah -
It was like being reunited with a long-lost family member! Watching Pertwee and Troughton together highlights how different their Doctors are. The moment when Omega asks the Third Doctor if he's sure that he and the Second Doctor are of the same intelligence is one of the best moments of the story. We know all the Doctors are the same Doctor -- but these two are just so different!


Harry -
It was great to be reminded why we love Patrick Troughton so much. He was diminutive in size, but his Doctor was a big ball of energy. Still excited about going to the beach for some fun, and I forgot he was the first Doctor to offer around some jelly babies.


Sarah -
His way of going about things indirectly and lulling the baddies into a false sense of superiority is one of my favorite things about the Second Doctor.


Harry -
His performance in this story really stole the show. I wish Troughton had broken his own First Rule of Playing the Doctor, and stayed on for another season.


Sarah -
That would have been wonderful, but there's always Season 6B to contemplate!


Harry -
Having Troughton bouncing around like a rubber ball also underscored Pertwee as the tall, serious Doctor with his own physical take on the role. Pertwee was known for doing all his own stunts, and while there wasn't much in the way of dangerous stunt acting here, he did get in a tussle with that pig creature that Omega foisted on him.


Sarah -
That was a trippy scene, wasn't it? As much as I love Troughton, I found that having him there made me appreciate Pertwee all the more. They're both such marvelous actors.


Harry -
The Troughton-Pertwee contrast is why I never side with fans who want a new Doctor to be just like the one before. It's the contrasts from one regeneration to the next that make the character fascinating.


Sarah -
Absolutely. How boring would that be?


Harry -
We haven't really mentioned Hartnell. His limited action in this story was more bittersweet than anything. It was great to hear his voice again, but sad that he wasn't able to appear in the TARDIS in person.


Sarah -
He definitely brought the First Doctor zing, didn't he?


Harry -
He went out with the "dandy and a clown" zinger, one of the show's most lasting quotes.


Sarah -
And one of the series most lasting quotes, too!


Harry -
While we weren't able to see much of the First Doctor, I liked how much action Sergeant Benton saw. This is the second story in a row where he rivals the Brig as the leading UNIT character.


Sarah -
I have such a soft spot for Benton. I love the moment when he enters the TARDIS for the first time and is rendered speechless. And then, we get to see the Brig on his first TARDIS trip -- if he only knew what he was getting into.

Speaking of the Brig, I adored his reaction to meeting up with the Second Doctor again -- "Oh no!"


Harry -
Another great comic turn in this story.

It was probably unintentional, but the Gallifreyan set reminded me of a kind of galactic tech support office. You had these technicians sitting at their consoles trying to resolve the nagging problems of black holes and energy depletion, while their managers bickered over what approach to take. It was all a bit comical, but totally in keeping with the atmosphere of the story.


Sarah -
We’ve seen so little of the actual Time Lords up to this point. Turning them into techies at ground control is a bit disappointing.


Harry -
And it was perfect that Troughton's recorder was the item that overcame Omega and sent him into oblivion, whilst returning everyone back to the universe of matter. Everybody lives! (not including Omega, but was he really alive anymore?)


Sarah -
The Second Doctor always knows what he’s doing – even if he doesn’t know he’s doing it…


Harry -
This story is probably the best of the multi-Doctor adventures in the classic series. It bounces along, keeps things light, and gives everyone a turn to shine. It has certainly stoked my interest to see what a Moffat-era multi-Doctor adventure will be like. Come on November 22!


Sarah -
It will be hard to top this. No pressure, Steven.


Harry -
For now, the Doctors have saved the day, and the Time Lords are grateful enough to give Pertwee a new dematerialization circuit. The Earthbound-era of Doctor Who has come to an end.


Sarah -
Hazzah!


Harry -
Shall we see where the Doctor and Jo will go first?


Sarah -
I can hardly wait!


Harry -
Best Line:
"Well, Sergeant, aren't you going to say it that it's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside? Everybody else does."
"It's pretty obvious, isn't it?"

Favourite Moment: Patrick Troughton first appears and reminds us why we love his Doctor.

Lasting Image: the look on the Brigadier's face when he sees the Second Doctor.

9/10


Sarah -
Best Line: I have to go with the classic, "So you're my replacements - a dandy and a clown!"

Favorite Moment: The Two Doctors confronting Omega together.

Lasting Image: The Second and Third Doctors reaction to being chided by the First Doctor.

9/10

 


Our marathon continues with Story #66: Carnival of Monsters...

