The Five Doctors BFI Southbank Special Report

I’m sure many fans are basking in all the additional content of the Doctor Who: The Collection Season 20 Limited Edition blu ray at the moment. The BFI (British Film Institute) on the London Southbank held a special event recently on the 16th of September 2023 to showcase the 40th anniversary version of The Five Doctors and to celebrate the boxset.

It has been a fair few months, since the last Doctor Who Blu-ray release and the BFI Hosts Justin Johnson (Lead Programmer for BFI) and Dick Fiddy (BFI Archive Television Programmer) acknowledged what a labour of love the boxsets are for BBC Studios to make.

Before the commencement of the traditional quiz with the boxset and some DVDs as prizes, Justin Johnson read out a message from a guest who really wanted to be at the screening but couldn’t attend on the day.

I would have liked to have been at the event and I want to thank the fans for their support over the many decades. I hope you all have an enjoyable celebration and here’s to the next sixty years!

– Eric Saward

New Special Effects

Niel Bushnell, who contributed updated special effects to the 40th anniversary version of the Five Doctors was invited to the stage. He disclosed there were 117 throughout the story. (I can see a new game coming if can anyone spot them all although Five Doctors DVD vs blu ray (New 40th Anniversary Edition) shows a few. He described some enhancements to the Eye of Orion, the time scoop, and the tomb of Rassilon and tried to be sympathetic to the original story by not taking the viewer out of the story.

I must admit there were some nice touches I noticed such as the planets in the sky at the Eye of Orion giving an otherworldly touch, the Time Scoop shaping, trapping and imprint effect and the movement of the Raston Warrior Robot. What I loved was the audience got into the spirit of things and really enjoyed the screening cheering as Pertwee’s Doctor uttered the immortal line “reverse the polarity of the neutron flow” and reciting in unison as the Castellan recoiled at a false charge and torture “No not the mind probe” That poor Castellan he could never get a break!

Malcolm Thornton (Production Designer The Five Doctors) Interview

Malcolm Thornton worked on four stories, Logopolis, Kinda, Planet of Fire and The Five Doctors and shared some memories. Speaking of the Five Doctors he hoped to get some extra budget but couldn’t remember how much he received. He found generally though that with Doctor Who it required imagination on a low budget, so he tried to reuse old sets in a new way.

Malcolm did remember always using lots of gaffer tape but tried to use everyday items in unusual ways, so a staple gun became a door handle. His memories of the Five Doctors were mainly of lots of driving and running around as assets were being built in Ealing Studios and at Television Centre whilst there was filming in North Wales.  

And talking of Wales. What’s that coming over the hill… Is it a monster? Watch out Doctors David Banks and Mark Hardy were stomping out on stage!

David Banks – Cyber-leader and Mark Hardy – Cyber Lieutenant

Both actors were in The Five Doctors and were prompted for their memories by interviewer Dick Fiddy. David Banks declared his favourite Doctor was Patrick Troughton and he felt a lot of admiration for the script from Terrance Dicks. The director Peter Moffat he found very organised and meticulous at planning which was an advantage on a complicated shoot. Both remembered the cold and wet weather filming in Wales for ten days wearing canvas lace-up boots rather than what they expected such as ski boots. Their fondest memories seemed to be of the evenings relaxing in the pub warming up after a cold day filming.

Mark Hardy was excited to meet Jon Pertwee (David Banks joked Jon thought he was the best Doctor) as well as other well-known actors of the time such as Philip Latham and Dinah Sheridan who shared wonderful stories of the films they appeared in. Talking about the Cyberman costume Mark Hardy explained some of the restrictions of the costume. He described being “bolted into” the costume with an inability to move flexibly and create any subtle movement. With the fitting of the headpiece, his vision was also limited somewhat. Apparently, they also had to dub again the dialogue recorded on location although it came through on location. 

Actors Sarah Sutton, Janet Fielding and Peter Davison interview

This was a wide-ranging interview by Justin Johnson with the three actors covering their time in the show and also life afterwards.

Sarah Sutton played Nyssa from 1981-1983 but wasn’t in The Five Doctors or had seen the special before. When asked her impression of the story she enjoyed it mainly as she could relax not being in it. As with many actors, she does not enjoy watching herself acting. She recalled how her departure in Terminus, which I didn’t realise wasn’t Sarah’s decision to go, felt abrupt. She described she felt a door closing and reflected it was painful after working on the series for a year and a half.

