Line #37 Recap/DoctorWhoS10E1TheThreeDoctors


1	[[WMG:[[center:[-''[[Series/DoctorWho Doctor Who]]'' [[Recap/DoctorWho recap index]]\
2	'''Third Doctor Era'''\
3	'''Season 10:''' '''1''' \| [[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E2CarnivalOfMonsters 2]] \| [[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E3FrontierInSpace 3]] \| [[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E4PlanetOfTheDaleks 4]] \| [[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E5TheGreenDeath 5]]\
4	'''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS9E1DayOfTheDaleks <<< Season 9]]''' \| '''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS11E1TheTimeWarrior Season 11 >>>]]''']]-]]]
5	!The Three Doctors
6	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/three_docs_4590.jpg]]
7	[[caption-width-right:350: [[Creator/PatrickTroughton Two]] [[Creator/JonPertwee Doctors]] are better than one. (When they aren't [[OtherMeAnnoysMe bickering]], that is. Then you need a [[Creator/WilliamHartnell third one]] on a fuzzy monitor to break them up.)]]
8	->Written by Bob Baker and Dave Martin\
9	Directed by Lennie Mayne\
10	'''Production code:''' RRR\
11	'''Air dates:''' 30 December 1972 - 20 January 1973\
12	'''Number of episodes:''' 4
13
14	->''"Oh, so you're my replacements -- a dandy and a clown!"''
15	-->-- '''The First Doctor''', being ''incredibly'' unimpressed by his future
16
17	JustForFun/{{The one w\|ith}}here self-loathing takes on a whole new meaning.
18
19	The [[MilestoneCelebration tenth anniversary]] of ''Series/DoctorWho'' was marked with the first "Multi-Doctor" story, a concept which would be used several more times over the coming years.
20	----
21
22	The Doctor is investigating the appearance of a mysterious blob-like creature which, it transpires, is hunting him down. Reluctantly, he calls on the Time Lords for help. Unfortunately, they're a bit preoccupied with a black hole draining all their energy, so they send his past selves over to help. The Second Doctor appears in the Third Doctor's TARDIS, and the two of them immediately proceed to bicker LikeAnOldMarriedCouple before grudgingly opening up a psychic link ("Contact!") between them. The First Doctor is caught in a time eddy and can only advise via the TARDIS viewscreen, but he deduces that the blob creature is a "time bridge". The Third Doctor and Jo, being a good companion and despite the Doctor's protests, allow it to capture them and they are transported to a world of antimatter beyond the troublesome black hole.
23
24	Meanwhile, back on Earth, the Second Doctor, the Brigadier and Sergeant Benton take refuge in the TARDIS. The Brigadier flat-out refuses to believe anything that's going on, and the Second Doctor trolls him mercilessly. The First Doctor tells the group to switch off the forcefield, and the TARDIS (and with it the UNIT HQ) are all transported to the antimatter world.
25
26	It turns out that the problem is Omega, a renegade Time Lord. Omega was a stellar engineer, and his experiments enabled the Time Lords to develop time travel. But one of his experiments went wrong and trapped him in the antimatter universe. Now he wants to return, but he needs a matter counterpart to take his place, and he wants the Doctor.
27
28	Driven mad by his isolation and physically corroded to the point where only his will survives inside his armour, he threatens to destroy the universe, but he is tricked into picking up the Second Doctor's recorder -- the only thing not converted to antimatter when they travelled through the black hole -- by the Second Doctor, using his outward appearance to appear harmless and waffling to annoy Omega like he always does, and is destroyed.
29
30	As a reward for saving the universe, the Third Doctor's exile is lifted and he's able to use his TARDIS normally once more.
31
32	----
33	!! Tropes
34
35	* AndIMustScream: Omega's body has been disintegrated, but he is still alive and conscious. He can't die as long as he believes he's still alive. And he's been in solitude for a few centuries at least.
36	* {{Antimatter}}: A whole world made of it. And everything transported into it is changed to antimatter too. Except if it's protected by a force field, of course.
