Doctor Who (TV Series) The Three Doctors: Episode One (1972) User Reviews

Doctor Doctor (& Doctor)

[Lejink · 8/10 · 9 February 2013]

How great it was for me to see my two Doctors, numbers 2 & 3, Patrick Troughton, my first and the one I really watched the most growing up as a kid, Jon Pertwee in the same adventure. Actually, the first doctor, the crotchety William Hartnell, sadly ailing at the time of production, also makes a necessarily curtailed cameo appearance to give the adventure its title and act as almost a sort of paternal referee between his two younger, but very different successors as they bicker amongst themselves.

The story itself is fine, involving a renegade Time Lord's plan to destroy the universe and neatly appropriates the old legend of Hercules and Atlas for the crux of the tale. Pertwee and Troughton are both excellent in their different ways with neither hogging the limelight and bouncing off each other most entertainingly.

It was good to see the crusty Lethbridge-Stewart nonplussed at the appearance of the two docs as well as getting to finally enter the TARDIS. Katy Manning, as usual, gets to wear a mini-skirt and fawn over Pertwee, although she does at least come up with the idea for the feuding Doctors to pool their resources to effectively fight Omega. It might have been nice for say, Frazer Hines to make a showing too as Jamie, to assist Troughton and balance the ticket, but you can't have everything.

The only weakness is the usual laughably unscary monsters employed by Omega, which look like freshly-made jam puddings, but on the whole this deliberately nostalgic episode is an almost complete success and certainly one of the most memorable.

Not A Dry Celestial Eye for Hartnell's Sweet Swansong

[Philip2023 · 9/10 · 31 December 2020]

(this review is for the full four part story)

So much has been written about The Three Doctors, in particular about Patrick Troughton's very excellent return (and first chance to be the Doctor on colour television) and about Jon Pertwee's very gracious and well judged playing as the present doctor "hosting' - and being in my book, a perfect host - the multi-lead jamboree.

A warm word also, in case it's needed, for the full cast, regulars and guests, and for Barry Letts and all concerned who took a risk here with a radical Who anniversary format played for high stakes (the season openers in this era were front page news) which paid off, and as which we know has been a go-to for Doctor Who high days ever since.

It does however look cheap. The bobble monsters are quite silly. And there is padding. So why in the cosmos such a high rating?

Because The Three Doctors is in the end pantomime, and a beautiful, sweet one, with yes, indeed, very over the top bobbly villains, and also a real tragic baddie so warped and awful he has to live alone in his own separate heavenly black hole and then discovers he has ceased physically to exist at all.

There's also, almost (although they'd hate this, which of course makes the joke a thousand times funnier) a kind of celestial guild of charmless ugly sisters in the shape of the Time Lords, who when on top (see The War Games) are prim and bossy and appalling enough, but now they need help and what a wonderful spectacle they've become.

Which is all good enough - and The Three Doctors would make a good show with just that.

But then there's the late, brilliant, amazing William Hartnell. A returned First Doctor, seen only on a monitor screen, who in I estimate less than five minutes of performance, perched and swaying as he is on apparently a kind of airborne pantomime carriage up in the stars, steals the show entirely.

I read Jessica Carney's biography of her grandfather this year, and from it you can begin to hazard to scratch perhaps the surface of the actor who played the First Doctor. This is someone who, perhaps along with Troughton and Pertwee, took Doctor Who from a standing start, very experimental and highly cancellable at the flick of a channel controller's whim, to the place from which, turbo-bolstered by Tom Baker, it has so far proved impossible for either the Daleks or the BBC even to dream of how truly to exterminate it.

And Hartnell, it seems, simply loved being Doctor Who, rejoicing as he regularly took up his wig and arrived to entertain and gladhand thousands upon thousands, adults as well as children, who would turn out every week to see their Time Lord at their local village fetes.

