Four episodes
Aired between 30th December 1972 and 20th January 1973
Written by Bob Baker and Dave Martin
Produced by Barry Letts
Directed by Lennie Mayne
Synopsis
On a nature reserve, Mr Ollis, the Warden spots a strange orange box attached to a parachute.
As he examines the box, a strange flash of light bursts out of it and he disappears. The act is seen by Doctor Tyler, a scientist study cosmic rays. The box is actually one of his sensors that has returned to Earth. Disturbed by Mr Ollis' disappearance, Doctor Tyler calls UNIT.
Once at UNIT HQ, Tyler explains the purpose of the box to the Brigadier, Jo and the Doctor. He also explains that he was going to contact UNIT anyway because this isn't the first strange thing to happen. He shows them some X-ray data he's gathered of some strange lighting that seems to have originated in space. The Doctor seems to think the lightning is in fact a tight beam of light that can transport things.
The Doctor instructs Doctor Tyler to develop the latest information from the monitoring box in his lab whilst the Doctor and Jo investigate the nature reserve site.
Once the UNIT crew have left the lab, Tyler makes himself right at home and begins developing the information, shocked to discover the latest image of space lightning clearly depicts Mr Ollis' face within the lightning.
He's suddenly hit by a flash of light and disappears. From out the orange box, a crackly colourful blob slithers out and slurps down the drain.
Over at the nature reserve, the Doctor and Jo question Mrs Ollis, who confirms that her husband is missing but insists that it isn't unusual for him to be out all day. The Doctor's concern grows and they head back to UNIT. Once there, the crackly space blob seeps out of a nearby drain and moves towards Bessie.
The Doctor orders Jo to run and he's right behind her. The blob swallows Bessie in a flash of light and disappears down the drain again.
The Doctor and Jo run to the lab where they find Sgt. Benton and the Brigadier are looking for the missing Doctor Tyler. The Doctor explains what's just happened to Bessie and warns the Brigadier to tell his men to guard the drains. The Brigadier gives the order. Benton thinks the idea is a bit potty, but does as he's told.
The Doctor soon finds the X-ray Doctor Tyler had developed and he begins searching the surfaces with his Sonic Screwdriver, picking up background radiation signatures until he points it at the nearby sink.
After reading the data brought back by the cosmic sensor, the Doctor becomes convinced that the space lightning is some kind search light, scanning the Earth and ending up near UNIT HQ. In fact, he postulates (with the help of Jo) that the beam and the space blob are connected and were in fact looking for him. The Brigadier challenges this in disbelief saying Ollis and Doctor Tyler have both disappeared. The Doctor counters by saying that the space blob was disoriented at first, and then mistook Tyler for being the Doctor as he was in his lab. Even Bessie was taken because it still held his residual signature on it. The Brigadier asks how they're meant to find it, but the Doctor warns that it will find them.
Without warning, a globulous bubbly creature appears on the lawn outside UNIT HQ much to the surprise of the soldiers standing guard.
They begin to fire on the globules who return fire with a strange lobster clawed hand that shoots explosive rounds. The UNIT bullets have absolutely no effect.
The Doctor confirms that the bubbly monsters are very similar to the space blob, easily sent by the same master. The Brigadier orders Benton to ensure the soldiers and staff are evacuated and rushes off to help. Benton does as he's ordered and makes his way to the lab. The space blob comes back up the sink and attacks the Doctor, Jo and Benton. Cut off from escape, they are forced to retreat into the TARDIS.
Benton is flabergasted at the TARDIS interior, but says nothing really surprises him about the Doctor anymore.
The Doctor flips on the TARDIS force field and tries to take off but the ship won't move because it's power is being drained away. Given no alternative, the Doctor is forced to flip an emergency switch and call the Time Lords.
Many galaxies away, the Time Lords are facing a similar problem of having all their power drained. They acknowledge the doctor'a call, but aren't in a position to answer it. The Time Lords however decide that he can help himself. Using some of their power reserves, the Time Lords break their first and most sacred law of time and allow the Doctor to meet earlier incarnations of himself.
Back in the console room, the Doctor discovers a musical recorder placed on the console. A hand phases into reality and takes the recorder. The rest of the Second Doctor phases into view and he immediately beings to criticise the TARDIS' new look and that of his "replacement". Jo is confused about the man, but Benton recalls and greets the Second Doctor who hasn't seen him since "that business with the Cybermen" (see The Invasion). Through a lot of squabbling and confusing double talk, the Doctor's confirm that they are versions of the same Time Lord.
