The Wilderness Years (1990 - 2004) - Part Two: Dimensions In Time

I can't believe I actually watched this! It's absolutely bloody awful! A "televisual abortion" as someone recently described it.

It's 1993 and the 30th anniversary of Doctor Who. The show has been off the air for the last 4 years but to "celebrate" it is revived for a one off mini episode to be broadcast during "Children In Need".

I actually remember watching this when it was first broadcast. Which possibly makes this the first Doctor Who I ever saw! I always thought the TV movie was my first Doctor Who but this was broadcast 3 years before the movie. Oh God! Could this really have been my first episode?? No wonder it took me another 12 years to take the show to my heart!

Dimension In Time brought together all 5 of the surviving Doctor, the third Doctor through to the seventh. Tom Baker (Doctor no. 4) kept up the tradition of not wanting to appear in the show any more by simply having his scenes filmed at the start and really they only consist of him giving a warning to his other selves that the Rani is out to catch them. I do like how he refers to the other Doctors as "my dears" though. I thought that was quite funny.

I also like the revamped theme tune! It's a bit on the fast side but still pretty awesome...

And then it begins. I mean I would go into details of the plot but I really don't think there is one! All the Doctors and various companions are trapped in a 40 year time loop in Albert Square...yes they are trapped in Eastenders! Alternating between present day (1993), the past (1973) and the future (2013). It was a bit weird watching a show where the future was now the present day.

To be fair I did enjoy spotting all the different monsters and working out which stories they were from but apart from that it's just a disgraceful piece of television and a real embarrassment!

The story is introduced by the third Doctor and Noel Edmunds *sighs*. The third Doctor tells Noel that he has come from the year 2010 and that Edmunds is still on television. I suppose that much is true. It would have been cool if he'd mentioned Deal or No Deal.

Apart from the pure shittness of the plot it was great to all the Doctors again and the companions. Lets see if I can remember them all.

First Doctor era: Susan (rather confused that her grandfather now looks like the sixth Doctor
Second Doctor era: Victoria (more screechy than I remember her being)
Third Doctor: Liz Shaw and Mike Yates (driving the Doctor's car Bessie!)
Fourth Doctor: Sarah Jane, Leela and Romana
Fifth Doctor: Nyssa and Peri
Sixth Doctor: Mel
Seventh Doctor: Ace.

That's a pretty good haul of past stars of the show actually. Don't ask me to name the Eastenders characters who appeared as I have no idea about that show. Why couldn't the Rani have trapped the Doctors in Coronation Street! Now that would be much more interesting!