Thank you all for your patience! The automatic block has finally been lifted! Hope you enjoy this fond look at the Fifth Doctor's era! Please leave a like and comment if you do!
Clever Dick Films I was pissed when I found out I couldn’t view this video because it was blocked. Your videos about each Doctor have been very enjoyable to watch.
Davidson is the only doctor I have had the pleasure of meeting. He was very kind. Oddly enough after the autograph session he went outside to meet people trapped outside due to fire guidelines. Turns out this is just a thing he does. Wonderful man, wonderful doctor.
I happened to pass him on the sidewalk outside a hotel near Los Angeles Int. Airport. The convention I was attending was adjacent to a Doctor Who convention. I got into Dr. Who during the JNT era and I think of Peter Davidson as “my” Doctor. As I passed by him, he kind of smiled. I thought, do I know him? And yep, it was him. A special moment.
Colin Baker was the first Doctor I met in person and when I met him I was cosplaying as Dr. 5 and told him that, technically, I was wearing the costume Colin wore when he first played the Doctor, to which Colin agreed.
Colin is a great guy, but also has his clear opinion on various subjects. I saw his panel that he attended and how he said that most people nowadays probably got in it by watching David Tennant, after which he looked into the audience and said: "Admit it, girls." But I like that about him. To me, it made this panel all the more entertaining and the above mentioned comment was one of those examples. It's on UA-cam, by the way, so it's available for everyone to see.
Growing up, we got both "Creatures Great and Small" and Doctor Who at the same time on PBS in the US. Since reception was spotty at times, we would tune in and spend a few minutes wondering what the Doctor was doing with that horse.
glad I "stumbled" onto these. I'm a big fan of Baker and Davison incarnations, the others, before and after, not so much; and have not watch new ones at all.
The 5th Doctor has, arguably, the best line in all of Doctor Who, the one line that sums up both the show and the character at the end of Warriors of the Deep. "There should have been another way."
I ONLY continued watching Dr. Who after Tom Baker left because of Peter having been on ALL CREATURES. I will ALWAYS remember the fussy elderly lady owner of the dog TRICKY WOO!! His character has to please her quirky wishes and kiss ass!
That line was useless because the Doctor did nothing in order to stop the massacre, neither talking to the humans like the Third years ago. His trait of passivity; combined to the lack of development due to not being longer than a four-parter and the shameful self-celebrative attitude were responsible of ruining a decent serial about the return of an historical enemy race into a laughable disaster as it is.
It surprises me just how much of the Fifth Doctor's DNA lives on in the modern series. His self-sacrifice for his companion echoes in the final hours of the Tenth Doctor's life. I wasn't expecting Davidson to stand out against Tom Baker, but he far exceeded my expectations!
Trivia Fact - The producers of The Five Doctors originally didn't want Susan to refer to the Doctor as 'Grandfather' as it may have indicated that the character had sex at some point. Thankfully grown up thinking prevailed! Also, the original plan was to have the 1st Doctor turn out to be an evil clone, but this was scrapped due to time constraints. Glad they didn't go with that - it would have been pointless.
The DETAIL, the research, the personal reflection, and once again, top notch narration, make these videos you are making documenting the history of THE DOCTOR a must watch for fans and non fans, well done! MAN I can't wait for the whole series when you are done. Keep it up, your fan base is growing. :D
Thanks so much! I'm so glad people are appreciating my videos- it proves there is an audience out there for something a bit more in-depth. Hope you enjoy the rest of the series!
One of my favorite Doctor quotes comes from The Awakening. It sums up the character perfectly with one word "You speak treason!" The Doctor: "Fluently"
My aunt lived in the same building as him in the mid 1980s. She said Peter was a really nice guy. She didn’t know Doctor Who because it wasn’t a popular program in Canada where she lived. When I told her how famous he was she was shocked ! 😳
The 5th Doctor, young, innocent and playful. He showed everyone the fun of having adventures in space and time. Faced danger many times and never backed away from it. Sometimes wished that other ways were found to defeat the evil in the universe. "There should have been another way." ---WARRIORS OF THE DEEP My Top 5: 1. THE CAVES OF ANDROZANI 2. CASTROVALVA 3. THE FIVE DOCTORS 4. EARTHSHOCK 5. KINDA
But isn’t Dad just a reincarnation of Granddad? And now he’s a woman? The mind boggles. Especially after seeing granddad/dad driving giant Rabbits through Mirkwood.
I always found it amusing that they thought the Doctor used the sonic screwdriver too often in the classic series and how much worse it is in the modern era!
Yes, at least in the classic series it's being used as an actual tool or specifically as a sonic device, in the modern series it can do anything including store a human consciousness.
@@IronSalamander8 Yeah. I really do not understand why JNT thought that it was overused. His reasoning would have been far more appropriate in NuWho. In fact, Before JNT decided to get rid of the Sonic Screwdriver permanently, The Visitation was originally going to end with the Doctor getting a new Sonic Screwdriver from a cupboard in the TARDIS full of them.
@@epsilonalphaargo1948 Classic series, perhaps. Thinking back on it, it possibly did actually open up a new field of capabilities for the Doctor. In the Hartnell and (most of) the Troughton eras I don't recall the Doctor ever doing anything with his hands like rewiring machinery or building gadgets. K9 would end up being more of a 'solve every problem' issue than the screwdriver.
I was born in 1974, Peter Davison is my Doctor. The death of Adric is one of the most important events of my childhood. This contributes to the Cybermen being my favourite Dr Who villain.
Thank you for this. Peter Davidson was my Doctor growing up, and this was a superb summing up. You made a great point about The Caves of Androzani. This is a Doctor, giving his life, for one person. I feel this is something that the current incarnations have continued to play on and with, and really shows how much the 5Th Dr, despite the short period of time, changed the narrative.
Wait what? People hated Adric? I loved him. He just had glaring flaws which brought trouble onto his friends, and he learnt from it (usually). His flaws were balanced by his quirks.
for a while when I was a middle school nerd I quite identified with him. He's a smart awkward kid surrounded by beautiful women who are enraptured by a taller older man. Yeah, it was easy to project on to him my own insecurity!
I've never found his acting that bad at all, I've always really liked him. Very glad Matthew came back for Big Finish too, he's even better there, he was so young when he was working on the show, the gap between his character's death in Earthshock and his first ventures into audio gave him plenty of time to refine his performance, and resulted in a truly excellent companion.
He wasn't that young. He celebrated his 21 Birthday during the filming of The Visitation. Actually, he was hungover when they were filming in the woods and when he was out of shot, he raced over to a tree and puked his guts up. It is slightly audible in the footage as well.
Most attribute the hatred towards Adric as the result of 2 factors: 1. The character was perceived as a know-all who did nothing but get himself in trouble and 2. Waterhouse's ability as a actor. Do I feel he was bad? No. He certainly wasn't the best, but he was far from the worst. I do feel he worked better with Tom though.
@@pauljames5463 Waterhouse’s acting just reminds me of a snotty private school kid reading from a thesaurus, so as far as Adric goes, it works for the character. I think he would’ve worked better if his insufferable and obnoxious moments were addressed by other characters. The most unbelievable thing about him is that nobody onscreen tells him to reign his scrawny neck in 😂
I’m older than you, Richard, so my all-consuming Dr Who fandom came during the Davison era (always underrated imho). I thought you did a wonderful job here.
'And the Third Doctor finally got to face the Cybermen' *Clip of Cybermen being easily killed by Raston Warrior Robot* I think it's pretty clear that Dicks wasn't terribly fond of the Cybermen!
