The Five Doctors (TV story)

The Five Doctors was a special ninety-minute story which celebrated the 20th anniversary of Doctor Who. The story united the then-current Fifth Doctor with his predecessors in an adventure which also featured several of his past and current companions and enemies.

In addition to its inclusion of a number of characters not normally seen together, it was significant for a number of behind-the-scenes novelties. It was the first episode of Doctor Who to premiere abroad, the only other being the telemovie. It was also the first Doctor Who narrative broadcast as a part of the UK's Children in Need charity telethon. For the first - and only, as of 2011 - time, a previous incarnation of the Doctor is brought into an episode by having a different actor play him on screen (Richard Hurndall took over the role of the First Doctor, as William Hartnell had sadly already passed away.)

Although it was broadcast only a month prior to the start of Season 21, it is generally considered the seventh and final story of Season 20, which had otherwise concluded the previous March. As such, the story concluded a loose story arc from Season 20 that involved the Doctor and his friends attempting to reach the Eye of Orion.

Synopsis
Someone is plucking the five incarnations of the Doctor out of time, and placing them in the Death Zone on Gallifrey where they will meet old friends and enemies and play out the deadly Game of Rassilon, for the ultimate prize. But to lose is to win, and he who wins shall lose...

Plot
The Fifth Doctor, Tegan and Turlough are taking a break on the Eye of Orion, one of the most tranquil spots in the universe. Turlough is sketching while Tegan is enjoying the peaceful atmosphere. The Doctor, meanwhile has renovated the control room and goes outside to join his companions, but suddenly collapses. Tegan and Turlough bring the Doctor back into the TARDIS, where they discover to their distress that he is literally fading away. The Doctor manages to set the TARDIS controls for a destination and the ship dematerializes.

In a hidden chamber, a dark figure is manipulating the controls of a Time Scoop and kidnapping the Doctor's previous incarnations out of his time stream along with some of his former companions. The First Doctor is taken while he is walking in a rose garden, the Second Doctor and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart from a UNIT reunion and the Third Doctor while he is out driving his vintage car, Bessie. Also taken out of time are Sarah Jane Smith and the Doctor's granddaughter Susan Foreman. The Fourth Doctor and Romana are taken while punting along the River Cam, but whoever is doing this is frustrated as the two are trapped in the time vortex by a time eddy and unable to rematerialize. All of them, save the Fourth Doctor and Romana, are deposited on a desolate, rocky landscape — the Death Zone on Gallifrey.

Meanwhile, in the Capitol on Gallifrey, the Inner Council of Time Lords, headed by Lord President Borusa and consisting of Chancellor Flavia and the Castellan, watches in concern. The Eye of Harmony is being drained by whomever is taking the Doctor out of time, endangering all of Gallifrey. Despite Borusa's misgivings, the High Council has unanimously voted to call in the Master to assist by going into the Death Zone to help the Doctors. Offered a pardon and a new cycle of regenerations, the Master accepts, and is given a copy of the Seal of the High Council by the Castellan to prove his bona fides, and a matter transmitter (transmat) recall device. He is then teleported via transmat to the Death Zone.

In the Zone, the Doctors face various dangers. The First Doctor and Susan are pursued by a Dalek through a hall of mirrors, finally escaping when they push the Dalek into a dead end, where the discharge of its energy weapon ricochets back and destroys itself. The Second Doctor and the Brigadier escape from a squad of Cybermen, and the Third Doctor rescues Sarah from her fall down an embankment. Sarah is mildly confused, as she had seen the Third Doctor regenerate into the Fourth ("Planet of the Spiders"), but is glad to see the Doctor she once knew. The Second and Third Doctors explain to their companions that in Gallifrey's past, known as the Dark Time, the Time Lords misused their powers. A device called the Time Scoop was used to pluck beings out of their times and place them in the Death Zone, where they would fight each other in a sort of gladiatorial game. The Doctors' goal now is to reach the Dark Tower, where the Time Lord founder Rassilon is entombed, although there is some doubt as to whether Rassilon is actually dead.

