Time Crash by: Steven Moffat and directed by: Graeme Harper

 

“Time Crash” stars David Tennant and Peter Davison as the Doctor.  It was written by: Steven Moffat and directed by: Graeme Harper with Phil Collinson as Producer, and Russell T. Davies and Julie Gardner as Executive Producers.  It was originally broadcast on Friday 16 November 2007 on BBC One.

 

After “Born Again” established a connection between the revival of Doctor Who and the Children in Need telecast that would continue for a number of years beginning in 2005.  2006 did not see the production of a mini-episode, but a charity concert of Murray Gold’s music for the first two series, but Russell T. Davies decided 2007’s involvement would bring back a mini-episode, though not written by Davies.  Davies approached Steven Moffat who had already written for the 1999 Comic Relief appeal in the 20 minute The Curse of Fatal Death.  Moffat believed this would be the perfect opportunity to bring back a gimmick from the classic show, the multi-Doctor story, using this as an opportunity to write for his personal favorite Doctor, Peter Davison’s Fifth Doctor.  Davies agreed, Davison was contacted, and “Time Crash” was born.  The special would be shot during the production of the fourth series where producer Phil Collinson decided to step back for several production blocks, “Time Crash” being part of the fourth production block of the series, the third to be produced by Collinson.  Graeme Harper who would helm the second, seventh, and ninth production blocks would take directorial duties from this block’s previously assigned director James Strong, being made in parallel with the episode “Partners in Crime”.

 

“Time Crash” is essentially just a single scene where the TARDIS goes wrong and the Fifth and Tenth Doctors can interact with one another and David Tennant can act like a kid in a candy store around the Doctor he also grew up with.  Moffat’s attempts at the plot are that the TARDIS needs to be fixed, resulting in a predestination paradox that does not get resolved before the Fifth Doctor is sent back to his TARDIS and the Tenth Doctor crashes into the Titanic leading into the 2007 Christmas Special “Voyage of the Damned”.  Now, Moffat’s script does make it so the Tenth Doctor is portrayed as the superior Doctor, a common trope in this story, before using the character as a mouthpiece for himself to lay heaps of adoration on the Fifth Doctor which serves the short, seven minute clip well.  Peter Davison is also clearly having a blast coming back to the role, even if for a brief moment.  Graeme Harper is also reuniting with Davison in the director’s chair, Harper helmed The Caves of Androzani during the Davison era, and the way Harper shoots the TARDIS for this scene is incredibly dynamic.  Really, this segment just called for a static shot, but Harper always keeps things interesting and fun to watch for the seven minutes.

 

Overall, “Time Crash” is another excellent little short produced for Children in Need, not really advancing characters but providing a nice scene of fanservice all in the name of charity from a fun script, to two very good actors, and one amazing director.  7/10.