Peter Davison’s era is my favorite of the classic show simply because I went in with zero expectations of what I was going to get. I barely hear about his era when discussing Doctor Who with anyone, so I went in with low to zero expectations. It made the experience way more enjoyable than when I was watching the other Doctors. Davison’s Doctor was the only classic Doctor I was sad about regenerating. I only watched classic Who very recently so by the time I got to the end of the Doctor’s run each time I was like, “ok regeneration time, let’s go I’m bored.” Except with Peter Davison. He’s my favorite classic Doctor (with the 7th being my second favorite and the 4th being my third). Since I have a pretty ironic enjoyment of Classic Doctor Who I find it very easy to forgive “bad stories”. There are only a few serials I want to go back to. Most of them are from Davison’s era while the others are City of Death and The Green Death.
I had a similar experience with the 6th doctor. I understand his era is fundamentally flawed but it's one of my favorites simply because it is far better than I had ever expected.
then look at john hurt as the doctor compared to matt smith just before him less than 2 hours with hurt, compared to three and a half series with smith. eccleston should've taken up the offer to be the war doctor as that's literally what was happening according to tennant in Journey's End. 'when i met rose, i'd just ended the time war'. (i'm paraphrasing here) you *could* say that he'd regenerated a few days earlier but no. there's at least 10 years of 9th doctor before rose.
@@SW_Sarah I would've prefered McGann if not Eccleston. McGann got around the same screen time as the War Doctor which is disgraceful as McGann was the 8th Doctor, meaning the 8th Series Lead. It would've made sense, the only doctor not to have a series and only one episode for his time as 'the current doctor' ends up being the killer of his own kind. Besides, his Big Finish audio stories tried to change him so much to the point that he would be the one that would end the Time War. Would've been way better than the shoe-in War Doctor, no offense to John Hurt. War was an interesting idea, but considering even RTD wanted 8 to be the War Doctor, I found it quite unnecessary.
Seeing this it is incredible how influential Davison's era indeed was with what we had 2005 - date...so many themes explored in the 5th Doctor's era.... and all the more credit for the era....Tennant was very obviously influenced here by his (ironically) future father in law's performance here as 5.... and controversially I feel his era was stronger than Tom Baker's .... and the best Cybermen design ever!
I really enjoyed Davison's era. Even though his companions aren't the most beloved, I grew attached to every single one of them. I guess I just like a crowded TARDIS!
I grew up with Tom as my Doctor and I went into mourning when Davidson took over lol. I was like, hes not the Doctor as people do everytime he changes to this date. But I ended up loving his incarnation. But Tom will always be the man for me
@Paul Gauthier I absolutely loathe Jodie's Doctor Who. There was something really wrong with that era of Who. The writing, the monsters, and the fact that Chris Chibnall didn't follow up continuity from the Moffat era. Like, Gallifrey returned but then was destroyed immediately. The Master completely changing after what happened with Missy. And of course, we have the ultimate sh!t storm aka the *Timeless Children* retcon😓 Then comes the wokeness :/
I actually like the 5th Doctor's characterisation-his regeneration scene is one of the best, I think. But his companions made it reaaaally hardd to like his era. I can't, for the love of all that's sweet, like Tegan even just a little bit. Turlough is the best companion imo-yes I know he can be a selfish a-ho, but he's exciting and still the best acted. Too bad the producer didn't give him chance until Planet of Fire, his last episode. Also, even just for one episode, Peri and 5th Doctor have a great connection, something I can enjoy more than the whole Tegan or Adric's episodes combined. I see a lot of problem in 5th Doctor's era happened again with 13th Doctor-weak scripts, bland companions, confused probably even non-existent characterisation. I wonder if 13th's last era gonna be Whitaker's best just like Davison in Season 21. Not to mention they gonna cut the number of the companions too-just like with Davison.
Wouldn't surprise me one bit ... I've actually watched many actors and actresses in different shows over the years seem to finally 'settle' into their various roles just as they came towards the end. I think it often has something to do with the fact that because their departure is in sight, they just relax and 'let go' a bit more ... Having 3 companions has killed Whitaker's run so far ... It's a ridiculous number of characters to put with the Doctor, because writers have to try and involve all of them in each story, meaning the Doctor naturally has less to do.
@@caleb7551 As someone who considers 5 to be one of my favorite incarnations aside from 12, 13 so far has been just that. A copy of 5. I feel like she has the potential to succeed when given better scripts and less companions.
Davison's era is the high point of the show in the 1980's for me. He came in as a fresh young face and was able to build upon the older actor's incarnations that came before him. Youthful but still wise beyond his appearance. His time on the show had some of the most enjoyable stories and the frequent use of classic villains makes his era quite iconic I think. The Five Doctors being a prime example that sits nicely in my top 10 Doctor Who adventures. While I may be wrong, I think the 80's era started to suffer from a lack of production values. The sets are far too obviously sound stages and many of the effects are just BBC computer graphics. I feel that the Pertwee and early Tom Baker years did it so much better. Even so, the Davison era remains iconic to the show for many of us who grew up in the 70's and 80's.
These are amazing documentaries! I would argue that Turlough was a FAR more aggravating companion that Adric ever was. I actually got to meet Peter Davidson when he did that US tour of the series in the 80s. I think it was 1987 and John-Nathan Turner was there as well. By then he was no longer in the role and the one I noticed while he talked with fans and signed autographs was how many asked how he felt taking over for Tom Baker. Clearly he'd been asked that countless times before and you could just see it on his face when asked. I did, however, ask Nathan-Turner about Baker's absence from "the Five Doctors," which wasn't as well known at the time, which he answered that Baker just didn't want to play the character again so soon after leaving. I noticed Davidson had a brief, "Dear Lord, not THIS question gain," look which he seemed to try to hide
One of my favourite doctors and eras, his episodes are seriously underrated, and I just love Davison's portrayal. These videos are brilliant, fantastic way to learn more about what was going on for the show back then.
I'm one of the biggest defenders of this era. I think it's excellent and very underrated. My favorite stories are: Kinda, Earthshock, Snakedance, the Black Guardian trilogy as a whole, The Five Doctors, Resurrection of the Daleks and Caves of Androzani.
Yeah - there are some strong stories : Earthshock, Mawdryn Undead, Enlightenment(probably my favourite story of all time), Warriors From the Deep(ignore the bad effects - it's the bleak ending that gave that story gravitas), Resurrection of the Daleks and Caves of Androzani. It perhaps doesn't get the credit it deserves.
The Zero Room therapy for Davidson's Doctor post-generation after effects was a really keen way of transitioning the personality shift requisit in Davidson taking over the role from Baker
always liked the 5th, he was un-sure of himself and due to looking quite young had to prove he knew what he was doing, not sure about the vegetable could have done with out that, but the 5th was the blue print for the revival series. i use to watch a lot of 5th on uk gold
I loved companion Adric his character could have ben written so much more as a impulsive younger version of the even now younger Peter Davidson Doctor. The frequent hatred for Mathew Waterhouse's Adric companion should have been directed at the writers of his character instead of turning Adric into a fanboy of the Doctor's they could have not just had Adric character as smart after all Adric was one of the few companions capable of piloting the Tardis. Adric's outfit was unflattering for a teen of the early 80's And Earth Shock and Castrovalva being the best of the fifth Doctor's.
Halfmoonrisin, It just occurred to me that in our modern times we would probly referred to Adric's character as being on the high functioning autism or Asperger's spectrum.
I think this Doctor highlighted some of the best traits of the Doctor. Sure, Baker's was iconic and a fan favorite--but, as can be seen in his refusal to take part in the Five doctors, he wasn't part of the Doctor's collective consciousness. This Doctor wasn't iconic as an individual, but he highlighted what was iconic of the Doctor's collective minds
peter is and always will be, my guy. he wasn't my first doc, being raised with 3 and 4, but 5 was me through and through. to this day i'm still devastated by his regeneration. even more amplified by going out in THE best who story. there are few people in this world that are my own, personal, jesus. and pete is it. i first crossed paths with him around 1985 as a wide eyed young teenager, and he could see my gobsmacked face...i'm still quite mad that tennant is married into the family and not me, heh.
Although not my favorite regeneration from the original series, I love the fact that JNT introduced the fifth incarnation of the Doctor with a cold opening, the first in Doctor Who history. The music in this scene makes this regeneration all the more spectacular.
