Doctor Who (TV Series) The Five Doctors (1983) User Reviews

Very entertaining. I just wish Tom had said yes.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 16 October 2015]

I remember this being the first DVD I ever purchased, owning it on VHS was great but the DVD featured new effects, it was so exciting. I digress.

It's actually an excellent feature length episode, they had so much to overcome and lots to incorporate. Problems included the death of William Hartnell several years earlier, but Richard Hurndall put in an excellent performance as Doctor number one, managing to keep the first Doctor in character, that worked. Problem number two Tom Baker had refused to appear, what a shame for us all, but being the outgoing actor I can imagine it would have been to soon, footage of the incomplete Shada used instead, it worked quite well too. More problematic was attempting to get each character to do something, some had more to do then others, but being Peter's time only fitting he got the Lion's share.

Troughton and Pertwee were lots of fun, effortlessly slipping back into their Doctorisms. Turlough I felt sorry for in this story, as the current companion he gets so little to do, Tegan was much better off.

The missing element though Tom Baker made me sad, I think he made that role his own, had he been there though he may have overtaken it.

The story is actually really clever, I love the concepts of the Death Zone, the Time scoop, and the awesome Raston Warrior. They tried to put so much in, and for the most part it succeeds, I just wish there was more screen time for some of the characters.

Made for the fans, but they carried it off, 8/10

Entertaining Television

[Theo Robertson · 7/10 · 3 May 2005]

November 1983 marked the 20th anniversary of DOCTOR WHO and I remember the media coverage given to the event . Scotland's national newspaper had its centre pages dedicated to the history of the show and Britains best selling TV guide Radio Times had a front page cover and a multiple page feature on the show . There was even a special anniversary magazine from the Radio Times dedicated to the programme . But it was this one off special that really got the fans excited

The plot centres around someone capturing the different incarnations of the Doctor and holding them hostage in the dark zone of Gallifrey . Okay it's hardly a mind blowing premise and just sets up the story whose main function is to reunite as many Doctors and companions as possible and maybe the story is too cluttered with companion cameos for the story to work successfully , but at least we get to see some old villains like a Dalek and a Yeti and the Cybermen take centre stage in this monster mash

As entertainment for both fans and casual viewers it works very well and is one of the better stories from the early 1980s . There are one or two bits that don't work like Sarah falling down a " mountain " and Susan twisting her ankle but Patrick Troughton's performance alone makes this worth watching

20 Years In Time & Space

[ShadeGrenade · 9/10 · 21 February 2012]

As 1983 drew to a close, 'Dr.Who' celebrated its twentieth anniversary in fine style with this hugely enjoyable one-off episode, directed by the late Peter Moffatt. 'The Five Doctors' brought together all incarnations of the Doctor, along with various companions and enemies. It must have been a tall order to write, and indeed was - the legendary Robert Holmes backed out, leaving ex-script editor Terrance Dicks to take his place. He found an ingenious opening hook - someone is lifting the first five Doctors out of time and space. In desperation, the Time Lords promise the Master ( Anthony Ainley ) a full pardon for past crimes if he visit a forbidden place on Gallifrey known as the Death Zone. The first Doctor ( Richard Hurndall ) finds himself in a pseudo-Skaro setting with grand-daughter 'Susan' ( Carole Ann Ford ), and a particularly angry Dalek. The second Doctor ( Patrick Troughton ) is spirited away from U.N.I.T, H.Q. along with 'Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart' ( Nicholas Courtney ) and they find themselves in caves along with a Yeti. Doctor number three ( Jon Pertwee ) is reunited with 'Sarah-Jane Smith' ( Elisabeth Sladen ). As if an army of Cybermen wasn't bad enough, they have to face the Raston Warrior Robot ( Keith Hodiak ). Where's the fourth Doctor ( Tom Baker ), I hear you ask? He isn't in it. Baker declined to appear, so to justify the title a clip of the incomplete 'Shada' was used. His successor, Peter Davison, inherits his main role in the narrative, which is to return to the Citadel and discover who is responsible for using the Time Scoop. Dicks originally specified the main villain as the Master, until script-editor Eric Saward pointed out ( rightly ) it was too obvious, and so a different baddie - 'Lord President Borusa' ( Philip Latham - substituted.