The Troughton Era - Final Thoughts

Harry -
Here we are, Sarah. A new year, and a new Doctor awaits us on this marathon.


Sarah -
I'm still basking in the glory of having reached our goal of finishing the Troughton era by year's end!


Harry -
Before we forge ahead, shall we have a few final thoughts on the Troughton era?


Sarah -
Oh yes, let's!


Harry -
It's a given that the Troughton era begins with his regeneration into the Second Doctor, but that moment is critical to the development of the character. The footage is lost, but we hear him say "It's over," with an almost devilish chuckle. The regeneration has worked and he's delighted.  Death has been thwarted.  He knows he has many lives and many more years ahead of him. I think this lends itself to the cheery and free-spirited Doctor that would be portrayed by Patrick Troughton.

No longer gruff and grandfatherly, the Doctor transforms himself into an enthusiastic schoolmaster or favourite uncle, leading his companions by the hand, off on another adventure. That's how almost all of his stories started, anyway. It was practically a template: TARDIS lands, Doctor and friends emerge, have a bit of fun, then the seriousness begins.

That's one of the things that I'll remember about the Troughton era. His stories always began with a sense of fun.


Sarah -
Loads of fun!

The general sense of fun is one of my favorite things about the era. The First Doctor could often be amusing, but his era lacks the joyful feeling of the Second Doctor.

Another change is the shift away from historicals toward more science fiction and, of course, loads of monsters. While the series will often find itself dipping into history, the emphasis on historical stories was never very strong from the Second Doctor on. One could argue that the Troughton era was when Doctor Who decisively became a science fiction series.

Also, I like monsters! What about you, Harry?


Harry -
I love some of the monsters this Doctor confronted. The Cybermen carried over from the Hartnell era, but the Second Doctor faced them no fewer than four times.


Sarah -
He's the Doctor I always most associate with the Cybermen.


Harry -
There were a couple of cracking Dalek stories too, and a bevy of new terrors from beyond. The Ice Warriors, the Macra and the Great Intelligence are menaces we have not seen the last of. To be fair, there were a couple of one offs that didn't work. The Quarks and Krotons were a flop, as were the chameleon beings in "The Faceless Ones." Gosh that one seems so long ago already.


Sarah -
Doesn't it though? Pauline Collins' Samantha Briggs is what I will probably remember most about that story.


Harry -
The swing from historicals to monsters-besieging-bases made Doctor Who both scarier and more fun. And I hope, someday, that the Doctor will get his wish and encounter... PREHISTORIC MONSTERS!


Sarah -
One can hope!


Harry -
It's a bit silly, but I'm finding it hard to let go of Patrick Troughton. He has shot up my informal ranking of the Doctors and I hope someday to be a mad, delightful uncle in his mold!


Sarah -
I'd say you're off to a good start, Old Boy.


Harry -
In the late 60s, the production crew took big steps forward in things like location filming, incidental music, and overall fun. But there are even bigger changes right around the next corner.


Sarah -
If you're going to be a Doctor Who fan, you've got to embrace change. It's the only constant.


Harry -
Unfortunately, we'll be without our friendly guides Rob and Toby for a spell. Volume One of Running Through Corridors comes to an end here, and Volume Two is not yet published. Can we forge ahead without them, Sarah?

Sarah -
I believe we can. I'm sure they'll catch up soon. Grab my hand, Harry. When I say run... RUN!

Story #50 - The War Games (1969) - Episodes Six to Ten

Harry -
Gone, all of them. Jamie, Zoe, the Doctor. Gone.

After nine exhilarating episodes of "The War Games", our heroes crashed headlong into the Time Lords, and their adventures ended. Tried by his peers and convicted of interference, the Doctor is exiled to Earth and his TARDIS grounded. Instead of being permitted to stay with him, Jamie and Zoe are forcibly returned to their own time zones with their memories partially wiped.

Sarah, the war games are most definitely over.


Sarah -
I’m crushed, Dear Harry. I had planned to start this blog post, but couldn’t bring myself to write. I wanted to hang on to the Second Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe for just one day longer.

Still, if they had to go, at least they did it with style. The end of the Second Doctor’s era is the most definitive in the history of Doctor Who. At no other point do the Doctor and all his companions leave us in one fell swoop.

Saying goodbye was like having my heart ripped out, but I think I’ve composed myself enough to discuss the finish now.


Harry -
Instead of finishing the Troughton era with an exuberant, punch-the-air roar, I was left feeling angry and cheated.