37	* ArbitraryScepticism: The Brig is rather accepting of the whole anti-matter monsters and black holes situation (he's dealt with weirder, arguably). But he immediately dismisses the idea of two Doctors existing at the same time (he thinks Three must have changed back somehow), and insists the TARDIS interior must be an optical illusion.
38	* ArtisticLicenceMilitary: British Army officers should not salute civilians. However, given that the Brigadier thought the Doctors were about to do a HeroicSacrifice to save the entire universe, he probably felt bending the rules was justified.
39	* BattleInTheCentreOfTheMind: The Third Doctor challenges Omega to one of these... and loses, badly. The only reason he doesn't die is because the Second Doctor talks Omega out of it.
40	* BBCQuarry: The antimatter world, of course.
41	* BigBad: Omega.
42	* BigNo: Omega pulls this one off in a disturbingly serious way. His genuinely heartbreaking wail is immediately followed by spoonfuls of {{Narm}}[[invoked]], though.
43	* BigWhat: Omega, [[RuleOfThree once again,]] when he sees Two and Three in the singularity room.
44	-->'''Three:''' Singularity...
45	-->'''Two:''' Fascinating!
46	-->'''Omega:''' '''''[[IncomingHam WHAAAAAAAT?!!!!!!!!!]]''''' '''HOW IS IT THAT YOU ARE ''FREE?!'''''
47	* BitingTheHandHumor: The Second Doctor decides that they need to confuse the anti-matter monster with "mindless noise," then wonders if there's a television handy. At the time this aired, wouldn't you, the viewer, watch this series on one?
48	* BookEnds: The Chancellor was previously one of the two Time Lord judges who exiled the Doctor to Earth at the end of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E7TheWarGames "The War Games"]]. He plays a major role in lifting that sentence here, thus making him a linchpin in both the start and end of the "Exile on Earth" arc.
49	* BorrowedCatchphrase: Even before the Second Doctor appears, his catchphrase does.
50	-->'''Third Doctor:''' When I say run, run!
51	* BrokenPedestal: Omega was the Doctor's childhood hero. It hurt to discover that he had gone nuts and become obsessed with destroying his own race, after having helped them progress so far.
52	* ButNowIMustGo: Averted! When the Time Lords send the Third Doctor a new dematerialization circuit for the TARDIS, effectively restoring his freedom, Jo posits that means he won't be sticking around Earth anymore. But the Doctor replies that he won't leave immediately; [[RequiredSecondaryPowers he has to rebuild the force field generator first]].
53	* TheCameo: Gallifrey (although it's not named yet) and a few Time Lords show up for a couple of scenes, including one of the very Time Lords who sentenced the Doctor to exile on Earth, thus providing a small BookEnds to his exile ending here.
54	* ChekhovsGun:
55	** The Second Doctor's recorder, which he makes a big fuss about having lost, turns out to be just the thing they need to save the day at the end.
56	** When the Doctor, Jo, and Dr Tyler are first brought to Omega's stronghold, the Doctor does a conjuring trick to make a point to Dr Tyler, then discards the bouquet of flowers he conjured. Later, Jo and Dr Tyler are trying to escape, and get lost in the maze of passages, until Jo finds the flowers on the floor and is able to work back from there to the entrance.
57	* ChewingTheScenery: It's a wonder that Omega hasn't devoured his world with his grandiose dramatic flair!
58	* TheDanza: One-off character Corporal Palmer is played by actor Denys Palmer.
59	* DeadpanSnarker:
60	** Two to Three, Three right back at Two, One to Two and Three, Two to the Brig, and the Brig at ''everybody''.
61	** For all of Omega's LargeHam TragicVillain tendencies he gets a good snark at the second Doctor:
62	--->"Are you sure you and him are of the same intelligence?".
63	* DramaticUnmask: When Omega reveals his true face to himself and to the Doctors.
64	* DudeWheresMyReward: Omega is not happy at being forgotten in spite of all of his achievements. Though the Doctor does point out that Gallifreyian society has venerated Omega as a heroic figure and one of the founders of their entire society, and can't reasonably be blamed for believing that he'd died in the centre of the black hole.
