Four-and-a-bit Doctors battle Cybers, a chap in silver spandex and a Time Lord conspiracy in the 20th Anniversary Special
The Second Doctor is back and teaming up with The Sixth against alien gluttons and bearded Sontarans in Seville
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The Second Doctor and his trusted companion, not-so-wee-anymore Jamie, are tasked by Galifrey to go to a scientific research station in the Third Zone where a pair of scientists are getting a little too close to figuring out time travel and might cause a temporal paradox in the process. There, they meet with Dastari, geneticist, head of the facility and aficionado of tinted sunglasses, to convince him to stop, and in the process learn that he has technologically and genetically augmented Chessene, a member of the gluttonous and inane Androgum species, to mega-genius levels. This is far more than a mere diplomatic nightmare, though, because Chessene is conspiring with the Sontarans to kill everyone on the station, kidnap The Doctor and force him to reveal to them the secret of time travel.
Meanwhile in the future, The Sixth Doctor and his trusted companion Peri are enjoying the great outdoors when he begins to feel a little wobbly and coincidentally decides to consult his old pal Dastari for medical advice. Happening upon the death and destruction on the station left behind by the Sontarans, as well as a Ben-Gunn’d Jamie, however, they soon realise Doc’s past self is in trouble. For reasons unrelated to the production team wanting a holiday, they track him and his kidnappers thence to 1980s Seville, where they team up with an eccentric lepidopterist and his Spanish consort, try not to get lasered, eaten or turned into Androgums themselves — leaving no one alive in their wake.
There wasn’t an idea turned down for this one Dastari looking like the coolest man in the club while working with Sontarons to conquer time travel using the second doctors genes so they can start their time machine therefore totally ruining the sixth doctors day.
That should be enough but no no au contraire Mon fluffy sausage there are side plots which include nature Vs nurture, moth catching and the genesis of competitive eating.
Doc and doc have some good screen time and I like the two personalities clashing. Do I care that the second doctor and wee little Jamie have aged bringing forth the fabled series 6b idea not at all
Does it make sense probably not but think we can blame the crossed time tracks for that
I’ll give this a 4 out of 5 I’ll pay the bill for them Oscar
Richie Von Sexington
This is the one where a Space-Cannibal takes Doc out for lunch, stiffs him for the bill, murders the manager and then gets brutally murdered by … The Doctor?!
REDACTED – Section on continuity issues, because it doesn’t matter because Yay! Troughton’s back!
Baker definitively states the Time Lords would never have carried out the murders on the Space station, which shows a lot of faith in them, considering everything he knows about them and certain genocides they may have asked him to carry out.
Donna Maria overhears Shockeye speaking and recognises it as English. Does this mean that he has learned English even though he considers humans non-sentient? Or did she not understand him and just assume he must be English, making this a comment on attitudes towards British tourists abroad?
I believe there were complaints about the violence in this one at the time, especially regarding Oscar’s murder; but this is the guy that leaves jars containing enough cyanide to kill a man, just lying around in a field (seriously Oscar, some kids could have found that), so who is the real villain? It’s still Shockeye, but my point remains valid.
This story worked better than the Five Doctors for me, as it wasn’t trying to cram too many past-elements in and only used Troughton and Hines. It allowed them to play 2nd fiddle to the regulars while still getting a decent amount of screen time. I especially enjoyed Troughton’s scenes with Destari and Shockeye.
2.8
Greetings Who Back When team!
While the Second Doctor and Jamie are sent by the Time Lords to stop some scientists (under the supervision of Dr. Dastari) from working on time control, the Sixth Doctor decides to go on a fishing holiday. When a ripple across the Doctor’s timeline makes him think his prior self has been killed, he seeks out Dastari for help. But Chessene, an augmented Androgum, has arranged to deliver a Time Lord (the Doctor) to the Sontarens for his symbiotic nuclei so that they might time travel.
I think this is the best multi-Doctor story since it only has two Doctors to share the screen, effectively replacing the companion-of-the-week. Patrick Troughton is a joy to watch.
Likes:
small details like the globes of the Nine Planets in Dastari’s office
Androgums are wonderful, and need to be brought back. What Is more terrifying than an enemy who thinks you taste good? How do you negotiate with that?
the sontarans are finally a decent threat, and not just a farce
the homicidal defence program on the station’s computer
Dislikes:
Why are the Sontarens needing time travel when they have used it in nearly every story so far?
Too much exposition from the Sixth Doctor. Like they tell us in writing class, show action, not talking.
Dastari (one of the greatest minds in the galaxy, and who had access to the Doctor’s DNA) was supposedly killed by a single bullet. I think he should have crawled away, or regenerated, or something. Maybe he got away before the Hacienda burned down? They never showed his body after he was shot.
If this had been shot in New Orleans as originally planned, it would have broken the trope that Doctor Who thinks America is just New York, Washington DC, and the West. (so close)
My rating is 4.5 out of 5
The Doctor and Jamie arrive at a scientific research station bearing bad news. The Time Lords are seeking to hold their dominion over time and using the Doctor to do so. These plans are foiled by the appearance of Galifrey’s greatest enemy: the Sontarans (no joke see the Invasion of Time); who have teamed up with the station’s savage working class. The Sixth Doctor and Peri arrive after taking a few hits of psychic damage. Mystery and adventure ensues.
I feel as though this story would have worked better if the opening was reordered. It should have opened with the sixth Doctor and Peri investigating the mystery and slowly reveal what happened. Starting with the Second Doctor, as much as a joy he is to watch, ruins a lot of the mystery and tension since we basically know what happened.
