Getting Acquainted With “Doctor Who” – Five Iconic Fifth Doctor Stories

To prepare for Doctor Who’s arrival on Disney+ in 2023, and as Laughing Place’s resident Doctor Who expert, I wanted to do a series of articles to get Disney fans acquainted with the world of the traveling Time Lord. We’ve now made it up to the Fifth Doctor, played by Peter Davison. At the time, the youngest actor to play the Doctor, Davison had the unenviable task of following on from the immensely popular Tom Baker. As a well-known actor in Britain, he brought a youthful charm that was brand-new to the Doctor at the time.

But who is the Doctor, you might ask? Well he’s a traveling Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. The line that best sums up the Doctor, no matter his portrayal is “Never cruel, never cowardly.”

In these articles, I will introduce you to what I think are the five stories from each Doctor that best represent that era, and also serve to move the show’s mythos forward. “It’s the end, but the moment has been prepared for” as the Fifth Doctor steps into the universe in his Edwardian Cricketers outfit…

The Visitation

Historical adventures had become somewhat few and far between by the early 1980s, however Davison’s first season saw two adventures set in the past. The first of these was “The Visitation,” written by incoming script editor Eric Saward (a name you’ll see a lot on this list). This serial did what Doctor Who does so well – putting aliens into historical settings – specifically the Black Plague and the Great Fire of London.

In a plan to wipe out all life on Earth, three Terileptil prisoners intend to release rats infected with an enhanced strain of the great plague. This cleverly takes a known piece of history and gives it a Sci-Fi twist. The atmosphere and tension in this story are top notch. However, it is far from perfect. Despite a good mask, it’s quite clear that the Terileptil’s voice is coming from behind a mask, which makes it rather difficult to hear, despite a great vocal performance. This season was also infamous for having three companions, which may have been one or two too many given the lack of character development in classic Doctor Who. Fortunately, that situation will be rectified in our next story…  

Earthshock

By 1982, the Cybermen hadn’t appeared in the show since 1975’s “Revenge of the Cybermen,” a somewhat middling adventure. It had been another 7 years before that since their last appearance in their golden age. The iconic monsters were due for a return and redesign, and that’s exactly what they got in “Earthshock.” Named as such in order to hide their return, the Cybermen actually don’t appear until the cliffhanger of Episode One, a huge moment at the time.

In order to conceal the Cybermen’s appearance, the first episode is a masterfully put together piece of intrigue set in the near-future in a set of caves, where explorers are mysteriously vanishing. While we see two androids in the caves, it remains unknown to the cast who’s really behind everything, that is until they travel aboard a freighter carrying the Cybermen. The Cybermen themselves look better than ever-before, in one of my personal favorite designs. A highlight of this design is the clear chin plate, allowing a silver chin to show through, further pointing out that they were once human.

“Earthshock” is an action-filled romp quite unlike anything seen in Doctor Who before. Masterfully directed by Peter Grimwade, along with an excellent cast, “Earthshock” really is a classic. Although rightfully known for being a Cyberman story, this is also a rare story in Doctor Who history where a companion dies. Fixing the issue I mentioned before of having one-too-many companions, the often maligned Adric dies a heroic death trying to save the freighter from exploding.

The Five Doctors

Ten years earlier, the 10th anniversary of Doctor Who was celebrated with “The Three Doctors,” bringing the first three Doctors together for an epic adventure. With the 20th anniversary in sight, a similar epic was commissioned, this time – “The Five Doctors.” Behind-the-scenes, this was a little more difficult to put together. By this point, the First Doctor, William Hartnell, had passed away, so he was played here by Richard Hurndall, who gets the essence of the character down to a tee. Not wanting to return to the role so close after leaving, Tom Baker declined to appear, so his role was reduced to clips from an unfinished story called “Shada.”

“The Five Doctors” aired on November 23rd, 1983 as the first of its kind feature length story. This truly is a shopping list of the best of Doctor Who. All five Doctors feature in one way or another, along with multiple returning companions, as well as a Dalek, the Cybemrn, the Master, the Time Lord, a Yeti, and even more. It’s a testament to the excellence of writer and former script editor Terrance Dicks that the story feels cohesive and celebratory.

It may not be one of the “best” serials of the show, however the epic and celebratory nature is really what sets “The Five Doctors” apart.

Resurrection of the Daleks

Our third entry from writer Eric Saward is 1984’s “Resurrection of the Daleks.” Much like the Cybermen, the Daleks had only made sparse appearances throughout the late 1970s. Their last story, 1979’s “Destiny of the Daleks” took a somewhat comical spin, so it was time to return the Daleks to their former glory. Taking much the same bleak style as the aforementioned “Earthshock,” this story actually takes that even further, becoming one of, if not the story with the highest kill-count in the show’s history.

There are some iconic moments here, but at the same time it’s a bit of a jumbled mess. There’s a lot about duplicates, the Daleks fighting an old adversary off-screen and trying to win that battle with the help of their creator, Davros, who has been in suspended animation for 90 years. The story has a lot of great moments to it, but is perhaps trying to tell too many stories at once.

Part of why this story is included in this list is a sentimental one, as this was one of the first classic Doctor Who stories I saw when I was first introduced to the show back in 2005. One highlight of “Resurrection of the Daleks” comes right at the end, when longtime companion Tegan decided, amid all the bloodshed, that she had enough, and promptly leaves the Doctor in a brisk, but emotional scene. That wouldn’t be the last we saw of Tegan however, as almost 40 years later, actress Janet Fielding returned to the role in Jodie Whitaker’s swansong, “The Power of the Doctor.”

The Caves of Androzani

Peter Davison had a bit of a rough go as the Doctor, as for every classic such as “Earthshock,” there was an absolute dud like “Time-Flight.” It was this lack of quality that partially led to the actor leaving the role after just 3 seasons. Luckily for him, and us, the best was saved for last. Former script editor Robert Holmes, who had written many of the show’s most beloved stories, returned after a 6 year absence to pen Davison’s final story, “The Caves of Androzani.”

There are no returning monsters, and barely even a big plot to foil. The Doctor and his brand-new companion Peri (Nicola Bryant) accidentally get poisoned by spectrox toxaemia, a very serious form of poisoning contracted from exposure to unrefined spectrox. The story is then a struggle for survival, as they try to not only find a cure, but also survive the battle taking place on Androzani.

The performances in this serial are absolutely top-notch, aided by the terrific dialogue from Holmes. Christopher Gable puts in an excellent performance as Sharaz Jek, the supposed villain of the piece. The trick here is everyone is villainous and devious, which makes it all the harder for the Doctor and Peri to survive. Cut to one of my favorite Doctor Who cliffhangers of all-time, where Davison, at his absolute peak “Doctor,” crashes a ship to save the friend he barely knows. Eventually, the Doctor is able to save Peri, but not himself, leading to his fifth regeneration.

I would also be remiss to not mention the direction of Graeme Harper, who provides some of the most dynamic direction in all of classic Doctor Who. So much so that he would go on to be a regular director during the David Tennant era. If there’s any classic story of Doctor Who to watch, this is it!

Classic episodes of Doctor Who from 1963-1989 are available to stream on BritBox, while the modern series is on HBO Max. Beginning later this year, all new episodes of Doctor Who will be available on Disney+.