65	* EurekaMoment: Upon being informed that the Doctor can still not help himself in this crisis, the President of the Time Lord Council has an idea.
66	-->'''President:''' Show me the Doctor’s face [[Creator/PatrickTroughton as he appeared]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E7TheWarGames before we changed his appearance]].
67	* EvilIsHammy: Omega is one of the best examples of this in the franchise, [[WorldOfHam which is saying quite a lot]]. He both looks and acts like a character from a Greek tragedy, with broad, exaggerated gesticulations and a theatrical, perpetually projected voice that starts loud and only gets louder as he loses his already-tenuous grip on his emotions.
68	* ExactWords: The Second and Third Doctors pledge that they will not attempt to leave Omega's realm before Omega himself. Omega assumes this means they'll stay with him forever. It doesn't.
69	* FalseReassurance: The Third Doctor says to Omega, "We will not leave here before you do." Omega assumes this means they will stay there with him. It doesn't.
70	* FisherKing: Every time Omega gets annoyed, his fortress rumbles, shaking visibly as the anger increases. Justified because the fortress, and indeed the entire environment within the black hole, is shaped by Omega's mind.
71	* {{Foreshadowing}}: The Doctor's line that compares being attacked by antimatter to "being punched on the nose by the invisible man" is, notoriously, nonsensical as science, but does serve the purpose of foreshadowing the big reveal about what's under Omega's mask.
72	* FutureMeScaresMe: Or rather Future Me Disappoints Me. Also inverted, since in this case Future Me Isn't Exactly Impressed With Me Either.
73	** And, when there are two Future Mes, ''I'' scare ''them''.
74	*** And now you can watch it in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AV4fAwn0N_Mthe ERB format]]!
75	* AGodAmI: Omega has fallen into this ''big'' time due to his years of isolation and bitterness and his control over the anti-matter realm. Made clear when the Doctor points out that he and Gallifreyian society regards him as a hero for what he did to establish Time Lord society:
76	-->'''Omega:''' A ''hero''? ''[[LargeHam I should have been a]] '''[[EvilIsHammy GOD]]'''!!!''
77	* GodzillaThreshold: A Time Lord meeting his past self is against the first law of time, but with their energy being sapped and the Doctor being the only one who can stop it and still needs help, the President ignores his Chancellor and we get this story.
78	** Later, with Gallifrey low on energy and two Doctors struggling against Omega, he uses the last of their energy to send the remaining one in not the black hole.
79	* HeadsOrTails: When the Second and Third Doctors are deciding who should risk crossing the "time bridge", the Second Doctor suggests this method, then flips a coin and announces that the Third Doctor has lost. Later, when they're deciding who should risk approaching the Singularity, the Second Doctor pulls the coin out again, and the Third Doctor points out that they both know he's just going to make the Third Doctor go first again.
80	* IChooseToStay: After spending his last three seasons, trying to get his TARDIS working again and off Earth, the Third Doctor gets his wish, and then decides to stay on Earth and work with UNIT. His successor will not share the same sentiments.
81	* IHatePastMe: Three doesn't so much "hate" Two as finding him "incredibly annoying." Averted with One, though, for both Two and Three, who treats him as a voice of reason and hold his advice in great esteem.
82	* LargeHam:
83	** '''Omega.''' EvilIsHammy indeed.
84	** Everybody, ''everybody'' gets at least one taste of pork products and/or scenery during this serial (for instance, ask TheBrigadier his opinion on the Second Doctor's recorder...). That said, '''Omega'''. It's a wonder they were able to ''find'' any more ham for anyone else once Omega had gotten started.
85	* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: The monitor screen in Time Lords' control room, which they use to track down the earlier Doctors, can apparently only display monochrome images, so the earlier Doctors first appear on a screen in black-and-white before being inserted into the present-day story in full colour.
86	* LoadBearingBoss: Omega's will is the only thing keeping the antimatter world together. And Omega himself, for that matter.