My fave is Resurrection of the Daleks, which seems to have been dismissed somewhat in this video as just another call back to the show's past. (which I don't think it was).
I would say the commissioning of a Dalek story was certainly intended as a callback but I agree that Eric Saward took the story in a new direction. I will mention this story again next episode as its style/tone will link to a point I want to make about Saward that came to fruition in the 6th Doctor's era. Hope you enjoy!
if it *is* just a fanservice serial, so is: the three doctors the five doctors day of the doctor a good man goes to war the end of time twice upon a time and many other episodes i can't name because there's so many of them
2nd time watching through…my brain won’t let me watch the new part til I rewatch everything else! There’s something amazing about the Dr W title theme..
The five doctors was the first story I’ve ever seen. I was 4 when the show was rebooted, and I got a magazine with copies of the five doctors and rose, and say and watched them both 10x over in a few days. The scene of 1st and Susan in the hallways with the dalek stuck with me for years
Amazing documentary on my Doctor... so well written and narrated... hearing you speak so passionately about the incredible Caves of Androzani almost bought a tear to my eye... it's still to this day my favourite story and Davison is fantastic in it.
I remember seeing Peter David on "All Creatures Great and Small" before he became the new Dr. Who. I also loved the "Five Doctors" special and it was shame that Tom Baker declined to appear - a decision which came to regret in the following years.
Tom Baker's an egotist so his massive ego couldn't take being potentially upstaged by other Doctors. He reined it in enough in his later years to appear in Day of the Doctor but still had the audacity to complain that Matt Smith was the only person on set who said hello to him. Never mind that everybody was hard at work on arguably the most important episode in the show's history, Tom Baker was on set and he wanted everybody to look at him with awe.
Great to see 'The Visitation' being singled out. A personal favourite of mine as it tied nicely into the history lesson subject matter for that school term. Good analysis as always and thanks for not taking the easy path of the JNT hate bandwagon
I always dream of having the 5th Doctor continue with Richard Mace as the only companion with maybe Nyssa, but who knows maybe Mace would have worn out his welcome if around all the time.
I really appreciate your reference of putting on The Visitation while being homesick in your first year of University. I did this exact same thing - albeit with Planet of the Daleks. Comfort in the familiar.
I feel sorry for Peter. He's the first doctor to grow up with the show, so put up his own personal expectations. He had high expectations from everyone around him, the show was a nightmare at times and he had the other actors who'd played the doctor saying he shouldn't stay in the role. Then the moment he finally feels comfortable, it's his final series. No wonder he was the first to come back for big finish and the comic relief episode
18:50 That's exactly how I felt when I first watched The Talons of Weign-Chiang, and Inferno, when I was sick on 2 seperate occasions. It was quite a journey, and I loved the whole trip. :)
These documentaries are so in depth well done! I really appreciate it. Peter Davidson is my favorite of the Classic Doctors, followed closely by Patrick Troughton. Davidson had, I my opinion, the hardest job of all of them, coming in as the youngest, following the longest run, and dealing with all of the changes to the era, but he handled it so well on screen and was by all accounts a class act unlike some of his older predecessors. He has the most heroic death of any of the doctors until David Tennant in ny opinion, sacrificing his own life for his friend, one a girl he barely knew, the other an old man who'd lived his time. Davidson had to deal with a companion death, a child no less, and at the end really unlocked something special that ensured his Doctor left a lasting legacy despite all the natural prejudices working against him at first.
I'm not sure portable TV's and computers where that significant in 1980. I remember not seeing one of season 18 's stories because my Dad was watching darts. There was only 3 channels, few had video recorders; only better off people had multiple TVs . If you had a second TV you would be able to watch Doctor Who if your dad was watching darts. The first home computer I saw was a ZX81 in the autumn of 1981. Followed by a BBC model B in 1982, that was in school however. By late 1982 ZX Spectrums were out in force. I think the main reason for the fall in ratings was Buck Rodgers siphoning off viewers.
Thanks again - "my" childhood doctors ranged from Pertwee's last season through to Davison, and I am struck again by how complex some of the fifth doctor's stories were - both conceptually, and with the number of characters involved. A lot of great SciFi. Loved "The Awakening". And even all that tinny synth music - kind of glad you didn't comment on it (it sort of works, but not as good as all the bassoons and bowed strings of Tom Baker gothic). And I am on my way to forgiving JNT and Eric Saward, but well... what comes next?
my favorite era of classic who (a bit biased because it’s the one I grew up watching with my dad) and you’ve done it justice, absolutely love these videos I’m binging them all this afternoon
Somewhat similar to what's happened, I believe in 2018, or it might have been 17, I don't know, but they changed the modern era from a Saturday evening, to a Sunday evening, a solution arguably for the better, as there's nothing on on Sunday's so it's more likely people will be watching BBC One, if anything so 7pm on Sunday is arguably better, as Saturday especially they compete against ITV.
I felt Peter Davison's best work was actually in his last few stories. The show was heading in a darker direction, something that continued in the Colin Baker era but didn't always work as well in practice as it could have. I also liked Peri as a character, she had great chemistry with both Doctors and the fact that she was a botany student gave her some specific skills that could come in useful on the journey (although I think this only really came up once).
Wonderful video! Davison was my first Doctor, when I was very little, so I remember him but haven't really seen the episodes. This fantastic documentary has really helped me understand what was going on with the show in those days, as well as pointing out some of the era's most important moments. I've seen clips of that regeneration many times, but in this context, it seems REALLY dramatic and exciting! Hard to believe Doctor Who was about to plummet in popularity.
Yes, here in Germany it is similar. American series are often overpowering the cinema and TV market. but I always liked British TV productions. There were some very well made ones, unforgettables among them to this day. 8:11 Davison is a fine actor and I loved him as Tristan Farnon but the poor fellow stood to much under the shadow of the other actors doing the role. And most and for all thank you a lot for this well prepared and informative documentary to the DAVISON -DR-WHO-TIME
That was remarkably well done and a very enjoyable watch. The fact that Davison replaced the legend that was Tom Baker and did it very successfully goes to show how amazing this show used to be and a testament to Peter's very likable 5th Doctor. The 80's was the best of times and the worst in many ways ushering out Baker in 1981 and then the entire show in 1989 with McCoy at the helm. One thing is certain, I do miss that time era very much!
An insightful and sharply written documentary that makes a great case for Davison! This is an amazing production which is a real diamond in the UA-cam rough!
I'm actually more familiar with 5's theme song than I expected, as my earlier Who era DVDs used it for their openings. I wish they carried over to the blu rays.
Oh wow. As soon as I saw Davison moving around, saw his vulnerability, heard him talking, I instantly recognized a lot of Matt Smith's subsequent performance in there. I wonder who 11's favorite Doctor is, haha.
So good. I remember so much of this. Now I'm 52. Cant beleive what an impression it made. Recall K9's arrival vividly. But mostly the sadness of Baker going. He was MY Dr. and I moved on when he did, until the reboot. Hope that gets back on form soon, hard work keeping an icon inconic.
The 5 Doctors is excellent. All characters get good time and basic story and they dont try to over do it but have it all meet at the end and its done by the book basically and safe but very entertaining as some new ideas come in too. The setting is dark and cold but engaging too and its a story i happy to rewatch and a great one to give to someone who never seen doctor who to give them a great overview of the show.
I'm pretty sure the last episode of the Tom Baker era was the first episode of Doctor Who I ever saw. PBS here in the States ran a block of BBC shows on Friday nights, several hours of brit-coms, and then I'm pretty sure it was Red Dwarf before Doctor Who before the channel shut down for the night. I can't remember much about the episode, but my first solid memory of Doctor Who is Tom Baker's regeneration into Peter Davison. So I suppose "my doctor" was Peter Davison. That became my Friday night, a root beer float, and a few hours of the BBC. This was in the 90's, after the show had ended, but I didn't know that. I just knew there was this weird show from Britain on PBS late night on Friday. My town's library also had several VHS tapes of Doctor Who episodes, and I started going through those. Through the tapes I got a smattering of all of the Doctors. I watched The Five Doctors through many times.
