The Five Doctors

The Doctors reunite in the Tower of Rassilon

Second Doctor

First Doctor

Sarah Jane Smith

The Brigadier

Susan Foreman

Liz Shaw

Mike Yates

K-9 Mark III

Jerricho

Flavia

The Master

Daleks

Cybermen

Raston Warrior Robot

Rassilon

Yeti

Fourth Doctor

Romana II

**The Five Doctors** was the 20th Anniversary Special of Doctor Who. It was part of neither season 20 nor 21 (though it was usually marketed as part of season 20), but an original Children in Need special, presaging a connection between Doctor Who and the charity that became more regularised by Russell T. Davies in the 21st century.

The story featured an unprecedented four incarnations of the Doctor on-screen at once. Incumbent Peter Davison, naturally, appeared as the Fifth Doctor, with Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee returning as the Second and Third Doctors, respectively. The role of the First Doctor, however, was given to Richard Hurndall, a look-alike actor and spiritual successor for the late William Hartnell, who had passed away on 23 April 1975.

Although the title billed five Doctors, Tom Baker declined to return as the Fourth Doctor. His Doctor's part in the special would be downplayed from a personal appearance to a limited role using previously-filmed, but never broadcast, footage from the then abandoned story Shada.

The Five Doctors also featured a record number of returning actors who had played companions to the Doctor over the years, although a few of the actors only appeared as illusions of these companions. Notable was Carole Ann Ford's return as a much older Susan Foreman, the first time she would play her character in an adult portrayal. Other appearances included Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury as Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Heriot, Caroline John and Richard Franklin as Liz Shaw and Mike Yates, and Nicholas Courtney as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. Finally, the story saw the return of Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, along with K9 Mark III, a character introduced in the K9 and Company pilot *A Girl's Best Friend*. Though he originated from a show which was never picked up for a full season, he was ported over to Doctor Who as the newest iteration of K-9.

It was also the first story co-produced with overseas broadcasters. Though such arrangements have been commonplace since 1995, John Nathan-Turner's procurement of money from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation was a financial innovation. Even more impressively, the Australians paid AUD 60,000 towards the production while agreeing to *forgo onscreen credit*. It was similarly unique in that it was broadcast to American audiences on the actual anniversary date of the series, 23 November — two days *before* being aired to British audiences.

Its location work was completed in North Wales, with the Ffestiniog area doubling for Gallifrey. Though Wales inevitably provides the backdrops for most BBC Wales Doctor Who location work, it was at the time an unusual choice for the Doctor Who production team based in London.

It was one of the first Doctor Who serials to make extensive use of matte paintings. With the new Quantel Paintbox — whose use in *Doctor Who* had only hesitantly begun in season 18 — designer Malcolm Thornton replaced several model shots and glass shots with matte paintings via Paintbox. This became especially important, given the less-than-optimal weather in windy Wales.

This story premiered the new Mike Kelt-designed TARDIS console, which would be used through the rest of the 1980s. It further introduced a re-design of the entire console *room*. Thornton argued that, since a new console had been ordered by JNT, the entire set should be regularised. He made each facet of the console correspond to a particular wall of the set and each TARDIS wall more angular. This made the set assemble in only one way, reducing assembly time.

Finally, this story set into motion a long-delayed plot thread through the Third Doctor's acquisition of the Seal of the High Council from the Master. At the time of the seal's first appearance, it served a minor purpose, until it resurfaced much later in 2013 during A Doctor Calls. The seal remained in the Doctor's possession all the way to the end of his original regenerative cycle, and was narratively used to return the Time Lords as a presence in the story, and ultimately the continuation of the Doctor's life - and, indeed, the series - as they granted him a new cycle of regenerations.

The Five Doctors was the last televised Doctor Who story to be written by Terrance Dicks.