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 was a special little 2-part story marking the show's 30th anniversary. It was made up of the first mini episode that was shown as part of charity telethon Children in Need with the second mini episode shown during the next evening's Saturday night TV show Noel's House Party.

It has some nostalgic appeal because it has 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th Doctors reappearing along with the 7th Doctor plus many many cameos for companions from the history of the show. Also, after 4 years with no Doctor Who on TV I remember being thrilled to have something for the anniversary.

Unfortunately all the returning stars have very little chance to shine. Mostly they blurt out a line or two of mostly expositionary dialogue and that is it. Even the Doctors are not given any really engaging scenes. So it is grest to see everyone but it is all spread very thin without much to really enjoy.

The plot is a jumbled mess and is forced to be a crossover with hit show Eastenders, a London based sosp. This has no relevance at all and is all a bit daft.

It was shown in rudimentary 3D but mostly just looks a bit rubbish.

Aspects of particular interest include Kate O'Mara having her final appearance as The Rani, the Brigadier and Susan having scenes with the 6th Doctor, Liz Shaw getting a cameo, well known film actor Samuel West getting an early small role, K-9 and Bessie featuring and all the other cameos.

It is a bit of nonsensical fun.

... but it was made for charity, so I have a hard time being too critical of it. It's fun for fans, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else. Even fans, though, may be alarmed at seeing all these characters crammed into one ten minute film. Some have aged to the point that it's just odd seeing them play the same characters. Tom Baker especially looks so different that it's a little off-putting. And Louise Jameson just looks silly in that Leela costume -- kind of like an aging hippie whose trying to sell you incense at a renaissance fair. Still, it's nostalgic fun. The only offensively awful thing about it is the terrible floating heads they use to represent Hartnell and Troughton caught in the time stream. Surely they could have used their actual images.

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.

For those who believe Sylvester McCoy didn't play the Seventh Doctor on screen in the years between his final TV outing, Survival and the 1996 TV Movie- Allow me to introduce Dimensions In Time, a charity special aired in 2 parts in November 1993. McCoy and Ace actress Sophie Aldred reprised their roles for this mini-reunion that reunited all the living actors to play Doctor Who alongside many of their old companions from the original series. Kate O'Mara (a recurring villain from the Sixth and Seventh Doctors eras) returned as the Rani in a new scheme to control the nature of evolution. While clearly not to be considered on the same scale as a normal production of Dr Who or even previous specials like The Five Doctors, this skit is still fun to watch as it is the last time we see Jon Pertwee as the flamboyant Third Doctor (he passed away three years later) and very likely the final time we will ever see McCoy, Tom Baker, Peter Davison and the much lamented Colin Baker play their interpretation of the character on screen. The new series, which began transmission last month, is not likely to utilise their talents as head writer Russell T Davies has stated he wishes to not focus on the past so much in his reinvention of the series. So taken for what it is- this is a good if all to brief celebration of the first 26 years of the legend that is Doctor Who.