The Two Doctors is a story that sees Patrick Troughton return to the show for the third time following his appearance in ‘The Three Doctors’ (1983) and ‘The Five Doctors’ (1983). Normal stories in the 22nd season consist of two 45 minute episodes but this story but this is a three part adventure which amounts to a 6 parter in 25 minute chunks. This story was written by Robert Holmes, his first story since ‘The Caves of Androzani’ (1984). It’s quite fitting that he was the one given the task of bringing back the Sontarans who he created in ‘The Time Warrior’ (1973). This was Peter Moffat’s last story as a director, he had been directing a story a year since ‘State of Decay’ in 1980 and its fair to say that he’s a nuts and bolts type director.
The story is another adventure which takes place abroad. I do question the logic of filming abroad but usual dispel it with the theory that it is nice to be somewhere other than Britain. Providing the location filming is nice and shows of the sights in a way that doesn’t make you think you are watching a holiday programme. ‘City of Death’ for example is good because it shows off Paris in a lovely way and it’s incorporated into the story. ‘Arc of Infinity’ and ‘Planet of Fire’ does benefit from some very good location filming but P.O.F is better because its done because the location filming is more to create the idea of an alien world that show of Lanzarote. The problem with filming in Seville is that it doesn’t do anything for the story.
As for the story, its one that manages to fill the three episodes. This is effectively a six part story which is incredibly rare for this time in Doctor Who’s Classic run. Only Robert Holmes could have got away with it and done it in a good way. The story starts off really well with a black and white shot of the Doctor and Jamie in the TARDIS. Ok it’s not the original set that they used but that couldn’t be expected really. The chemistry that made their time on the show so much fun is on show here. The fact that it’s sometime before we see the current Doctor is made possible as a result of the 45 minute format.
The Sontarans are better than they were in ‘The Invasion of Time’. I was quite amused when even the Sontarans questioned the logic of setting up the base in Seville. The problem that I have with the Sontarans is the same as one of the problems with their previous story and that is the mask. Their first two stories were good because there was some consistency and the mask fitted the actors face. Not so in this story as there is a clear gap between the actors face and the round base where the helmet sits. Quite why the one Sontaran has a goatee is a mystery to me but at least their purpose in this story is better thought out and they are represented better than in their previous adventure. The death of the Sontaran in episode three is quite graphic and I do wonder whether it would have been better and perhaps more effective if the death had been significantly shortened.
The central performances were all very good. Colin Baker raises his game as this is such a special story. He gets to spend the story out of that horrible coat as it was going to be unsuitable for the Spanish sun. The only time where he doesn’t quite make it work is when he is pretending to be an androgum however thankfully it’s not for very long. I wasn’t happy about the Doctor killing Shockeye and especially in the manner that he did. The Doctor shouldn’t take a life no matter in what circumstance. Overall he does very well in this story and his version of the Doctor has calmed down from the OTT version that we got in ‘The Twin Dilemma’. Considering that he has to share the story with an arguably more popular Doctor, Baker moves the story very well. Nicola Bryant for once gets to wear appropriate clothing. Considering what she’s been forced to wear it amazing that Bryant stayed with the show as long as she did. She puts in her usual performance but the highlight was where she almost gets cooked by Shockeye in episode three.
As the guest stars Patrick Troughton and Frazer Hines slip back into their roles like they had only been away for a few months. For Hines, he had a brief appearance in the 20th Anniversary special but hadn’t played the role properly since ‘The War Games’ in 1969 whereas Troughton had played the Doctor in that mentioned 20th Anniversary special. It’s great to have Troughton back as he does seem to be enjoying himself. Especially when he is turned into an Androgum and spends a good amount of time walking arm in arm with Shockeye and eating at a restaurant. I would like to have seen a bit more of him in the first episode but he was respectful enough not to try and steal the limelight away from Colin Baker.
The supporting cast is very strong. Jacqueline Pearce is superb as Chessmen. She is an androgum who wonders around the story with the sort of grace that you would expect from her. Having appeared in Blake’s 7 she shows that she is very good at playing baddies. John Stratton is very odd as Shockeye, he gets to eat a lot throughout this story and finds the right balance between sinister and all out bonkers. I was impressed with Laurence Payne as Dastard. He starts off as someone that we are meant to like feel positive towards and then he turns on the Doctor. As with all these things Dastard changes sides again but too late as he meets an unfortunate end. Payne played the role brilliantly but was slightly let down with his 1980’s glasses and outfit.
The only let down in the supporting characters are the roles of Oscar and Anita (played by James Saxon and Carmen Gomez). I think that Oscar is rubbish and poorly played, offering very little to the story. Quite why Anita would fall for anyone as wet and feeble as Oscar is beyond me and when he is killed, I didn’t really care and the character and performance was well below par.
