Doctor Who: The Five Doctors Effects Comparison [Redux] 

Just noticed that at 8:15 the corresponding years disappear and at 8:47 the year changes at the wrong time… whoops

That spinning hexagon time scoop is so much better in keeping with both the spirit of the original as well as the theme of Gallifreyan aesthetics.

I love the 2023 edition, it truly feels like the best parts of each previous versions melded together, plus the extended scope makes it feel really cinematic. My favourite change has to be the different tardises demating out of 5's, really love that bit of continuity!

I think the 40th Anniversary edition of The Five Doctors is my favourite. It keeps what works from the previous remaster but keeps elements from the original edit. I particularly like the new effect for as the various Doctors leave with it now being The Tardis exteriors from their own eras.

I love when the new effects take the original idea and polish them up instead of creating something brand new and too modern. The new time scoop is a perfect update.

Interesting to see. I do actually prefer all of the exterior views of The Tower of Rassilon from 1983 though.

I love the new effect for 4 and Romana being trapped! For once, it looks like they're trapped in a separate place with the same clothes on while panicking. Also, the TARDISes being the different versions at the end was a nice touch.

Ah, The Brigadier. Blowing up Yeti, taking down Daleks, shooting Autons, killing Cybermen, and punching The Master. Nicholas Courtney was there for every Doctor from Troughton (2nd) to McGann (8th). There will never be another character in Who that equals his run and mark on the show.

It's fantastic that all these versions are available, regardless of which ones an individual prefers. Some other franchises should take note.

Thanks for this. I love love love the different TARDISes departing at the end of the 2023 edition.

1:45 the looping clip of them running in the 2023 version 😂

6:00 always made me laugh. *Turlough:* "Even if you reach..." *Doctor:* _[holds up his hand to shoosh him]_ *Turlough:* _[immediately starts talking again]_

My biggest problem with the newest version is that they replaced the nice model of the tomb of rassilon with a cgi version that probably wont age well

I love additions of the planets in the sky, rassilon robot jump flips, lasers destroying cybermen and 4th dr time freeze images. Also the smoothness of the fade outs and new spinning obelisk is such an improvement. Glad all 3 are still available. I saw the original in the 80s on TV so it holds a special place.

2:48 might be the best way of showing Tom and Lalla for this story. Far better than either version, definitely. The rest is very much up to opinion. Some I like more than the 1995 version, some I think the 1995 version is better at capturing the effect. And I agree. The punch is my favourite addition.

I have to say, the 2023 version is really impressive! Staying close to the original yet enhancing the visuals. The only thing I believe the 1995 did well was the phantoms when they vanished. The time scoop in the original, I loved how each person seemed in pain, following the idea of the Death Zone being a brutal place.

I love the Master's fall to the ground, when the Brigadier punches him. Makes me laugh every time

3:11 I dunno but.. I kinda prefer both the 83 and 95 version over the newest version. The tower looks so ominous. 5:22 I also prefer the old console screen display. It just.. *feels right*, ya know? Like it feels like it just makes sense that it'd look like that. The new version is *too new.* 7:57 I prefer the electric type effect from the 95 version. It feels like it would just hurt more. The 2023 beam and 83 beam are just kinda.. dancing around in the same spot and miss a lot. 9:25 Say what you will about the 83 and 95 versions looking extremely simple. But the 2023 effect looked so smudged.

LOL that sound the cyberman makes at 6:25

I managed to watch the 2023 edition last week. It was fun, and definitely an improvement on the TV version in terms of visual effects. But my preference will still be the 1995 Special Edition, because I prefer the way the scenes are structured and edited in that version. Also, I prefer the 'whirlpool' version of the Time Scoop, which frightened me as a kid, and I always rather liked the original model of the Dark Tower. Plus, the electric chessboard and the music from the harp of Rassilon are better in the 95 version. 😁

The 40th Anniversary edition is my favorite hands down, but I like all three, and am glad they are all in the boxset.

I do like how the 2023 has the 4th Doctor and Romana wearing the right clothes. But if they were gonna use the 1983 footage for the resolution, they should’ve added the Time Scoop flying away. I can’t wait to view this story for myself when it releases in the US!!!

Some of those modern effects are awesome! The 3D scan on the tardis monitor looks great, and the masking of 5’s hand as he points at the screen is flawless

While I do love some of the newer effects on the 40th anniversary edition. Especially new Time Scoop & the Individual TARDISes departing. That’s honestly beautiful. But I’ll always prefer the 25th special edition. For adding additional scenes and much better score. Plus it was the first one I watched.

2:53 I love the small detail of the floating hexagon in the 2023 version leaving a mark on the ground when grabbing Sarah. A nice attention to detail

Overall I like it, mostly, though they made a slip up at around 5:40, the new digital matte slips a few pixels and cuts off the top of the Brigadier’s hair.