The Master meets and tries unsuccessfully to convince the Third Doctor that he is there to help, and is forced to flee when thunderbolts fall from the sky. The Third Doctor only sees this as confirmation that this is all a plot of the Master's. The First Doctor and Susan find the TARDIS and the presence of the First Doctor seems to stabilize the Fifth for the moment. Together, they scan the tower and find three entrances — one at the apex of the tower, the main gate at the base, and one underground, but a force field prevents the TARDIS's entry. The Fifth Doctor takes Tegan and Susan to go to the main gate, but encounters the Master, who has no better luck convincing the Fifth Doctor than he did the Third. At that moment, the two are surrounded by Cybermen, and when they try to run away, the Master is knocked out by a cybergun blast. The Fifth Doctor finds the Master's recall device on his unconscious body, and transmats himself to the Capitol. The Master, confronted by the Cybermen, offers himself as a guide to the Tower.

In the Capitol, the Doctor is informed of the situation by the High Council. The Doctor realizes not only that he has done the Master an injustice, but also that they were found too easily by the Cybermen. He opens the recall device and finds a homing beacon inside. The Castellan, who gave the Master the device, is arrested and his quarters ordered to be searched. There is found a box containing the Black Scrolls of Rassilon, forbidden knowledge from the Dark Time. The scrolls spontaneously combust before anyone can examine them, and Borusa orders the Castellan taken to the mind probe for interrogation. However, as the Castellan is escorted outside, there is a shot. The Doctor rushes out to find the Castellan dead, and the Captain of the guard reporting that he was shot while trying to escape. The Doctor voices his concerns to Chancellor Flavia — the Castellan was stubborn, but not a traitor. There is more to this than meets the eye.

The Second Doctor and the Brigadier are exploring a series of caves when they encounter a Yeti, left over from the previous games. Taking refuge in an alcove, the Doctor tries to chase the Yeti off with a firework, but only succeeds in maddening it, causing it to collapse the entrance to the alcove. However, the Doctor detects a breeze blowing further back, and discovers the underground entrance to the Tower.

On the surface, the Third Doctor and Sarah come across a Raston Warrior Robot, according to the Doctor the most perfect killing machine ever devised. Able to move with blinding speed and fire bolts of metal at its targets, it detects its victims by motion. The Doctor and Sarah are unable to move without attracting the robot's attention, but luck is on their side when a squad of Cybermen come over the ridge and are rapidly eliminated by the robot. Taking advantage of the distraction, the Doctor and Sarah run past the robot's position, taking some rope and spare bolts from the robot's cave. Reaching a cliff face just above the Tower, the Doctor uses the rope and bolts to form a grappling hook, and both he and Sarah abseil across to the top of the Tower.

Tegan and Susan have told the First Doctor what happened to the Fifth Doctor. The First Doctor decides to head for the main gate himself, with Tegan insisting on accompanying him. Opening the main gate through the means of a keypad hidden under a bell, they find a chessboard floor pattern blocking their way. The First Doctor determines that the chessboard is a trap — electrical bolts will destroy anyone attempting to cross unless they find the safe path. The Master appears at this point, warning them the Cybermen are close behind. While the Doctor and Tegan hide, the Master lures the Cybermen onto the chessboard and they are all killed. The Master blithely steps across the board, moving into the Tower after telling the Doctor that "it's as easy as pie." The Doctor realizes that the Master means the Greek letter pi, and that the safe path is calculated by means of the mathematical constant. Armed with this knowledge, the Doctor and Tegan make their way across the trap. In the Zone, the TARDIS is being surrounded by Cybermen, who start to assemble a bomb to blow it up. Inside, Turlough and Susan watch helplessly, not knowing what to do.

The Second and Third Doctors encounter more obstacles while moving separately through the Tower, with the mind of Rassilon exuding a feeling of intensifying fear. They also encounter what appear to be their previous companions, the Third meeting Captain Mike Yates and Liz Shaw, and the Second meeting Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Heriot. The Doctors soon realize they are just phantoms designed to impede their progress through the Tower, and the spectres vanish with a scream. Finally, all three Doctors reach the tomb, where Rassilon's sepulchre is. While the Brigadier, Sarah and Tegan get re-acquainted, the three Doctors try to translate an inscription written in Old High Gallifreyan on a pedestal near a control panel.