You are the definitive expert of the Doctor Who series. I am enjoying this series tremendously. I enjoy it not just for the Doctor Who analysis, but for the general cultural references of the time periods the series were originally shown in. Keep up the great work.
Thanks so much for your kind words, Gari! I've always found it important to consider the social/historical contexts; as well as informing my interpretation of the programme, I find it so interesting! Hope you enjoy the rest of the series!
i didn't realize what was going on at the times the scripts were written (because i saw the episodes in the '80s on American PBS stations), so i really was blown away by the events surrounding each doctor and what they wrote about. this is a such great addition to your episodes. and i thought Peter Davison's Tristan came after his Doctor because that's how i saw it here. i had no idea. (I love "All Creatures Great and Small". Robert Hardy was one of my favorite actors as i saw him play Prince Hal and Henry V in "An Age of Kings". Wow! was that a great series production! Sean Connery was in the Prince Hal plays, too.)
Peter Davidson is the last Doctor i really liked. I stopped watching it after he left. But now years later i do like some Colin Baker & Sylvester McCoy stories
I missed most of the C.Baker and nearly all of the McCoy ones. Thinking of catching up on them. With how the current one is going, it should be refreshing.
@@chaos.corner Colin Baker was not my Doctor that will always be Peter Davison but since this current incarnation and showrunner have no clue about the show I have come to appreciate Colins stories and yes they may not be outstanding effects wise it was still Who and more entertaining to watch than series 11. Will still never get over Bertie Bassett in The Happiness Patrol, The Curse of Fenric my favorite Sylvester McCoy story but Peter Davison my number one Doctor.
Doctor Who was on TV when I was little (Davison) but to be honest I never paid much attention to the 5th and 6th Doctors. The show never grabbed me. It was really when McCoy and Aldred came together that I found myself captivated and excited and I became a fan. I found it accessible in a way I'd never done before, perhaps mostly due to Aldred, who makes a very good "avatar" for a child viewer, and her relationship with the Doctor seemed to have a genuineness and sense of family.
The absolute most important take-away is that Peter Davidson, like Paul McGann and Christopher Eccleston after him, didn't get nearly the amount of time that he deserved. Two years was far, FAR too short a time, especially seeing the nadir the classic series would soon hit.
'My' first Doctor Who. I speak as a Yank assigned to England, with barely a clue about Baker's Who (only saw occasional episodes on PBS) who had still had an inkling that the role change was something extraordinary. Stayed with 5 until he left and stopped watching.
Watched this and the fourth doctor review - excellent, well thought through analysis. While Tom Baker was unquestionably the greatest Doctor, Peter Davison was 'my' Doctor, and this makes me nostalgic enough to think about rewatching some of his great moments. It's no suprise that both Tennant and Smith took a great deal from Davison's portrayal. The last moment also gives me flashbacks to just how imcomprehensibly horrific Colin Baker's era was.... :o Keep up the great work!
Thank you all for your patience! The automatic block has finally been lifted! Hope you enjoy this fond look at the Fifth Doctor's era! Please leave a like and comment if you do!
Clever Dick Films I was pissed when I found out I couldn’t view this video because it was blocked. Your videos about each Doctor have been very enjoyable to watch.
Thanks so much! Glad you're enjoying them!
Clever Dick Films well worth the wait. Brilliant.
Thank you, your videos are brilliant!
Thank you! I'll start work on Part 7 soon!
Davidson is the only doctor I have had the pleasure of meeting. He was very kind. Oddly enough after the autograph session he went outside to meet people trapped outside due to fire guidelines. Turns out this is just a thing he does. Wonderful man, wonderful doctor.
I happened to pass him on the sidewalk outside a hotel near Los Angeles Int. Airport. The convention I was attending was adjacent to a Doctor Who convention. I got into Dr. Who during the JNT era and I think of Peter Davidson as “my” Doctor. As I passed by him, he kind of smiled. I thought, do I know him? And yep, it was him. A special moment.
As a huge fan of the original show, Davidson and JNT are the only autographs I have thanks to a Who convention I attended in 1985.
Agree. I met him (and the four other Doctors after him) at a convention. Very kind, polite and charming. It was a pleasure to meet him.
He's very gracious to fans. Even let one marry his daughter!
Dido
Colin Baker was the first Doctor I met in person and when I met him I was cosplaying as Dr. 5 and told him that, technically, I was wearing the costume Colin wore when he first played the Doctor, to which Colin agreed.
When I met him, he called me a 'bastard' because I'm taller than him! It was all in jest though. He's a lovely guy!
Colin is a great guy, but also has his clear opinion on various subjects. I saw his panel that he attended and how he said that most people nowadays probably got in it by watching David Tennant, after which he looked into the audience and said: "Admit it, girls."
But I like that about him. To me, it made this panel all the more entertaining and the above mentioned comment was one of those examples. It's on UA-cam, by the way, so it's available for everyone to see.
Well he was right, the modern show started getting successful because of Tennant because he brought in fan girls, most of whom left once he did.
First I met was Pertwee but he was in character as Wurzel Gummidge which was a bit of a disappointment.
You know i think Colin was a victim of crap writing. The same thing is happening with Jodie Whittaker.
Growing up, we got both "Creatures Great and Small" and Doctor Who at the same time on PBS in the US. Since reception was spotty at times, we would tune in and spend a few minutes wondering what the Doctor was doing with that horse.
"It's bigger on the inside"
First saw Davidson as a trainee Vet first.
same here on pbs and I want a scarf like his
In my era (primary school with Peter Davison) EVERYBODY called him “Dr Tristan”.
I hated All creatures great and small.Loved him in Doctor Who though.
5th doctor *dies saving companion*
6th doctor moments later *tries to kill companion*
She never thanked him for his sacrifice. No wonder he was peeved.
Glad the man came to senses. It was Peri after all.
@@rnw2739 no shit. It's almost as if it was a joke.
@@rnw2739 actually I think the poison had more of an effect there too. It kinda screwed him over more then any other reincarnation.
@@jawstrock2215 mhm that could be the reason as well
These are the best Doctor Who documentaries I've ever seen.
Thank you so much! Glad you're enjoying them!
I think they are too. They’re amazing! I can’t wait for the next one!
Edit: Well, I can wait, but the point is that they’re great.
glad I "stumbled" onto these. I'm a big fan of Baker and Davison incarnations, the others, before and after, not so much; and have not watch new ones at all.
Tom Baker that is!
Ron Schlorff, you should really consider watching modern Doctor Who. My favourite season is season 5 with the 11th Doctor.
The 5th Doctor has, arguably, the best line in all of Doctor Who, the one line that sums up both the show and the character at the end of Warriors of the Deep.
"There should have been another way."
I ONLY continued watching Dr. Who after Tom Baker left because of Peter having been on ALL CREATURES. I will ALWAYS remember the fussy elderly lady owner of the dog TRICKY WOO!! His character has to please her quirky wishes and kiss ass!
I was the 13th like on this post 🤗
That line was useless because the Doctor did nothing in order to stop the massacre, neither talking to the humans like the Third years ago.
His trait of passivity; combined to the lack of development due to not being longer than a four-parter and the shameful self-celebrative attitude were responsible of ruining a decent serial about the return of an historical enemy race into a laughable disaster as it is.
@@joshmoores3159 Mine too!
@@joshmoores3159 I might be biased cos he was the first one I really grew up with, but mine too.
“Most fans of this era would expect me to pick Kinda”
Me: well, kinda.
Four to doomsday is a great story
@@rnw2739 Hmm...
well, kinda. ヾ(≧▽≦*)o
It surprises me just how much of the Fifth Doctor's DNA lives on in the modern series. His self-sacrifice for his companion echoes in the final hours of the Tenth Doctor's life.