87	* MortonsFork: Omega can only escape from his realm by relinquishing control of the Singularity he uses to create the realm. Unfortunately, the very moment he relinquished control of the Singularity, everything would fall apart -- preventing him from escaping.
88	* MyFutureSelfAndMe: An especially funny case, as the title characters cannot stand each other. Two and Three bicker constantly, and One gets a wonderful dig at them both (see page quote).
89	* NoFaceUnderTheMask: What is revealed when Omega's mask is removed. It turns out his body was consumed by antimatter aeons ago, and his willpower (and hatred) is the only thing holding him together.
90	* NoIndoorVoice: Omega is one of the hammiest ''Series/DoctorWho'' villains, and that's saying something.
91	* NoOntologicalInertia: When Omega is destroyed, everything he had brought into his antimatter universe over the course of the story is returned to where it came from, including both Doctors, the TARDIS, and UNIT headquarters.
92	* NotWhereTheyThought: UNIT headquarters gets teleported into the Anti-Matter dimension. For some reason, the Brigadier thinks they are in Cromer, a coastal town in Norfolk.
93	* ObfuscatingStupidity: At one point, the Second Doctor rambles to Omega about his lost recorder, prompting (yet another) tantrum on Omega's part. The Third Doctor reprimands him, only for the Second Doctor to reveal he's just been testing Omega's self-control to find a weakness.
94	* OtherMeAnnoysMe: Two and Three have this attitude with each other.
95	* PercussiveMaintenance: Radio not working? Smack it on the TARDIS console. Voila!
96	* PortalCut: A multi-coloured energy blob teleports the Doctor and part of the building he's in through a black hole, and later the rest of the building. The two parts of the building arrive in different locations. At the end, when everything is sent back to "where it came from", the two parts of the building are re-assembled, apparently without any permanent damage.
97	* PuffOfLogic: Subverted. This is essentially what will happen to Omega if his will does not dictate that he exists, but Omega's will proves itself too unshakable for him to just disappear.
98	* PunctuatedForEmphasis: '''Omega's! Entire! Mental! Breakdown!'''
99	* TheRival: Doctors Two and Three take an immediate dislike to each other, and begin sniping at each other from the moment they meet themselves.
100	* RealLifeWritesThePlot: Creator/WilliamHartnell was ill and getting on in years (in fact, this serial was the last time he acted before his death), which is why the First Doctor appears only on a viewscreen.
101	* RebuiltSet: A combination of poor audience responses and the set being damaged in storage meant that the one-time "washbowl" TARDIS interior seen in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS9E5TheTimeMonster "The Time Monster"]] is revamped. Tying in with the show's tenth anniversary, the new design modernizes the interior used from the show's inception in 1963 to [[Recap/DoctorWhoS9E2TheCurseOfPeladon "The Curse of Peladon"]] earlier in 1972, taking advantage of higher-definition color monitors by being more expansive and detailed and trading out the matte roundel wall for a real set of roundels. Typically, the Second Doctor doesn't like it.
102	* TheScream: Omega lets out a rather convincing primal wail when he discovers that there's literally nothing left of him but his mind and some dust, animated by willpower alone.
103	** And what we saw on screen was actually ''toned down'' from the first take. Creator/BarryLetts happened to be escorting some children on a tour of the set when this scene was shot and Stephen Thorne's first scream scared the daylights out of them. Letts asked him to take it down a notch for a second take.
104	* SealedEvilInACan: Omega.
105	* SelfDeprecation: The Doctor's plan to keep the antimatter organism from causing more trouble is to "keep it confused, feed it with useless information" -- to which he immediately adds that he wonders if there's TV set handy.
106	* ShoutOut: [[Music/TheBeatles "And we are all together, koo koo kachoo?"]][[note]]The writers actually went through the trouble of clearing the use of the quote with Apple Corps.[[/note]]
107	* SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay: At one point the Brigadier -- suspicious about the Second Doctor's presence and not fully understanding the situation, believing that the Third Doctor has somehow regressed into his previous body -- demands to know whether he's still the Doctor by quizzing him about their previous experiences, including [[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E5TheWebOfFear the Yeti in the Underground]] and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS7E1SpearheadFromSpace the Nestene]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoS8E1TerrorOfTheAutons Consciousness]]. Partially subverted, however, since while the Second Doctor can remember the first one, as he cheerfully points out the second one hasn't happened for him yet, so he can't answer it.
