Not enough Classic Who in your 50th Anniversary? Peter Davison to the rescue! Our favorite 5th Doctor wrote and directed this little gem, titled “The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot,” and not only is it a marvelous way to get your fix of the Doctors we missed, but it is jam packed full of inside jokes that Whovians are sure to go crazy for.
The half-hour episode starts by featuring Jon Pertwee’s son, and the references just get more involved from there. Everyone is in on this gorgeous thing, from David Tennant and his wife Georgia (Davison’s daughter, who helped to produce the thing) to John Barrowman to flipping Peter Jackson and Sir Ian McKellen on the set of The Hobbit. There are jokes about Slyvester McCoy’s new “film career,” about John Barrowman’s lovely singing voice, about Steven Moffat ignoring people’s calls, about Paul McGann actually having a real job, and the Fifth Doctor’s regeneration sequence. It’s just a ball of fan-fun collapsing in on itself to create some sort of Whovian black hole.
Tegan shows up to scold her Doctor! (Hi Janet Fielding!) Dalek adventures are had and security guards are avoided! There’s a hilarious shoutout to Tom Baker’s un-appearance in “The Five Doctors”! Most importantly, the short film answers the question of its own existence: when McCoy and Baker ask Davison why they’re even bothering, there is only one answer Davison can come up with—the fans. Which is really why they’re always out there talking to us in the first place.
Also, the final cameo is just the greatest thing.
In fact, despite how much fun the 50th Anniversary special was… this is it. This is the love letter that fans had been holding out for. This was made for us. So thank you to everyone who made this crazy thing we’re still watching 50 years later! We love you all, too.
