Doctor Who - The Five Doctors (25th Anniversary Edition) [1983]

See Larger Image	List Price: £19.99 Our Price: £6.98 Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours Manufacturer: 2 Entertain Video Starring: Peter Davison, Jon Pertwee, Patrick Troughton, Tom Baker, Richard Hurndall Average Customer Rating:


Audience Rating: Parental Guidance Binding: DVD EAN: 5014503245023 Format: PAL Label: 2 Entertain Video Manufacturer: 2 Entertain Video Number Of Items: 2 Publisher: 2 Entertain Video Region Code: 2 Release Date: 2008-03-03 Running Time: 90 Studio: 2 Entertain Video Theatrical Release Date: 1983
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Editorial Reviews: 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
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: They've done it again! Another astounding release from 2\|Entertain Comment: Firstly, I'll start with the price. It is great value. Compared to other DVD's in the doctor who range, you get a whole lot more for your money. You get two discs, one with the original, and another with jazzed up CGI and new special effects. This is a great move from 2\|Entertain- there are quite a few differences in the two, and both have to stay. The special features are actually quite interesting, especially the one narrated by Paul Mcgann (The 8th Doctor), which includes clips from the latest series, and ties up all the loose ends. There is an easter egg, and I mean a BIG easter egg hidden on one of the discs, that can be found on the menus by using your remote. (And no, I will not reveal where it is!) Anyway, the commentary is great, but can sometimes be full of waffling. The packaging is quite nice, too, and the bloopers are quite funny to watch. (Some are commented on by magazines to do with doctor who- I've always wanted to watch them!). The trailers are quite good too, a little treat for collectors. Maybe I should talk a little about the episode, then. Well, it is a great plot, with some great sequences such as the brilliant yet somehow gory and inappropriate Cyber-Massacre, where many Cybermen are brutally shot by a robot. There are Cyber-limbs falling everywhere, and even a bit of Cyber-sick.(Euuuugrhhh) It is quite impressive, and has lots of old faces from the popular TV show, like Sarah Jane Smith, the brigadier, and, most noticeably, Five Doctors! Richard Hurndall playing the then deceased William Hartnell is a great match. I will not spoil any more of the fantastic plot- a great disc set for Doctor Who fans of all ages. Customer Rating: Summary: 3 Doctors + 1 Replacement + Archive Footage= 1 Guilty Pleasure Comment: 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! Customer Rating: Summary: Good & bad Comment: 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. Customer Rating: Summary: A great celebratory romp with brilliant extras. Comment: 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. Customer Rating: Summary: A true winner of a story - brilliant on every level Comment: Barcode: 5014503245023 Ultimately, when you have five doctors together, the results are bound to be something special. Epic in its revelling in past companions and monsters, there is surely something here to please everybody. Yes, some things like the Dalek feel shoehorned in for completeness but on the whole everything goes slickly. As mentioned in the accompanying booklet, Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee slip effortlessly back into their roles and a pure joy to watch while Richard Hurndall makes for a more than admirable stand-in for the First Doctor. Peter Davison forms the centre of events as the then current Doctor, helped out by the quiet, brooding Turlough and my personal fave, the ever charming Tegan. Other past companions surface in the form of the Brigadier, Susan and Sarah Jane. Of course, there are minor flaws - the extremely budget looking special effects one of the more amusing ones while Tom Baker's absence is all too conveniently explained away by having him trapped in the time vortex for the whole episode. These are only minor annoyances though and on the whole 'The Five Doctors' stands as a perfect example for everything that is so great about Doctor Who. Highlights appear in the form of Anthony Ainley's creepy incarnation of the Master, leading a troup of Cybermen into a deadly laser trap while even more Cybermen death ensues in the form of the brilliant Raston robot decapitating them. The TARDIS has a glossy new makeover and who could forget the classic Sarah Jane fall down the gentle slope mentioned by some of the other reviewers? The pace and tension of the episode is set perfectly, the scenes in the Gallifrey Capitol lending themselves to a classic whodunnit scenario, the denouement classic Doctor Who wit. A lengthy and informative documentary narrated by 6th doctor Colin Baker makes a great addition to this already fantastic DVD, presented in a special 25th anniversary card slipcase. More Reviews