Doctor Who: The Two Doctors (Story 141)
by Peter Moffatt
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Actor: Colin Baker, Frazer Hines, Jacqueline Pearce, Nicola Bryant, Patrick TroughtonDirector: Peter Moffatt
Brand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 133 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-06-01
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: BBC Worldwide
DVD Reviews of Doctor Who: The Two Doctors (Story 141)
DVD Review: Requiem for the Finest Doctor
Summary: 5 Stars
There's no way around it: Patrick Troughton's was simply the very finest, most fully realized, portrayal of Doctor Who. "Two Doctors" marks Troughton's final appearance on BBC playing the Doctor; for this distinction alone, the DVD is essential.
The storyline is one of the best in the series, and, while the exotic (for BBC) Seville locale is of course unnecessary, Patrick Troughton and Colin Baker are quite marvelous in their differing incarnations of this most marvelous of all film or television characters. (And after systematically destroying most of his best work, BBC certainly owed Troughton a few days in the Spanish sun.) Real standouts in the supporting cast are Frazer Hines, reprising his terrific sidekick work with Troughton as the stalwart 18-century Scot Jamie, and John Stratton as the chronically ravenous Shockeye. Nicola Bryant is quite lovely as Colin Baker's "American" companion, Peri. The plot involves a nefarious attempt by a lovesick Pygmalion-type scientist (Laurence Payne) and his artificially "advanced" creation (played very well by Jacqueline Pearce), conspiring (at first) with the bald, neckless, Telly Savalas-looking Sontarans. They plan to take Patrick Troughton apart, molecule by molecule, to find the secret Time Lord ingredient which makes the TARDIS run (the operation requires that poor Troughton needs to be conscious, though paralyzed). Some of Troughton's best scenes follow his temporary genetic conversion to a red-eybrowed, Jiminy Cricket-hatted binge-eater who gorges himself on a 12-course Seville meal with Schockeye. Baker's Doctor, with crucial assistance from Jamie and Peri, and from a holiday moth collector, manages to save his earlier self. The two Doctors then go on to save the world from the predatory gourmand Shockeye, who had planned to consume most of its human inhabitants with relish.
I was surprised and delighted to see that Colin Baker's Doctor is quite engaging, though the contrast in skill and style with his earlier generation Troughton is decidedly in the Second Doctor's favor (despite the aging Troughton's need for a regeneration). From the perspective of an American fan who only really discovered this superb series about a year ago, and after having seen (or in most cases, listened to, thanks to the idiot tape destruction policy of the BBC in the late 60s and early 70s) virtually all of Troughton's work, and that of much of the other Doctors, there is little doubt for me that Patrick Troughton is the definitive Doctor Who, for a thousand reasons. His Doctor is always in actual and serious danger of death (or at least considerable pain and general unpleasantness, as in the "Two Doctors" experimental surgery), yet somehow manages to bungle or improvise his way out (and save the world, as usual) only at the last moment. He rarely depends on "deus ex machina" solutions, but relies on his wits, as we ordinary mortals must. His Doctor is a genuine "human" being, cowardly at times as well as heroically brave, quite vulnerable and quite flawed -- a human being who happens to have special powers and a fine mind. His is a real flesh-and-blood personage. While he's certainly funny (often hilariously so - there was no better slapstick Doctor when the situation called for it), he has a dramatic intensity, a life-or-death urgency, wed to very fine theatrical skills, that carries all before it -- lousy low-budget sets, sometimes less than inspired writing, weak supporting casts (with the very notable exceptions of sidekicks Jamie, Polly, Victoria, and Zoe), and general "kid's telly" BBC production values. He sings the part in a way none of his other regenerations have quite been able to match. (Such was his complete immersion in the role that he later told a reporter, quite seriously, that he had felt he had to give up the part or lose his mind to schizophrenia).
