Doctor, Doctor! Our Five Fave Multi-Doctor Adventures!
The Doctor Who Team
There’s always something special about a multi-Doctor story. The return of familiar faces, the moments where the Doctors banter and bicker and the feeling that the Time Lord is finally speaking to someone who understands the danger and excitement of his world…
As we look ahead to Twice Upon a Time where the current ‘version’ meets his first self – the original, you might say – we look back on five of our fave multi-Doctor adventures.
The Five Doctors
The show’s twentieth anniversary special is so charming and fun it’s impossible to dislike. The Second Doctor teams up with the Brig, the Third Doctor is back with the returning Sarah Jane Smith and the Fifth Doctor works with the First to find out whose crazy scheme has put Gallifrey and his own existence in jeopardy. Loads of fan-pleasing cameos and great footage of the Fourth Doctor courtesy of Shada, the unfinished adventure originally intended to close season 17. Maybe don’t look too closely at the plot… Just enjoy one of the most nostalgic reunion parties Doctor Who ever hosted!
Time Crash
The first of a few multi-Doctor stories written by Steven Moffat clocks in at under ten minutes but still manages to deliver drama, humour and an ‘awww’ moment we can all relate to as the Tenth Doctor tells the Fifth, ‘You were my Doctor…’ The first multi-Doctor story since the show’s return in 2005, it manages to be an essential part of the Tenth Doctor’s travels whilst remaining an affectionate nod to the show’s past. Or as the Tenth Doctor himself summed it up, ‘All my love to long ago…’
Day of the Daleks
We’re popping this one into the list as Day of the Daleks was the very first adventure where the Doctor met, chatted and interacted with himself! It’s often overlooked because we see two versions of the same (Third) Doctor and the multi-Doctor scene is relatively short. But it’s a cracking adventure – Steven Moffat points out how fantastic it is – and crucially, it set an important precedent… Whilst Day of the Daleks opened the show’s ninth season, the tenth season kicked off with the first of the full on multi-Doctor stories in the form of…
The Three Doctors
Let’s be honest. The first adventure where the Doctor meets previous versions of himself has a few – ahem – issues. The ‘gell guards’ aren’t the most convincing enemies and when the Brigadier declares UNIT HQ is ‘a top secret security establishment’ it’s baffling to see a massive sign outside the building minutes later, announcing exactly what the complex is and even who’s in charge of it!
But the whole thing really gets going when the Second Doctor rocks up and starts arguing with the (then incumbent) Third Doctor. Their marvellously tetchy dynamic is often played for laughs but when the crisis facing the cosmos is revealed they switch to serious mode and conspire to lend the story an extra gravitas. Throw in cameos from the First Doctor, notably his amused reaction to his future selves – ‘So you’re my replacements? A dandy and a clown!’ – and we have a cracking four-parter that celebrated the show’s tenth season in style!
The Day of the Doctor
The big one. All twelve Doctors joining forces to save Gallifrey? ‘No, sir! All thirteen!’ Hard to imagine anything else being crammed into this glorious adventure that marked Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary… A ‘secret’ Doctor? Check. Ten and Eleven being perfect together? Check. Daleks, Zygons, awesome Time War action, Tom Baker cameo and a great fez gag? Check, check, check, check, check!
Honourable mentions…
A few adventures almost made it into our top five including The Two Doctors which featured the return not just of the Second Doctor and Jamie, but (after an absence of over half a decade) the Sontarans. The Name of the Doctor introduced the War Doctor in a memorable scene that showed the Eleventh Doctor facing him with contempt and of course, we can’t miss out the incredible The Doctor Falls that finished with the Twelfth Doctor meeting the First…
So, will those two Doctors get along? And what dangers will they face? You can find out on Christmas Day in Twice Upon a Time!