One of the lovely things about 'Five Doctors' is how it skillfully interfaces the 'old' Who with the then-current. Hartnell might not be around anymore, but Hurndall does an admirable job of recapturing the grumpiness of the first Time Lord. Having the old boy accompanying the bossy 'Tegan' ( Janet Fielding ) into the Tomb of Rassilon was an inspired idea, showing just how stronger the companions had become in the past twenty years. Also nice were the brief appearances of 'Captain Mike Yates' ( Richard Franklin ), 'Liz Shaw' ( Caroline John ), 'Jamie' ( Fraser Hines', and 'Zoe' ( Wendy Padbury ) as phantoms in the Tomb. With all the scene-stealing Doctors around, it would have been easy for Davison to be overshadowed, but to his credit he is not. In fact, he gets all the best lines. The very best line, though, goes to Courtney: "splendid chap...all of them!".

Of the old enemies, only the Cybermen are allowed a decent role, the Dalek and Yeti's appearances amount to little more than cameos. The Cyber massacre at the hands of the Raston robot is impressively shot by John Nathan-Turner.

The show was included in that year's 'Children In Need' which meant the viewer was distracted at key moments by the sight of phone numbers sliding across the screen, but overall it was well received, and was later repeated in episodic form. It is still great fun. The only real let down being the materialisation of 'Rassilon' ( Richard Matthews ); his resemblance to the pantomime character 'Old King Cole' renders the scene unintentionally comic. And how nice it would have been for 'Ian Chesterton' ( William Russell ) and 'Barbara Wright' ( Jacqueline Hill ) to have appeared in the Tomb of Rasillon also.

One of my favorite Peter Davison Doctor Who stories

[CharlesD-2 · 10/10 · 28 May 1999]

This anniversary special is quite interesting as it features excellent performances from all involved. The natural chemistry of Patrick Troughton and Nicholas Courtney for instance is one of the truly shining elements of this production. Also Richard Hurdnall does a remarkably good and under rated version of the 1st Doctor. It is most interesting to see the 1st Doctor paired up with Tegan as they both have intense egos which work brilliantly in tandem. Meanwhile we have the familiar couplings of the 3rd Doctor and Sarah Jane along with just strange choices - Turlough and Susan. This adventures captures the spirit of Doctor Who at it's finest, and is quite well written, acted, and executed for an anniversary special!

Should be called 'The Four Doctors' ...

[Gunbarrel · 24 March 2004]

This particular Dr Who episode, which screened during Peter Davison's (the 5th Doctor) tenure, was intended to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Dr Who. The plot - a mysterious individual has summoned all incarnations of the Doctor to the Death Zone on Gallifrey for some unknown purpose. The Doctors, unsure of why they are here try to reach the Tower of Rasselon (sp?) to find answers, where along the way they confront various obstacles (a Daalek, Cybermen, a Yeti etc.) Apparently the mysterious individual wants something within the tower and is using the Doctors to get it - one Doctor would not have been enough, but FIVE doctors might be (well 4 really, read below).

It's pretty much well known that Tom Baker (the 4th Doctor) declined to appear in this special episode so the producers were forced to use some old footage from Baker's tenure as the Doctor and then use the plot device of having him 'stuck' in the vortex (or whatever they called it) to explain his absence, so contrary to the title the story from the outset only really involves 4 doctors. In addition William Hartnell (the 1st Doctor) had passed away in 1975 so a replacement in Richard Hurndall had to be found. Hurndall does a good job in keeping to the character as originally played by Hartnell but it's pretty obvious to all that it's another actor, but that couldn't be helped.