From what I read he was flabbergasted in his 50s to find himself a national treasure, and so ill was he when forced after just three years to retire from Who that he barely acted again. Indeed, apart from the Three Doctors the one main production he did do was indeed a brief turn in pantomime, and that's what takes us straight to The Three Doctors.

In it he pitches up, marooned in a "time eddy" but utterly unflapped by that, notes the others are finding it all heavy going, briskly administers verbal cuffs as he sees fit, mainly to his future selves, but also more or less to the Time Lords, and then has the idea that sparks a solving of the mystery.

And with the universe satisfactory again, he is off in his star carriage, to where the currents of time and space may next take him.

That was his final goodbye. And Barry Letts and the others had to push ferociously hard to get his family to let him do this much. A million Galifreyan hearts will have melted those winter Saturday nights nearly 50 years ago, as the old boy, stricken but still magnificent, once again did everyone proud.

So much fun.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 28 October 2019]

Something strange is pouring out of the ground, and zapping people away. It's a formidable force, The Timelords have a plan to combat the menace.

It's a fitting 10th anniversary special, it's a particularly good story, and has some great production values, it looks very solid. It's wonderful to see the return of Troughton and Hartnell, the interplay between the three is terrific, and we get to see them both in colour. Troughton, in particular is just dazzling on screen, I adore him. I imagine Hartnell adored doing this, still has the gravitas.

I'm so glad they reverted back to the original TARDIS interior, it's looking much sleeker, and gone on are the round washing up bowls. I know the special effects are a bit fuzzy looking, buy for the time, I imagine they looked smart, maybe when they release the Blu-ray they can do something with it.

Tonnes of fun. 9/10

Anniversary Waltz! Pertwee, Troughton and Hartnell interplay creates some magic.

[A_Kind_Of_CineMagic · 10/10 · 12 October 2014]

Review of all 4 episodes:

This story marked the 10th anniversary of the series and it is a very good birthday party as all three actors who had played The Doctor appear and have dialogue together. The production is not perfect but it is perfectly magic! It is the interplay of the 3 versions of The Doctor which adds the real magic to this adventure.

The storyline involves a legendary Time Lord, Omega, who is trapped in a world of antimatter inside a Black Hole which he created to bring the power of time travel to the Time Lords. He has been there for a very long time and has become mad with bitterness and rage at being 'left' trapped after giving the Time Lords their powers by his ingenuity and bravery. Over the vast time he has been trapped he has developed ways to attack the known universe and the Time Lords using antimatter. The Time Lords realise The Doctor may be able to fight Omega and to increase his chances they allow his two previous incarnations to cross into their own future so that the three Doctors can combine their intellect and battle Omega. The first Doctor (Hartnell) is caught in a 'time eddy' so cannot physically join them but he is able to communicate with the 2nd and 3rd Doctors. They bicker and banter but along with Jo, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and Sgt. Benton they bravely pool their efforts to save the universe.

The production in general is very good but not necessarily really great in every respect. Limitations of technology and budget mean the effects are not very good. The blob monsters serving Omega are the worst example of the imperfections to be found and the effect of the power transporting things into Omega's world is another. However the magic touch from the three Doctors make this something special and I never judge things purely by effects. Indeed if they were to make an enhanced CGI version with everything exactly the same except for improving the effects then this would basically eliminate any real gripes I might have with this serial. I can overlook the unimpressive effects as apart from that there is so much charm and brilliance on show.

The dialogue is beautifully written by writers Bob Baker and Dave Martin and all the character interaction is great. Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee are marvelous, performing their roles to perfection whilst William Hartnell's special quality shines through in his scenes despite ill health limiting his contribution. The scripting and performance of all their scenes together is terrific and often very amusing with the fun banter working really well.

There is an epic quality to the storyline with the universe being threatened and the involvement of the Time Lords and their legendary hero turned adversary Omega. The idea is interesting and Omega is a fascinating villain. The plot works in spite of its convoluted scientific ideas. It comes across as menacing, engrossing and fun.