The Fifth Doctor finds that Borusa has vanished from the Council chamber, but the guards insist the President could not have gotten by them at the only entrance. The transmat is out of power, so the Doctor deduces there must be a secret door. He finds it hidden behind a painting of Rassilon playing the harp. The key to opening the door is a series of notes played on the actual harp standing in front of the painting, notes indicated by the sheet music in the painting itself. The Doctor enters the secret chamber, and finds the dark figure that had taken his other selves out of time: Borusa. The Lord President is not satisfied with ruling Gallifrey for his lifetimes — he wants to be President Eternal. Borusa has determined that Rassilon discovered the secret of immortality, and he means to claim it, sending the Doctors into the Zone to clear the way for him. Using the Coronet of Rassilon, Borusa overwhelms the Fifth Doctor's will, forcing the latter to obey his commands.

In the tomb, the Doctors have deciphered the inscription. Rassilon did discover immortality, and was willing to share it with whoever overcame the obstacles to the tomb and took the ring from his body. However, a line troubles the First Doctor: "To lose is to win and he who wins shall lose." The Master steps out of the shadows, wanting to claim immortality himself, but is attacked from behind by the Brigadier and tied up by Sarah and Tegan. The Third Doctor fixes the control panel by reversing the polarity of the neutron flow, allowing the TARDIS to transport itself to the tomb just seconds before the Cybermen's bomb detonates.

The Second Doctor contacts the Capitol, and the Fifth Doctor answers, still under Borusa's control. The Fifth Doctor tells his other selves to await his and Borusa's arrival. Transmatting over to the tomb, Borusa paralyzes the Doctors' companions with a command and tries to control the minds of the Doctors as well, but fails as all four Doctors combine their wills against him. However, a booming voice echoes through the chamber, the voice of Rassilon, demanding to know who disturbs him. Borusa steps forward to claim immortality and while the other Doctors protest, the First Doctor holds the others back and says to the projection of Rassilon that Borusa deserves the prize. Borusa takes the ring from the body and puts it on, but finds himself paralyzed, then transformed into one of several stone faces carved into the side of the casket. Rassilon then sends the Master back to his own time, and frees the Fourth Doctor from the time vortex before returning to eternal rest. The First Doctor smugly tells the Fifth that he finally understood the proverb. The prize was another trap — a means for Rassilon to discover who wanted immortality and get them out of the way.

The Doctors and their companions say their good-byes to each other and re-enter the TARDIS save for the Fifth Doctor, Tegan and Turlough. As the three watch, the others are transported back to their proper timezones. Chancellor Flavia arrives with guards and tells the Doctor that with Borusa's disappearance, the Council has appointed the Doctor as President. The Doctor orders Flavia back to the Capitol, saying that he will follow in his TARDIS and that she has full powers until his return. Once in the ship, however, he reveals to Tegan and Turlough he has no intention of returning. Tegan asks if the Doctor really intends to go on the run from his own people in a rackety old TARDIS. The Doctor replies, smiling, "Why not? After all, that's how it all started."

Cast

 * The Doctor - Peter Davison
 * The Doctor - Jon Pertwee
 * The Doctor - Patrick Troughton
 * The Doctor - Richard Hurndall
 * The Doctor - Tom Baker (footage from unbroadcast Shada)
 * Tegan Jovanka - Janet Fielding
 * Turlough - Mark Strickson
 * Sarah Jane Smith - Elisabeth Sladen
 * Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart - Nicholas Courtney
 * Susan - Carole Ann Ford
 * The Master - Anthony Ainley
 * Romana - Lalla Ward (footage from unbroadcast Shada)
 * Lord President Borusa - Philip Latham
 * Chancellor Flavia - Dinah Sheridan
 * The Castellan - Paul Jerricho
 * Jamie McCrimmon - Frazer Hines (illusion)
 * Zoe Heriot - Wendy Padbury (illusion)
 * Liz Shaw - Caroline John (illusion)
 * Captain Mike Yates - Richard Franklin (illusion)
 * Voice of K9 - John Leeson (cameo)
 * Rassilon - Richard Mathews
 * Cyber Leader - David Banks
 * Cyber-Lieutenant - Mark Hardy
 * Crichton - David Savile
 * Dalek Voice - Roy Skelton
 * Dalek Operator - John Scott Martin
 * Commander - Stuart Blake
 * Technician - Stephen Meredith
 * Sergeant - Ray Float
 * Guard - John Tallents
 * Cyber Scout - William Kenton
 * Raston Robot - Keith Hodiak