As far as the quality of the episode goes, it depends on what you want to get out of it. As an exercise in seeing all of the Doctors (well 4 of them - and 1 with a replacement actor) it's not too bad, especially seeing how each Doctor reacts to the others being present (the verbal sparring between Patrick Troughton (the 2nd Doctor) and Jon Pertwee (the 3rd Doctor) is hilarious). However as far as plot goes its pretty weak on the ground - 90% of the episode seems to be made up of shots of each of the respective Doctors running from something, with the 5th Doctor killing time outside the zone trying to figure it all out and token references being made concerning the 4t Doctor being 'stuck' and thus not present. And the Master has a few scenes too. Clearly for the amount of Doctors involved (not counting all the sidekicks they bring along) 90 mins is nowhere long enough to adequately tell a story involving all of them (or 4 of them)

Worth a look to see all 5 (sorry, 4 ::sigh::) Doctors together in action, just don't expect anything major in the plot department.

5 Doctors, 20 years of magic

[A_Kind_Of_CineMagic · 10/10 · 27 November 2019]

This 20th Anniversary Special may not be without flaws but it is sheer magic and pure joyous celebration of the 20 years of the show's existence up to that time.

The story is that a mysterious character is manipulating a 'time scoop' extracting each of the 5 incarnations of The Doctor along with various companions from a point in their timeline and bringing them to the Death Zone on Gallifrey where they are drawn towards the Dark Tower where the tomb of Rassilon contains powers someone is trying to gain access to. Other beings have been brought there such as Cybermen, Yeti and a Raston Robot making the journey to the tower extremely perilous. The Timelord President Borusa calls upon The Master and sends him into the Death Zone to help The Doctor in return for a new cycle of regenerations.

There are imperfections in the filming of some scenes and some peculiar, questionable moments of logic such as the arrival of Chancellor Flavia in the tower which seems strange given the tower was meant to only be accessible via the dangerous Death Zone. However, none of the questionable elements is particularly troublesome, even Flavia's arrival could be explained by the power of Rassilon dropping the barriers that had been in place. Overall the magical, nostalgic fun overrides any doubtful aspects and makes it all thoroughly enjoyable.

We get brief appearances by Frazer Hines, Wendy Padbury, Caroline John and Richard Franklin as former companions Jamie, Zoe, Liz Shaw and Mike Yates as well as a cameo for K-9. We also get full involvement in the story for other former companions so there is wonderful nostalgia and lovely interactions. Lis Sladen (as Sarah Jane) is a treat to see having been such an incredible companion although her role here is not showing her at her former best as it portrays her slightly weaker than she was usually shown in the past or in her future returns. Nicholas Courtney (as the Brigadier) is his usual brilliant presence while Carole Ann Ford (Susan) is sadly rather too like the unimpressive way she tended to be portrayed in the past, tripping over and panicking. It is also sad that scenes of Susan reuniting with her Grandfather were not given the level of emotion they should have been.

Anthony Ainley is on good form as The Master while the Cybermen provide some fun action. The Timelords involvement along with other touches and phrases from the show's history all are extremely suitable and give the right level of warm familiarity and amusing reminiscences.

The best part of this though are The Doctor's themselves. As William Hartnell had sadly passed away we only get an opening scene of him taken from The Dalek Invasion of Earth but it was a very nice thing to include him that way, especially as it was a fantastic speech he gives. We then get Richard Hurndall replacing Hartnell as the First Doctor for the rest of the story and he does a good job although personally I would have had less of him and given more of his lines to Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee reprising the Second and Third Doctors. Their performances and banter is sparkling and superb. Peter Davison holds his own putting in a strong showing as the current 5th Doctor. Tom Baker did not take part so we only see the 4th Doctor in scenes from Shada with him then being apparently stuck in the time vortex and unable to join his other selves.

There is plenty going on and some fabulous scenes of dialogue as well as some excitement. I particularly love the Raston Robot which is a tremendous addition as an extremely formidable opponent which really should have made more appearances since. There are also some nice effects added for the Special Edition version.

All in all, despite any tiny flaws, this is a thoroughly enjoyable romp and an apt celebration for the 20th anniversary of such a magical show.

My rating - 9.5/10.

Fun seeing the Doctors all together.