I was angry at the Time Lords. Like the Doctor, they left me outraged, frustrated and disgusted. I experienced episode ten the way Patrick Troughton performed it: with a mounting sense of dread (knowing what was coming) and anger (at what the Time Lords decided to do to him).


Sarah -
Troughton’s performance is amazing. He has to do so many things in the final episode and takes the opportunity to showcase the character he’s created over past three seasons. The moment when he acquiesces to Jamie’s, “Aw, c’mon, we’ve been in tighter situations than this,” and agrees to run for the TARDIS one last time, tells us so much about this Doctor. He knows it’s over and that there’s no hope of escape, but can’t resist one last adventure with his friends – no matter how short-lived it may be.


Harry -
This is the first time in the show's history (barring the Meddling Monk) that we have encountered the people from the Doctor's home planet. And the big reveal is... a bunch of dour old sticks-in-the-mud who are fixated on a self-imposed law of non-interference. Well their laws are shite and bully for the Doctor having said so!


Sarah -
Finally meeting the Time Lords gives us a very clear picture of why the Doctor grabbed a TARDIS and got out of there at the first opportunity!


Harry -
Troughton's final moments were heartbreaking and more gruesome than I remembered. One thing that neither Rob nor Toby mentioned – nor any of the guest commentators on the DVD featurette – was the horror of the Doctor's forced regeneration. While he shouts and struggles against his sentence, his face vanishes. The Doctor is literally decapitated, his headless body spinning away into darkness. The screen fades to black, and the credits roll. The viewer is left stunned by that final image. I felt cheated. There was no payoff, no new face, no new leading man, nothing to cling to. How utterly depressing!


Sarah -
It really is. This is the only time the Doctor is forced to regenerate and the only time we don’t meet the next Doctor. It would be six months from the regeneration of the Second Doctor to the introduction of the Third Doctor.


Harry -
In the pre-Internet age, the wait would have been maddening.

"The War Games" is a landmark story for many reasons - it's the end of the Troughton era, there are the sad farewells to Jamie and Zoe, and it is the show's final black and white production - but also because of the bad taste left in my mouth by the Time Lords. Our introduction to the Doctor's home people is entirely negative. We see that they are capable and willing to do terrible things. Their rules and retribution are enough to drive anyone away - and who hasn't wanted to flee a repressive situation? To this point, the Doctor has been a mysterious traveler. But now we see a new side to him - someone who ran away from an intolerably repressive place and struck out on his own.


Sarah -
And what a time he had! I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to enjoy the entire Troughton Era – even the recons (mostly).

In later regenerations, we’ll take so much for granted about the Doctor’s story, but it’s still all so new here. Patrick Troughton is responsible for the series lasting for a Third Doctor and his legacy can still be felt in the series today. Troughton took the strong character developed by William Hartnell and added so many layers to his interpretation.


Harry -
It was a brilliant - albeit risky - move on the show's part to bring in an actor who was so different from Hartnell. Troughton's turn as the Doctor was a great success and opened the door to endless interpretations of the character.


Sarah -
Each actor creates his own Doctor, of course, but they also leave their imprint on the role. We’ve often discussed, Harry, how much Matt Smith’s Doctor owes to Troughton’s performance. Some of that may be due to the fact that the fans are now running the series, but part of me wants it to be the sheer power of the Doctor and the actors who have inhabited the role.


Harry -
There are definitely some playful glimpses of Patrick Troughton in Matt Smith's Doctor.


Sarah -
If there’s one thing you can say about Patrick Troughton’s performance, it’s that he fully inhabited the role. What a brilliant Doctor he is!


Harry -
And what a brilliant final story he had. As I mentioned in our commentary of the first half of "The War Games", Terrance Dicks and Malcolm Hulke deserve kudos for they way they elevated the stakes higher and higher each episode.


Sarah -
You would never know how much of it happened on the fly, would you?


Harry -
Indeed.  Just when they established the War Chief as top dog, we meet the War Lord, who himself ends up being trumped by the Time Lords. The repeated introduction of higher powers - coupled with the story's length - lends it a truly epic feel.  They did a fantastic job pacing out the story so that it never flagged.


Sarah -
I couldn’t help but feel a bit sympathetic to the War Lord, finding himself surrounded by so many nincompoops and egomaniacs. His devious plans will never succeed with these lackeys around.


Harry -
Dicks and Hulke created so many memorable characters: Lady Jennifer and Carstairs, Smythe and Von Weich, poor old Ransom, and the bickering trio of the War Chief, Security Chief and War Lord.