Crew

 * Film Editor - M A C Adams
 * Studio Lighting - Don Babbage
 * Film Cameraman - John Baker
 * Visual Effects Designers - John Brace and Mike Kelt
 * Production Associate - June Collins
 * Production Assistant - Jean Davis
 * Title Music - Ron Grainer and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop
 * Theme arrangement - Peter Howell
 * Make-Up - Jill Hagger
 * Incidental Music - Peter Howell
 * Costumes - Colin Lavers
 * Special Sounds - Dick Mills
 * Studio Sound - Martin Ridout
 * Assistant Floor Manager - Pauline Seager
 * Script Editor - Eric Saward
 * Writer - Terrance Dicks
 * Designer - Malcolm Thornton
 * Director - Peter Moffatt
 * Producer - John Nathan-Turner

Gallifrey

 * The Death Zone "the black secret at the heart of your Time Lord paradise" was created in the days before Rassilon, when Gallifreyans kidnapped aliens for sport.
 * The second incarnation of the Doctor says that his ancestors had "tremendous powers, which they misused".
 * Borusa kidnaps the Doctors to the Death Zone on Gallifrey, using the time scoop.
 * The Dark Tower is accessible from three points.
 * Borusa, who has regenerated again, is at least the fourth Time Lord to play the Game of Rassilon in search of immortality.

Individuals

 * The Second Doctor mentions the Terrible Zodin and Omega while walking with the Brigadier outside UNIT HQ.
 * UNIT is now headed by Colonel Charles Crichton.
 * When Borusa attempts to kidnap the fourth incarnation of the Doctor and Romana, they become trapped in a time eddy.

Locations

 * The Doctor, Tegan and Turlough sit around enjoying the Eye of Orion.

People from the real world

 * Whilst punting down the river the Doctor rambles to Romana mentioning;
 * Isaac Newton
 * Andrew Marvell
 * Christopher Smart
 * Ernest Rutherford
 * Chadwick
 * William Wordsworth
 * Judge Jeffries

Robots

 * The third incarnation of the Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith encounter a Raston Warrior Robot.

Technology

 * The Time Lords plan to get the Master into the Death Zone by means of a "power-boosted open-ended transmat beam".