I wasn't expecting Davidson to stand out against Tom Baker, but he far exceeded my expectations!
Trivia Fact - The producers of The Five Doctors originally didn't want Susan to refer to the Doctor as 'Grandfather' as it may have indicated that the character had sex at some point. Thankfully grown up thinking prevailed!
Also, the original plan was to have the 1st Doctor turn out to be an evil clone, but this was scrapped due to time constraints. Glad they didn't go with that - it would have been pointless.
From what I’ve read when Carole Ann Ford was told that she laughed and said “well then I’m not doing it” just a rumor so I could be wrong
@@jssmith0225 I have seen an interview with Carole Ann Ford and she confirms that as true 👍
@@AcidRayne100 Awesome! Glad to know it’s true
The DETAIL, the research, the personal reflection, and once again, top notch narration, make these videos you are making documenting the history of THE DOCTOR a must watch for fans and non fans, well done!
MAN I can't wait for the whole series when you are done. Keep it up, your fan base is growing. :D
Thanks so much! I'm so glad people are appreciating my videos- it proves there is an audience out there for something a bit more in-depth. Hope you enjoy the rest of the series!
Peter Davison: "But I'm nothing like the other actors that have played the Doctor." JNT: "Exactly!"
One of my favorite Doctor quotes comes from The Awakening. It sums up the character perfectly with one word
"You speak treason!"
The Doctor: "Fluently"
My aunt lived in the same building as him in the mid 1980s. She said Peter was a really nice guy. She didn’t know Doctor Who because it wasn’t a popular program in Canada where she lived. When I told her how famous he was she was shocked ! 😳
The 5th Doctor, young, innocent and playful. He showed everyone the fun of having adventures in space and time. Faced danger many times and never backed away from it. Sometimes wished that other ways were found to defeat the evil in the universe. "There should have been another way." ---WARRIORS OF THE DEEP My Top 5: 1. THE CAVES OF ANDROZANI 2. CASTROVALVA 3. THE FIVE DOCTORS 4. EARTHSHOCK 5. KINDA
David Tennant's children can literally talk about Grandad in Sandshoes.
HA! i understood that reference :D The Doctor stays in the family.
And Dad in sandshoes... Ever watched Day of the Doctor?
@@samuelbarber6177 There not sandshoes. Yes they are.
It's the kind of odd thing that makes one question reality.
But isn’t Dad just a reincarnation of Granddad? And now he’s a woman? The mind boggles. Especially after seeing granddad/dad driving giant Rabbits through Mirkwood.
It is pretty funny that David Tennant went on to marry Peter Davison's daughter and she went on to become Jenny, The Doctor's Daughter!!
Kachowski_Games Tennant married her after the doctor's daughter
Incestuous
Sweet home gallifrey.
biggest kidz bop fan locelu
Even without Tennant's involvement, the very fact that the Doctor's Daughter was played by Davison's daughter is quite remarkable.
I always found it amusing that they thought the Doctor used the sonic screwdriver too often in the classic series and how much worse it is in the modern era!
Yes, at least in the classic series it's being used as an actual tool or specifically as a sonic device, in the modern series it can do anything including store a human consciousness.
In my opinion, destroying the Sonic Screwdriver in the Classic Series was a solution without a problem.
@@epsilonalphaargo1948 Agreed. Even at its worst in the classic series, I never felt it was overused.
@@IronSalamander8 Yeah. I really do not understand why JNT thought that it was overused. His reasoning would have been far more appropriate in NuWho. In fact, Before JNT decided to get rid of the Sonic Screwdriver permanently, The Visitation was originally going to end with the Doctor getting a new Sonic Screwdriver from a cupboard in the TARDIS full of them.
@@epsilonalphaargo1948 Classic series, perhaps. Thinking back on it, it possibly did actually open up a new field of capabilities for the Doctor. In the Hartnell and (most of) the Troughton eras I don't recall the Doctor ever doing anything with his hands like rewiring machinery or building gadgets. K9 would end up being more of a 'solve every problem' issue than the screwdriver.
I was born in 1974, Peter Davison is my Doctor.
The death of Adric is one of the most important events of my childhood. This contributes to the Cybermen being my favourite Dr Who villain.
Thank you for this. Peter Davidson was my Doctor growing up, and this was a superb summing up.
You made a great point about The Caves of Androzani. This is a Doctor, giving his life, for one person. I feel this is something that the current incarnations have continued to play on and with, and really shows how much the 5Th Dr, despite the short period of time, changed the narrative.
Absolutely! His sacrifice is all the more poignant for the fact that is for a single person. Hope you enjoy the rest of the series!
Wait what? People hated Adric? I loved him. He just had glaring flaws which brought trouble onto his friends, and he learnt from it (usually). His flaws were balanced by his quirks.
for a while when I was a middle school nerd I quite identified with him. He's a smart awkward kid surrounded by beautiful women who are enraptured by a taller older man. Yeah, it was easy to project on to him my own insecurity!
I've never found his acting that bad at all, I've always really liked him. Very glad Matthew came back for Big Finish too, he's even better there, he was so young when he was working on the show, the gap between his character's death in Earthshock and his first ventures into audio gave him plenty of time to refine his performance, and resulted in a truly excellent companion.
He wasn't that young. He celebrated his 21 Birthday during the filming of The Visitation. Actually, he was hungover when they were filming in the woods and when he was out of shot, he raced over to a tree and puked his guts up. It is slightly audible in the footage as well.
Most attribute the hatred towards Adric as the result of 2 factors: 1. The character was perceived as a know-all who did nothing but get himself in trouble and 2. Waterhouse's ability as a actor.
Do I feel he was bad? No. He certainly wasn't the best, but he was far from the worst. I do feel he worked better with Tom though.
@@pauljames5463 Waterhouse’s acting just reminds me of a snotty private school kid reading from a thesaurus, so as far as Adric goes, it works for the character. I think he would’ve worked better if his insufferable and obnoxious moments were addressed by other characters. The most unbelievable thing about him is that nobody onscreen tells him to reign his scrawny neck in 😂
I’m older than you, Richard, so my all-consuming Dr Who fandom came during the Davison era (always underrated imho). I thought you did a wonderful job here.
Thanks so much!
'And the Third Doctor finally got to face the Cybermen'
*Clip of Cybermen being easily killed by Raston Warrior Robot*
I think it's pretty clear that Dicks wasn't terribly fond of the Cybermen!
Well, I did say 'face' rather than 'fight'!
Peter Davison’s era is my favorite of the classic show simply because I went in with zero expectations of what I was going to get. I barely hear about his era when discussing Doctor Who with anyone, so I went in with low to zero expectations. It made the experience way more enjoyable than when I was watching the other Doctors. Davison’s Doctor was the only classic Doctor I was sad about regenerating. I only watched classic Who very recently so by the time I got to the end of the Doctor’s run each time I was like, “ok regeneration time, let’s go I’m bored.” Except with Peter Davison. He’s my favorite classic Doctor (with the 7th being my second favorite and the 4th being my third). Since I have a pretty ironic enjoyment of Classic Doctor Who I find it very easy to forgive “bad stories”. There are only a few serials I want to go back to. Most of them are from Davison’s era while the others are City of Death and The Green Death.
I had a similar experience with the 6th doctor. I understand his era is fundamentally flawed but it's one of my favorites simply because it is far better than I had ever expected.
Four to doomsday is 5*****
I just finished his era and I'm so emotional. Five's last stories were so brutal and sad. His time felt so short after the former era.
then look at john hurt as the doctor compared to matt smith just before him
less than 2 hours with hurt,
compared to three and a half series with smith.
eccleston should've taken up the offer to be the war doctor as that's literally what was happening according to tennant in Journey's End.
'when i met rose, i'd just ended the time war'. (i'm paraphrasing here)
you *could* say that he'd regenerated a few days earlier but no. there's at least 10 years of 9th doctor before rose.