[antiwolf · 8/10 · 23 October 2002]

It would have been more fun if they could have gotten Tom Baker instead of just using a couple clips of him, but it was a very fun adventure. It also gave me exposure to some of the other Doctors that I had never seen before.

A tall order

[blur13 · 8/10 · 27 October 2000]

The Five Doctors has a lot to live up to in its 90-odd minutes of air-time, and it succeeds in part. After all, no-one should really expect such a short program to truly represent a series that was - at the time of filming - 20 years old. There were probably many ways the show could have been made, but in the end, its writer chose a very straightforward tale which tries to cram as many Doctors, companions, concepts, monsters and enemies into the same story and, like I said earlier, it succeeds in part. It's great to see all the old Doctors, for example (even if the first Doctor was dead and is played here by a lookalike and the fourth Doctor rather childishly didn't want to be in the show, so is featured via old, unused TV footage), but it's still a bit cheesy to have simply SO MUCH Doctor Who crammed into one show. Sure, it's better than the 10th anniversary story "The Three Doctors," but it's definitely not as good as the latter story, "The Two Doctors," made a few years after this, and which I recommend wholeheartedly.

mildly diverting Doctor Who frolic with multiple selves

[didi-5 · 6/10 · 9 July 2007]

This TV special promises a lot, bringing past Doctors together with the current one (at that time Peter Davison).

However, in practice, there are really only two other genuine Doctors in evidence - the funny little one, Patrick Troughton, and the tall, sardonic one, Jon Pertwee. Brief inserts of unused footage allow Tom Baker to be seen - but blink and you might miss him. And as William Hartnell had passed on by the 1980s, the original Doctor is played by Richard Hurdnall (very well, it has to be said, but he isn't Hartnell, who appears at the very beginning in footage from an old adventure saying he'll be back!)

So much for the doctors - what about the plot?

Each Doctor is removed from their separate time streams and placed in Gallifrey, where they have to battle old foes (The Master and the Cybermen), and the hallucinations of old friends. All is of course not what it seems, and the villain of the piece takes time to reveal himself. In the meantime there is friendly banter between the Doctors, who are not best pleased at meeting their other selves in the same time and space - one always feels that the Doctor is an arrogant being who likes to revel in his own glory, not sharing it with others.

Nevertheless the camaraderie is pleasing and it is good to see familiar faces back again, including Sarah-Jane, the Brigadier, and other companions.

'The Five Doctors' may be breaching the Trade Descriptions Act a bit, but it is watchable, short, and of some interest.

Cyber Vomit!

[timee4 · 10/10 · 20 January 2006]

This is Probably the best Dr.who I've seen ever! Peter moffatt does an excellent job at directing this. The Special effects an action sequences are top notch. This is probably the only Dr.who that doesn't have effect errors. And I was so pleased to see sarah and the brigadier! those 2 really do add a lil spice to the Dr.whos (But why on Earth is the Brig wearing fur? He didn't seem like much of a fur wearing type 2 me.(Maybe it was to attract the yeti in the cave for mating)). And of course there's the Cybermen, which are of course my al time fav aliens frm who. The Cyber Massacre sequence has got to be the best bit of the whole film. Although how the robot can fit all those arrows in itself is beyond me (works well none the less). This Dr. who pretty much has it all Comedy, Action and there were even bits that gave me the willies (i.e. the old looking companion phantoms). And lets not forget the Cyber Vomit!

Does the 5 Doctors have a plot? Well I think it does!

[lucer1983 · 10/10 · 13 January 2008]

Anyone who doesn't think that 'The Five Doctors' doesn't have a plot, may reconsider after reading this.