Story notes

 * This story commemorated the twentieth anniversary of Doctor Who.
 * Elisabeth Sladen said she wished she hadn't filmed the shot of her rolling down the embankment because it didn't look very good afterwards.
 * Robert Holmes was initially commissioned to write the special, which initially had the working title The Six Doctors because it originally included a robot impostor of one of the Doctors. Holmes, however, was unable to come up with a workable script, so Terrance Dicks was commissioned to write the piece. Ironically, the story immediately preceding The Five Doctors, DW: The King's Demons, did in fact introduce a robot character, Kamelion, with the ability to impersonate others. However despite being introduced in that story as a new companion, not only is Kamelion not referenced or seen once in The Five Doctors, the character disappeared from the series for a full year.
 * The Five Doctors was co-produced with the Australian Broadcasting Commission who put in AUD $60,000. This was the first and only occurrence of this. Later, the 1996 TV movie and first four seasons of the new series would also incorporate non-UK support.
 * The companion-hallucination cameos were last-minute additions to the script, and Dicks had already completed his first draft of the script when Tom Baker pulled out of the project.
 * William Hartnell was deceased by this time, and Tom Baker declined to return to his role as the Fourth Doctor. An early idea to incorporate footage of Hartnell and Baker into the story's action in a way similar to the contemporary film Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid was abandoned in favor of hiring actor Richard Hurndall to give his own impression of the First Doctor, while clips of Baker and Lalla Ward from the unfinished and (at the time) never-before-seen story "Shada" were used to show only the Fourth Doctor's abduction and return, without any interaction between himself and the other Doctors. For a publicity cast photo, a figure from Madame Tussauds of Baker as the Doctor was used although according to discussion on the Special Edition DVD, Baker himself was at one point supposed to take part in the photo shoot, but pulled out.
 * This story was first broadcast via satellite on 23 November, 1983 to North American viewers, before its transmission in the UK. However, this version had a number of small edits, UK viewers saw the unedited version during Children in Need broadcast on the 25th of November 1983 as well as a short pre-recorded interview with Peter Davison and Terry Wogan shown directly after.
 * Terrance Dicks is said to have been displeased with Eric Saward's changes to his original story. He especially felt the Cybermen, for whom Saward had a particular fondness, were overused in the finished story.
 * A 102 minute Special Edition of the story was released on VHS in 1995 with extended scenes and dialogue added or deleted, and some of the visual effects and the voice of Rassilon redone. The resulting version continues to receive mixed reactions from fans.
 * This was only the second time in the series' history that there was a pre-credits sequence. Castrovalva (1982) was the first such story. Subsequently, Time and the Rani (1987) and Remembrance of the Daleks (1988) also featured pre-credits teasers. The pre-credits sequence became a regular occurrence starting with the 2005 series episode The End of the World.
 * This serial explicitly indicated in dialogue that the Davison incarnation of the Doctor was in fact the fifth, officially discounting fan speculation dating back to The Brain of Morbius that the First Doctor wasn't actually the first. Ironically, Terrance Dicks wrote both stories.
 * Just as the Doctor is (almost) never referred to as "Doctor Who", so too are the terms First Doctor, Second Doctor, etc. never actually uttered on screen. This episode comes closest to breaking that precedent when the First Doctor asks the Fifth, "Regeneration?" and the Fifth replies "Fourth".
 * The Quarks were set to return to Doctor Who for The Five Doctors but were removed from the script at an early stage and replaced by the Raston Warrior Robot.
 * This story marks the end of a long series of linked storylines that began with The Leisure Hive. Each story had been linked in some way, either as direct continuations, or in more subtle ways such as dialogue references to previous events. In this case, The Five Doctors is linked to The King's Demons and earlier stories by the fact it resolves the subplot of the Doctor finally arriving at the Eye of Orion.
 * Commander Maxil, last seen in Arc of Infinity, was at one point to have appeared. The character was dropped from the final script, most likely due to actor Colin Baker's imminent appointment as the Sixth Doctor.
 * Two versions of the end sequences were made. For the original broadcast version The Doctors/Companions were returned using TARDIS holograms and the accompanying dematrialization sound effect, for the Special Edition version the Doctors/Companions were returned via a Timescoop effect after they entered the TARDIS. Both versions used different footage from Shada to show Tom Bakers Doctor's return to earth.
 * Unless one considers the Brigadier to be a companion, this story has the distinction of marking the first time companions from different eras had met and interacted. This would occur only once more in the original series, in The Two Doctors when Peri and Jamie meet, and has occurred several times in the 2005-present revival.
 * Dicks' original script featured Autons with the Third Doctor saving Sarah Jane from them in Bessie. This was cut as there was not enough time to film it, and was replaced with Sarah falling down a hill. Eric Saward was known to say afterwards simply 'It was a lot simpler.'
 * This story was the first ever in which both the Daleks and the Cybermen both featured (though they did not meet). This would not occur again until the Series 2 finale Army of Ghosts/Doomsday in 2006 (excluding the Cyberman head seen in Dalek). They would feature in the same stories again in DW: The Pandorica Opens, VG: Return to Earth, SP: The Monsters Are Coming! and VG: The Mazes of Time, although The Five Doctors sees the only time the Mondasian Cybermen have features in one such story. All the others have been the Cybus varient.
 * This marks the only time the Third Doctor ever came close to meeting with the Cybermen. He only observes them, however, and avoids any encounter.
 * The Brigadier's line "Wonderful Chap, all of them" Is a slightly edited version of a line he said in The Three Doctors, "Wonderful Chap, Both of him".
 * Footage of Sarah Jane and K9 from early in this story was later used in the 2009 episode SJA: The Mad Woman in the Attic.
 * In the blooper reel added in the 25th anniversary edition, a clip has the director shouting for a reshoot. Peter Davison says in response, "s***". The Dalek also said "Bugger, I lost them!" in another blooper. And John Pertwee also said "s***" when the Whomobile failed to go.
 * The Raston Warrior Robot costume is a silver repaint of one of the Cyberman androids' costumes from DW: Earthshock.
 * Peter Davison would later parody the Fifth Doctor's "I am being diminished" speech in the second episode of the second series of his black comedy, Rigor Mortis. Davison's character, a workaholic pathologist, doesn't respond well to a sudden drought of deaths. Undergoing a form of withdrawal, he says: "I am being diminished, whittled away, piece by piece. A doctor is the sum of his contributions to humanity, you know; a pathologist even more so."