The Third Doctor is furious at the Second's presence, sating that they're breaking the first time law. The Second chides him, stating he's been sent so their effectiveness is doubled. They eventually decide to link minds to fill each other in on what the other knows about the situation. Once up to speed, the Doctor's take a moment to think about the next course of action. The Second Doctor thinks better by playing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on his recorder, but this infuriates the Third Doctor and they soon end up squabbling again.
The Time Lords become dismayed at the Doctor's inability to cooperate, so they send another one in: the First Doctor; having only enough energy to effectively conference call his presence on the monitor. As he appears he sneers that the "dandy and the clown" haven't done anything about the situation. He ponders what they think the space blob is, revealing that it's actually a time bridge. He then snarkily orders them to cross it and disappears.
Jo is confused again and when she asks who that was, both Doctor's answer "me" in unison, and then look at each other and shout "me!" again.
The Doctor's take the First Doctor's advice and deactivate the force field. They decide to flip a coin to decide who should go out there to the time bridge, and the Second Doctor uses his coin but suspiciously doesn't reveal the coin, yet insists he got it right.
The Third Doctor tells them all to stay inside the TARDIS and goes out, but Jo rushes after him. The time bridge attacks them and they both disappear in a flash of light. Benton is worried about them, but the Second Doctor reassures him that they've been transported somewhere, not killed.
Now it's taken the Doctor, the Time Bridge becomes inactive again, sitting there dormant.
Benton wants to take the chance and blow it to bits, but the Second Doctor warns him not to agitate it. He says the same thing to the Brigadier when he turns up too. The Brigadier stares in disbelief at the sight of the Second Doctor. Benton and the Doctor fill him in on the situation, but he has a hard time swallowing the truth.
The Doctor and Jo awaken to find themselves on a barren landscape.
Jo thinks she's dead at first, but soon realises they've been taken through a black hole to another dimension. They begin to explore the place, looking for a sign of life. it's not long before they come across the front of the lab, and Bessie itself. The Doctor notices footprints nearby and with Bessie, the pair decide to drive off to track them.
Back on Earth, the Doctor has built an electrical machine to keep the blob confused. He leaves Benton in charge of it whilst he goes to speak to the United Nations with the Brigadier. The blob starts to get agitated again as the Doctor leaves and although Benton activates the device, it doesn't have any effect. The Doctor and Brigadier arrive back in the lab just in time. The Doctor quickly opens the TARDIS door and tells the Brigadier and Benton to run inside.
The Brigadier is lost for words, astonished that the TARDIS is bigger on the inside. He thinks the Doctor has rebuilt the TARDIS using UNIT funds and equipment, but the Doctor assures him that it normally comes like that.
Back in the alternate dimension, the Doctor and Jo follow the footprints until they find Doctor Tyler wandering about in the wastes. The Doctor tells Tyler where he believes they are, and Tyler scoffs at the prospect. He is however more inclined to believe it when three of the gel-guards turn up, capture them and lead them off to a great palace made of stone.
Over in the TARDIS, the Second Doctor figures out that his machine had the opposite effect than he intended because it is constructed of anti-matter. Instead of keeping the creature docile, it aggravated it. He looks for his recorder to play music whilst he ponders his next move, but he can't find it. The Brigadier is frustrated that they're trapped and can't even call his men. As the Doctor can't find his recorder, he passes the time by modifying the brigadier's walkie-talkie.
As the Third Doctor, Jo and Tyler are led inside the palace, the Doctor explains through conjuring fake flowers that they are in an anti-matter universe that is somehow stable with the presence of matter.
Tyler considers making a break for it. The Doctor admonishes him, saying it would be suicide but Tyler tries it anyway. Lucky for him, the gel-guards don't kill him, but do recapture him very easily.
Back in the TARDIS, the Brigadier's radio modifications allow him to contact his men. It seems the gel-guards outside the HQ are waiting on something. The TARDIS scanner comes to life again and the First Doctor appears once more, warning the Second Doctor that the Time Lords are struggling and he must lower the TARDIS force field. Confused about who the old man on the screen is, the Brigadier questions the sanity of letting the Time Bridge enter the TARDIS, but the Second Doctor simply says that he's a lot of respect for the old man's judgement, and so drops the force field.
As soon as the field is down, the entire UNIT HQ is whipped off into a black hole, and the bridge and gel-guards on Earth all disappear, much to the startled UNIT soldier's dismay.
The Third Doctor, Jo and Tyler are led into a grand throne room where they see a figure standing in the shadows. His booming voice welcomes them to his world and he announces himself as Omega, a Time Lord who was said to have died centuries ago.