Being the standout story of the 22nd season (being three episodes as opposed to two), this story is quite a good story but could have been filmed more locally. The Sontarans were used better than they had been since ‘The Sontaran Experiment’ and they were more in charge than any writer would have put them in. The main cast were on good form and Robert Holmes delivered a story that was brilliant and had elements which make his style of storytelling one of the best in the shows history. Sadly I think this would be his last great piece of work before his untimely death in 1986 whilst ‘The Trial of a Timelord’ was being made.
The story is another adventure which takes place abroad. I do question the logic of filming abroad but usual dispel it with the theory that it is nice to be somewhere other than Britain. Providing the location filming is nice and shows of the sights in a way that doesn’t make you think you are watching a holiday programme. ‘City of Death’ for example is good because it shows off Paris in a lovely way and it’s incorporated into the story. ‘Arc of Infinity’ and ‘Planet of Fire’ does benefit from some very good location filming but P.O.F is better because its done because the location filming is more to create the idea of an alien world that show of Lanzarote. The problem with filming in Seville is that it doesn’t do anything for the story.
As for the story, its one that manages to fill the three episodes. This is effectively a six part story which is incredibly rare for this time in Doctor Who’s Classic run. Only Robert Holmes could have got away with it and done it in a good way. The story starts off really well with a black and white shot of the Doctor and Jamie in the TARDIS. Ok it’s not the original set that they used but that couldn’t be expected really. The chemistry that made their time on the show so much fun is on show here. The fact that it’s sometime before we see the current Doctor is made possible as a result of the 45 minute format.
The Sontarans are better than they were in ‘The Invasion of Time’. I was quite amused when even the Sontarans questioned the logic of setting up the base in Seville. The problem that I have with the Sontarans is the same as one of the problems with their previous story and that is the mask. Their first two stories were good because there was some consistency and the mask fitted the actors face. Not so in this story as there is a clear gap between the actors face and the round base where the helmet sits. Quite why the one Sontaran has a goatee is a mystery to me but at least their purpose in this story is better thought out and they are represented better than in their previous adventure. The death of the Sontaran in episode three is quite graphic and I do wonder whether it would have been better and perhaps more effective if the death had been significantly shortened.
The central performances were all very good. Colin Baker raises his game as this is such a special story. He gets to spend the story out of that horrible coat as it was going to be unsuitable for the Spanish sun. The only time where he doesn’t quite make it work is when he is pretending to be an androgum however thankfully it’s not for very long. I wasn’t happy about the Doctor killing Shockeye and especially in the manner that he did. The Doctor shouldn’t take a life no matter in what circumstance. Overall he does very well in this story and his version of the Doctor has calmed down from the OTT version that we got in ‘The Twin Dilemma’. Considering that he has to share the story with an arguably more popular Doctor, Baker moves the story very well. Nicola Bryant for once gets to wear appropriate clothing. Considering what she’s been forced to wear it amazing that Bryant stayed with the show as long as she did. She puts in her usual performance but the highlight was where she almost gets cooked by Shockeye in episode three.
As the guest stars Patrick Troughton and Frazer Hines slip back into their roles like they had only been away for a few months. For Hines, he had a brief appearance in the 20th Anniversary special but hadn’t played the role properly since ‘The War Games’ in 1969 whereas Troughton had played the Doctor in that mentioned 20th Anniversary special. It’s great to have Troughton back as he does seem to be enjoying himself. Especially when he is turned into an Androgum and spends a good amount of time walking arm in arm with Shockeye and eating at a restaurant. I would like to have seen a bit more of him in the first episode but he was respectful enough not to try and steal the limelight away from Colin Baker.
The supporting cast is very strong. Jacqueline Pearce is superb as Chessmen. She is an androgum who wonders around the story with the sort of grace that you would expect from her. Having appeared in Blake’s 7 she shows that she is very good at playing baddies. John Stratton is very odd as Shockeye, he gets to eat a lot throughout this story and finds the right balance between sinister and all out bonkers. I was impressed with Laurence Payne as Dastard. He starts off as someone that we are meant to like feel positive towards and then he turns on the Doctor. As with all these things Dastard changes sides again but too late as he meets an unfortunate end. Payne played the role brilliantly but was slightly let down with his 1980’s glasses and outfit.
The only let down in the supporting characters are the roles of Oscar and Anita (played by James Saxon and Carmen Gomez). I think that Oscar is rubbish and poorly played, offering very little to the story. Quite why Anita would fall for anyone as wet and feeble as Oscar is beyond me and when he is killed, I didn’t really care and the character and performance was well below par.
Being the standout story of the 22nd season (being three episodes as opposed to two), this story is quite a good story but could have been filmed more locally. The Sontarans were used better than they had been since ‘The Sontaran Experiment’ and they were more in charge than any writer would have put them in. The main cast were on good form and Robert Holmes delivered a story that was brilliant and had elements which make his style of storytelling one of the best in the shows history. Sadly I think this would be his last great piece of work before his untimely death in 1986 whilst ‘The Trial of a Timelord’ was being made.
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