Scoring Doctor Whos is always a dangerous, highly subjective exercise, but based on what I've seen, here is my tally: Troughton was the very best Doctor, with the great Tom Baker a close (but quite different) second. Tom Baker's Doctor is invincible, virtually omniscient, never really in any danger, which is certainly one way to play this archangelic character (Baker is magnificent in almost everything, including especially "City of Death" with beautiful, doll-like sidekick Lalla Ward (whom he later married)). Next is a tie between John Pertwee and Peter Davison. Pertwee, hysterically funny and uncontrollable offstage, underplays the Doctor mightily, apparently in an attempt to restore some of the Doctor's original (William Hartnell) sobriety and dignity; too bad he didn't let himself cut loose more often, as Tom Baker does. Davison is a bit too young (and handsome) for the part - more of a promising med student than a full Doctor. Both are of course, wonderful, and no one would want to imagine the series without their very important contributions. The same is true for the next rung of Doctors, Colin Baker and William Hartnell. Baker, who is certainly animated in a delightful way, seems a bit more studied or less natural than some of the other Doctors, a little like the guy who had the lead in the high school play and then went on to more challenging things; I don't know his work very well yet, however, and may well change my opinion with greater familiarity. He's quite good. Hartnell, who of course gets gold stars in heaven for being the first Doctor (and a very popular one, apparently, with 60s TV audiences), was perhaps just a bit too old and feeble to play the role, for the most part. Many of the performances I've seen - including the highly regarded "Aztecs" - seem "phoned in" and half-hearted, with Hartnell blowing lines and looking confused (some of this is no doubt the fault of BBC's thrift-conscious "no retakes" policy). What Hartnell brought to the role that no one else has so far, is a very effective age, wisdom, and crankiness. Richard Hurndall, who played the First Doctor in "Five Doctors," actually out-Hartnelled Hartnell in this regard; too bad Hurndall never again played the role. As for Sylvester McCoy, I confess I've never seen one of his storylines (yet), and he might well be better than any of them, for all I know.
Of all the Doctors, Troughton has suffered by far the most from BBC's inane, shortsighted policies of destroying "old" shows, with only a handful of storylines now intact in video/ film format. Other than a few saved episodes of the lost Troughton adventures here and there (well served in BBC's "Lost in Time" DVD set, which is most highly recommended), resort must be had to BBC's release, in CD or MP3 format, of the soundtracks from some of the greatest Troughton performances. For those wanting to know this finest of all Doctors better, these are the best (and the not so best) in Troughton's era:
First Season (1966-67): Power of the Daleks (just released in soundtrack plus off-the-air photo "reconstructed" format by BBC) - 10(+); Highlanders (soundtrack only) - 9 (and introduced Jamie); Underwater Menace (soundtrack) - 6; Moonbase (video/soundtrack hybrid) - 8; Macra Terror (soundtrack) - 9; Faceless Ones (soundtrack) - 10(++) - one of the finest; Evil of the Daleks (soundtrack) - 6/7 - overlong, but engaging (and introduced Victoria).
Second Season (1967-68): Tomb of the Cybermen (DVD) - 6; Abominable Snowmen (soundtrack) - 10; Ice Warriors (video/soundtrack hybrid not yet released on DVD) - 9; Enemy of the World (soundtrack) - 7 (double role by Troughton); Fury from the Deep (soundtrack) - 11+++++ - off the chart -- if you never buy another Doctor Who soundtrack CD set, get this one (well narrated by Frazier Hines)!!; Wheel in Space (soundtrack) - 7 (good, but marred by a weak ending).
Third Season (1968-69): Dominators (VHS, not yet released on DVD) - 7; Mind Robber (DVD) - 6/7; Invasion (VHS/soundtrack hybrid, not yet on DVD) - 9; Krotons (VHS, not yet on DVD) - 6/7; Seeds of Death (DVD) - 9/10 [an excellent introduction on DVD to Troughton's work and characterization]; Space Pirates (soundtrack) - not yet auditioned; War Games (VHS - not yet on DVD) - 9/10, with a touching farewell among the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe).
Later Appearances: Three Doctors (with Pertwee and Hartnell) (DVD) - 8; Five Doctors (with Pertwee, Davison) (DVD) - 7 (not much screen time given to Troughton, who looks a little weaker); Two Doctors (with Baker) (DVD) - 8/9 (strong performance by Troughton, though clear signs of diminishing power and age; also features Jamie, and starts (wonderfully) as if we're watching a brand new Troughton/Hines episode!!)
Go get the Two Doctors, right now, and meet the finest Doctor!
Description of Doctor Who: The Two Doctors (Story 141)
Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 03/04/2008 Rating: NrBestsellers in DVD
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