@@SW_Sarah there is actually *10 days of 9th doctor before Rose
@@hothemeep1219 ohok
I always felt McGann should've been the War Doctor, no disrespect towards John Hurt.
@@SW_Sarah I would've prefered McGann if not Eccleston. McGann got around the same screen time as the War Doctor which is disgraceful as McGann was the 8th Doctor, meaning the 8th Series Lead. It would've made sense, the only doctor not to have a series and only one episode for his time as 'the current doctor' ends up being the killer of his own kind.
Besides, his Big Finish audio stories tried to change him so much to the point that he would be the one that would end the Time War. Would've been way better than the shoe-in War Doctor, no offense to John Hurt. War was an interesting idea, but considering even RTD wanted 8 to be the War Doctor, I found it quite unnecessary.
This version of the theme tune will always be my favourite.
Seeing this it is incredible how influential Davison's era indeed was with what we had 2005 - date...so many themes explored in the 5th Doctor's era.... and all the more credit for the era....Tennant was very obviously influenced here by his (ironically) future father in law's performance here as 5.... and controversially I feel his era was stronger than Tom Baker's .... and the best Cybermen design ever!
Have you ever seen the Time Crash minisode? 10 meets 5 and tells him how he got the shoes and glasses from him and how much he meant to him.
I really enjoyed Davison's era. Even though his companions aren't the most beloved, I grew attached to every single one of them. I guess I just like a crowded TARDIS!
I grew up with Tom as my Doctor and I went into mourning when Davidson took over lol. I was like, hes not the Doctor as people do everytime he changes to this date. But I ended up loving his incarnation. But Tom will always be the man for me
agreed
Same. But I grew to love all the incarnations of the classic series. Modern kind of lost me early on. Dr. Who lost its charm when it got a budget.
Sadly I can't get into Tom Baker's Doctor. He feels overrated. Patrick Troughton is the best classic Doctor
@Paul Gauthier I absolutely loathe Jodie's Doctor Who. There was something really wrong with that era of Who. The writing, the monsters, and the fact that Chris Chibnall didn't follow up continuity from the Moffat era. Like, Gallifrey returned but then was destroyed immediately. The Master completely changing after what happened with Missy. And of course, we have the ultimate sh!t storm aka the *Timeless Children* retcon😓 Then comes the wokeness :/
And now Tennant is married to Davidson's daughter, sweet home gallefrey
😆
I actually like the 5th Doctor's characterisation-his regeneration scene is one of the best, I think. But his companions made it reaaaally hardd to like his era. I can't, for the love of all that's sweet, like Tegan even just a little bit. Turlough is the best companion imo-yes I know he can be a selfish a-ho, but he's exciting and still the best acted. Too bad the producer didn't give him chance until Planet of Fire, his last episode. Also, even just for one episode, Peri and 5th Doctor have a great connection, something I can enjoy more than the whole Tegan or Adric's episodes combined.
I see a lot of problem in 5th Doctor's era happened again with 13th Doctor-weak scripts, bland companions, confused probably even non-existent characterisation. I wonder if 13th's last era gonna be Whitaker's best just like Davison in Season 21. Not to mention they gonna cut the number of the companions too-just like with Davison.
Wouldn't surprise me one bit ... I've actually watched many actors and actresses in different shows over the years seem to finally 'settle' into their various roles just as they came towards the end.
I think it often has something to do with the fact that because their departure is in sight, they just relax and 'let go' a bit more ...
Having 3 companions has killed Whitaker's run so far ... It's a ridiculous number of characters to put with the Doctor, because writers have to try and involve all of them in each story, meaning the Doctor naturally has less to do.
Coincidentally, Whitaker is NuWho's fifth incarnation of the Doctor, so it would be an interesting mirror
Okay, speaking from myself rather than my persona, there is no way Whittaker or her seasons are anywhere near as good as Davison and his seasons.
@@caleb7551 As someone who considers 5 to be one of my favorite incarnations aside from 12, 13 so far has been just that. A copy of 5. I feel like she has the potential to succeed when given better scripts and less companions.
13 is nothing like 5 or even 6 or 7, she is just not like the doctor
Davison's era is the high point of the show in the 1980's for me. He came in as a fresh young face and was able to build upon the older actor's incarnations that came before him. Youthful but still wise beyond his appearance. His time on the show had some of the most enjoyable stories and the frequent use of classic villains makes his era quite iconic I think. The Five Doctors being a prime example that sits nicely in my top 10 Doctor Who adventures.
While I may be wrong, I think the 80's era started to suffer from a lack of production values. The sets are far too obviously sound stages and many of the effects are just BBC computer graphics. I feel that the Pertwee and early Tom Baker years did it so much better. Even so, the Davison era remains iconic to the show for many of us who grew up in the 70's and 80's.
These are amazing documentaries! I would argue that Turlough was a FAR more aggravating companion that Adric ever was. I actually got to meet Peter Davidson when he did that US tour of the series in the 80s. I think it was 1987 and John-Nathan Turner was there as well. By then he was no longer in the role and the one I noticed while he talked with fans and signed autographs was how many asked how he felt taking over for Tom Baker. Clearly he'd been asked that countless times before and you could just see it on his face when asked. I did, however, ask Nathan-Turner about Baker's absence from "the Five Doctors," which wasn't as well known at the time, which he answered that Baker just didn't want to play the character again so soon after leaving. I noticed Davidson had a brief, "Dear Lord, not THIS question gain," look which he seemed to try to hide
One of my favourite doctors and eras, his episodes are seriously underrated, and I just love Davison's portrayal. These videos are brilliant, fantastic way to learn more about what was going on for the show back then.
You really do make my favourite Dr Who documentaries. Can’t wait for the next one!
Thanks so much! Going to try and get the next one done sooner! Famous last words...
his heroic sacrifice was partially fueled by adric's death Doctor saved Perri without hesitation to make up to adric
Now that IS one of my proudest moments
Had the pleasure of having a beer with Peter when I pretty much accosted him in a central London pub in the 90’s.
Absolute gentleman and utter legend.
PETER DAVISON was an awesome Doctor the 1st ever Doctor I saw as a kid , and 3rd on my top Doctors list
" Brave heart Tegan ",
I'm one of the biggest defenders of this era. I think it's excellent and very underrated. My favorite stories are:
Kinda, Earthshock, Snakedance, the Black Guardian trilogy as a whole, The Five Doctors, Resurrection of the Daleks and Caves of Androzani.
Catsravalva, four to doomsday and Kinda are my fav 5th.
Four to doomsday mirroring Hartnell's ark
Yeah - there are some strong stories : Earthshock, Mawdryn Undead, Enlightenment(probably my favourite story of all time), Warriors From the Deep(ignore the bad effects - it's the bleak ending that gave that story gravitas), Resurrection of the Daleks and Caves of Androzani. It perhaps doesn't get the credit it deserves.
The Zero Room therapy for Davidson's Doctor post-generation after effects was a really keen way of transitioning the personality shift requisit in Davidson taking over the role from Baker
always liked the 5th, he was un-sure of himself and due to looking quite young had to prove he knew what he was doing, not sure about the vegetable could have done with out that, but the 5th was the blue print for the revival series. i use to watch a lot of 5th on uk gold
I loved companion Adric his character could have ben written so much more as a impulsive younger version of the even now younger Peter Davidson Doctor. The frequent hatred for Mathew Waterhouse's Adric companion should have been directed at the writers of his character instead of turning Adric into a fanboy of the Doctor's they could have not just had Adric character as smart after all Adric was one of the few companions capable of piloting the Tardis. Adric's outfit was unflattering for a teen of the early 80's And Earth Shock and Castrovalva being the best of the fifth Doctor's.
halfmoonrisin I really liked Adric as a kid, he was clever and nerdy
Halfmoonrisin, It just occurred to me that in our modern times we would probly referred to Adric's character as being on the high functioning autism or Asperger's spectrum.