The new effects are really superb. Really keep with the spirit and aesthetic of the original but make it look acceptable to modern eyes. The updated graphics on the Tardis computer screen look so good too, so much better than what was possible in the 80s but still fit into the shot and universe so naturally. Really great work.

Excellent work. Nice to see the comparisons. Cheers for posting.

Unpopular opinion: I prefer the original 1983 version. It’s what I grew up watching.

I miss the spinning triangle.

they def cooked with the new one. I also think it's great that we now have three versions to compare.

I love the new time scoop, realised as that very solid looking obelisk. A beautiful additional detail are the new crop circles it leaves on the grass for the 1st and 2nd Doctors and Sarah Jane. Also, how they've remade the Death Zone landscape is very clever in order to show the Doctors approaching it from different directions, rather than that same view obscured by dry ice.

Awesome! Thanks

Thank you SO much for this.

This is amazing work, thank you! I always wanted to see the 1983 time scoop again as all the versions online that I could find have been the 1995 one. The black triangle is pretty terrible though...

I'm glad you captured all of Turlough's contributions to this story for this video :D

5:04 it's getting closer.

Still a missed opportunity not to have an establishing shot of the Timelord Citadel with a distant glowing white energy barrier in the distance covering the Death Zone to explain the grey Welsh sky.

Wonderful, Dan👏 I've been anticipating this video😎 The TARDIS console screen is a really good effect (must have taken some rotoscoping). And I like the subtle windows added to the back of the shot when the Cybermen are on the Pi floor. I liked the cloudy dematerialisation of the phantoms from the 1995 version though.

4:22 - after decades of pleading, they FINALLY fix the effect of seeing the Tower in the background, instead of black background studio space!! YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If only Tom Baker could have been in this :(

When the doctor is pointing to the screen on the console, you can still see bits of pink around his finger from the original graphics lol

( 2:49 ) My favourite new edition to the 2023 version! 😘

4:20 Still the best Dalek Death scene ever in every version.

The new shot compositions look great along with most of the other effects, the new Dalek effects turned out really well! One of my only gripes would probably be the new TARDIS console screen, I think the old, pixelated display suits it better in my opinion. Also, I'm not sure why they changed the sign outside of UNIT, it kind of sticks out and I don't really see why they needed to add the modern MOD and UNIT logos to replace the old sign. Other than that, I loved this! If, as I am led to believe, this was all made by one guy, I tip my hat to him!

I wonder what it would look like with the exterior shots colour graded to match the burnt orange skies we now know gallifrey for. Otherwise all these additions seem really cool, *thwack* (I do prefer the practical model of the tower though)

I prefer the original. I realise I must be in the minority, though. When I was a child I watched the original when it first aired. To me the orginal will always be the best.

I love the 2023 edition, the only thing I think the other special edition does better is the scene where Tom Baker is put back. With Shada now being a completed story it doesn't make much sense putting him back later in that story, whereas the special edition sticks him right back rowing.

Nicely done!

The only addition to the new effects I wish they'd made was adding a laser beam and explosion to Susan's pratfall when she leaves the Tardis. Very nice upgrades. I like the more subtle approach better than some of the more in-your-face stuff we had some years ago.

1995 is still my favorite. While the new time scoop in the 2023 version is kind of cool, I don't like the new look of Rassilon's tower.

Love the new new effects 👍

I like most of the changes, the addition of the second version of the Unit logo was something I particularly liked, but I don't know about the updates to the computer screen graphics of Rassilon's tower. Feels a bit revisionist.

The 2023 version of the Time Scoop kind of resembles the Eye of Harmony from The Deadly Assassin. Just an observation.

While most of these are a dramatic improvement, I feel the Raston Warrior Robot loses something with the addition of an effect. Not sure why.

The 2023 version isnt too bad, but i didn't like how they reinstated the 1983 shada footage and having the Doctors leave in the Tardis. In the 1995 version, the 4th Doctor and Romana are returned to the Thames River and the other Doctors leave via Time Scoop. Had they kept those two at the end, it would've been perfect.

While I love most of the new effects, the Raston Warrior felt far more effective blipping in and out of existence without the shiny CGI.

All so the special edition version of the five doctors was the first doctor who dvd to be released it came out on dvd in 1999 I have got it on dvd

I like most of the 2023 changes, especially the multiple tardises leaving the tomb at the end. But why on earth did they add SCANLINES to Rassilon's visage? What kind of idiotic creative decision was that? The whole point of Rassilon was that his tech was so advanced, his fellow timelords couldn't figure it out. That really sticks out as a blaring mistake, especially when they went through so much effort to completely replace the computer screens (very well, I might add).

