Re-watched The Three Doctors...
After a long time.
I think I have a greater regard for it now than I did when I first saw it. True, it isn't as explicit a 'celebration' of the series as The Five Doctors would be...but its not the pretty 'ordinary' serial (apart from the presence of multiple Doctors) that I thought it was.
Since I've watched an exponentially greater amount of Doctor Who, both classic and new, since watching this serial originally, I guess I have a far greater appreciation of The Three Doctors now, and its significance at the time of Who's 10th anniversary.
A few things I caught on my second observation-
-It never occurred to me before, but there is a certain vague facial resemblance between Troughton and Pertwee, which is apparent when you see them side by side. It really sells you on the idea that they're supposed to be the same man, and it also highlights the contrasts in their character even more strongly. Pertwee is the more serious-minded, disciplined and authoritative type. Troughton is more the devious, eccentric, sometimes frivolous maverick. Putting them side by side, it further cemented the idea that has been brewing in my mind a while now..that Pertwee, as great a Doctor as he was, never really fit the 'Doctor' template that Troughton set, and which most if not all later Doctors followed. Something which is easily explained by the theory that Pertwee's Doctor was essentially 'manufactured' the Time Lords to be as unlike Troughton's as possible and closer to a 'conventional' Time Lord. Also, since the 'regeneration' concept still wasn't all that clear at this point in the show's history, no doubt the resemblance between Troughton and Pertwee could be explained by the idea that the Time Lords basically 'molded' Troughton's Doctor, altering him physically and mentally to become Pertwee. (Of course, once regeneration was established, you can still argue that they manipulated the regeneration in such a way).
-Its also interesting that the two Doctors kinda 'switch' places. In that, typically Pertwee's Doctor was the UNIT consultant who was stuck on earth and tried to foil an attempted alien invasion of earth. Troughton's Doctor was the one who had the traditional space-faring adventures of exploring other planets. Here, for a whole episode, its Troughton's Doctor who's stuck on earth working with UNIT to foil the earth invasion, while Pertwee's Doctor gets to explore the alien world instead. Troughton even comments that he envies Pertwee for getting to explore another planet at one point!
-Its notable that this is the first time we get an 'origin story' of sorts for the Time Lords, and by extension, the Doctor Who mythology as well, with Omega's experiment and the origin of time-travel. Something we can take for granted now but which no doubt would have been an anniversary-worthy reveal back in '73.
-At the time I first watched this serial, I'd only ever seen Hartnell in 'An Unearthly Child' so I wasn't at all used to the original Doctor. Now though, having seen him in numerous serials, I can't help but notice how frail and aged Hartnell looks here and how its difficult to get a 'feel' for the First Doctor, as played on screen during his actual stories, looking at him here. Nonetheless, including him is a fitting tribute to the show's origins, however limited his presence was.
-The resolution to the story, with the two Doctors tricking Omega, was actually pretty neat. It kinda foreshadows the other two anniversary episodes - 'The Five Doctors' and 'The Day of the Doctors'. In both cases, the Doctor's use their wits to trick their enemy (in the latest case, the 'enemy' being time itself!) to achieve victory.
On the whole, a serial I'd severely underrated the first time round.
Formerly sn939