I wanted to do something to mark the anniversary of the
shows 50th but I didn’t want to write an overview of the series
(what a nightmare that would be, and because I have kind of done my own spin on
that with my ‘why I love Doctor Who’ article). Instead I thought I would
assemble my top 50 moments from the classic series and add to the piece, once a
day, leading right up to the anniversary. I would have included the new series
– but I have already completed a ‘favourite NuWho moments’ article here, and I
will include that at the tail end of this piece. The scenes/moments I have
chosen aren’t always the show stopping ones (although sometimes they are) or
the transitions between Doctors and companions (although sometimes they are)
but moments in the series that make it unique and magical for me. Originally I
was going to take the list and try and put it in some kind of order but that
was proving impossible, I couldn’t determine which of these choices should be
more important than the others so instead I have shoved the lot in a cup and I
am going to be pulling them out randomly. This will (hopefully) give an
interesting overview of the series. Feel free to agree or disagree but I hope
through this list you can see why I adore this crazy old cult TV show so much
and why I am so happy that it reached such a landmark birthday…
50 - The Five Doctors ‘I’m definitely not
the man I was…thank goodness’
One of those stories that it is impossible not to overlook
it’s scant faults and simply bask in the nostalgic glory of the piece, The Five
Doctors is a riotous anniversary party where every man and his dog from the
shows past turns up to celebrate.
I could have chosen so many scenes from this story, because
there are lots of lovely moments that make you beam with fanboy delight – the
first Doctor, Susan and the TARDIS in the same shot, the second Doctor and the
Brig with Cybermen recalling The Invasion, the third Doctor meeting the
Cybermen and tidying up that little gap plus his and Sarah’s magical meeting
with Ainley’s Master (lovely to see Pertwee and Ainley meet and Sarah only
missed a meeting with the Doctor’s arch enemy by three stories at one side of
her tenure and one story at the other), Susan seeing the Master is another
great moment as is the second Doctor, the Brigadier and the Yeti (the
conditions under which they first met), the first Doctor seeing the Cybermen is
like a portent of his own death, even though they are phantoms its wonderful to
see Mike Yates and Liz Shaw together only missing each other by one story in
the Pertwee era, the meeting between Tegan and Sarah is unfortunate however as
the dazzling past meets the unfortunate present (although neither of them is
especially good at pretend silent chatting), the Brigadier meeting Sarah and
Tegan shows how long his association with the Doctor has been and it wouldn’t
have been quiet right had Pertwee and Courtney not had a moment together…oh and
the Brig gets to punch the Master.
It’s a delightful story, but what I was waiting for was the
scene where the five Doctors all come together and wisely Terrance Dicks saves
that for the climax. After the battle of wills between Doctors 1,2,3 and 5 with
Borusa we are left with a plethora of characters all standing around waiting to
be dispatched to their proper time and place. Terrance Dicks thrives on this
kind of nightmare assignment and scripts a scene where pretty much all of the
characters interact in some way, dishing out witty lines and basking in the
sentiment of having so many collective Doctor Who treasures together for a
unique occasion. It would certainly never happen quite like this again (except
perhaps the upcoming Big Finish adventure, The Light at the End). Troughton and
Pertwee indulge in their comedy feud, Sarah Jane is confused, the Brigadier has
a sentimental moment being surrounding by so many versions of his closest
friend, Susan gets to see how her Grandfather turns out and the current team of
the Doctor, Tegan and Turlough get to play act the same sequence of events that
lead to the Doctor on Earth in An Unearthly Child. ‘You mean you’re
deliberately going on the run from your own people in a rackety old TARDIS?’
‘Why not? After all, that’s how it all started…’
No comments:
Post a Comment