Janet Fielding played Tegan from 1981-1984. She recalled her time on the show and discussed how the 25-minute episode structure sometimes limited character development due to a need for an artificial cliffhanger. She understood however that her role necessitated having to ask questions which Peter Davison agreed was a way of being the eyes of the audience.

There was one scene however where Janet protested as Tegan was asked originally with Carole Ann Ford as Susan to make tea by the 1^st Doctor. Janet wryly commented “That was never going to happen” referring to the issues of traditional gender roles and the burgeoning equality battles still ongoing in the 1980’s. Eventually, the script direction was changed to Tegan and Turlough went and made the tea. 

One of the most interesting things I thought Janet revealed was how in interviews of the time she didn’t use her Australian accent but assumed an RP or received a pronunciation accent. Received Pronunciation is the accent traditionally regarded as the standard and most prestigious form of spoken British English and is very neutral. Janet disclosed how she burst into tears going to a speech coach, feeling restricted and unable to use her natural accent. This was a  prevalent attitude of casting in the 1980s and the knowledge that she wouldn’t get any work otherwise in Britain.

Both Sarah and Janet looking back felt that at that time opportunities after Doctor Who didn’t necessarily materialise because you had been the female companion on Doctor Who. It wasn’t seen as positive as it might be today.  Janet Fielding described the struggle for good parts afterwards that led to her decision to stop acting and become an actor’s agent.

Peter Davison was the 5^th Doctor from 1981- 1984 and speaking specifically about The Five Doctors expressed some regret that the Doctors were kept apart for the majority of the time in the story. This was producer John Nathan Turner’s decision as he was worried about too many egos on set. It did not turn out to be the case, and Peter got on well with Jon Pertwee and his Doctor growing up Patrick Troughton. Peter Davison doesn’t appear to have a huge ego as he described all his acting work as ensemble pieces. He personally works better that way.

He also recalled with some amusement the photo shoot they all had to do with a waxwork Tom Baker, borrowed from Madame Tussauds. Peter also shared memories of being at the first big convention at Longleat in 1983 and the underestimation of the number of people, the huge crowds, who would turn up. He remembered spending a morning going up and down the queues. 

The floor was opened up for questions from the audience and asked which stories they would like to re-record again Peter Davison offered Time Flight only because by that point in the nineteenth season there wasn’t much budget left despite the fact they were filming with Concorde. As Peter acknowledged it was a good story ( I would definitely agree) however he acknowledged the difficulties of working on what was a complicated series involving special effects which took time to get right.

Speaking of his decision to leave Doctor Who Peter Davison felt it was right that he left after three years. The decision came partly out of a fear of not getting work afterwards. He had seen how difficult Tom Baker had found getting work It is a fact though that Peter Davison was a very popular actor before, during and after Doctor Who. As  Janet joked Peter Davison is always working on more than one thing at a time.

Peter bantered back that he has two sons with bills to pay. Perhaps it is a factor that Janet has three brothers and Peter’s three sisters whom Janet and Peter have developed a quick-fire rapport with together. What was apparent in the session was how close all these actors are and how entertaining and humorous their interactions can be.  

After the session finished there was the opportunity for autographs and selfies with all the actors upstairs on the mezzanine floor.   I couldn’t resist the opportunity for a few photos with the original Tardis team that made me a superfan. Selfies were £20 each and autographs £15.  There was also a special postcard available. On the back, the postcard has the BFI & BBC Studios Logo and the event date and is the Blu-ray amazing cover 

All in all, this was another brilliant event put on by the BFI and was an event I’m so glad I didn’t miss. A big thank you to the BFI and the perfect way to end it was settling down in the bar and restaurant afterwards.  It was announced at the event that the next animation The Underwater Menace will be screened at the BFI on Saturday 21 October 2023.

Unfortunately, tickets are sold out for that event but as part of the BFI’s Time travel season there is an upcoming Doctor  Who event The TARDIS: The Most Famous Time Machine in the Universe with tickets still available from £6.50

What are your thoughts on The Five Doctors? What are your memories of Season 20 and the anniversary?  Post your thoughts here, on the Big Blue Box Podcast Discord Server or on Twitter. Let’s talk.

Doctor Who: The Collection Season 20 Limited Edition blu ray is available to buy from retailers now.