Pete definitely got the best theme, I honestly wish they brought back the awesome synth stuff
I think this Doctor highlighted some of the best traits of the Doctor. Sure, Baker's was iconic and a fan favorite--but, as can be seen in his refusal to take part in the Five doctors, he wasn't part of the Doctor's collective consciousness. This Doctor wasn't iconic as an individual, but he highlighted what was iconic of the Doctor's collective minds
peter is and always will be, my guy. he wasn't my first doc, being raised with 3 and 4, but 5 was me through and through. to this day i'm still devastated by his regeneration. even more amplified by going out in THE best who story. there are few people in this world that are my own, personal, jesus. and pete is it. i first crossed paths with him around 1985 as a wide eyed young teenager, and he could see my gobsmacked face...i'm still quite mad that tennant is married into the family and not me, heh.
Although not my favorite regeneration from the original series, I love the fact that JNT introduced the fifth incarnation of the Doctor with a cold opening, the first in Doctor Who history. The music in this scene makes this regeneration all the more spectacular.
Good to see 'The Visitation' getting the recognition it deserves. It's definitely one of my favourite 5th Doctor stories.
To this day IMO the 5th Doctor had the best regeneration and the best regeneration story
Definitely
The Visitation is in my top 5 Doctor Who stories of all time! I wore the DVD out on my player too
Peter Davidson is my fifth favourite doctor who and I love every story of his era as the fifth doctor
I approve of everything Peter Davison.
Warriors of the deep?
@@zakjaggs9761 that's...not one of my proudest adventures
@@caleb7551 There definitely could've been another way.
I really enjoy this series. It makes me want to go back and watch everything from the beginning again.
Thanks so much! High praise!
Gorgeous production as ever my man! I have an endless amount of appreciation for how much effort goes into these
Thanks so much, Finlay!
My fave is Resurrection of the Daleks, which seems to have been dismissed somewhat in this video as just another call back to the show's past. (which I don't think it was).
I would say the commissioning of a Dalek story was certainly intended as a callback but I agree that Eric Saward took the story in a new direction. I will mention this story again next episode as its style/tone will link to a point I want to make about Saward that came to fruition in the 6th Doctor's era. Hope you enjoy!
Cool!
Yes, I agree - especially that scene when Davros and the doc have it out in the lab "The universe is at war doctor!" etc - brilliant script.
if it *is* just a fanservice serial, so is:
the three doctors
the five doctors
day of the doctor
a good man goes to war
the end of time
twice upon a time
and many other episodes i can't name because there's so many of them
Five Doctors was the first full episode I ever watched and has a very special place in my heart
Gotta agree about Richard Mace, one of my favourite classic one-off characters. He's so much fun to watch.
Davison is sadly underrated. I´m honest, I like him and never understood the hate against him.
Thanks for the hard work and splendid narrotation.
The hate comes from the special, vocal group of the Tom Baker fanboys who couldn't accept change
@@caleb7551 I liked the fifth. Nevertheless there are other fantastic Doctors existing. ;)
@@TandanielderGeschichtenweber He's my second favorite! Only beaten by Capaldi
@@caleb7551 I agree on Capaldi. ;)
@Caleb
Same here! I’ve never met anyone else with the same two favourites as me!
2nd time watching through…my brain won’t let me watch the new part til I rewatch everything else! There’s something amazing about the Dr W title theme..
The five doctors was the first story I’ve ever seen. I was 4 when the show was rebooted, and I got a magazine with copies of the five doctors and rose, and say and watched them both 10x over in a few days. The scene of 1st and Susan in the hallways with the dalek stuck with me for years
Amazing documentary on my Doctor... so well written and narrated... hearing you speak so passionately about the incredible Caves of Androzani almost bought a tear to my eye... it's still to this day my favourite story and Davison is fantastic in it.
I remember seeing Peter David on "All Creatures Great and Small" before he became the new Dr. Who. I also loved the "Five Doctors" special and it was shame that Tom Baker declined to appear - a decision which came to regret in the following years.
Tom Baker's an egotist so his massive ego couldn't take being potentially upstaged by other Doctors. He reined it in enough in his later years to appear in Day of the Doctor but still had the audacity to complain that Matt Smith was the only person on set who said hello to him. Never mind that everybody was hard at work on arguably the most important episode in the show's history, Tom Baker was on set and he wanted everybody to look at him with awe.
Great to see 'The Visitation' being singled out. A personal favourite of mine as it tied nicely into the history lesson subject matter for that school term. Good analysis as always and thanks for not taking the easy path of the JNT hate bandwagon
Thanks so much! Bandwagons annoy me!
It's a great adventure , nicely realised on screen & Peter Davison likes it a lot too. The Terileptil leader is a good villain as well.
I always dream of having the 5th Doctor continue with Richard Mace as the only companion with maybe Nyssa, but who knows maybe Mace would have worn out his welcome if around all the time.
I really appreciate your reference of putting on The Visitation while being homesick in your first year of University. I did this exact same thing - albeit with Planet of the Daleks. Comfort in the familiar.
I feel sorry for Peter. He's the first doctor to grow up with the show, so put up his own personal expectations. He had high expectations from everyone around him, the show was a nightmare at times and he had the other actors who'd played the doctor saying he shouldn't stay in the role. Then the moment he finally feels comfortable, it's his final series. No wonder he was the first to come back for big finish and the comic relief episode
Okay...so I’m meeting Peter Davidson on Tuesday and I’m really excited! But this is brilliant because it gives me more of an insight.
Enjoy! He's a lovely man!
9:02 that just conjures an image of the fifth Doctor challenging the Daleks to a Cricketing match.
I really love this series. It's incredibly well researched, written, edited, and presented. Near-professional quality. Well bloody done.
Thanks so much! Hope you enjoy the rest of the series!
18:50 That's exactly how I felt when I first watched The Talons of Weign-Chiang, and Inferno, when I was sick on 2 seperate occasions.
It was quite a journey, and I loved the whole trip. :)
These documentaries are so in depth well done! I really appreciate it. Peter Davidson is my favorite of the Classic Doctors, followed closely by Patrick Troughton. Davidson had, I my opinion, the hardest job of all of them, coming in as the youngest, following the longest run, and dealing with all of the changes to the era, but he handled it so well on screen and was by all accounts a class act unlike some of his older predecessors. He has the most heroic death of any of the doctors until David Tennant in ny opinion, sacrificing his own life for his friend, one a girl he barely knew, the other an old man who'd lived his time. Davidson had to deal with a companion death, a child no less, and at the end really unlocked something special that ensured his Doctor left a lasting legacy despite all the natural prejudices working against him at first.
That was absolutely wonderful. Fantastic job, again!
Thank you so much!
The 5th and 10th Doctor had probably one of the most heroic regenerations ever in the entire show
I'm not sure portable TV's and computers where that significant in 1980. I remember not seeing one of season 18 's stories because my Dad was watching darts. There was only 3 channels, few had video recorders; only better off people had multiple TVs . If you had a second TV you would be able to watch Doctor Who if your dad was watching darts. The first home computer I saw was a ZX81 in the autumn of 1981. Followed by a BBC model B in 1982, that was in school however. By late 1982 ZX Spectrums were out in force.
I think the main reason for the fall in ratings was Buck Rodgers siphoning off viewers.
Thanks again - "my" childhood doctors ranged from Pertwee's last season through to Davison, and I am struck again by how complex some of the fifth doctor's stories were - both conceptually, and with the number of characters involved. A lot of great SciFi. Loved "The Awakening". And even all that tinny synth music - kind of glad you didn't comment on it (it sort of works, but not as good as all the bassoons and bowed strings of Tom Baker gothic). And I am on my way to forgiving JNT and Eric Saward, but well... what comes next?
