Views. Comment. Opinion.

Doctor Who: The best (and worst) multi-doctor episodes

Doctor Who: The best (and worst) multi-doctor episodes
Matt Smith, Steven Moffat and Jenna Louise Coleman are all at Comic Con this weekend. (Picture: Getty Images)

At Comic Con in San Diego this weekend there will be plenty of chatter about the upcoming Doctor Who 50th birthday episode starring Matt Smith and David Tennant alongside John Hurt.

Matt, showrunner Steven Moffat and others will be fielding questions on the much anticipated Doctor Who panel on Sunday and doubtless trying to give nothing away about the multi-Doctor special.

Here’s a look back at some of the best moments with more than one Doctor in the show’s half-century.

The Three Doctors, 1973

To celebrate the first decade of Doctor Who the BBC aired a story featuring William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee. Hartnell was in poor health at the time and sadly only appears on the Tardis scanner to solve the disagreements between the two later regenerations he dismissively describes as ‘a dandy and a clown.’ It’s a lovable piece with the highlight being the constant bickering between Doctors two and three.

The Five Doctors, 1983

Terrance Dicks penned this 20th anniversary romp and it dominated the charity telethon Children in Need that year. Tom Baker declined to participate so he was spliced into the adventure using never seen footage from his unfinished adventure Shada. William Hartnell passed away in 1975, so the role of the first Doctor was taken by Richard Hurndall. It is all a bit silly but because it’s so full of fun and familiar friends even the most hard-hearted Whovian can find a way to love it.

The Two Doctors, 1985

Featuring Patrick Troughton and Colin Baker, this 1985 story is one of the better adventures of the Sixth Doctor’s tenure and features the return of the Sontarans. Unusually for Who, much of the tale was filmed abroad in the sweltering heat of a Spanish summer on the outskirts of Seville. Baker and Troughton are both accomplished comic actors and their talents lift the three 45-minute episodes but all in all the plot is a load of old twaddle.

Dimensions in Time, 1993

Doctor Who’s dirty little secret. To mark Children in Need and Who’s 30th, two short episodes were filmed in 3D with the action set in Albert Square and ludicrously featured some of the Eastenders. It’s impossible to describe how toe-curling awful Dimensions in Time truly is. Don’t watch it.

Time Crash, 2007

Another little teaser for Children in Need. Peter Davison donned the celery once more as the fifth Doctor and encountered his tenth persona in the shape of David Tennant. It’s all rather marvellous. Moffat’s script is tender and funny. And as you revel in its sweetness remember that these two Doctors are family now. Tennant married Davison’s daughter Georgia Moffett in 2011 after the couple met on the set of The Doctor’s Daughter. Wibbly wobbly timey wimey.

Metro Blogs is a place for opinions. These opinions belong to the author and are not necessarily shared by Metro.
, , , , , , ,