The Doctor explains that Omega is venerated as a great hero of the Time Lords because through his experiments with supernova, he gave them the power source and therefore, the ability to travel through time. The Time Lords naturally believed that he died in the supernova he'd created. Omega says that he didn't die, he was just transported into an anti-matter universe full of nothing. Through the power of his will alone, he found that he could affect his reality and build a world out of his thoughts. He even created the gel-guards and everything they see. But that was the problem, Once Omega had created that world, it became reality, and could only be sustained by his will, so he was trapped there keeping the reality alive.
Omega reveals his plan was to reach out into the "normal" world and find another Time Lord of equal will so that he could switch places with him and leave that Time Lord in the anti-matter realm to sustain it, therefore allowing Omega to escape again and wreak revenge on the Time Lords, the very people who he thinks abandoned him to centuries of loneliness. As you would guess, the Doctor refuses to help him, that is until Omega threatens them with death.
The TARDIS crew recover from the dimensional shift. The Second Doctor warns the Brigadier to prepare himself for a shock, but the stubborn Brigadier refuses to acknowledge that they've traveled anywhere, especially seeing as when he exits the TARDIS, they seem to still be in the lab. Now that the anti-matter blob has disappeared, the Brigadier runs out to the door, intending to go to his troops. He's not prepared for the fact that he opens to door to stare on a barren rocky landscape. Even though the Doctor and Benton try to explain they've been sent through the black hole, the Brigadier decides they've only gone a few miles away and are in fact in Cromer. He runs off to find a pay phone, leaving the Doctor and Benton to guard the HQ.
The Doctor tries to find his recorder again, but the gel-guards turn up, capturing them.
On his travels, the Brigadier comes across Mr Ollis who's been stuck in the wasteland, dazed, confused and hiding ever since he was transported from the nature reserve. He knows where the palace is, and they quietly follow the gel-guards when they see they've captured the Doctor and Benton.
In the throne room, the Third Doctor tries to get Omega to abandon his revenge and simply take up his mantle on the high council. Omega is considering it when the Second Doctor and Benton are brought in. Omega becomes angry and insists on knowing who they are. The Third Doctor tries to convince the powerful Time Lord that they are simple bystanders, but Omega can clearly see the Second Doctor is more than that.
He knows that the time bridge was instructed to bring Time Lords, and deduces that the Second Doctor must also be one, in fact, the same Time Lord as his current prisoner! The Ordacity of the high council angers Omega and he sends them all to his cells.
Outside, the Brigadier and Mr Ollis try to find a way into the palace but see no other way than the main entrance. They try to open the doors but find they are locked, tight.
As they are imprisoned and helpless, the Doctor's begin to squabble among themselves again. It relies on Jo and Benton to stop them and get them to focus. Together, the Doctor's explain to everyone how Omega is holding up this reality.
Jo comes up with the idea that if Omega is a time lord and can affect reality with his will, then the Doctor is "two" Time Lords and so their will must be greater. The Doctor's smile and congratulate Jo, then promptly link their minds to imagine a door in the wall. It works and the Doctor's tell the others to stay put whilst they deal with Omega by destroying a theorised singularity chamber, thereby bringing this universe crashing down. Tyler immediately follows them as it's an opportunity not to be missed. Jo and Benton go too.
It's not long before they find the centre of the black hole, the singularity chamber which looks like a simple hole in the floor spewing out smoke.
Omega catches them in the chamber and is absolutely furious that they've escaped. Omega is arrogant enough to believe that the Doctor's will is no match for his, so he challenges the Third Doctor to battle the "dark side" of Omega's will.
Tyler, Jo and Benton meanwhile become lost in the maze of corridors. Thanks to finding the discarded fake flowers, they manage to get back to the main entrance where they meet the Brigadier and Mr Ollis. They're all forced to run off as the gel-guards come after them. They take Bessie and drive back to UNIT HQ in the middle of the wasteland.
The Time Lords meanwhile are almost out of power. They use the last bit to send the image of the First Doctor through the black hole to assist the others.
The Third Doctor continues to battle Omega's will, losing the upper hand and almost being destroyed until the Second Doctor intervenes and warns Omega that if he kills him, then he loses his only chance to get free. With little choice, the Doctors agree to help Omega get free of the universe by staying behind themselves to run it. Omega warns them that there can be some corrosive effects from the anti-matter but it's a slow process. They will need to build and use an outfit like his to resist the corrosion.