Ratings

 * 7.7 million viewers

Myths

 * The Five Doctors was to feature Omega.
 * Richard Hurndall died immediately after the episode aired. He actually died some months later, in April 1984. . There is an associated rumour questioning whether he lived long enough to be paid for his work.
 * The Master's real name is Jehosaphat. This originated from fan writers misunderstanding the Third Doctor uttering the word upon recognizing the Master. In truth, is was a somewhat antiquated exclamation of surprise. A shortened version of Jumping Jehosaphat!
 * Initially the First Doctor was to appear with Dodo and Steven, the Second Doctor With Jamie, the Third Doctor with Sarah, the Fourth Doctor with Romana II and K9MKII and the Fifth with Tegan and Turlough.
 * Kamelion was supposed to appear for this story.

Filming locations

 * Plas Brondanw, Llanfrothen, Penrhyndeudraeth, Gwynedd (Eye of Orion)
 * Manod Quarry (now known as Cwt y Bugail Quarry (McAlpine)), Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd
 * Tilehouse Lane, Denham Green, Buckinghamshire (Third Doctor chase scene in Bessie)
 * West Common Road, Uxbridge, Middlesex (Sarah Jane Smith's house)
 * Carreg Y Foel Gron, Ffestiniog, Gwynedd (Location where Susan and the First Doctor see the TARDIS)
 * Cwm Bychan, Llanbedr, Gwynedd (Road in the Death Zone where the Third Doctor and Sarah drive)
 * Denham Manor, Halings Lane, Denham Green (UNIT HQ)
 * North Common Road, Uxbridge, Middlesex (Location where Sarah waits for the bus and is taken by the Time Scoop)
 * Ealing Television Film Studios, Ealing Green, Ealing
 * BBC Television Centre (TC6), Shepherd's Bush, London

Production errors

 * When the Cyberman attacks the Brigadier, the jeans of the actor playing the Cyberman are visible.
 * The long shot of the Third Doctor and Sarah sliding to the top of the tower reveals a physical impossibility. Their slide rope doesn't go from a high location to a lower one, or from two positions along a straight line. Rather, the tower is actually above the position from which they start.
 * At one point in the caves, a boom mic is visible above the Second Doctor's and the Brigadier's head (and it stays there for around 3 seconds).
 * When the Second Doctor and the Brigadier are in the caves you can easily see the tracks from when the tunnels were made. A little primitive for Gallifrey.
 * In this episode, the Third Doctor has on a striped cape, but when he is taken to the Death Zone, the model Borusa has has the Third Doctor wearing a purple smoking jacket and bow tie.

Continuity

 * Three incarnations of Borusa previously appeared in DW: The Deadly Assassin, The Invasion of Time and Arc of Infinity.
 * The Brigadier refers to Yeti (DW: The Web of Fear) and Cybermen (DW: The Invasion)
 * The Second Doctor mentions Omega. (DW: The Three Doctors)
 * Sarah Jane is seen with K9, a reference to KAC: A Girl's Best Friend.
 * EDA: The Eight Doctors features the Raston Warrior Robot and the Fifth Doctor at the Eye of Orion.
 * This story occurs after (DW: Mawdryn Undead) from the Brigadier's point of view, given that he recognises Tegan and later the Fifth Doctor.
 * The Time Lords offer the Master a complete life cycle, which they do later in their history. (DW: The Sound of Drums)
 * Rassilon was restored to mastery over the Time Lords during the Time War, and evidently regenerated, as shown in DW: The End of Time.
 * The First Doctor fails to recognize The Master, who says they went to the Academy together. This is the first direct reference to the fact the two enemies knew each other in their youth, a theme later picked up in The End of Time, among other stories.
 * The Doctor was Lord President of Gallifrey in The Invasion of Time.He was offered the presidency in The Ultimate Foe, though he declined. And in Remembrance of the Daleks he calls himself President, suggesting that he was made President again, or that the events of Remembrance occur after Invasion or The Five Doctors in Gallifrey's own timeline.

