"Why are we doing this?" "For the fans!"
TECHNICAL SPECS: First aired on the BBC's Red Button service on Nov.23 2013. Available on the Internet.
IN THIS ONE... Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy try to get on the 50th Anniversary Special.
REVIEW: The OTHER Anniversary Special is an often hilarious, but loving take-down of everyone who deigned make an appearance in it, written and directed by Peter Davison himself, and co-starring the other Big Finish Doctors in some capacity. I'd say the biggest part of the fun is how everyone plays a self-obsessed version of themselves. While the three principals may, after some thought, say they're trying to get into the official Anniversary Special, it's clear from their behavior they're really doing it for themselves. All three are desperate has-beens looking to impress their respective families, or in McCoy's case, perhaps because playing the Brown Wizard in The Hobbit isn't all it's cracked up to be, unless you like waiting around in your trailer until Peter Jackson has a moment of inspiration. Only McGann is doing well, so he's quick to ditch the others (strangely, there's no mention of Moffat contacting him for The Night of the Doctor). And of course, Tom Baker is stuck in a temporal anomaly as per The Five Doctors (and, for that matter, Dimensions in Time).
If it were just them, you might believe the classic Doctors really don't get any respect, but Davison's managed to get the good will of the production itself and more besides, and everyone's relishing playing parodies of their public personae (shades of The Larry Sanders Show). Tennant and Georgia Moffett are obvious gets, since they're in Davison's family, but Moffat, Matt Smith, Jenna Coleman, John Barrowman, Janet Fielding, Matthew Waterhouse (and plenty more old companions besides, reenacting the 5th Doctor's death scene), David Troughton, Sean Pertwee (so we're only missing a member of the Hartnell family then), Nick Briggs, Russell T Davies (who gets treated as the ultimate has-been), Olivia Colman (who was rumored as a potential female Doctor around this time), and OMG, Peter Jackson and Ian McKellan! The guys even wander on set in Cardiff and may very well be part of the 50th Anniversary Special, though no one's confirmed it was really them. I choose to think it is. Don't tell me if it isn't.
And of course, there are plenty of references to the past. Quotes and misquotes. Musical cues. Chases down corridors (which is kind of a lull towards the end there). Peter Cushing name-dropped. Georgia eating her ice cream with a celery stick. Susan's "That's not right" spoken by the kid at the Doctor Who Experience. It's just loads of fun for old-time fans.
REWATCHABILITY: Medium-High - It's great to see Doctor Who celebs laugh at themselves like this, and though tongue-in-cheek, it fills the gaps in the Anniversary by giving us a fun dose of 80s Doctor Who.
IN THIS ONE... Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy try to get on the 50th Anniversary Special.
REVIEW: The OTHER Anniversary Special is an often hilarious, but loving take-down of everyone who deigned make an appearance in it, written and directed by Peter Davison himself, and co-starring the other Big Finish Doctors in some capacity. I'd say the biggest part of the fun is how everyone plays a self-obsessed version of themselves. While the three principals may, after some thought, say they're trying to get into the official Anniversary Special, it's clear from their behavior they're really doing it for themselves. All three are desperate has-beens looking to impress their respective families, or in McCoy's case, perhaps because playing the Brown Wizard in The Hobbit isn't all it's cracked up to be, unless you like waiting around in your trailer until Peter Jackson has a moment of inspiration. Only McGann is doing well, so he's quick to ditch the others (strangely, there's no mention of Moffat contacting him for The Night of the Doctor). And of course, Tom Baker is stuck in a temporal anomaly as per The Five Doctors (and, for that matter, Dimensions in Time).
If it were just them, you might believe the classic Doctors really don't get any respect, but Davison's managed to get the good will of the production itself and more besides, and everyone's relishing playing parodies of their public personae (shades of The Larry Sanders Show). Tennant and Georgia Moffett are obvious gets, since they're in Davison's family, but Moffat, Matt Smith, Jenna Coleman, John Barrowman, Janet Fielding, Matthew Waterhouse (and plenty more old companions besides, reenacting the 5th Doctor's death scene), David Troughton, Sean Pertwee (so we're only missing a member of the Hartnell family then), Nick Briggs, Russell T Davies (who gets treated as the ultimate has-been), Olivia Colman (who was rumored as a potential female Doctor around this time), and OMG, Peter Jackson and Ian McKellan! The guys even wander on set in Cardiff and may very well be part of the 50th Anniversary Special, though no one's confirmed it was really them. I choose to think it is. Don't tell me if it isn't.
And of course, there are plenty of references to the past. Quotes and misquotes. Musical cues. Chases down corridors (which is kind of a lull towards the end there). Peter Cushing name-dropped. Georgia eating her ice cream with a celery stick. Susan's "That's not right" spoken by the kid at the Doctor Who Experience. It's just loads of fun for old-time fans.
REWATCHABILITY: Medium-High - It's great to see Doctor Who celebs laugh at themselves like this, and though tongue-in-cheek, it fills the gaps in the Anniversary by giving us a fun dose of 80s Doctor Who.
Comments
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"I mean, my favourite Doctor."
Why on earth this isn't on the 50th Anniversary disc I have no idea.
And I happened to need a good laugh at the time, so I have extra good will towards these guys.
- Jason
"The actor reported that it would appear on an as-yet unscheduled special set featuring former Doctor Matt Smith." I have no idea what that bit means.
Indeed- and this special did more to generate affection for him, to me, than anything he did in his tenure as the show's producer. His bit was fantastic.