Doctor Who: Multi-Doctor stories

We all love a great multi-Doctor story. But why?

(Photo credit: Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

We all love a good multi-Doctor story. But why? What is it about these stories that grabs fans’ attention more than regular Doctor Who stories? And what makes a really great multi-Doctor story?

There are very few things that grab the attention of Doctor Who fans quite like the idea of a multi-Doctor story. The moment we hear about a Doctor meeting at least one previous incarnation, we know that it’s something to be excited about.

But what makes it so exciting? Well, the fact that they are so rare certainly helps. Many (but not all) multi-Doctor stories on television have been designed for extremely special occasions. Specifically, The Three Doctors, The Five Doctors and The Day of the Doctor were all made to celebrate major anniversaries. (Although it has to be said, while The Three Doctors began the show’s tenth season, the four-part story began at the end of 1972 – almost a whole year before the tenth anniversary itself!)

Admittedly, we did get a multi-Doctor story when there was no major anniversary for the show in 2017. But Twice Upon a Time was Peter Capaldi’s final story as the Twelfth Doctor, so it was still celebrating something very special. The only multi-Doctor story on TV that didn’t celebrate anything special was The Two Doctors in 1985, but it was still nice to see Patrick Troughton’s Second Doctor again.

Nostalgia

Of course, the fact that they are so rare doesn’t explain why we look forward to them so much. So what makes them so appealing? Well, the most obvious reason that springs to mind is nostalgia. Multi-Doctor specials are a golden opportunity to see a Doctor that we haven’t seen in a very long time. (At least, as far as TV is concerned, but we’ll get to that shortly.)

For many fans of the New Series, seeing David Tennant play the Doctor again was a real highlight of the fiftieth anniversary special. (A good thing too, as he was the only previously established Doctor who actually appeared in the episode, other than Matt Smith, of course.) And it’s always nice to get a glimpse of a bygone era.

Facing the past and the future

Of course, it does go beyond nostalgia, too. In a multi-Doctor adventure, we want the Doctors to actually meet each other at some point. This can lead to great comedy, as each Doctor has their own way of doing things, and two incarnations’ clash of styles can lead to funny bickering. Two and Three were a perfect example of this in The Three Doctors.

However, it can lead to great drama, too. Because each Doctor is a past or future incarnation of another. So seeing one facing who they used to be, or what they will become in the future, is fascinating to watch.

Oddly enough, this kind of drama wasn’t explored on television until Moffat’s two multi-Doctor stories. The Day of the Doctor and Twice Upon a Time were both keen to explore the younger Doctors finding out who they will become one day, giving us some really great scenes. These include the Tenth Doctor yelling at the Eleventh because his later self had “moved on” from the Time War, or the First Doctor finding out that he will one day be known as “the Doctor of War”.

Having this kind of exploration was a key reason why the War Doctor worked. Despite having never been seen before, (with the exception of his very brief appearances in Name and Night of the Doctor,) John Hurt’s incarnation worked in Day because of how much his incarnation was explored. Facing the worst choice of his life, meeting his future selves and finding out about what kind of man he will become – he really did have a crucial role in the fiftieth anniversary special.

Multi-Doctor stories in other mediums

This is why multi-Doctor stories can work in other mediums, too. Across books, comics and audios, we’ve been given even more multi-Doctor stories. The feeling of nostalgia is somewhat reduced, as all three of these mediums are perfect ways to give us more stories with past Doctors already.

Of course, the idea of multiple Doctors meeting each other is still a huge draw. On audio, for the fiftieth anniversary, we had The Light at the End – a two-hour story focusing on all the Doctors of the Classic Series, particularly the Fourth to Eighth Doctors. There’s a lot of fun in this one, especially when Tom Baker’s Doctor meets Paul McGann’s.

Unsurprisingly, the comics have given us a few multi-Doctor stories, too. Particularly in the last decade, with the comics currently being published by Titan and several Doctors having their own ongoing series. This leads to genuine crossover potential, which as any comics fan knows guarantees an increase in sales. Some of these stories have been more enjoyable than others, and Four Doctors, Titan’s first multi-Doctor story, still stands out as their best.

Cold Fusion

But I think multi-Doctor stories are at their best when they’re not focused on spectacle but, just like with Moffat’s own stories, on character exploration, instead.

One of the very best examples we’ve had so far is Cold Fusion. Originally a novel published in 1996, the story was adapted twenty years later as a full-cast audio drama in 2016. It’s usually been a popular story with the fans, and it’s easy to see why.

One key reason this novel stands out is that the perspective of the “main” Doctor is a past incarnation (in this case, the Fifth Doctor) rather than a present one (the Seventh, at least at the time). So we got a rather interesting viewpoint on the “present” Doctor as a result. On top of that, we also got a lot of major mythology, too. While the novel might be hard to track down these days, the audio adaptation is certainly worth checking out.

Later this month, fans can look forward to the Second Doctor meeting the First in Daughter of the Gods.

(Image credit: Tom Webster/Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

Daughter of the Gods

Speaking of the audios, we’ve got another one to look forward to later this month. Daughter of the Gods will feature the Second Doctor landing in the middle of a First Doctor adventure. Here’s the official description:

"When Zoe reattaches an old piece of equipment to the TARDIS console, she, Jamie and the Doctor are very lucky to avoid a collision.But the place they find themselves in may be even more dangerous – because there they encounter another Doctor, a space pilot named Steven… and a young woman called Katarina who really shouldn’t be there…."

More from Winter is Coming

Considering that Katarina died in The Daleks’ Master Plan, this is going to be a really interesting idea to explore. One that hasn’t really been explored before in a multi-Doctor story. While the Seventh Doctor met Adric in Cold Fusion, it was never an issue for him to try to prevent his death before Earthshock, or even help to ensure it. Time was taking its natural course.

But what’s interesting about Katarina is that she joined at the end of The Myth Makers and died in the subsequent story The Daleks’ Master Plan. There’s really no room in this story for her to be there. So if history is taking a different path or has simply gone wrong, it’s up to the Second Doctor to fix it. But how? And how will the First Doctor react to this dilemma?

This promises to be a multi-Doctor story unlike any other, and I’m excited to listen to it. It looks ready to do what the very best multi-Doctor stories achieve: not just bringing different incarnations together, but exploring the Doctor in new and exciting ways.

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Are you a fan of multi-Doctor stories? Which one is your favorite? Which Doctors do you think should meet? Let us know in the comments below.

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Doctor Who: Multi-Doctor stories – Why we love them

By James Aggas | Nov 9, 2019