You're very welcome! I agree about the music! It has it's moments- especially the Earthshock and Five Doctors soundtracks.
my favorite era of classic who (a bit biased because it’s the one I grew up watching with my dad) and you’ve done it justice, absolutely love these videos I’m binging them all this afternoon
As a kid you had no clue these regenerations were coming, it was brutal, confusion and very upsetting to lose a doctor, there were tears!
Your Doctor Who reviews are still the best. For me personally anyway. Such wonderful indepth info. A veritable treat for the fans.
Somewhat similar to what's happened, I believe in 2018, or it might have been 17, I don't know, but they changed the modern era from a Saturday evening, to a Sunday evening, a solution arguably for the better, as there's nothing on on Sunday's so it's more likely people will be watching BBC One, if anything so 7pm on Sunday is arguably better, as Saturday especially they compete against ITV.
I felt Peter Davison's best work was actually in his last few stories. The show was heading in a darker direction, something that continued in the Colin Baker era but didn't always work as well in practice as it could have. I also liked Peri as a character, she had great chemistry with both Doctors and the fact that she was a botany student gave her some specific skills that could come in useful on the journey (although I think this only really came up once).
Wonderful video! Davison was my first Doctor, when I was very little, so I remember him but haven't really seen the episodes. This fantastic documentary has really helped me understand what was going on with the show in those days, as well as pointing out some of the era's most important moments. I've seen clips of that regeneration many times, but in this context, it seems REALLY dramatic and exciting! Hard to believe Doctor Who was about to plummet in popularity.
The only worthwhile doctor who videos on this site.
Yes, here in Germany it is similar. American series are often overpowering the cinema and TV market. but I always liked British TV productions. There were some very well made ones, unforgettables among them to this day. 8:11 Davison is a fine actor and I loved him as Tristan Farnon but the poor fellow stood to much under the shadow of the other actors doing the role. And most and for all thank you a lot for this well prepared and informative documentary to the DAVISON -DR-WHO-TIME
That was remarkably well done and a very enjoyable watch. The fact that Davison replaced the legend that was Tom Baker and did it very successfully goes to show how amazing this show used to be and a testament to Peter's very likable 5th Doctor. The 80's was the best of times and the worst in many ways ushering out Baker in 1981 and then the entire show in 1989 with McCoy at the helm. One thing is certain, I do miss that time era very much!
Peter Davison did a fine job ---- excellent job in Doctor Who. Thoroughly enjoyed his era, as much as I enjoyed the Tom Baker era.
An insightful and sharply written documentary that makes a great case for Davison! This is an amazing production which is a real diamond in the UA-cam rough!
Thank you so much! It's nice to be appreciated! Hope you enjoy the rest of the series!
I'm actually more familiar with 5's theme song than I expected, as my earlier Who era DVDs used it for their openings. I wish they carried over to the blu rays.
Oh wow. As soon as I saw Davison moving around, saw his vulnerability, heard him talking, I instantly recognized a lot of Matt Smith's subsequent performance in there. I wonder who 11's favorite Doctor is, haha.
Before this I wasn’t very keen on the 5th doctor but now I’ll look into his story’s
So good. I remember so much of this. Now I'm 52. Cant beleive what an impression it made. Recall K9's arrival vividly. But mostly the sadness of Baker going. He was MY Dr. and I moved on when he did, until the reboot. Hope that gets back on form soon, hard work keeping an icon inconic.
The 5 Doctors is excellent. All characters get good time and basic story and they dont try to over do it but have it all meet at the end and its done by the book basically and safe but very entertaining as some new ideas come in too. The setting is dark and cold but engaging too and its a story i happy to rewatch and a great one to give to someone who never seen doctor who to give them a great overview of the show.
I'm pretty sure the last episode of the Tom Baker era was the first episode of Doctor Who I ever saw. PBS here in the States ran a block of BBC shows on Friday nights, several hours of brit-coms, and then I'm pretty sure it was Red Dwarf before Doctor Who before the channel shut down for the night. I can't remember much about the episode, but my first solid memory of Doctor Who is Tom Baker's regeneration into Peter Davison. So I suppose "my doctor" was Peter Davison. That became my Friday night, a root beer float, and a few hours of the BBC.
This was in the 90's, after the show had ended, but I didn't know that. I just knew there was this weird show from Britain on PBS late night on Friday. My town's library also had several VHS tapes of Doctor Who episodes, and I started going through those. Through the tapes I got a smattering of all of the Doctors. I watched The Five Doctors through many times.
You are the definitive expert of the Doctor Who series. I am enjoying this series tremendously. I enjoy it not just for the Doctor Who analysis, but for the general cultural references of the time periods the series were originally shown in. Keep up the great work.
Thanks so much for your kind words, Gari! I've always found it important to consider the social/historical contexts; as well as informing my interpretation of the programme, I find it so interesting! Hope you enjoy the rest of the series!
i didn't realize what was going on at the times the scripts were written (because i saw the episodes in the '80s on American PBS stations), so i really was blown away by the events surrounding each doctor and what they wrote about. this is a such great addition to your episodes. and i thought Peter Davison's Tristan came after his Doctor because that's how i saw it here. i had no idea. (I love "All Creatures Great and Small". Robert Hardy was one of my favorite actors as i saw him play Prince Hal and Henry V in "An Age of Kings". Wow! was that a great series production! Sean Connery was in the Prince Hal plays, too.)
That Hitchhikers background music though. Love it.
Peter Davidson is the last Doctor i really liked. I stopped watching it after he left. But now years later i do like some Colin Baker & Sylvester McCoy stories
Hope you enjoy the next few episodes!
I missed most of the C.Baker and nearly all of the McCoy ones. Thinking of catching up on them. With how the current one is going, it should be refreshing.
@@chaos.corner Colin Baker was not my Doctor that will always be Peter Davison but since this current incarnation and showrunner have no clue about the show I have come to appreciate Colins stories and yes they may not be outstanding effects wise it was still Who and more entertaining to watch than series 11. Will still never get over Bertie Bassett in The Happiness Patrol, The Curse of Fenric my favorite Sylvester McCoy story but Peter Davison my number one Doctor.
Doctor Who was on TV when I was little (Davison) but to be honest I never paid much attention to the 5th and 6th Doctors. The show never grabbed me. It was really when McCoy and Aldred came together that I found myself captivated and excited and I became a fan. I found it accessible in a way I'd never done before, perhaps mostly due to Aldred, who makes a very good "avatar" for a child viewer, and her relationship with the Doctor seemed to have a genuineness and sense of family.
@@julessherwood I loved the Kandyman!!
100% agree about the sonic screwdriver! Wish they’d get rid of it again. Fab documentaries, thank you!
You're more than welcome! Hope you enjoy the rest of the series!
The absolute most important take-away is that Peter Davidson, like Paul McGann and Christopher Eccleston after him, didn't get nearly the amount of time that he deserved. Two years was far, FAR too short a time, especially seeing the nadir the classic series would soon hit.
'My' first Doctor Who. I speak as a Yank assigned to England, with barely a clue about Baker's Who (only saw occasional episodes on PBS) who had still had an inkling that the role change was something extraordinary. Stayed with 5 until he left and stopped watching.
Watched this and the fourth doctor review - excellent, well thought through analysis. While Tom Baker was unquestionably the greatest Doctor, Peter Davison was 'my' Doctor, and this makes me nostalgic enough to think about rewatching some of his great moments. It's no suprise that both Tennant and Smith took a great deal from Davison's portrayal. The last moment also gives me flashbacks to just how imcomprehensibly horrific Colin Baker's era was.... :o Keep up the great work!
Thanks so much, Mike, glad you enjoyed! Hopefully I can shine a more favourable light for you on the Sixth Doctor in my next video!
The testiness of Davidson when he’s in “old man” mode is really great.
Five Doctors was my introduction to Who, which was. . . confusing.
and then my PBS station began running Tom Bakers shows.
I've not watched Dr Who.since the 80s
This bought back fond memories. Great effort here. Well done 👏