Doctor Who: Dimensions in Time (1993)

What can I say about this episode that doesn't sound horribly mean?It's something that must be seen to be believed.It's got a plot in there somewhere but it's anyone's guess what it was.It's a final bow for most of Doctor Who's cast members.It's got the cast of Eastenders in it because... err... nobody really knows why, it just does.This is utter utter trash that I advise we should burn with fire. Satan himself could produce a better Doctor Who script than this by submitting as a script his soiled toilet paper.Having said that, the whole thing was for charity. So I guess it was worth it.

Really, the only saving graces of this are that we got to see the five living Doctors on screen along with many past companions and 'monsters'. This could well be the last time we see certain characters, and was the last appearance of Jon Pertwee as the Doctor. Dimensions In Time was also John Nathan Turner's last Doctor Who production credit.Otherwise the plot is totally incomprehensible, we don't see inside the Tardis (the set had been destroyed), the cross-over with East Enders seems silly and the 3D process it was shot in was only mildly impressive. At the time it was nice to see Doctor Who back, but I cannot imagine this would have turned anybody onto the show at all.As it was a charity do it will never be released on DVD or repeated (that was a condition of its production) so you will only be able to see off-air VHS recordings. But truly it was an awful programme.

Yes, you saw my vote. I rated it 10 out of 10. The story was incomprehensible garbage for the epic length of 10 minutes of screen time.........but it had very charitable aims -- raising money for the children in need. Since the show was in limbo at this time, this was our 30th Anniversary Doctor Who story. With the exception of the 1997 New Zealand Commercials, this was the only time that Tom Baker reprised his role as the Fourth Doctor in costume in a Doctor Who story since "dying" in "Logopolis". (Come to think of it, this is Davison's & Colin Baker's only ON-SCREEN reprise of their incarnations in costume after they left the show.)Jon Pertwee makes a final bow as the Third Doctor.It would have made lots of money if it had been released on video (now DVD)but I can see why many agreed to do it on the condition that it wasn't repeated or released in any way.For the Doctor Who collector, I would recommend watching it for the historical significance. However, I would not recommend this as an introductory show for a potential Doctor Who fan.....

For those who believe Sylvester McCoy didn't play the Seventh Doctor on screen in the years between his final TV outing, Survival and the 1996 TV Movie- Allow me to introduce Dimensions In Time, a charity special aired in 2 parts in November 1993. McCoy and Ace actress Sophie Aldred reprised their roles for this mini-reunion that reunited all the living actors to play Doctor Who alongside many of their old companions from the original series. Kate O'Mara (a recurring villain from the Sixth and Seventh Doctors eras) returned as the Rani in a new scheme to control the nature of evolution. While clearly not to be considered on the same scale as a normal production of Dr Who or even previous specials like The Five Doctors, this skit is still fun to watch as it is the last time we see Jon Pertwee as the flamboyant Third Doctor (he passed away three years later) and very likely the final time we will ever see McCoy, Tom Baker, Peter Davison and the much lamented Colin Baker play their interpretation of the character on screen. The new series, which began transmission last month, is not likely to utilise their talents as head writer Russell T Davies has stated he wishes to not focus on the past so much in his reinvention of the series. So taken for what it is- this is a good if all to brief celebration of the first 26 years of the legend that is Doctor Who.