Even for a Children In Need charity story, this is absolutely rubbish. It just throws the characters around in different settings without so much as an attempt to build a coherent story-line. It's not even a very good celebration of Doctor Who's 30 years. The script tries to put a science fiction problem at the core of the story and allow the Seventh Doctor to solve the problem, but its a pretty shoddy plot.
These Doctor performances are off-key. McCoy is too mellow, not to speak of Colin Baker, whose hair is short now. Jon Pertwee comes the closest, but he is a bit rusty as well. Tom Baker appears in a time eddy if sorts (again) but st least he gets some spoken lines (and has to wear that JNT era costume for some reason). Peter Davison is also pretty close to his original self. Kate O'Mara seems to take this gig pretty seriously since she plays the part of the Rani very much as she did on the show. Don't even get me started in the Eastenders actors, they're all terrible.
The Doctors are all pretty lighthearted and laid-back, with the Third receiving the most screen-time and the then-current Seventh surprisingly little. They don't match their original appearances very well, either.
The companions are pretty spot-on, mostly. They are dressed in their original clothing or something similar. Susan has changed the most, but she is more like her original self here than in The Five Doctors (1983). Sarah Jane Smith also feels younger than she is here. And you can hardly tell it is Nyssa with the Doctor! And oh is it wonderful to see Victoria again!
It's interesting to see Kate O'Mara return as the Rani for the final time, even if she barely puts up a fight. Cybermen, Ogrons and other creatures also make small came appearances.
The production is simplistic, the effects terrible and the 3D gimmick horrifying. But the budget was hardly very huge, so I can forgive that.
The pace is pretty fast, thanks to a constant switch back and forth between Doctors and companions.
I don't know if this is supposed to be funny, but most jokes don't land at all. It's nostalgic to see old Doctors and companions runs around dressed in old costumes, but that's about it for the atmosphere. The rest of the story is so messy and awkward that it's painful to watch.
Some people see this as the official 30th anniversary special, others pretend it doesn't exist. It throws in a lot of elements from the show's past but it's hardly a story to be taken seriously.
This is a fun little one to watch once just out of curiosity, but hardly again after that.
RANDOM OBSERVATIONS:
The floating head of the first doctor looks more like Doc Martin to me.
That theme tune is abysmal. Horrible. Take it away.
Sadly, this is the only time Tom Baker has reprised the role of the Fourth Doctor in screen since leaving the show.
My God, the writers had a terrible sense of what 2013 would be like.
Ironically, this story was written by JNT and received the highest ratings of any DW stories he was involved with.
This story is the only one produced utilizing 3D technology and the only one where viewers could decide the outcome by televoting.
This story marks the return of several actors who have never returned in anything else on TV since their original appearances, including Sarah Sutton, Caroline John and Nicola Bryant.
Review by Theo KallströmVIP 6BlockedParent2020-07-15T11:33:14Z
Even for a Children In Need charity story, this is absolutely rubbish. It just throws the characters around in different settings without so much as an attempt to build a coherent story-line. It's not even a very good celebration of Doctor Who's 30 years. The script tries to put a science fiction problem at the core of the story and allow the Seventh Doctor to solve the problem, but its a pretty shoddy plot.
These Doctor performances are off-key. McCoy is too mellow, not to speak of Colin Baker, whose hair is short now. Jon Pertwee comes the closest, but he is a bit rusty as well. Tom Baker appears in a time eddy if sorts (again) but st least he gets some spoken lines (and has to wear that JNT era costume for some reason). Peter Davison is also pretty close to his original self.
Kate O'Mara seems to take this gig pretty seriously since she plays the part of the Rani very much as she did on the show.
Don't even get me started in the Eastenders actors, they're all terrible.
The Doctors are all pretty lighthearted and laid-back, with the Third receiving the most screen-time and the then-current Seventh surprisingly little. They don't match their original appearances very well, either.
The companions are pretty spot-on, mostly. They are dressed in their original clothing or something similar. Susan has changed the most, but she is more like her original self here than in The Five Doctors (1983). Sarah Jane Smith also feels younger than she is here. And you can hardly tell it is Nyssa with the Doctor! And oh is it wonderful to see Victoria again!
It's interesting to see Kate O'Mara return as the Rani for the final time, even if she barely puts up a fight. Cybermen, Ogrons and other creatures also make small came appearances.
The production is simplistic, the effects terrible and the 3D gimmick horrifying. But the budget was hardly very huge, so I can forgive that.
The pace is pretty fast, thanks to a constant switch back and forth between Doctors and companions.
I don't know if this is supposed to be funny, but most jokes don't land at all. It's nostalgic to see old Doctors and companions runs around dressed in old costumes, but that's about it for the atmosphere. The rest of the story is so messy and awkward that it's painful to watch.
Some people see this as the official 30th anniversary special, others pretend it doesn't exist. It throws in a lot of elements from the show's past but it's hardly a story to be taken seriously.
This is a fun little one to watch once just out of curiosity, but hardly again after that.
RANDOM OBSERVATIONS:
The floating head of the first doctor looks more like Doc Martin to me.
That theme tune is abysmal. Horrible. Take it away.
Sadly, this is the only time Tom Baker has reprised the role of the Fourth Doctor in screen since leaving the show.
My God, the writers had a terrible sense of what 2013 would be like.
Ironically, this story was written by JNT and received the highest ratings of any DW stories he was involved with.
This story is the only one produced utilizing 3D technology and the only one where viewers could decide the outcome by televoting.
This story marks the return of several actors who have never returned in anything else on TV since their original appearances, including Sarah Sutton, Caroline John and Nicola Bryant.
Score: 38/120