The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot is a 2013 comedy short film released on the BBC Red Button service after the broadcast of "The Day of the Doctor", the 50th anniversary special of the science fiction series Doctor Who. Writer and director Peter Davison stars alongside Sylvester McCoy, Colin Baker and Paul McGann, all of them former lead actors of the series.
The plot focuses on fictionalised versions of Davison, Baker and McCoy, who become disgruntled after not being invited to reprise their roles in "The Day of the Doctor", and attempt to trespass onto the set and secure roles in the episode. The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot features numerous cameo appearances from contemporary and former stars of the series such as Matt Smith, Jenna Coleman, Janet Fielding, John Barrowman and David Tennant, as well as executive producer Steven Moffat and his predecessor Russell T Davies. Filming took place across England, Wales and New Zealand.
The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot received acclaim from Doctor Who fans, and was nominated for the 2014 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form).
Plot
On Christmas Day 2012, Peter Davison watches the Doctor Who episode "The Snowmen" with his sons. They speculate as to whether Davison will be invited to return in the upcoming 50th anniversary special or if it will only feature the two most recent Doctors, David Tennant and Matt Smith. Davison dreams that he is invited back and given special treatment, but has a nightmare of Janet Fielding warning him that the production team doesn't want any of the old Doctors. Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy desperately await invitations to appear in the special. They try to contact executive producer Steven Moffat, who avoids their calls and deletes their voicemails.
Davison reveals to Baker and McCoy that he has a contact working on the special who can assist them. They consider involving Tom Baker in their plan, but his voicemail reveals he is stuck in the Time Vortex again. Paul McGann wants in on their plan. McCoy returns to New Zealand to continue filming on The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, but becomes bored and impulsively returns to England to join the others.
Davison's scheme involves the three of them (McGann has work commitments) picketing outside the BBC Television Centre. A passing John Barrowman abandons his secret wife and children to drive the trio to Cardiff, where Doctor Who's production is based. Meanwhile in New Zealand, McCoy's absence has disrupted a scene, though Ian McKellen admits to director Peter Jackson that it might be "a slight improvement".
The former Doctors enter the Doctor Who Experience, steal their old costumes, and with the help of Tennant (Davison's contact and son-in-law) are able to infiltrate Roath Lock Studios and observe the filming of the special, "The Day of the Doctor". They take the place of three Dalek operators after locking them in their room. After a close call with some security guards which forces the trio to hide back on the set, they escape and catch a bus back to London. Davison deletes a voicemail from former Doctor Who executive producer Russell T Davies asking for a part in Davison's plan.
In post-production, Moffat deletes the scene with the three Daleks. However, when the editor reviews footage from the Under Gallery scene, he sees the former Doctors evaded the security guards by hiding under shrouds during filming. The editor conceals this from Moffat, ensuring that the former Doctors appear in the special.
Cast In order of appearance (per credits): + Cast Connection to Doctor Who Son of Jon Pertwee (Third Doctor)Mother in "The Eleventh Hour" (2010)Played the Fifth Doctor; writer and director of The Five(ish) Doctors RebootPeter Davison's sonsPlayed Clara OswaldPlayed the Eleventh DoctorExecutive producer and lead writer of Doctor Who (2010–2017)2nd assistant director on "The Day of the Doctor" (2013)Assistant director on "The Day of the Doctor"Costume assistant on "The Day of the Doctor"2nd assistant director on various post-2005 Doctor Who episodesPlayed Tegan JovankaPlayed the Seventh DoctorPlayed the Sixth DoctorComedian and Doctor Who fanPlayed Jenny in "The Doctor's Daughter" (2008); daughter of Peter Davison and wife of David Tennant; producer of The Five(ish) Doctors RebootPlayed Tamsin Drew (companion in Big Finish Productions' Doctor Who stories)Colin Baker's wifePlayed Jo GrantPlayed LeelaPlayed Susan ForemanPlayed Victoria WaterfieldPlayed AcePlayed NyssaPlayed Romana IIVoiced K-9 Played PollyPlayed Karra in Survival (1989) and Bernice Summerfield (Big Finish companion)Played AdricPlayed the Eighth DoctorVoice actor and impressionist known for impersonating the Fourth Doctor on Dead Ringers; later voiced various characters in Big Finish Doctor Who productionsPlayed Lady Forleon in the Big Finish Doctor Who story Creatures of Beauty; later played Jean in "Village of the Angels" (2021)Colin Baker's daughtersSecond assistant director of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, featuring McCoyDirector of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and Doctor Who fanVoiced the Great Intelligence in "The Snowmen" (2012); played Gandalf in The Hobbit: An Unexpected JourneyPlayed Jack HarknessAppeared alongside Davison in At Home with the BraithwaitesStaff member at the Doctor Who ExperienceGeneral manager of the Doctor Who ExperiencePlayed the Tenth Doctor; son-in-law of Peter Davison and husband of Georgia TennantScript editor on "The Day of the Doctor"Peter Davison's wifePlayed a UNIT soldier and a shrouded Zygon in "The Day of the Doctor"Son of Georgia and David Tennant, grandson of Peter DavisonPrincipal Dalek operator, director of various Big Finish Doctor Who audio dramasDalek operator, writer and director of various Big Finish Doctor Who audio dramasSon of Patrick Troughton (Second Doctor); appeared in The Enemy of the World (1967–1968), The War Games (1969), The Curse of Peladon (1972) and "Midnight" (2008)Post-2005 voice of the Daleks and Cybermen; Executive producer of Big Finish ProductionsComedian and Doctor Who fan; later played Perkins in "Mummy on the Orient Express" (2014).Script editor on "The Time of the Doctor" (2013)Played a Chancellery Guard in "The Day of the Doctor"Played various Sontarans, notably StraxExecutive producer and lead writer of Doctor Who (2005–2010, 2023–2025)Line producer on "The Day of the Doctor"Production coordinator on "The Day of the Doctor"Assistant Production Coordinator on "The Day of the Doctor"Played Alfred Stahlbaum in the Big Finish Doctor Who story The Silver Turk
Various actors who appear via reused Doctor Who clips are uncredited. Jemma Redgrave and John Hurt (voice only) appear via footage from "The Day of the Doctor". Tom Baker appears via footage from Shada, and later "The Five Doctors" (1983). Juliet Cadzow, Ellie Darcy-Alden and Joseph Darcy-Alden appear via footage from "The Snowmen" (2012).
