Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1993 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-03-03
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 90 minutes

Amazon.co.uk review
Celebrating 25 years since The Five Doctors was originally broadcast, this brand new double disc special edition is a real treat for new and old fans of the show. For not only is the adventure itself good fun, but the special features package is exceptionally strong too.

The story - broadcast to celebrate the-then 20th anniversary of Doctor Who - brings five incarnations of the Doctor together. Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee and Peter Davison return to their roles, while Richard Hurndall steps in for William Hartnell, and archive footage of Tom Baker is used to cover his decision not to take part in the story. The various generations of the Doctor are then, one by one, brought to the Time Lord’s home planet Gallifrey, where they encounter many of their old assistants, and many of their deadliest foes.

The story of The Five Doctors proves to be as much a battle about giving everyone something to do, but Terrance Dicks’ script does just that, and while it’s not one of the Time Lord’s very best adventures, it is an entertaining one.

The extra features package peaks with the assorted commentary tracks: there’s one that brings together a series of Doctor Who assistants, another that unites writer Terrance Dicks with Peter Davison, and a hidden Easter Egg commentary where David Tennant, Phil Collinson and Helen Raynor take the microphone. Each is a fascinating listen, for differing reasons.

The Five Doctors DVD is then rounded off with a wide selection of archive material, and a 50-minute documentary looking at Doctor Who’s birthday celebrations. And given the wealth of features there is to dig through, it’s a release that’ll be enjoyed for a long time after both the original and extended cut of the main feature have been viewed. A terrific release. --Simon Brew

Synopsis
This film is a Doctor Who fan's fantasy come true. This legendary special is a grand one-time-only reunion of the first five Doctors, as well as a reunion of all their most famous friends, foes, and monsters.

Customer Reviews

3 Doctors + 1 Replacement + Archive Footage= 1 Guilty Pleasure
Really "The Five Doctors" should be dreadful; Who, at the time it was filmed, was in a slump and, frankly,the series' scriptwriters were struggling to come up with a script that would do one Doctor justice. Watch "Timeflight" or "Arc of Infinity" to see how poor the series could be. But this show really hits the spot: a silly but action filled plot penned by Terrance Dicks makes sure nostaglia is evoked by its clumsy but addictive plot hooks.Despite Tom Baker's refusal to take part and the fact Hartnell had died this feels a worthy celebration even though it is really only 3 and bit Doctors.

Okay, it includes Elizabeth Sladen clinging onto a side of a hillock acting her pants off to convince us she is in mortal danger; granted it contains a very, ahem!, idiosynchratic performance from Paul Jerricho as Castellan and its implications for continuity within the series cannot be overstated. This Who's equivalent of Christmas dinner: fun, full-flavoured and an occasional treat, not the basis for a healthy diet.

The extras are great and the barely concealed Easter egg is silly but fun. Helen Raynor bizarrely focuses on the wardrobe, Phil Colinson reveals his crush on Turlough and David Tennant reveals a little too much about the effect of Peri's entrance into the show in "The Planet of Fire" in a bikini had on his feverish adolescent sexual development.

While it's hardly a classic,like say "Pyramids of Mars", it is fun. Enjoy!

Good & bad
The Five Doctors was one of the first DVD releases. If you already have the original, do not buy this! There's not enough new content to justify it; (that's the bad). If you haven't already got it, then this story is a nice little treat.

A great celebratory romp with brilliant extras.
Okay, so it's really only 3 Doctors as the original William Hartnell was dead, played here by someone who only bears a passing resemlance to him and Tom Baker declined to take part so they had to represent him with archive footage, but the story is still hugely enjoyable, fitting in umpteen old companions and monsters and a story that is still intriguing and more or less coherant. Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee are a delight to watch, each trying to upstage the other and Peter Davison more than proves himself against these old timers. In many respects, you could call this the 'ultimate' Dr Who story and is probably a good one to watch if you're new to the classic series. The extras are superb with the best 'easter egg' to have been hidden on a Dr Who DVD. An essential purchase for any Dr Who fan.