Perspectives

 * It is implied that the Doctor and Susan have not met for a while, plus Susan is considerably more mature than she was when last seen, thus it must be after The Dalek Invasion of Earth. (However, some feel the fact they do not have an emotional reunion implies they may have met again in the interim. Others say that the reunion seemed emotional enough given the circumstances, so no prior reunion is implied.)
 * The story hints several times that this is after the events of The Three Doctors for The first three doctors. The Second Doctor mentions Omega while reminiscing with the Brigadier, and also makes a comment about his replacement being "unpromising" when he is in UNIT headquarters. The Third Doctor refers to "that fellow in the check trousers and black frock-coat" when he meets the illusions of Mike Yates and Liz Shaw. The First Doctor refers to the Second as "the little fellow" and after learning who the Fifth Doctor was exclamed "so there are five of me now".
 * The Brigadier refers to the Yeti (The Web of Fear) and the Cybermen (The Invasion). He also recognises the Fifth Doctor and Tegan suggesting it is after Mawdryn Undead.
 * For the Third Doctor, it takes place some time between The Time Warrior and Planet of the Spiders as he recognises Sarah Jane (who was his last companion before his regeneration).
 * Sarah is at home with K9, so it must be after the K9 and Company spinoff, but it is unknown what year it is for Sarah Jane, if Brendan is staying with her, or if Lavinia is deceased yet.
 * The Third Doctor reacts to Sarah's mimed description of the Fourth Doctor by saying, "Teeth and curls?" and telling her the change has not happened yet for him. The Third Doctor is presumably just interpreting her gestures. His accuracy has led some fans to infer from this an unseen encounter with the Fourth Doctor. In the short story The Touch of the Nurazh from the anthology Short Trips: Monsters, an injury makes the Third Doctor begin to regenerate into the Fourth but the process is reversed. This is witnessed by Jo Grant, and the theory is that she subsequently describes the Fourth Doctor's appearance to the Third. (According to both Elisabeth Sladen and Terrance Dicks the "all teeth and curls" line was supposed to be Sarah's, but Jon Pertwee appropriated it for himself.)
 * The time-placement for the Fourth Doctor depends upon which version of The Five Doctors is viewed, and whether Shada, despite being unbroadcast and incomplete, is considered canonical (which in turn relates to whether the webcast version is considered canonical). In any event, Romana is in her second incarnation, placing this between Destiny of the Daleks and Full Circle (when the TARDIS enters E-Space and events unfold that lead to her leaving the Doctor). Shada was placed between The Horns of Nimon and The Leisure Hive. According to the 1983 version of The Five Doctors, it may be reasonably inferred that the events of Shada were disrupted due to both Romana and the Fourth Doctor being Timescooped. The 1995 Special Edition, however, only has the Doctor Timescooped, and after the defeat of Borusa, Rassilon returns the Doctor to just before the Timescoop took him away, which would allow the events of Shada to unfold.
 * It is implied that the past Doctors do not retain memories of being involved in events where they meet their future selves. Otherwise, each of the later Doctors, starting with the Second Doctor, would have had foreknowledge of the outcome of events having participated as their earlier selves. Furthermore, earlier Doctors would also have direct assurance that they survive beyond their current incarnation. This is retroactively supported by the 2006 episode DW: School Reunion in which dialogue between the Tenth Doctor and Sarah Jane strongly indicates that neither (or, at the least, Sarah Jane) remembers the events of The Five Doctors. Further evidence is provided by the 2010 episode SJA: Death of the Doctor, in which Sarah Jane references Tegan as if she'd never met her in The Five Doctors (though it's possible, given the circumstances, that she simply forgot the woman's name in the intervening years).
 * However, in DW: Time Crash, the plot's resolution hinges on the Tenth Doctor remembering the same experience as the Fifth Doctor.

