Doctor Who: Dimensions in Time

At the time this was just viewed as a gentle skit, with the chance to see a few old Doctors, who agreed to appear because of the charity aspect, when there was no chance of formally arranging for them to appear in the show – even if it had been running then.

Within the bounds of their existing dispositions (Tom and Jon both being irretrievably dotty, and Peter having lost the peachy bloom of his youth) everyone played the show for real and even though they were only brief, there were some lovely performances from Louise Jameson and Lalla Ward, as well as the other supporting cast.

Outside of the context of the skit, this item has a wider cultural impact, as it brought together Doctor who at its most camp, with East Enders at it's most depressing and had the two realities created for the BBC interact in an absolutely serious manner. In many ways this was a Doctor Who episode rather than an East Enders one, although it fits equally well, or badly, into the continuity of each. East Enders is as much a work of fiction as Doctor Who, but represents television's vision of the ordinary, everyday, kitchen sink lives of its viewers – the same viewers who would sit down to watch Doctor Who, so in some sense this is an example of how the BBC picture the Doctor walking out into the audience.

There had been an idea in the 1960s to have both the Beatles and the cast of Z-Cars turn up in Doctor Who and neither proposal quite worked. Here the mingling of East enders and Doctor Who was pulled off, and even though it was like fingers down a blackboard for fans at the time, it could prove to be a much more important cultural marker for media historians of the future.

As an adventure it just about held together and pressed forward to a conclusion, however for those fans who prefer to see plot holes, this is Doctor Who as Swiss Cheese.

This story starts like a regular episode with the Rani in her TARDIS following the Doctor's TARDIS and generally up to no good ( she is trying to collect all the Doctor's selves to complete her menagerie), with a young travelling companion. The Rani has trapped the disembodied heads of the first two Doctors in a Time Tunnel (this must have looked very wild in the original 3-D transmission!). We then join the Seventh Doctor and Ace exiting the TARDIS in front of the Cutty Sark. Things then move very fast and get very confusing. The Rani apparently wants to capture one specimen of every living thing which will then allow her to have the power to control evolution (I gleaned much of this information from The Seventh Doctor Handbook as it's not really clear in the two part skit). Why many of the companions are needed instead of just one human, for instance, is not explained. However, this is still a ton of fun. This came out the year (1993) that the Doctor Who movie "The Dark Dimension" was to have been released and as a bonus this would have been the cherry on the cake. In reality, though, "The Dark Dimension" was cancelled and this was the consolation prize thrown at fans--quite a letdown in that context! It should be remembered, however, that this production was made for Children In Need and all actors donated their time and services free of charge. One wishes there was more screen time for each Doctor and interaction between them but time is literally of the essence here and even with the brevity of time on screen each shines as if they have never left the role (except Hartnell and Troughton of course who are just floating heads!). Many companions appear as well and one can only think of what could have been with more time. I mean the Sixth Doctor with the Brig as well as Susan and the Third Doctor and Victoia are just three examples. All of the meetings of Doctors and companions are fun but oh so brief. Towards the end tons of old monsters appear (a Tractator, Tetrap, Sea Devil, Zog from the stage play "Ultimate Adventure" among many others). The final resolution to this mystery is very confusing but it's still fun to see the Seventh Doctor, Leela and K9 together! One will miss the 3-D effects that this was originally filmed in and may become a bit dizzy with the rotating camera work but this is harmless Who fun. If you can find someone with a copy of this give it a view, if not for any other reason, to see the final official screen adventure of Jon Pertwee as the Doctor!

Really, the only saving graces of this are that we got to see the five living Doctors on screen along with many past companions and 'monsters'. This could well be the last time we see certain characters, and was the last appearance of Jon Pertwee as the Doctor. Dimensions In Time was also John Nathan Turner's last Doctor Who production credit.

Otherwise the plot is totally incomprehensible, we don't see inside the Tardis (the set had been destroyed), the cross-over with East Enders seems silly and the 3D process it was shot in was only mildly impressive. At the time it was nice to see Doctor Who back, but I cannot imagine this would have turned anybody onto the show at all.

As it was a charity do it will never be released on DVD or repeated (that was a condition of its production) so you will only be able to see off-air VHS recordings. But truly it was an awful programme.

Fortunately, I am one, but for anyone else, this program is horrid. The story is so contrived and confused, it's impossible to follow. Hence, Don't try. This was written for one of those charity fundraising specials, and is just a showcase to see all of the living Dr. Who stories one more time. The big plusses are:

1) final Jon Pertwee performance as the Dr.

2) First time Tom Baker agreed to reprise his role since he left after his 7 year stint (sorry, his 5 Doctor's appearance doesn't count - that was filmed during his stint as the Dr for the "lost" episode Shada).

As a reunion, it's nice. I don't think anyone else will get it.

"Dimensions in Time" is not really a proper Doctor Who episode; it's a charity skit. The way fans talk when they bomb it, you'd think it was the pilot for a new series!

As a fan, I enjoyed seeing all the Doctors again, even if they were paired with strange companions (note that Louise "Leela" Jameson clearly out-acts Sylvester McCoy). The Rani's looking a bit long in the tooth, and she appears to have acquired a gimp servant, but on the whole it's nice to see her, too.

Tom Baker makes his only return appearance as the Doctor, hamming it up like a loon while a duff special effects vortex whirls around him. I wonder why he refuses to wear anything but the purple costume these days? Maybe the old one reminds him too much of his heyday...

Overall, a fun time-killer that was more than welcome when it debuted during Doctor Who's long (and mercifully over!) period of purgatory.