Weird question but how where do you find 2023 and 1995 versions? I have watched episode on iPlayer in the classic doctor who section "five doctors"(to me it's weird how they put it as a separate season) and it was the 1983 original version

First it was the Vicious Triangle, then the Ominous Shroud, and now the Chess Piece of Doom.

I can't tell which clip refers to which date

So which images is from which year! You could have made it a little clearer

The effects from the 2023 version are by far my favourite, as they attempt to combine the original and 1995 versions and do so really well - particularly the timescoop. The black obelisk looks way better than either of the other versions but is still similar to the original. I also like the improvements to some of the other effects which may look a bit dated - the random lasers in the scene with 3, sarah jane, and the master; the chessboard floor scene; the cybermen's guns; and the dalek lasers. However, so many of the new effects seem totally pointless, such as replacing the original shots of the dark tower with new CGI; I quite like the original model shots. Also the addition of planets in the sky in the eye of orion scenes, and the change to the transmat effect - the original looked fine, there was no reason to change it. Finally, I prefer the inclusion of the Shada footage continuing on from the scene they were taken from, as in the 1995 special edition, since the original version of the story is now canon. The 2023 version going back to the original footage used makes no sense if Shada is to continue being canon in its current form.

1983 easily the best

The 5 doctors gives continuity too the second doctor being saved before his forced regeneration as a agent for the time lords outside of his allotted time, which is played out in the big finish episodes

Why is the Dalek death ray purple in the 2023 version?

I've never had a problem with the look of the original at all. It's weird to me that they're so fixated on tinkering with this effect tbh

Brilliant summary, thank you so much! It kills me that US residents have to wait for the set to come out! The ONLY complaint I have is they didn't go back an matte or composite something MORE treacherous-looking for when Sarah Jane goes tumbling down the gentle hill. Patching in a precipice or cliff, even for a few seconds, would have been awesome. Overall, everything looked amazing. The Cybergun effect and Raston warrior effects are gorgeous!

Still my fave dalek death to this day. The rest all seem so hollow.

Wait, was the Cyberman Aaaah cut from the 2023 version or the 1995 version? Thank you the side by side comparison. I might get the new version after seeing all the improvements.

Very interesting! Can I ask, is the 95 version presented on the set in HD sourced from the film? Or is it just the dvd release upscaled? Thanks

with A1 CGI AND DEEPFAKE this could be done adding Tom Baker and other companions and aliens villains monsters a whole new 5 doctors can be re-done. come on BBC do it

The original black spinning triangle is still the best.

I still prefer the 1995 version of the Time Scoop effect...

Wondering in another 10 years time what effects will they do? Will they have a new CGI Tom than old footage from Shada? Going back to 1983 original version, we see everyone how they were captured but, as for Susan we never see her get to the Death zone?

As an American fan, it is reported thAt we will not get this Collection until Jan’2024 - happy Who not-60th 🙄 There are a number of fine creative additions, visual and sound in this new edit. Want to view in total, to enjoy! I first saw “Five Doctors” in Dec’1985 on my local PBS. I’m from the time of 1969. First viewed random Tom Baker episodes in 1981. It took until 1991 to see all of McCoy. I saw McGann, in ‘96, when I was in Graduate degree. And, I drove from south Ohio, up across into Windsor CA’, booked hotel, to see “Rose” in April, 2005 on Canadian TV. Yet, wait for months after for the Blu-sets. …thanks for the comparison video, Who made this. 🙃

Rassilon in his Daddy Pig phase

I’ve never got a any of the blu ray releases. I spent virtually every spare bit of cash I ever had through my entire teens and early twenties getting the VHS. I spent a lot of time and money getting all the DVDs - an arduous and expensive task through my twenties, thirties and early 40s, made harder by the fact that I had a family and more important things to spend money on, like a roof o er our heads. And now I’m in my mid 40s and living in financially perilous times, I just can’t afford it. A few times I’ve been tempted and thought “wait a few months and save up” only to find that in a few months copies are scarce and the price doubles. I really wanted this set though, not least because I don’t like the 1995 edition of The Five Doctors. But now I’ve seen this, I don’t mind not owning it. The time scoop is a massive improvement on the Mr Whippy version and is closer in spirit to the original. But the original was inspired by the phantom zone from Superman, and I liked the idea of that almost two-dimensional shape spinning through the sky. It just needed more time and money that the original time scoop had. A big old obelisk physically landing on something before scarpering off looks clunky to me and lacks the elegance I’d associate with Time Lord technology. I don’t like the new transmat effect. It’s too much and really draws attention to the fact that it’s just a special effect done on a computer. The long shots of the tower, and the re-worked front door scenes don’t seem to add anything for me. Neither does the new version of The Doctor and Romana trapped in the time scoop. It was just done for the sake of it. I was also disappointed that they didn’t revert to the original Rassilon voice. I never did like the 1995 version of this as it sounded obvious that it had been tinkered with. Reinstating the TARDIS scene from Shada is an odd choice. It was fine when very few people had seen Shada. It was a handy bit of stock footage. But now that we’ve all had versions of Shada available to us for a while now it stands out and O think that they would have been better of taking a similar approach to the 1995 version. The bits I liked tended to be more subtle, like the moons in the sky at The Eye Of Orion and the viaduct near the tower. It was also brilliant to see the removal of those old BBC Electron graphics on the TARDIS console. I also really enjoyed the multiple TARDIS departure scene. And I’m so happy that they’ve reinstated the original harp tune. I did miss that since the special edition first came out and, because my VHS of the original wore out and wouldn’t become available on DVD until the 25th anniversary.