On the BBC's website, all cast members are credited as playing themselves, apart from Marcus Elliott (Security Guard 1), Michael Houghton (Security Guard 2) and Chido Nyashanu (Receptionist).
Production
Background The long-running British science fiction series Doctor Who has traditionally celebrated its past anniversaries with special "multi-Doctor" stories, where actors who played past incarnations of the lead character the Doctor reprise their roles. This was the case in The Three Doctors (1972–1973), "The Five Doctors" (1983) and Dimensions in Time (1993). For the 50th anniversary special, "The Day of the Doctor" (2013), the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) was the only returning Doctor with a major role. Executive producer and writer Steven Moffat stated: "What we're not doing is the traditional massive reunion. It's a different kind of anniversary, and the spine of that is David and [Matt Smith, the incumbent Eleventh Doctor]."
Peter Davison, who played the Fifth Doctor from 1981 to 1984, decided to produce his own "fan video" as a substitute for not being invited to appear in the special: "The whole thing started off almost by accident. I was asked a question at a convention – 'Will you be in the 50th?' – and I said if I wasn't, I would damn well make my own!" He had previously produced skit videos in 2010 and 2011 for the convention Gallifrey One—the 2011 video humorously chronicles his quest to get to the convention on time. As stated by Davison at conventions, his original vision was for a significantly shorter video, around five minutes in length, involving the "classic" Doctor actors trying to get a part in the special. Davison bumped into Moffat at a party and offered him an acting role in the video. Moffat agreed, and after Davison sent through the script, gave him BBC funding and a camera crew. According to Sylvester McCoy, some filming had been done with Davison in Australia prior to the BBC's involvement. The film was Davison's first experience as a professional director. His daughter, Georgia Tennant, produced the film.
Casting
McCoy, Colin Baker and Paul McGann came on board to play fictionalised versions of themselves. Davison enjoyed playing his "grumpy" alter ego. Of all the Doctor Who cast and crew members asked, only one individual turned down an offer to appear in the film. Davison wrote a scene where Tom Baker rejects the other characters' scheme, but when Baker failed to respond to his emails, Davison decided to jokingly explain his absence with a Doctor Who clip where the Fourth Doctor is trapped in the time vortex. The clip, originally from the unaired story Shada, had previously been used to cover Baker's absence from "The Five Doctors". Davison stated "there was a point when I did try Tom one more time and I thought 'I kind of hope he doesn't reply because I'd hate to lose this joke'". Impressionist Jon Culshaw performed Baker's voicemail. The availability of the remaining cast was "very limited", and they were not paid for their involvement.
Filming
On the production's hectic nature, Davison admitted "I've never worked so hard in my life as in that year – because I was writing the thing at night and we'd film something the next day". McCoy's real-life commitments to filming The Hobbit trilogy (2012–2014) inspired Davison to write a scene featuring director Peter Jackson, a massive Doctor Who fan, which was recorded on The Hobbit's New Zealand set. Davison, Baker and McCoy were spotted with their prop pickets outside BBC Television Centre in September 2013, leading some fans to wonder if the trio were genuinely protesting against the BBC. Davison has joked that the trio were actually hiding under the shrouds in "The Day of the Doctor", but Moffat admitted that this is not the case.
Post-production The Doctor Who production office were worried that the film's numerous references and in-jokes would alienate viewers, and proposed a shorter ten-minute-long edit which would be more accessible to new viewers. Davison rejected the suggestion and threatened to "tell the fans". He believed that the film was aimed more at fans of the classic series rather than the 2005 series. Per a compromise, about six minutes' worth of scenes were cut.
The film's title, The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot, is a reference to "The Five Doctors", the 20th anniversary special which aired during Davison's tenure. Six actors who led the series as the Doctor made appearances in the film (Davison, Colin Baker, McCoy, McGann, Tennant and Smith).
Commercial release The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot was released on the BBC Red Button service after the broadcast of "The Day of the Doctor" on 23 November 2013.