The Three Doctors

Remarkably, as season ten begins we are able to look back at Doctor Who's long legacy and celebrate the disparate elements that have made up its first ten years. The ten year landmark is a superb achievement and it is a great credit to Barry Letts that he wanted to do an anniversary story incorporating the first two Doctors.

The Three Doctors multi-Doctor led narrative is its USP and this is successful. It is a small shame that Hartnell was unable to get fully involved in the action, but lovely to see him onscreen nonetheless. Patrick Troughton is in his element and has to be the best aspect of this story. After a limp season nine it really made me really miss The Second Doctor. Season nine has possibly made me less excited to jump into Pertwee tales.

The Second and Third Doctor's rivalry is a wonderful invention. It helps what could otherwise be a very dull dynamic with both actors stepping on each others toes. There were moments where Pertwee genuinely look appalled at the idea of having to share screen time with Troughton, but that must have been acting (...surely!) It made me feel lucky to be a fan of a show with this many toys at its disposal.

The First Doctor's assessment of his successors being "a dandy and a clown" is an immortal line which will forever shape the way we see these two characters. Make no mistake, The Three Doctors is on the essential reading list for any new fan.

It is another small shame that Jamie McCrimmon was not involved in this story, throughout it felt like Sergeant Benton was filling in for his role, luckily he is an excellent understudy.

This is the first time that we've seen multiple Time Lords since The War Games (on what I presume is the newly named Gallifrey). These appearances combined with The Doctor being rewarded with renewed time travel capabilities makes this a very significant story indeed but, characters aside, is this story any good? Unfortunately not. The blobby monsters are rubbish, Omega is okay and the alien planet is dull and generic. Also, I swear this is the third time we've had those exact same farmer/wife couple in Doctor Who since Spearhead from Space.

A brief glimpse of Bob Baker and Dave Martin's trademark freaky visuals can be seen when Pertwee took on Omega in a "battle of minds". Whatever dimension that scene was set in was awesome. Its a shame that in the two sets of scripts they've written since The Claws of Axos they have not been able to quite stretch these great moments over a whole story.

None of this is particularly important though as The Three Doctors is meant to be a character led story focusing on bringing together our old favourites. It is easy to be jaded in retrospect, but at the time this would have been the first time that most fans had seen Hartnell's Doctor in seven years (if they were even old enough to remember). This story really helps consolidate the show as a single entity, which is vital especially when considering that Pertwee's era can sometimes feel disconnected to the 1960s show.

I love those first three Doctors.

A hugely enjoyable serial from start to finish. The Second and Third Doctor’s banter is hilarious to witness, and Stephen Thorne is excellent casting as Omega. This is one you can just watch over and over, and always find something new to appreciate.

This being the multi-Doctor adventure which started the tradition, it's hard not to see why multi-Doctor stories became as popular as they are today. Whilst it's a shame William Hartnell couldn't have a bigger role due to illness, Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee are hilarious together and form a entertaining double act.

The plot also adds some interesting details to Time Lord mythos; here, we meet the stellar engineer of time travel technology Omega (who was trapped in a anti-matter universe by the Time Lords). Omega is one of the best villains ever to be introduced in the show; he has a certain presence that makes you instantly fear him whenever he appears in shot. It's also a rare instance where the classic series look almost rivals the look of the monsters and villains in the new series; Omega's costume would not look out of place in the 2005 reboot of the show.

If you love Doctor Who and haven't seen The Three Doctors, then I urge you to watch it. For it showcases exactly what makes the traditional multi-Doctor adventure so great.

The Three Doctors is a delightful bit of Who history. It wears that on its face, so I don't really feel the need to repeat the big production milestones this story represents.

I will say I largely enjoyed the story, from the Brigadier going into the TARDIS, to the Time Lords and Omega, it all just works for the story. Very familiar to what would later be used in DC's Crisis of Infinite Earths, which is interesting.

The Second Doctor is so great here and a huge draw of this story is just watching him bounce off of all the other characters, especially Stewart, The Third Doctor, and Omega. The effects leave a lot to be desired, from Blob monsters and pretty silly camera tricks. That's not even to mention the way that the First Doctor has to be sadly sort of stapled on to the story due to Hartnell's health issues. That's not really anyone's fault, but just an inevitable shortcoming to a crossover here.

Still, this was a fun time overall, and probably to date one of the better Doctor crossovers thanks to its underdog nature and the fact it was first up. Definitely worth watching for anyone familiar with the first three Doctors.

Fair play to the BBC: they decided to celebrate 10 years of Doctor Who with a story bringing all three actors who'd played the Doctor together for the first time, and they knocked it straight out the park

The plot is compelling, Omega makes for a great antagonist, and the interactions between the Second and Third Doctors are wonderful to behold. All around banger serial