Took me a bit of time to work out which year was which 😅

with A1 CGI AND DEEPFAKE this could be done adding Tom Baker and other companions and aliens villains monsters a whole new 5 doctors can be re-done

I'd love to see them take old Doctor Who, remaster it to the highest quality possible, and add modern effects to it.

I know the 1995 version has different dialogue compared to the 1983 version in some places. Can anyone tell me if the 2023 version has any dialogue changes compared to the '83 version?

I've only ever watched the original broadcast version, but I have to say the 2023 edition here looks by far the best. There's a few bits of dodgy and unnecessary CGI, but that's far outweighed by mostly really nice work that elevates the original without overpowering it or detracting from it. Also just when I thought my favourite piece of campy rubbish fighting couldn't get better, they added a stock THWACK sound effect to the Brig punching the Master. Glorious.

Was never much of a fan of the 95 version, I saw the original one first so I'm biased. But the 2023 one really feels *right* in the sweet spot of original and new.

As a kid I loved the Dalek’s indiscriminate blasting but I prefer this modern (or ‘classic’), take with the beam rather than the bolts, plus the Dalek seems much more restrained when it’s firing less.

The 2023 version is a huge disappointment. I'd always liked the extra scenes in the 1995 edition but hated the effects, so for years I've been hoping that the bluray would give us an ultimate edition with all the extra scenes but more subtle effects that match the originals. Sadly this version is without the extra scenes and with extra effects that are just as bad and intrusive. The beauty of the original effects was that it left so much to the imagination - the 2-D black shape scooping people up just felt like it defied explanation, like it was higher technology from the dark times. The Raston warrior moved so fast he just disappeared? Was Rassilon a ghost, a hologram, or something more? These effects take everything so literally and feel the need to dumb everything down. Yeah the black shape is a device that beams people up using matter transmission...the robot uses a warping device to disappear...rassilon is just an interactive AI wth a bad loudspeaker...and even the Eye of Orion needs clarification as to it's alien location. It's like Doctor Who for toddlers, and when you consider that this was the first non-McCoy story Id ever seen back in the 80s, it was something i understood prefectly well back then. At least the other two versions are included so i can alternate between those kn subsequent viewings.

6:25 “ough”

They've yet again done a absolutely spendid job with the new effects on the blu ray. Unlike alot of the new effects that made it onto the classicwho dve releases these feel authentic & fit in pretty seamlessly with the original footage. Love the new time scoop, might be my favourite. It looks omnibus & imposing like the original but has more of a functionality to it. Brilliant stuff.

That time eddy has a serious identity crisis.

where would i be able to watch the 1983 version? I can only find newer ones

I actually liked the original better than both updated versions. The 2-dimensional triangle is reminiscent of the original 1978 Superman movie with the Phantom Zone.

the one thing i don’t see is why the master doesn’t just kill the first doctor in that scene like. if he kills the first doctor then the 2nd, 3rd and 5th doctors wouldn’t exist but its the master he’s a complicated fellow

Hmm I'm kinda mixed on the new FX for the 2023 version. I like the new cybermen gun FX and ditched the dumb slow mo dalek blowing up with that squeal sound. Though kinda a down grade it's not the exstended version and rather a remaster of the orignal 80s cut. Also don't like how the 2023 version kept the rather random and poorly edited in shot from Shada when the 4th Doctor was freed from the time vortax, i prefered it in the 90s version were he's shown being reterned to his Gondola. Also can't belive they add that generic stock punch sound effect when the Master gets knocked out XD

My only problem with the season 20 boxset is that some of the effects wonder off the 4:3 ratio and in this episode, the effects for the Raston Warrior Robot are forgotten in one scene and is literally it popping in and out, no effect. Other than that, amazing!

Not a fan of the new effect for the raston warrior. The original effect in its simplicity made it feel more eerie to me.

I prefer the 1995 version.

There's definitely some stuff I enjoy more about the '95 version, but over-all the 2023 one is very, very good

Well I’m an old crank - I prefer the original don’t know why lol

Brilliant video, cant wait until the standard packaging blu ray is released so I can afford it! I cant find the voice comparison video for rassilon though?