The Doctors are brought together by the Renegade Timelord, President Berusa of Gallifrey, in an evil plan to become immortal. They are all seized by him and end up on their old planet Galifrey. Of course they are all still trying to work out why they have been brought here, as there is no indication why but they figure it must have something to do with Rassilons tomb, which lies in the tower. In turn, each doctor has to face some of their most fearsome foes and dangers, in an area called the Death Zone, to reach the tower of Rassilon, where the the ring for immortality is kept. The renegade time lord, Berusa, controls the mind of the fifth doctor, when he works out that Berusa is up to something, in attempt to gain immortality, so that he can be the Lord President of Gallifrey forever. He had sent the Doctors to the Death Zone on Gallifrey to defeat the enemies and dangers that lay before the tower. Berusa then tries to use the Doctor as a servant, in a bid for immortality. However little does Berusa know that immortality is a trap itself, as the First Doctor works out from an inscription in the tomb. This lets Berusa finally get what he wants, to find out he gets set in stone forever. All the doctors are then set free, however the fifth doctor is informed that he is now declared Lord President of Gallifrey but he says to the Chanellor of Gallifrey, to take charge until he returns, which is the beginning of the doctor going on the run from his own people. Which is how it all started, as he states at the end.

If thats not a plot, I don't know what is!

Has little in the way of substance but the nostalgic value makes it watchable

[The-Last-Prydonian · 5/10 · 3 October 2009]

Within the high council on Gallifrey, an unknown renegade in the citadel is snatching the first five incarnations of the Doctor and his former friends and companions from their respective time zones and dumping them in the death zone, a barren wasteland on the Time Lord's home planet. The fourth Doctor and his companion Romana however are caught in a time eddy that they can't escape from when the attempt to remove them from their time stream goes awry. The fifth Doctor, sensing that his former personas are being taken away, travels with his current companions, Teegan and Turlough to the Death Zone, hoping to go to the Dark Tower at the heart of the zone where they hope to find some answers as do the remaining three Doctors and their friends. As they make their way to the towers they encounter all sorts of obstacles including a platoon of cybermen, a lone Dalek, a Yeti, a Raston Warrior Robot, and their old Time Lord adversary, the Master.

Originally aired on 23rd November 1983 as a one-off, anniversary special to celebrate "Doctor Who's" twentieth anniversary, "The Five Doctors" was eventually re-released on DVD in the late nineties with twelve minutes of extra footage, digitally enhanced sound and picture quality as well as digitally altered special effects. Tailor-made to bring back the previous actors who had played the part of the Doctor in its then twenty-year history, this wasn't entirely possible due to the sad death of William Hartnell in 1975 and Tom Baker's refusal to don his hat and scarf as the "iconic" fourth personae. Somewhat misleading then due to its title and in an attempt to paper over these gaps, actor Richard Hurndall was cast to play the first Doctor while footage from the un-televised, never completed story "Shada" was used to fill in a couple of scenes with Baker's incarnation.

It was left to former script editor Terrance Dicks who had also penned the Target range of the show's novelizations to rise to the challenge of constructing a story that would necessitate the return of the previous Doctors and the classic companions, not an easy task. And while "The Five Doctors" marks a diverting time waster, it falls short of really being a satisfactory celebration of the world's longest-running science fiction series. To start with the storyline is fairly shallow, a contrivance that consists of nothing more than a string of set pieces, woven together and doesn't make entire sense when the villain is finally unmasked and his plot revealed. Dicks ear for dialogue is, for the most part, okay although he does deliver a couple of stinkers. "No, not the mind probe" is of course the most cheesy and laughable.

Nevertheless, the nostalgia value is pretty high and it's wonderful to see both the wonderful Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee reprising their old roles, playing off one another brilliantly in their later scenes together. Richard Hurndall who bears little resemblance to the late William Hartnell can't quite capture all of the first Doctor's mannerisms but is never the less passable while it's sad to see Tom Baker's Doctor reduced to nothing more than a mere cameo, although in fairness it couldn't be helped. Davison meanwhile, while a good actor displays his usual insipidity as the fifth Doctor with Janet Fielding being left to bolster any interest in their initial scenes while Mark Strickson's Turlough manages to be equally as mundane. The rest of the cast effortlessly step back into their old roles, Elizabeth Sladen is as reliable as ever as fan favorite Sarah Jane Smith as is Carole Ann Ford as Susan. Nicholas Courtney is excellent as the weary, sardonic Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart whose scenes with Troughton on Gallifrey by far being the most enjoyable, the chemistry between the two never waning for a second. Anthony Ainley who is never less fine is lumbered with a camp-looking Master once again looking more like a pantomime villain rather than a criminal mastermind, a testament to John Nathan Turner's middling period as executive producer. With brief cameos by Fraser Hines, Wendy Padbury, Caroline John, and Richard Franklin and a host of classic monsters thrown in for good measure, it's all something of a guilty pleasure. A vacuous pat on the back although far from achieving greatness is miles better than the dire twenty-fifth-anniversary special, "Silver Nemesis" which Sylvester McCoy was lumbered with, in 1988.

