53 Years Ago Today, Doctor Who’s First Multi-Doctor Story Broke All the Time Lords’ Rules

Doctor Who has pulled off many big events in its 60-plus-year run, but one of the most time-honored traditions of the series is the crossovers between different Doctors. On the screen, the page, and even in audiobook format, the Doctor Who franchise has brought together various versions of the Time Lord for some epic adventures.

But do you know that it all began today, 63 years ago? Yes, over half a century ago, Doctor Who first aired a multi-Doctor story arc, which not only upset the show’s format up to that point, but also broke all of the supposed rules the Time Lord had been living by.

Doctor Who’s The Three Doctors First Premiered Today (& Told An Epic Story)

On December 30, 1972, the UK’s BBC1 first aired Doctor Who‘s The Three Doctors “Episode One” as a tenth anniversary special. The special chronicled the story of the Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee) coming up against the threat of “Omega” (aka Peylix), one of the first Time Lords and founders of the Time Lord society. Peylix ended up in the anti-matter universe, where his mind was allowed to shape the anti-matter into his own paradise reality. However, it also bent him with loneliness and isolation and eventually destroyed his physical body, leaving him to exist as an insane incorporeal fury in an armored suit, aimed at his fellow Time Lords.

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The Third Doctor had been exiled on Earth, and thanks to Verdigris trying to get his sentence overturned, Omega saw a way to drain the Time Lords’ power long enough to send anti-matter servants to the real world, to capture the Third Doctor to replace him in his prison. The High Council of Gallifrey couldn’t see a way to intervene without their usual powers, so they enacted a radical plan: using the Doctor’s previous incarnations to aid him. The Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) was sent in to assist, while the First Doctor (William Hartnell) was sent in to advise the pair. The adventure took all three Doctors into the anti-matter universe for a showdown with Omega.

The Three Doctors Changed The Game (& Set Milestones)

Obviously, The Three Doctors was the first special to bring multiple doctors together. However, the four-part special also ended a two-year arc of the Third Doctor being exiled on Earth (a big turn for the series, onscreen and behind the scenes, at the time). It also introduced the now-famous phrase “It’s bigger on the inside than it is on the outside,” in regard to the TARDIS, and the first time Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney) and Sergeant John Benton (John Levene) got to step inside and travel in it.

It was also a very poignant final milestone for the First Doctor, William Hartnell, and his only appearance in a multi-Doctor crossover. In fact, Hartnell had been suffering from a vascular disease, arteriosclerosis, and his condition was deteriorating when the special was filming. As such, the First Doctor’s role was limited to an advisory capacity, so that Hartnell could film his scenes in pre-taped segments, reading of cue cards. He died two years after filming it, leaving a massive hole in the hearts of the fans, the Doctor Who cast and crew.

Obviously, the special looks dated now, as so much of the older Doctor Who content always does. However, that should not stop fans from checking out The Three Doctors and seeing how the seeds were planted for many of the enjoyable events the franchise offers today.

You can stream Doctor Who content on BBC and Disney+.