Nicholas Courtney adds real quality as the Brigadier with some hilarious reactions and strong involvement in the story. Benton has one of his best adventures while Jo brings her usual endearing nature. Guest characters are well played also.

A really charming and enjoyable romp with some superb work from the 3 tremendous actors who made Doctor Who's first 10 years so fantastic.

Effects aside, this is a 10/10 classic throughout.

Wonderful comic interplay and an action-packed narrative

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 19 June 2015]

Review of the Complete Story:

THE THREE DOCTORS is a well-remembered serial from the Jon Pertwee era of DOCTOR WHO. It's certainly a memorable production which packs plenty of ingredients into the narrative: not one, not two, but three different incarnations of the Doctor; the welcome return of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and Sergeant Benton; a world-eating alien blob; time travel; ugly lava monsters; and a renegade Time Lord known only as Omega.

Inevitably the story was going to be an entertaining one with all those ingredients and Who fans are in for a treat with this one. The best scenes are those in which Pertwee and Patrick Troughton are paired up to constantly belittle each other - a real delight. It's a real pity that William Hartnell's poor health meant that he was relegated to appearing on a monitor for a handful of scenes, but at least it's a fitting swansong for the first Doctor.

Those stories featuring the Brigadier are always among my favourites and Nicholas Courtney is on top form here. It's also good to see John Levene's Benton get more screen time than usual. THE THREE DOCTORS is chock full of cheesy special effects work, from dodgy alien planets to monsters which look like walking pasta bakes, but the late-stage intervention of the megalomaniac Omega only adds to the fun. It's not perfect - what is? - but it's a whole lotta fun nonetheless.

Looking Backwards And Forwards

[Theo Robertson · 7/10 · 16 August 2010]

Review Of All Four Episodes - Some Spoilers

Outside the debut season of Pertwee season ten is probably the most consistent . It's certainly the most colorful and being the tenth anniversary producer Barry Letts came up with the idea of a celebration by reuniting all three Doctors in one adventure . It's not an unqualified success since William Hartnell was to ill to take part so only appears in a time-bubble on the Tardis monitor screen which is a great pity . That said Patrick Troughton as Doctor Two dominates the entire story and steals every single scene he appears in

The story itself is rather basic and no great shakes with the universe being in danger from a black hole which in galactic terms is like the whole of human civilization being threatened by a hurricane . , Despite this the plots not what people tuned in for and trailers along with the Radio Times ensured the audience were going to be treated to some nostalgia and it works much better here than in NuWho where everything including the kitchen sink is thrown in . It's a much more disciplined probably because the production team weren't rabid fans , they were merely professional TV people not interested in trying to second guess what the audience wanted and one wonders if we'll ever see this type of professionalism in a show that nowadays can become painfully post modernist and overblown ?

Where the story succeeds is in the character interaction . The second and third doctors soon descend in to bickering which is genuinely amusing and all too short as the third doctor gets transported with Jo in to the black hole in the first episode cliffhanger . This sets up the second episode where the Brigadier meets the second doctor and jumps to the conclusion that he's regenerated back in to the character he first met in The Web Of Fear . Nicholas Courtney is fondly remembered in fandom since he was as much a part of the programme as Jon Pertwee in the early 1970s He's written as being somewhat narrow minded and stupid in this tale but Courtney rises above the material

Where the story is less successful is in some of the designs . The Gell Guards look like tinsel jelly babies and as they stumble about in the battle scene in episode one they are quite laughable . It's a colorful story but literally too colorful . Colour television was becoming a more common item in British homes in 1972 and you're left with the impression that the designers are taking advantage of this . Everything is a little too glittery and gaudy . The story is also wrapped up a little too easily but that said we've seen far worse dues ex machina endings from both Russel T Davies and Steven Moffat

It's a pity Hartnell couldn't have played a bigger part in the story but what we have is an entertaining nostalgia piece without the production team going overboard . Whislt it looks back it also looks forward and the time lords send the doctor a dematerialsation circuit for the Tardis effectively ending his exile on Earth .