Initially the Sixth Doctor and Peri are off to a rough start with the Doctor being incredibly disinterested and careless. Once Jamie joins the pair, the chemistry explodes! Honestly I wish Fraser had joined the show again, it would have been a definite improvement.
An entire discussion could be had revolving around the story (and the Doctors) treatment of the Androgums as a monolithic species where every member is a bloodthirsty Savage idiot plays on old justifications of real world prejudices. Androgums are all bad and can’t be changed, these are the ideas that are presented by the Doctor, go unchanged and are proven right by the story. This sort of thing works for species like the Daleks or Sontarans who are altered and genetically engineered for uniformity and destruction but for a seemingly regular species it is problematic. This is a detriment to the story and was easily avoidable. Also having them look like a Scottish stereotype is also a poor choice (especially since they brought back Jamie for this story)
Contrarily it’s critic of the food industry is well realized, though Troughton’s sheer enthusiasm has me craving even humans.
From a production standpoint this story was outstanding. The music was rich and fit well with the amazing location footage (and by extension the fact that it was too hot for that coat). The special effects, especially the melting Sontaran were fantastic.
Overall this story earns 4 bushy eyebrows and one half-assed restaurant stabbing out of 5. (To clarify 4.5/5)
As flawed as it is I still love it to bits.
Steven From Canada
Hi folks
Haha, the Second and Sixth Doctor join forces and there’s Sontarans and time travel. And Murder and Cannibalism!…Yay…
The Second Doctor working for the Time Lords…Erm, ok. Yeah this messes up continuity a fair bit. There’s the season 6b explanation where the Time Lords use the second Doctor on missions prior to exile/regeneration, which was actually used by Terrance Dicks in the novels Players and World Game (the latter acts as the origin story to the theory). But Big Finish have done a different one in The Black Hole. I prefer season 6b personally.
If the bit where the Second Doctor ‘dying’ is fake, why did the Sixth Doctor ‘feel’ it? Also why does Jamie end up in a boiler suit, making weird animal noises and has a nest?…Yeah the script is a bit of a mess and really violent. Shockeye killing things to eat and the Doctor killing him with the cyanide, yeah this one generated a lot of complaints. And there’s a racist element to it. Androgums are all supposed to be violent thugs except Chessene who has been ‘raised’ above it except she hasn’t really been.
I like the music. The march bit is quite good and the Spanish touches are nice. Oh yeah, they filmed in Spain! This would be the last time in the ’63-’89 series where they filmed abroad, partly due to the next seasons having reduced budget as well as lots of issues behind the scenes.
Drawn out (it’s effectively a 6 parter!) and a bit messy, but it’s lovely to see the four ‘regulars’ together. 3.0/5
Cheers
Kieren
Hello wonderful peeps!
Here is my mini-review for : “ The Two Doctors”
Well, this is quite an enjoyable romp, which sees the return of The Sontarans, and Patrick Troughton as the 2nd Doctor.
I haven’t seen much Troughton in his original run as Doctor, mainly in the specials, but he seems to slip back effortlessly into the role, as does
Frazer Hines as Jamie.
We last saw Troughton in his excellent performance in the Five Doctors, but sadly in this serial he does seem a little tired and looks noticeably older ( why they didn’t dye his hair darker is beyond me )
I believe he died just a couple of years after this role.
Still, he was excellent, as was Baker.
Then there’s “ Shockeye”. Well, this is the second repulsive, disgusting, humorous and all round excellent alien we’ve had this season! It follows on from the excellent “Sil” in Vengeance on Varos. More please!
He makes for some truly hilarious scenes, which no doubt Leon and Jim have dissected already. I’m betting as least one of our illustrious podcasts hosts find him also quite brilliant
Apart from some gratuitous breast shots of Peri, she wasn’t too disagreeable in this episode, and the supporting cast, notably Jaqueline Pearce of “ Blakes 7” fame were top notch.
A welcome return to an entertaining and noticeably funny serial.
Rating: 3.9 Attempts to eat Peri in just 15 minutes ( No, not that EAT! )
GP Haynes
Australia
This story has a ton going for it. Top of the list of course is Jaquelyn Pierce as Chessini. In my day we’d say someone like her could read the phone book and make it interesting. Shockeye is marvelous as well, almost too good in his role. Patrick is of course delightful perfection, while Frazier, Colin and Nicola are all just stunning. The rest of the supporting cast are all totally enjoyable as well. Some could arguably deserve more praise than I’m giving them.
Next we have costumes, locations, sets, props and special effects, all wonderful, all crafted with care. Music and lighting, very appropriate and mood setting. The writing is for the most part rather well done, as-is the direction. Honestly the more I write, the more I realize how few flaws this story has.
So if all that’s true, why do I still have a distaste for this tale? Is it that some of it is so deliberately disturbing that it’s off-putting? Is it that there are so many coincidences of timing and convenience? Possibly because once again I’m not sure if and when I’m supposed to laugh? Maybe it’s that some moments are so out of character it feels like I’m watching a different show? Honestly I don’t know.
I wasn’t looking forward to this, but I liked it immensely more this time than I ever have. Before today 1.8. After today 3.0. I just wish we could have met Kartz and Rheimer. Would have been tasty.
I found a currency converter for pesetas to sterling. 81,600 pesetas in 1985 was £371.31, adjusting for inflation that’s about £1,000 now, so Troughton wouldn’t burst like Mr. Creosote from his Androgum dining experience but he’d feel quite sick afterwards.
This is amazing research! Thanks! :-)