Posted in: Movies, TV | Tagged: doctor who, live, rifftrax, Rifftrax Live, The Fife Doctors
Two Geeky Loves Coming Together: 'Rifftrax' To Riff On 'Doctor Who' Classic Episode
Like chocolate and peanut butter coming together to form a tasty treat, we're going to be getting the geeky equivalent of a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup this August when Rifftrax will be taking a lick at the old Doctor Who episode "The Five Doctors" for a live broadcast. Rifftrax has been performing live riff shows for a few years now, where the crew will take over a theater somewhere in America and broadcast it live to theater chains across the country. In fact, they'll have one coming up soon on April 13 and 18 featuring the film Samurai Cop in case you're wondering what the experience is like.
For Doctor Who fans, this may be particularly enjoyable, as they'll be riffing one of the best and worst episodes in the entire show's legacy: "The Five Doctors." In short, it's a major crossover episode where old and new versions of The Doctor team up to solve an ancient puzzle of the Time Lords that may have troubling significance. It's primarily known for not featuring Tom Baker (the fourth Doctor) in a live setting, as he was burned out from playing the role for eight years, so they used footage of an unaired episode called "Shada" that was never completed due to a strike to add him in. It also features footage of William Hartnell (the first Doctor) as well as Richard Hurndall playing him on camera alongside Peter Davison (fifth), Patrick Troughton (second) and Jon Pertwee (third). It had all the makings of being a massive success for the show's 20th anniversary in 1983, but fell short in the eyes of fans.
Now these two geeky forces will collide head on in what will probably be a bittersweet night for fans of both as one completely destroys the other. Here's hoping we get some guest riffers to pop in and make fun of the episode while it happens. Wouldn't it be cool to see some Doctor Who folks come by and make fun of it, too? Probably won't happen, but a geek can dream.