The Three Doctors: Episode One

[Prismark10 · 7/10 · 9 July 2021]

I got to experience The Three Doctors in the remastered Blu Ray edition.

It was the days when the outside location shots would be done on 16mm film. The studio shots would be done on video. In theory the upgrade is easier to do on the film.

I thought the upgrade on the video was very good and you can see the detail on the faces of the actors.

This tenth anniversary special was actually shown in 1972. The Third Doctor comes across something odd at UNIT headquarters.

The Time Lords on Gallifrey notice that the universe is in grave danger. To help the Third Doctor they summon the Second Doctor.

I guess producer Barry Letts thought that it would be wise to have the two doctors having an antagonistic relationship. This would then allow the First Doctor to enter and keep the peace and keep things orderly.

Hartnell was infirm and his shots were effectively done in his garden shed.

Still some of the lines between the doctors are classics. They have been reused often in other episodes. Sarah Jane mentioned the redecoration of the Tardis in School Reunion.

Looking back at this episode. I was surprised that all three doctors get together in the first episode.

I was also surprised that Sergeant Benton had never been inside the Tardis until this episode.

The Dandy and the Clown

[JamesHitchcock · 6 May 2022]

"The Three Doctors", the first serial in the tenth season of Doctor Who, celebrated the programme's tenth anniversary by uniting all three actors to have played the Doctor as of that date, William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee. Ill-health, however, prevented Hartnell from playing a full role in the serial, and his participation is limited to a pre-recorded cameo viewed on a monitor screen. (This was to be his last acting role before his death in 1975).

We are informed that there is a "First Law of Time" which prevents two or more incarnations of a Time Lord from meeting one another. This, however, appears to be a "law" in the sense of "piece of legislation" rather than a "law of nature", because we are also informed that it can be broken in extreme circumstances. (Strangely, no mention of this law was made when Troughton's Second Doctor appeared alongside Colin Baker's Sixth in "The Two Doctors" from the eighties). So what circumstance so extreme has occurred to require the Time Lords to breach this fundamental law?

The answer is that their home planet Gallifrey is facing a catastrophic situation, with all their power being sucked into a black hole, a state of affairs which threatens not only Gallifrey itself but the entire universe. The problem is so serious that the Time Lords fear that it cannot be solved by one Doctor alone, and that the combined efforts of all three Doctors will be needed. So the Second and Third Doctors are summoned, although the First finds himself trapped in a "time eddy", a plot device invented to explain Hartnell's limited participation.

Imagine the shock to modern America if it were to be discovered that George Washington did not die in 1799 but is still alive and is actively plotting to destroy the country that he helped to found. A shock of similar magnitude awaits the Doctors. For eons the Time Lords have revered a Founding Father named Omega, the solar engineer whose work created the power source that gives them mastery over time. Omega is believed to have died in a supernova explosion, but in fact he was propelled into an "antimatter universe" where he exists on a world created by his will alone. Believing that the Time Lords left him to die, he is now seeking revenge.

I won't set out the plot any further as it gets very complicated, and indeed frequently absurd. The plot isn't the only absurd thing about this serial; there are also those jelly-like monsters who look like Mr Blobby suffering from an unpleasant skin disease. Omega is a potentially tragic figure, but not enough is made of this aspect of his character; for most of the time he just comes across as a bombastic, posturing pantomime villain. We discover towards the end that he does not really exist except as a manifestation of his own will- a bizarre concept. Troughton, however, makes a welcome return to the show; his Second Doctor finds it impossible to get on with Pertwee's Third because of their very different personalities, the Second being more mischievous and irreverent, the Third more urbane and serious. (The sharp exchanges between Troughton and Pertwee are the story's most amusing feature). Hartnell's First Doctor has to try and reconcile them, but even he cannot resist joining in the mutual recriminations, dismissing his successors as "the dandy and the clown". The idea of reuniting the three incarnations of the Doctor was a good one; it is just a pity that a better story could not have been found for them to star in.