108	* SpecialEffectsEvolution: The "organism" is a video effect that, a few years previously, might have been achieved through more practical means.
109	* StockFootage: The Gel Guards' claw when it fires. There was only one "hero" claw with lights inside, and the effect was done at the quarry.
110	* SubvertedCatchphrase: Benton passes up [[SharePhrase the usual]] "BiggerOnTheInside" line.
111	-->'''Third Doctor:''' Well, Sergeant? Aren't ''you'' going to say "It's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside"? Everybody else does.\
112	'''Sgt. Benton:''' Well, it's... pretty obvious, isn't it?
113	* SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum: On learning that he can never leave his antimatter realm, Omega suffers a breakdown and starts vowing to destroy every living thing in the universe.
114	* TemporarySubstitute: Richard Franklin was unable to appear in the serial, so Captain Yates' role was assigned to Sgt. Benton, whose usual role was given to a new character called Corporal Palmer.
115	* ThisCannotBe: Pretty much Omega's response to finding out his physical form has been destroyed: "[[PunctuatedForEmphasis It! Is! Not! True!]]"
116	* TragicVillain: You have to feel sorry for Omega living a secluded existence after being responsible for one of the biggest contributions to Time Lord science.
117	* TravellingAtTheSpeedOfPlot: The sidekicks escape from Omega's stronghold and head back to the Doctor's lab at UNIT HQ in the Doctor's car while the Doctors confront Omega and then escape themselves. The Doctors, on foot, arrive back at the lab only moments after everybody else, despite everybody else having the car and a significant head start.
118	* UnfazedEveryman: Sergeant Benton, as always. Gel monsters? The previous version of the Doctor turning up? The TARDIS being BiggerOnTheInside? He's SeenItAll.
119	* UnspokenPlanGuarantee: The three Doctors discuss their plan in front of everybody... with a psychic link. Of course it works perfectly.
120	* UnrealisticBlackHole: There's an entire world of antimatter inside it. And you can just walk up right to the singularity without ill effects. And afterwards, you can walk away from it again.
121	* VillainousBreakdown: He's not exactly the definition of stability to begin with, but Omega goes completely off the deep end when he finds the aforementioned existence failure. "If I exist only by my will... then my will is to DESTROY, and ALL THINGS shall be destroyed! AAAALL THINGS! ALLLLL THIIIINGS!!!" (Cue second anguished wail.)
122	* VisibleBoomMic: Just before the Second Doctor's arm appears, a boom mic drifts into the shot directly above Creator/JohnLevene.
123	* WaxingLyrical:
124	--> '''Third Doctor:''' I am he and he is me.\
125	'''Jo:''' [[Music/MagicalMysteryTour "And we are all together, goo-goo-kachoo"?]]\
126	'''Three:''' What?\
127	'''Jo:''' It's a song by Music/TheBeatles.\
128	'''Two:''' Oh, how does it go? [brings his recorder up to his lips]
129	* WhamEpisode: This brought back the two previous actors who had played the Doctor, a previously unprecedented event, but at the end the format of the series changed as the Doctor's exile to Earth was lifted.
130	* WhichMe: The Doctors use "me" to refer to their other self, as well as "he".
131	* WroteTheBook: According to the Doctor, his people invented black holes.
132	* YouWouldntBelieveMeIfIToldYou: Mr. Ollis to his wife after he finally gets back home.
133	* YourMindMakesItReal: Omega is essentially the god of an antimatter world he's imprisoned in within a black hole. Despite having been destroyed by the singularity's energy, he still exists because of his belief and desire for himself to still be alive.

Context Recap / DoctorWhoS10E1TheThreeDoctors