A curiosity rather than a necessity to any Whovians DVD collection, I wouldn't grumble too much if I had never seen "The Five Doctor's" but for the nostalgic value alone and some good performances its worth a watch if you get the chance, just don't expect anything special in this anniversary special.

"No, not the mind probe!"

[zedthedestroyer · 1 March 2001]

The 20th Anniversary episode of "Doctor Who" is low on plot and features some ridiculous dialogue (see above). But who cares. The nostalgia factor is very high. And it's great to see all the Doctors, companions, and monsters packed into one story. The story only seems to flag during the Fifth Doctor's conspiracy investigation in the Capitol.

Troughton and Pertwee easily slide back into their characters despite not having played them in years, and Richard Hurndall does well as the First Doctor.

The Low-Budget version of The Day of the Doctor!

[wetmars · 10/10 · 16 March 2020]

I loved this episode, it was so fun seeing all the doctors together but it sucks that Tom Baker technically wasn't in this episode because he declined the role, even this is sort of a multi-companion story! I missed Sarah Jane Smith and she was really great at this episode. The Third Doctor and the Second Doctor was also fantastic! Even the first doctor.

It was surprising to see the Daleks return! Just wow.. even the first appearance of Rassilon! I give this a very good ol' solid 10/10.

More of a catalogue than a programme.

[loza-1 · 3/10 · 10 July 2005]

Someone at the BBC came up with the idea that they should make a programme featuring all five incarnations of the Doctor. A meeting was held, and it was decided that the programme should be made. There were a few problems. Tom Baker didn't want to know, and William Hartnell had gone to that great television studio in the sky. But with a little old footage and substituting Richard Hurndall for Hartnell, the problems were ironed out. And since Anthony Ainley was already doing for Roger Delgado what Richard Hurndall was doing for William Hartnell, there was no problem with The Master.

Some old companions turn up too. These include Fraser Hines and Wendy Padbury; and a mature trench-coated Carole Ann Ford gets to shriek: "Grandfather! Grandfather!" like only she can.

Of course all your favourite monsters turn up just to muddy up the reunion a bit, and the story is passable, considering the task set for the scriptwriters.

The programme was made as a celebration of nostalgia. It does its job quite well. but as an exciting film, I am afraid it falls flat.

Still it was nice to see some old faces, and I thought that Richard Hurndall was a good sub for Hartnell.

The Second Doctor Was Great

[Irelander · 23 June 2003]

Breaking the Timelords first law of time... five doctors in a deadly game...

This was a fun thing to watch, as a fan of the 2nd and 4th Docs I was gutted that Tom Backer turn the show down.

The Late and Great Patick Troughton was Great, it was like he never left the role as The Doctor...

I'd also note that the other Doctors do good jobs in this Classic tale. They ensure you are having a fun watch from start to finish.

With all the old baddies and a lot of the doctor's old sidekicks, this is a must see for all and any Doctor Who Fans.

Enjoy The Show.

A party - with no particular sense of drama.

[IKeiller · 11 July 1999]

This is as happy a celebration as a 20 year old science fiction programme could hope to have. A mish-mash of Doctors and monsters, it works better as a series of character vignettes than a dramatic story. The episode (it is best viewed as the 90 minute film of the original transmission) ambles spendidly through mini-adventures for all concerned, sort of aiming towards the showdown at the end, but with no great tension for the audience.

It's a little odd to think that we're now another 16 years on.