Review of The Two Doctors (#140)

DVD Release Date: 29 Jul 20
Original Air Date: 16 Feb – 02 Mar 1985
Doctors/Companions: Six, Two, Perpugilliam Brown, Jamie McCrimmon
Stars: Colin Baker, Patrick Troughton, Nicola Bryant, Frazer Hines
Preceding Story: The Mark of the Rani (Six, Peri)
Succeeding Story: Timelash (Six, Peri)

Robert Holmes is among the most revered writers in Classic Who fandom (and rightfully so, imo), so when I fired up my DVD of The Two Doctors to refresh my memory for this review, I was utterly surprised to see his name in the credits. It’s not that I had remembered this serial as particularly bad, whereas most Holmes titles are distinctly among the good, but rather that I didn’t have a very strong sense of the story at all.

I always make a few notes for myself before a re-watch about what details of the particular adventure I actually recall, and they were pretty thin on the ground this time. Aside from the presence of the eponymous reincarnations—Two serving as support for Six—I remembered the Androgums (though not by name; all I could pull out was the final syllable), the location shooting in Spain, a lepidopterist, and Jaime trapped in some sort of matrix-y space.

While all of those details are accurate (to a point), they don’t really do the story justice. Nor do they include one of the major elements of the story: the Sontarans. Somehow in the mess of details in this adventure (which, as it aired in an era of 45-minute-long episodes, comprises three episodes rather than the more-usual-for-Classic-Who six episodes), the old standby alien race fell into obscurity in my memory.

I suspect the reason for the Sontarans’ lack of impact on me has less to do with them and their role in the adventure than with the Androgums’ disproportionate mindshare. The species, as represented by one-and-a-half individuals (or maybe one plus two half-individuals), is aesthetically unpleasant, overly aggressive in its pursuit of new culinary delights (particularly meat), and dismissive of other sentient species. They’re a bit hard to forget.

The other truly notable element of The Two Doctors is the fact that it was shot on location in Spain. While the outdoor shots of the hacienda are pretty and all, the real “money shots” are those in Seville itself in Part Three. Even plebs like me who could believe the other location shots were filmed in any of a number of places can appreciate the specificity of the shots within the city.

And there are a couple of good lines. Perhaps most notably, at least to those of us who have seen Frasier Hines on the convention circuit, is this Jaime/Two exchange: “Look at the size of that thing, Doctor.” / “Yes, Jaime. It is a big one.” But I also enjoyed Peri’s line, “Circular logic will only make you dizzy, Doctor.”

As for the story, it’s… fine. I don’t think it lives up to some of Holmes’s other work, but it makes internally consistent sense and has enough twists to keep a viewer engaged. The best parts, of course, are when the Doctor interacts with himself, and Colin Baker and Patrick Troughton do a good job playing off each other and highlighting some of their respective regenerations’ stereotypical characteristics.

So for a viewer who enjoys the timey-wimey goodness of a multi-Doctor story, with lovely location shots, a memorable new alien species, and a relatively convoluted diabolical plot involving multiple parties, The Two Doctors is a fine choice. Just don’t get attached to the guest characters. Or your lunch.