Sarah -
I loved their face-off scene, when he makes it clear to the Security Chief and War Chief that they are, in fact, expendable.


Harry -
The War Lord is my favourite and I was floored when I realized that he was a brilliantly concealed Philip Madoc. His stubbly beard, short hair and coke-bottle lenses totally fooled me. His calm, creepy threats were wonderful. The War Lord is one villain who deserved a return engagement.


Sarah -
Can you imagine? I’d love to see him come up against the Fourth Doctor.


Harry -
Perhaps in another form.  Anyway, I'm glad that, years later, Jamie and Zoe did get a return engagement, in "The Five Doctors", however so brief. Jamie will also appear again in "The Two Doctors" along with Patrick Troughton, but that's for another time.


Sarah -
I’ll look forward to seeing them again!


Harry -
I think Jamie and Zoe were the best companions of the Troughton era.


Sarah -
Absolutely!


Harry -
Frazer Hines was there for virtually the entire time and did the "male bonding" thing with the Doctor better than anyone so far, and probably ever. Jamie and the Doctor were great mates and complimented each other so well.


Sarah -
Their chemistry was exquisite. Frazer Hines has said that the happiest point in his career was his time with Troughton, and you can see it in every moment they’re on screen together. I always liked Jamie, but had only seen him in a couple Troughton stories and “The Five Doctors” and “The Two Doctors.” He’s now one of my favorite companions of all time – right up there with Barbara, who also won my heart on this marathon of ours.


Harry -
Plus he's got fantastic legs...


Sarah -
Well, there is that.


Harry -
And where Jamie delivered the braun, Zoe provided the brains. Zoe started off as a bit of a smarty pants, but Wendy Padbury matured in the role. Zoe never stopped being brainy, but she seemed to add an element of subtlety to her role as she went on. As we saw here, she was ready to crack some skulls if need be!


Sarah -
I really liked how Zoe unsettled Jamie at the start. He didn’t know how to take this brilliant woman and was clearly threatened by her.


Harry -
He resorted to teasing her early on, but he'd stopped doing that by the time we got to this story.


Sarah -
It makes sense for a man of his time, especially after having said goodbye to Victoria, for whom he had strong feelings. Over time, he and Zoe built a mutual respect and made a brilliant team. Padbury’s characterization of Zoe is brilliant and I really think she deserves more appreciation in fandom.


Harry -
I will miss them both. As they departed to their separate fates, the Doctor's little wave to them was such a sad, tender moment.


Sarah -
I was blubbering by that point.


Harry -
Damn you, Time Lords, I'm getting angry again.

But let's not end "The War Games" in anger. This was an amazing story, that seized me from the start and never let up. The tension and drama got turned higher with each episode and it's astonishing that a ten-parter could succeed in doing so. Well-written, well-produced and well-acted. You can't ask for more and I can't imagine the Doctor going out in a greater epic!


Sarah -
I don’t feel a drop of anger. At this point, I feel nothing but gratitude and appreciation for our time with the Second Doctor. Patrick Troughton went from being a Doctor I liked to being a Doctor I love. I doubt anyone can replace Tom Baker, my first Doctor, in my heart – but if anyone can give him a run for his money, it’s Patrick Troughton. I’ll look forward to seeing our dear friend in the Two, Five, and Three Doctors. Until then, it’s comforting to know that I can return to the Troughton Era whenever I want – recons and all!

Best Line: "It is a fact, Jamie, that I do tend to get involved with things."

Favorite Moment: The Doctor, Jamie, and Zoe making one last run through corridors.

Lasting Image: Jamie and Zoe holding hands as the Doctor waves goodbye. Oh dear, I’m getting a bit teary-eyed again.

Second-Half Rating: 10/10

Overall Rating: 9.5/10


Here we are, Harry, at the end of the year and the end of the Second Doctor Era. It’s almost hard to believe that we’ll ring in 2013 with Doctor Who in color!

Happy New Year, Old Boy!


Harry -
Huzzah!  There must be a bottle of something or other left from our end-of-the-recons party. See if you can find some glasses while I rummage under the sofa.

Happy New Year everyone!

Best line: "I am guilty of interference, just as you are guilty of failing to use your great powers to help those in need!"

Favourite moment: the Doctor mocking the Time Lords and their laws.

Lasting image: the Doctor lying on the floor, playing cards while awaiting his sentence.

Second half rating: 9/10

Overall rating: 9/10

Our marathon continues with Story #51: Spearhead From Space...