Doctors Assemble

"This is the Doctor... calling the Doctor!"

Writer: James Goss

Format: Webcast

Released: 23 May 2020

Series: #DoctorWhoLockdown

Featuring: First Doctor, Second Doctor, Third Doctor, Fourth Doctor, Fifth Doctor, Sixth Doctor, Seventh Doctor, Eighth Doctor, War Doctor, Ninth Doctor, Tenth Doctor, Eleventh Doctor, Twelfth Doctor, Thirteenth Doctor

Synopsis

Planet Earth is in terrible danger. Trapped inside the TARDIS, the Doctor calls upon some familiar faces to help save the day...

Verdict

Doctors Assemble was an incredible webcast adventure to continue the wonderful Doctor Who Lockdown series of stories! I absolutely loved the premise as I am more than a sucker for a multi-Doctor story, but the idea of every single incarnation together was just mesmerising! The result was outstanding despite the cluster it could have become, but James Goss did a stellar job in organising a total of fourteen Doctors together. It worked really well in having them talking through the TARDIS interface and it was just a joy to have differing incarnations arrive one by one. Unfortunately, the original actors of each Doctor were unable to voice their incarnation, but the impressions that came were pretty impressive. I have to say, Jon Culshaw's take on the Third Doctor was sublime and definitely the most accurate in my opinion. It was quite uncanny how good it was with all of the mannerisms on display in stellar fashion. As if that wasn't great, the takes on the Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Doctors were also sensational! I was delighted when I did initially hear the Ninth Doctor speak because the impression was definitely an improvement on what I have heard thus far in my listening of the Ninth Doctor Chronicles. I thought the mannerisms and traits of the Fourth, Fifth and Eighth Doctors were also very impressive and I loved the arrival of the Seventh Doctor and his constant reminders that what had trapped the Fourth Doctor in his own TARDIS was a deadly force of evil. That was a great deal of fun. I thought the use of cat pictures was a little cheap initially, but it coming from the Sixth Doctor made a lot of sense given his badge on that famous attire and them actually turning out to be important as location vectors was very amusing. I thought it was brilliant to have the War Doctor arrive late on the scene and the impression of John Hurt's incarnation was also superb. I was really impressed with that. This was my first experience of David Bradley's take on the First Doctor outside of Twice Upon a Time and I have to admit it didn't fill me with a huge amount of confidence for when I do get around to the First Doctor Adventures. The writing of the incarnation from James Goss was magnificent though and full of comedy with the voices stemming from the food machine. I also wasn't overly thrilled with the impression of the Thirteenth Doctor, but it was just magnificent to have her there alongside thirteen men that preceded her! The line about Sunday now being an important day was very good though. I was a big fan of the little TARDIS animations and I found the choice of photos for each Doctor rather intriguing. They were definitely personal, I'm just not sure who to! I would love for the Thirteenth Doctor to do battle with the Sontarans as was shown in her photo. I really am just longing for a Sontaran story! Anyway, the idea of the Third Doctor not enjoying the Eleventh Doctor's outfit was terrific and I liked the idea of the Doctors splitting into teams. The Third and Twelfth definitely seemed like they would be on the same page which was fun to play with. The Sixth and War Doctors combining to ultimately bring about the solution to save the Fourth Doctor was great and unexpected, and I also loved the continuation of the bickering between the Second and Third Doctors. That's always a great deal of amusement. In the end, as acknowledged, it was a tad bit of anti-climax, but what we got was just an absolute treat and I can't thank everyone involved enough for this delightful lockdown treat. Just magical. All of the Doctors together, probably for the first and only time. Overall, just wonderful.

Rating: 10/10