This is an idea from back in 2008 which I dusted off and updated during the Smith era. I thought I would dig it out and repost it here now that the 50th is done with. I should say that I *loved* what Moffat did with the special. It couldn't have been better.
How to make multi-Doctor anniversary special work!
With the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who coming up in 2013, I’ve been thinking more and more about what they’re going to do. I mean, it needs to be something special and epic, right? The old tradition for Doctor Who anniversary years was to just bring back all of the old Doctors (or the ones who were available) in their classic costumes and have them team up in an adventure. That worked pretty well in 1973 and 1983. The Doctors were clearly a few years older than they had been on the show, but they really didn’t look that different. But now it’s been decades since any of the classic Doctors were on television! It might work okay for Peter or Paul, but I think it would look pretty silly if they tried to stuff poor old Tom and Colin into their old costumes again! If these guys are to be brought back, they’re going to have to come up with a way to make it work.
So, here’s my idea!
What I’d like to see is a “Turn Left” (or possibly Dream Lord) type situation where some alien screws with the Doctor’s personal timeline and creates several alternate (or artificial) realities in which each of the living classic Doctors never regenerated and survived into the new series- which would basically just be an excuse to recreate some of the recent episodes with the old Doctors replacing the current Doctor to see how things might have gone differently.
How much fun would it be to see Tom Baker flirting with River Song and facing down the Weeping Angels?! Or to see Sylvester McCoy climb out of the Tardis in Amelia’s garden? What if Colin Baker had been Craig’s lodger? The possibilities are limitless!
Of course, midway through the story all of the alt.Doctors would realize that something is wrong, and figure out how to cross out of the artificial realities and join forces to rescue the current Doctor.
In a story like this, they wouldn’t have to worry about the changes in the actor’s appearances, the wardrobes could be updated (if needed), and it would supply a hook for the some of the newer audience who might not know (or care) about the older Docs… as they would already be familiar with the current eps. and companions.
It would be epic to see the old guys in action again… and think this way it would work!
