Earlier today I happened to read a piece of modern commentary that was at great pains to remind less worldly fans that Doctor Who seasons from the 1960s weren't micromanaged to the ridiculous degree that seasons of the rebooted series are today. (No story arcs, no character development, no plot pointers scattered hither and yon, and certainly no - insert teeth-grinding sound effect here - "emotional climax").
Similarly, it's so easy these days to be tempted to view stories like "The Three Doctors" by modern expectations of what constitutes an anniversary knees-up. But when you actually look at things, Doctor Who makes a wonderfully characteristic inconsistent stab at it.
And to keep you in suspense, we'll get back to talking about the first notable anniversary (the ten year one) later when we've had a look at some notable others.
First out of the hat are the celebrations to mark the 100th broadcast story. Taking "Mission To the Unknown" into their count (as indeed they should), the production team initially went to all the trouble of writing an extra scene into "The Stones of Blood" where the Doctor is presented with a cake to celebrate his 751st birthday. Party-pooper Graham Williams deemed the scene too silly, and the it was never shot (but the crew got to eat the cake, apparantly).
While no great loss to the world, it would perhaps have been a nice touch had anybody realised at the time that the broadcast of Part Four of "The Stones of Blood" was to be a mere five days before the 15th Anniversary of the series. John-Nathan Turner would have sold his grandmother for a coincidence like that...
Which brings us to the next milestone, the 20th Anniversary. And what a corker that was. After the almost-afterthought misfire of selling Season 20 as featuring "an element from the Doctor's past" in every story (which is kind of ok if you want to count the Black Guardian three times out of an eventual six), we got "The Five Doctors", the Longleat weekend, and, erm... the "Doctor Who: A Celebration" book by Peter Haining.
Joking aside, "The Five Doctors" was at the time of broadcast seen to be such a success that it was temporarily cool to be a fan again, even in the confines of a provincial English public school where such things were normally viewed as juvenile and (as we said in the 80s) gay.
But more about "The Five Doctors", Longleat and Peter Haining when we look at Serial 5K itself...
Never one to fall foul of the mistakes of his predecessors, J-NT decided that the 150th broadcast story was worth a bit of publicity, and so the otherwise unremarkable "Dragonfire" got a minor bit of coverage in the press. Unfortunately, he jumped the gun somewhat when he cheated and counted "The Trial of a Time Lord" as four separate stories. If he'd only waited, the 150th broadcast show would have been "Silver Nemesis", which was ironically touted as the 25th Anniversary show. (It featured Courtney Pine, the Queen (cough), and the plot of "Remembrance of the Daleks").
The 30th and 40th Anniversaries saw the series not actually on the air, but the 30th gave us a repeat season, loads of VHS releases and "Dimensions In Time" (so it was therefore a good thing, despite what many might say). And the 40th had a nice logo...
And the 50th... well, yer modern timey-wimey stuff that at least brought Paul McCann back in from the cold (albeit obliquely) and managed very well thank you without the perpetually disgruntled Eccleston.
So... what's all this got to do with "The Three Doctors"? The question of perspective, that's what.
From the sometimes underwhelming on-screen evidence, it's difficult to remember what a big deal Serial RRR actually was. Look... all three Doctors (almost) together at last! A threat the (then) omnipotent Time Lords were babbing their pants about! Patrick-fucking-Troughton being interviewed on Pebble Mill At One!
I genuinely like "The Three Doctors". But while the concept and script are amazing, it looks as if all the budget was blown on securing Troughton and Hartnell for the party, with nothing left in the pot for what's happening on screen. Lennie Mayne was probably not the best choice of director for the gig, Katy Manning has to perform Jo Grant as a hideous moron, and the Brigadier's character also hits an all-time low. (At one point he has a little huffy fit where he has to go and have a private moment, and let's not forget the "hilarity" of the Cromer stuff).
But... perspective, I keep telling myself. Before "The Five Doctors" raised the bar so much (and "The Two Doctors" tried to deflate the pomp and circumstance), "The Three Doctors" was a special in every sense of the word. (And Troughton is so fucking amazing it almost hurts).
As I said the first time around... what's a bridge for, eh?
The 30th and 40th Anniversaries saw the series not actually on the air, but the 30th gave us a repeat season, loads of VHS releases and "Dimensions In Time" (so it was therefore a good thing, despite what many might say). And the 40th had a nice logo...
And the 50th... well, yer modern timey-wimey stuff that at least brought Paul McCann back in from the cold (albeit obliquely) and managed very well thank you without the perpetually disgruntled Eccleston.
So... what's all this got to do with "The Three Doctors"? The question of perspective, that's what.
From the sometimes underwhelming on-screen evidence, it's difficult to remember what a big deal Serial RRR actually was. Look... all three Doctors (almost) together at last! A threat the (then) omnipotent Time Lords were babbing their pants about! Patrick-fucking-Troughton being interviewed on Pebble Mill At One!
I genuinely like "The Three Doctors". But while the concept and script are amazing, it looks as if all the budget was blown on securing Troughton and Hartnell for the party, with nothing left in the pot for what's happening on screen. Lennie Mayne was probably not the best choice of director for the gig, Katy Manning has to perform Jo Grant as a hideous moron, and the Brigadier's character also hits an all-time low. (At one point he has a little huffy fit where he has to go and have a private moment, and let's not forget the "hilarity" of the Cromer stuff).
But... perspective, I keep telling myself. Before "The Five Doctors" raised the bar so much (and "The Two Doctors" tried to deflate the pomp and circumstance), "The Three Doctors" was a special in every sense of the word. (And Troughton is so fucking amazing it almost hurts).
As I said the first time around... what's a bridge for, eh?
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