The One Doctor
The Doctor reluctantly answers a distress call from the planet Generios (in the Generios system, which is nestled away quietly in the constellation of Generios). When he arrives, though, he finds he’s surplus to requirements - the people of Generios are celebrating their victory over the evil Skelloids, a victory they say was engineered by that legendary time traveler known as the Doctor! Mel chalks it up to one of the Doctor’s other incarnations, but the Doctor isn’t so sure. When he runs into the man the people of Generios have hailed as a hero, the Doctor is even more certain that this man isn’t one of his future selves - this “Doctor” travels around the universe in what is essentially a transmat disguised as a Porta-Loo, and generally being far too chummy with his buxom sidekick Sally Anne. But when a new alien menace threatens to destroy Generios - this time decidedly more real than the fake Doctor’s equally fake holographically-projected Skelloid invasion - the planet must look to the Doctor (the real Doctor) for help.
written by Gareth Roberts and Clayton Hickman
directed by Gary Russell
music by Alistair LockCast: Colin Baker (The Doctor), Bonnie Langford (Melanie), Christopher Biggins (Banto Zame), Claire Buckfield (Sally-Ann Stubbins), Stephen Fewell (Councillor Potikol / Assembler 2), Nicholas Pegg (Citizen Sokkery / Mentos), Jane Goddard (The Questioner), Adam Buxton (Assembler 1), Matt Lucas (Jelloid), Mark Wright (Guard)
Timeline: after The Trial Of A Time Lord and before The Juggernauts
Review: In 1985, mere weeks into its 22nd season, Doctor Who was nearly given the axe. When it returned 18 months later, producer John Nathan-Turner was under explicit instructions from the BBC to make the series more humorous and less violent. What the fans and general viewing public saw, however, stayed so far away from either comedy or action as the make the resulting Trial Of A Time Lord season a bit ineffectual. If they’d gone for all-out farce like The One Doctor, however, the show’s future might have unfolded differently. If it demonstrates nothing else, this light-hearted entry (just in time for Christmas 2001, no less) proves that Colin Baker’s comedic potential was sorely underutilized during his brief reign at the Doctor. (more…)
Nyssa has fallen critically ill, and the Doctor has brought her to her home world of Traken 3,000 years before her birth (and its destruction), desperate to find someone who specializes in Traken medicine. Unaccustomed to visitors, the Consuls of Traken are alarmed by the presence of the Doctor and Nyssa, but as with virtually every decision in this era of their recent history, they defer to the wisdom of the Source…only it seems to refuse to render a decision for them. The Doctor is told to leave and take Nyssa with him, dying or not. Unable to appeal to the Consuls, the Doctor takes his plea for help to Kwundaar, a telepathic being who has been trying to take over the Union of Traken for centuries. But Kwundaar’s price for saving Nyssa’s life is steep - the Doctor must give him the means to invade Traken and enslave its people. Still certain he can find a way to save Nyssa without allowing Kwundaar and his fanatical pirates to overrun Traken, the Doctor tries to play both sides against the middle, unaware that Kwundaar has forseen his actions - and has taken full advantage of them.
The TARDIS has brought the Doctor and Ace to Colditz Castle, the legendary German prison camp, at the height of World War II. The time travelers are captured almost immediately, and the Doctor is shot in the shoulder. Ace instantly attracts the interest of Kurtz, the head of the guards - more interest than she would like. She also befriends English prisoners of war who are already planning their next escape attempt, but are reluctant to let her in on the plot unless she gives them more concrete information about where she’s from. In the meantime, the Doctor - and his TARDIS, which the guards witnessed materializing the courtyard - have gotten the interest of someone who appears to be very closely connected to the upper ranks of the German war effort. When the Doctor is given a choice - hand over the keys to the TARDIS or spare Ace’s life - he gives the Nazis his time machine, setting ripples in motion which will change history forever unless he can regain control of the situation.
As the Doctor is trying to show Peri how to find her way around the TARDIS, something yanks the timeship violently off-course. By the time they reach the console room, however, the TARDIS has landed, depositing them in the sands of Egypt around 1400 B.C. Worse yet, as soon as they step outside the doors, they spot a young woman in a chariot being chased by the driver of another chariot. At Peri’s urging, the Doctor lends his assistance, saving the girl’s life - and earning both of the time travelers the favor of Erimem, the Pharaoh-in-waiting. But the Doctor is concerned - he can’t remember a female Pharaoh from this time period, and the other chariot’s driver was trying to kill her. Erimem asks the Doctor and Peri to accompany her to Thebes, where she plans to honor their heroics with a banquet, but only more court intrigue awaits them, including an assassination attempt thwarted by the Doctor, and the presence of an alien mind who can take humans - willing or unwilling - as hosts.