OH MY WORD. THE THREE DOCTORS
Is it perfect? No. But as an anniversary special does it work? Yes.
I like the other anniversary specials but I like to see the other Doctors interact. Two Doctors, as fun as it is, has Baker and Troughton barely on-screen together, which always bothered me (and when they are onscreen its perfect! So why weren't they together more often?!?).
Here though, excluding Episode 2 and some of Episode 3 when they get split up, Troughton and Pertwee are sensational to watch as a double act. I can't take my eyes of them when either one alone is onscreen, let alone both of them!
Together they alone make this worthwhile to watch.
William Hartnell. I often wonder what could have been had he been well enough to get involved physically but all things considered, I enjoyed seeing him again. You can tell he loves this role, which is why its such a shame he couldn't have got involved more directly. But I appreciated seeing him again, along with his usual humour deployed against his successors "a dandy and a clown".
On the subject of what could have been: Jamie and Zoe. Both were supposed to come back. In the case of Jamie however, Frazer Hines was busy on Emmerdale Farm and Jon Pertwee objected to having too many characters. As it stands, Benton got a lot of Jamie's lines and work, obviously re-written so suit him. But I love Benton, he's such a fun character (and I still don't know why Yates is superior in rank to him). So, whilst we'll never know what it would have been like having Jamie and Zoe, it doesn't bother me with Benton standing in for them, he's easily capable of doing it well. Especially compared to say Baker or Eccelston not appearing in the Five Doctors and Day of the Doctor for instance, that bothers me. At least in this case all the Doctors were technically present.
Omega doesn't really work. He's basically just Azal again (with the same actor with the blazing voice). He's better designed though and the twist about him having no face works well. The Gell guards are decent enough though. Not perfect but adequate. Omegas palace on the other hand is a marvel to look at. I'd actually forgotten how nice it looks. And the nice music you get when they're going through the corridors is a good touch.
I also love Benton and the Brigs first reaction to the TARDIS and traveling through time. Brig "Doctor this time you've gone too far: There's... There's sand everywhere!" Troughton "Oh splendid, who's for a swim?". I actually liked having Troughton helping out UNIT for a change instead of Pertwee, if only because of how much it clearly angers the Brig.
As an anniversary special, it works. I liked it a lot, the Pertwee/Troughton double act is worth watching it for alone, let alone all the other good stuff.
 |