Multi-Doctor stories have yet to top Patrick Troughton and William Hartnell, the first three regenerations of The Doctor, against the might of an evil Time Lord called Omega to mark the show's tenth anniversary.
Many other examples have since followed. Also in the original series, The Two Doctors brought the Second Doctor together with Colin Baker's Sixth, but is widely regarded as the weakest multi-Doctor story of the lot. The modern era has featured the short Children In Need special "Time Crash," the 50th anniversary "The Day of the Doctor" special, and "Twice Upon a Time", in which Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor refuses to regenerate alongside David Bradley as the First.
However, the multi-Doctor episode to beat remains "The Five Doctors." While undoubtedly flawed, this 1983 20th anniversary classic is rightly ed as a highlight of Doctor Who's original run and showed a level of ambition that left a lasting legacy on the iconic science fiction series.
"The Five Doctors" Is Doctor Who's Endgame
Just like Marvel in the 21st century, Doctor Who had already attempted an ambitious crossover with "The Three Doctors," and when the next significant anniversary rolled around, the only option was to go bigger. "The Five Doctors" (almost) features the first five regenerations of the titular Time Lord, while also bringing back a generous helping of popular past companions. In of enemies, "The Five Doctors" gives fans Daleks, Cybermen and The Master in a single adventure, and it's hard to overstate the magnitude of such a crossover in 1983. The modern Doctor Who era has developed a habit of teaming-up major villains and bringing back companions just for a season finale or regeneration episode. On the other hand, nothing else in Doctor Who had come close to the sheer ambition and scale of "The Five Doctors" at that time.
Written by Terrance Dicks, who arguably did more than anyone to mold the evolution of Doctor Who, "The Five Doctors" is unashamedly a celebration of all things Who up until that point. The 90-minute run time is jam-packed with 5 versions of The Doctor, 8 different companions, and 6 separate villains, and delivers long-awaited reunions with Susan and Sarah Jane, intriguing new combinations such as Tegan and the First Doctor, and The Master at his morally ambiguous best. Sprinkled throughout are glorious moments of acknowledging history, such as the First Doctor (the original, you might say) being one step ahead of his successors in figuring out the secrets of Rassilon's tomb.
Judged alone, "The Five Doctors" is a fun, satisfying adventure that rewarded contemporary viewers but still holds up perfectly well in 2020, retaining the sense of occasion despite another 10 Doctors ing through the doors of the TARDIS since. However, it's the legacy of "The Five Doctors" that is still most keenly felt in the modern era. By Timeless Child reveal. As any good anniversary crossover event should, "The Five Doctors" didn't just celebrate the past, but set up Doctor Who's future.
How "The Five Doctors" Transcends Its Flaws
Despite everything "The Five Doctors" did for Doctor Who, the story is not immune from criticism. Perhaps the biggest sticking point is the futile attempt to include every past Doctor, despite actually only featuring Troughton, Pertwee and Peter Davison, who was the current Doctor anyway. Tom Baker declined to return and was hastily written out using unused footage, while William Hartnell had sadly already ed away, meaning the First Doctor would be portrayed instead by Richard Hurndall. These changes aren't exactly seamless, and both are felt throughout the episode. Clearly "The Three (Other) Doctors" wasn't deemed a big enough draw for the 20th anniversary.
The desire to have all five Doctors on-screen without actually having all five doctors is a sign of deeper issues. In its valiant attempt to cover all bases, "The Five Doctors" can't help but lack substance in places. Borusa's masterplan makes for a plot that doesn't quite hold up to close scrutiny, and some beloved returning characters (Susan in particular) have precious little to do before the story briskly moves along.
While "The Five Doctors" certainly put more emphasis on celebration and callbacks than a watertight and measured story, the episode isn't any less entertaining because of that, largely thanks to the 'labyrinth' style setup. Conceptually similar to something that might be found in a video game, "The Five Doctors" dumps its quartet of Time Lords into the Gallifreyan Death Zone with the worst enemies from Doctor Who's past and allows each team to work towards the center of the maze, the fabled Tomb of Rassilon. This sandbox format alone is enough narrative justification to bring together such a vast collection of characters, without relying on the (ittedly convenient) plot too heavily. And while it wouldn't be inaccurate to say "The Five Doctors" is less a cohesive story and more a series of unrelated scenes loosely strung together, showcasing each Doctor separately allowed all 4 main actors to play to their strengths, and ensured their eventual coming together in the final act felt suitably epic.
And it's here in this coming together that "The Five Doctors" finds its greatest strength. Invariably, the most enjoyable element of any multi-Doctor story is how the given combination of Doctors interacts with each other. This quickly proved to be the case in "The Three Doctors" and was still the undoubted highlight when David Tennant and Matt Smith clashed in 2013, but "The Five Doctors" excelled with its Time Lord interplay, and all four Doctors sparked whenever they came across one of their alternate selves.
What About "The Day Of The Doctor" And "The Three Doctors?"
Truthfully, the honor of being Doctor Who's best multi-Doctor story is a very close three-way race, with both "The Three Doctors" and "The Day of the Doctor" putting forward convincing cases of their own. By virtue of having only three protagonists to balance, "The Three Doctors" is clearly a tighter script, and the dynamic between Troughton and Pertwee is exactly why multi-Doctor episodes became so popular with fans. Omega proved to be one of Doctor Who's best-ever (and most criminally underused) villains, and felt a notch above most other enemies in of quality. However, "The Three Doctors" mimics its eventual successor by delivering one less Time Lord than promised in the title. While Hartnell appears in the episode, his ailing health meant Pertwee and Troughton carried the weight of the 10th anniversary special, and even though the duo light up the screen, they can't come close to replicating the sense of history and ambitious crossover celebration that would follow a decade later.
The same cannot be said of "The Day of the Doctor," which managed to feel grandiose even in the modern era and, once again, Moffat's 50th anniversary special is more story-focused than "The Five Doctors." With Christopher Eccleston unwilling to return, the episode restricts itself to Smith, Tennant and the new addition of John Hurt's War Doctor, even though other past Doctors were available. "The Day of the Doctor" brings the entire Time War arc to a huge conclusion, and neatly mixes together a compelling story with unapologetic fan service. But while the 50th anniversary episode might be superior to "The Five Doctors" in of pace and story, it doesn't deliver the same sense of celebration. "The Day of the Doctor" is mostly a love letter to modern Who, revisiting elements and characters that were introduced after Doctor Who's 2005 return. Only in the uplifting finale do the classic Doctors make themselves known whereas, for better or worse, "The Five Doctors" made sure to pay homage to an entire 20-year period. Furthermore, "The Day of the Doctor" was, in relative , only slightly bigger in scale than a Russell T. Davies series finale. "The Five Doctors" was a far bigger step-up for Doctor Who, and it's amazing what was achieved with the classic era's eternally tight budget and impossible deadlines.
Doctor Who returns with "Revolution of the Daleks" this Christmas on BBC and BBC America.