Omega prepares to leave, removing his helmet, but there's a big problem, the suit didn't stop the corrosion at all! Omega's body has ceased to exist and he is a manifestation of his will alone.
Omega cries out in sorrow and rage. As he recovers, he says that if he can't leave the anti-matter realm, then neither will they; the Doctor's will keep him company for all eternity. The Doctor's don't fancy that prospect, so they leg it, outrunning the gel-guards and making it all the way back to the TARDIS.
They're grateful for meeting up with everyone and once again, try to come up with a plan to stop Omega and get back home.
The First Doctor comes through on the scanner again. The three of them telepathically link once more, sharing their thoughts.
In the outcome, they decide to use the TARDIS force field generator to get them safely back inside the palace. As they go to remove it from the console, the Second Doctor lights up and exclaims that his recorder has fallen into the middle of it.
The Third Doctor points out that the recorder has just become far more important because it was within the force field when they transferred through the black hole, therefore, it is still constructed of normal matter. The Second Doctor gets a bit grumpy when he realises that the instrument will be sacrificed, but the Third Doctor promises to buy him a thousand more.
The Doctors contact Omega through the TARDIS scanner and agree to meet to work out a deal. Omega transports the TARDIS to his throne room by manipulating his world.
The Third Doctor turns to Jo before they walk out and makes her promise to do as he says, no matter what the ask is. She agrees and they all leave the TARDIS with the force field to confront Omega.
The Doctors make a proposition to Omega: they will remain with him if he will allow their companions to return to Earth. Omega agrees and instructs them to walk through the column of smoke in the singularity chamber. One by one, the companions go, first Mr Ollis, then Doctor Tyler. When it comes to Jo's turn however, she refuses to leave the Third Doctor, despite his insistence. It takes the Brigadier to order her out. She reluctantly goes through the smoke back to Earth, followed shortly after by an equally reluctant Benton. The Brigadier steps to the singularity and gives the Doctors a salute before leaving.
Once alone, the Doctors offer the force field generator to Omega and tell him it's a way to set him free. He refuses to take it, and they join their minds using their force of will to compel him to take the device.
Omega becomes furious at their demands and he knocks the generator out of their hands, causing the recorder to drop out of the force field and contact the floor. Positive matter meets anti-matter and there is a terrific flash. The Doctors rush back into the TARDIS just in time as the anti-matter universe is annihilated.
Doctor Tyler, The Brigadier, Benton and Jo all arrive safe and sound along with UNIT HQ back on Earth. Jo is very upset at the Doctors deaths and the Brigadier remarks that he was a remarkable chap, both of him.
Suddenly, the TARDIS reappears inside the lab, much to everyone's delight. The Doctors emerge and explain what happened, highlighting the fact that when they all crossed over the black hole, they were converted to anti-matter (which is why they didn't blow up) but the recorder wasn't. They say that the explosion ignited the gasses in the black hole, causing it to turn into a supernova and therefore turning it into a star, a new energy source for the Time Lords to use.
People ask where Mr Ollis has gone. The Third Doctor explains that when Omega's universe collapsed, the objects transported there snapped back to the real world like a rubber band. Mr Ollis will be back at the nature reserve.
From the lab, the group hear the TARDIS scanner come to life. As they all enter the time machine, they see the First Doctor on the scanner again.
He congratulates them and says they did well, thanks in no small part to his contribution. He fades away back to his own time stream. The Second Doctor then shakes everyone's hand and bids them farewell, finally making an odd sort of peace with the Third Doctor who jokes that he hopes they don't meet again.
Once the Second Doctor has faded away, The Brigadier and Benton leave to report to Geneva and make a full inventory of the HQ. Doctor Tyler thanks the Doctor and says amused but regretfully that he'll never be able to write about this in any academic sense if he values his job.
Once he's left, Jo senses that the Doctor is sad about having to kill Omega. He admits that he does feel guilty, but there was no other way. He laments that death was his only real chance at freedom.
Jo and the Doctor hear a soft wheeze of a TARDIS engine and look around to see a dematerialisation circuit sitting on the console.
The Doctor perks up and says its a brand new one in perfect working condition. He also suddenly remembers the codes for TARDIS flight. In gratitude for his help, the Time Lords have ended his exile on Earth and he is free to leave.
Jo becomes sad and says that she supposes he'll be off then. He smiles and says not right away, he needs to make a new force field generator first.
Mr Ollis makes his way back home. His wife comes out and scolds him for going missing and demands to know where he's been. He looks at her for a moment and then says that she would never believe him and asks if supper's ready.
