Doctor Who – The Three Doctors

Doctor Who – The Three Doctors, starring Jon Pertwee, Patrick Troughton, William Hartnell, Katy Manning, Nicholas Courtney

In The Three Doctors, The Time Lords are in crisis. A powerful force is draining their energy into a mysterious Black Hole … And they’re forced to recruit the Doctor to save them. But one Doctor isn’t enough for this mission. All three of the Doctor’s incarnations, aided by Jo Grant and UNIT, must face the wrath of Omega. He’s an ancient Time Lord trapped in a universe of anti-matter, with one thing on his mind: Escape. Which soon turns to revenge …

Review

I have to say, I feel sorry for Omega, the antagonist of The Three Doctors. He’s one of the founders of Time Lord society. But he’s been accidentally exiled for thousands of years. Without his efforts, time travel for the Time Lords would have been impossible. But, he’s been driven nearly mad by his insanely long time alone.

It’s not that I want him to win, mind you. He’s dangerous, and is willing to cause massive chaos and damage to escape. But I have empathy for him. Also, his mask and outfit is quite impressive, given the BBC’s low budget:

However, the same can’t be said for his antimatter minions …. They simply look silly. But again, there was little to no budget. One other disappointing thing was William Hartnell’s limited participation in the story. I know that he was having severe health issues. But, it’s too bad that he wasn’t able to participate more fully.

Still, the interaction‘ between Jon Pertwee’s third Doctor and Patrick Troughton’s second Doctor is delightful to watch. Especially when the second Doctor seems to be silly … But he’s actually quite canny, such as when he’s testing Omega’s temper. As the second Doctor explains to the first, it’s Omega’s only weakness …

Cast

• Jon Pertwee (The House that Dripped Blood) … Dr. Who. The third doctor. And more of a man of action that his predecessors.
• Patrick Troughton (Jason and the Argonauts, Scars of Dracula) … Dr. Who. The second doctor, the “cosmic hobo”.
• William Hartnell (Dr. Who: The Daleks) … Dr. Who. Then the original doctor, the oldest (600 years) and most experienced.
• Katy Manning (Planet of the Daleks) … Jo Grant. Assistant to the third doctor. A nice, kind young lady. A good companion for John Pertwee.
• Nicholas Courtney (Doctor Who: Terror of the Autons) … Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart. The U.N.I.T. liaison, who’s worked with several iterations of The Doctor. Which leads to some comedy when he has to deal with two of “him” at once!
• John Levene … Sergeant Benton. Another U.N.I.T. military man.
• Rex Robinson … Dr. Tyler
• Roy Purcell … President of the Council
• Laurie Webb … Mr. Ollis
• Clyde Pollitt … Chancellor
• Graham Leaman … Time Lord
• Patricia Prior … Mrs. Ollis
• Denys Palmer … Corporal Palmer