Timeline
For the First Doctor:
 * This story occurs after DWM: Roses
 * This story occurs before DWA: Peril in Mechanistria

For the Second Doctor:
 * This story occurs after ST: The Time Eater
 * This story occurs before DW: The Two Doctors
 * If you accept the Season 6b theory, almost certainly takes place during that period

For the Third Doctor:
 * This story occurs after TVC: Doomcloud
 * This story occurs before DWA: The Time Thief (short story)

For the Fourth Doctor:
 * This story takes place after DW: The Horns of Nimon
 * This story occurs during DW: Shada
 * This story takes place before ST: Glass

For the Fifth Doctor:
 * This story occurs after MA: The Crystal Bucephalus
 * This story occurs before EDA: The Eight Doctors

VHS Releases
The Five Doctors had three separate VHS releases:

It was released on video by BBC Enterprises in 1985. This was the edited version screened in USA and had 2 minutes of footage edited out.

Box set
It was released on video by BBC Worldwide in 1995 as part of a boxed set in the UK, Australia and the US. This was the Extended/Special Edition version of the story.

Laserdisc releases

 * The original (broadcast) version of the story was released on Laserdisc in 1994.

DVD release
The Five Doctors was the first Doctor Who DVD to be released by BBC Worldwide, it introduced several features that remain with the range today (and others that do not). The intro-theme music used into the DVDs was the Davison-era theme music, and remains for all DVDs. While the original release of the DVD had no special features it did feature a CGI created TARDIS console room (based on the one featured in this story).

First release
In 1999 The Five Doctors was released on DVD by BBC Worldwide, this was the same Extended / Special Edition as the 1995 VHS release, with no additional features. Released in Australia 2000. Only the North America release had commentary and the Who's Who features.

Second release
In 2008 The Five Doctors was re-released celebrating the story's 25th anniversary, in this case it was a dual DVD release showcasing the original version of the story and the Extended / Special Edition.


 * This was also released as an extra with Issue 4 of the Doctor Who DVD Files.


 * Commentary track on 1983 version by Carole Ann Ford, Nicholas Courtney, Elisabeth Sladen, Mark Strickson.
 * Commentary track on 1995 version by Peter Davison and Terrance Dicks
 * Hidden "Easter egg" commentary on 1983 version by David Tennant, Phil Collinson and Helen Raynor (recorded in 2006 during filming of Gridlock)
 * Celebration, a 52-minute documentary hosted by Colin Baker looking back at the 1983 anniversary year.
 * The Ties that Bind Us, a 26-minute documentary narrated by Paul McGann looking at the links between The Five Doctors and both past and future Doctor Who storylines (right up to Last of the Time Lords)
 * Five Doctors, One Studio - raw video footage of the only studio recording session in which Davison, Pertwee, Troughton and Hurndall were all together.
 * Outtakes and bloopers.
 * (Not So) Special Effects - raw footage of the filming of several special effects sequences.
 * Publicity clips from Saturday Superstore, Blue Peter, Nationwide and Breakfast Time.
 * Isolated music track for both versions.
 * Trails and continuities, including the cliffhangers created for the four-episode version.
 * Photo gallery.
 * Production notes subtitles option on both versions.
 * DVD ROM feature: Radio Times listings.
 * Easter egg: a clip of the Timescoop "black triangle" eating the BBC Logo, taken from the 1995 video release of the Special Edition.


 * Editing for Special Edition VHS and DVD releases and 25th Anniversary DVD release completed by Doctor Who Restoration Team.

Audio Release
A soundtrack album of the music from this serial was released by Silva Screen Records as The Five Doctors: Classic Music from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop Vol. 2 (FILMCD 710).

Novelisation and its audiobook

 * Main article: The Five Doctors (novelisation)

A novelisation by Terrance Dicks was published in conjunction with the broadcast. This was the first and only time that the release of a novelisation more or less coincided with the broadcast of an episode.

Credits Theme
Most of the credits theme is a slightly remixed version of the original credits theme. When it gets to (and past) the middle eight, though, it reverts back to Davison's.