Trivia
- This story was conceived as a cool idea to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Doctor Who. When the idea was first floated among Terrence Dicks and Barry Letts, they dismissed more than one Doctor as pure lunacy, but then came around to think that it wasn't so crazy after all and decided to go for it.
- Believe it or not, the first draft of the story had the Doctors sent to the underworld, fighting against death himself who was constructing an army of legendary figures. Bob Baker and Dave Martin eventually changed the subject to black holes following a recently published scientific journal on the subject
- Early versions of the script also had plans for Jamie and / or Zoe to be in it, but neither were available to film, especially Fraser as Emmerdale Farm was really starting to take off and he was one of the main characters by then
- The scripts also had the First Doctor in a lot more active role. William Hartnell had grown to miss his beloved show, and was super keen to be part of it, Barry Letts had no reason to disbelieve him. Batty however got a phone call from Hartnell's wife who had to point out that William Hartnell was incredibly ill to the point of being delusional at times. He simply could not cope with the stress of lines and was barely mobile. With the process part way through now, and the press being contacted, Terrence Dicks was loath to renege on the idea of the Three Doctors, so he got Hartnell to go to a warehouse where he sat him down and had cue cards held up off camera for him to read his lines off. William Hartnell was never to be seen on Doctor Who again. He died in 1975 and ended up greatly lamenting his days on set.
- Omega was originally called Ohm, which is WHO upside down. They got the same guy who did Azal to do his voice as he was a very powerful voice actor
What worked
- Stephen Throne's booming voice was great and his anger adds a lot to the character of Omega
- I'll no doubt get stick for this, but there's parts of the gel-guards I really like. I love the wobbly eye bit and the texture of the costumes. If they just sat still, they'd look fine. The problem comes in when they try to do anything at all
- I much prefer the idea of black holes and singularity to the underworld
- Omega's Armour is quite cool too
- I can't let this go by without mentioning the great interaction between the Third and Second Doctor is hilarious!
- Considering what he was going through at the time, William Hartnell is still quite good too
What didn't work
- Doctor Tyler knows Mr Ollis has vanished in a puff of smoke, but doesn't bother to tell Mrs Ollis!
- The gel-guards when they try to move!
- Some of (okay, a lot of) the Brigadiers disbelief
- The conversion of matter to anti-matter isn't fully explained
- The Time Lords can't suddenly get a whole new power source without at least rewiring their own equipment
- How can Omega smack the force field generator out of the Doctor's hands? It had a force field around it!
- These villains like Omega love to say they're going to kill you, even if you're vital to their plans
Overall Feelings
Ten years! Doctor Who, a kids show had lasted a decade. This was virtually unheard of. Given the tight budgets and pressure they were under, Terrence Dicks and Barry Letts could be excused for carrying on, business as usual. but they decided to do something special. So, was it special?
Yes, I can honestly say it was. As with so many things on Doctor Who, you can put your hand on your heart(s) and say that nothing like this had been tried before in a semi-serious drama series. The concept is so utterly ridiculous and yet, it feels somehow inevitable. Watching Partick Troughton on screen, it's clear that all his frustration at the role he had four years previous had all melted away (see some of his stories in season six to understand why he didn't have so much frustration to begin with). He's funny, charming and falls right into the character. It's not quite the same nuances he left with, but that's not Troughton's fault, it's more to do with the fact that Jon Pertwee had a real stick up his bum about not being the "star" of the show and some of the limelight being hogged by Troughton. Indeed there were times off set where their interraction mirrored the quarreling between the Second and Third Doctor's, but that just added intensity to the lines on screen.
Some of the plot logic and reasoning is hard to follow, especially the Brigadier's who acts like the past three years hadn't happened and he's suddenly decided that aliens don't really exist; and of course there's the knaff sets yada, yada but you do have to go looking for things to pull down this adventurous yarn.
In summary, it's a whole heap of fun to watch if you want to switch your brain off and watch it pantemime style. It's a whole heap of fun if you want to leave it on and go down the scientific theory of black holes route. Finally, it's a whole heap of fun to see some more of the Doctor's back story and relationships between the Time Lords and time itself.
Rating
9 1/2 out of 10
Enjoyable any which way you look at it, but don't take it too serious because it is a bit like a pantomime
Rewatchability Factor
8 out of 10
Would definitely watch again, but it does get a touch frustrating as Omega constantly changes his mind
Watch this if you liked...
- The Two Doctors
- The Day of the Doctor (Doctor Who, Season 7)
Consulting the Matrix
Was the Doctor too harsh on Omega? Was there another way out of the singularity?
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