Tucked in amongst all the excitement of the anniversary there was one chance to see Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy in character (almost). This was in the FIve(ish) Doctors Reboot (aka Day of the Fish Doctor) Yes Colin did voice the Behind the Lens documentary and there were only five(ish) Doctors in this depending on how you count (Matt Smith and David Tennant also took part – fashionably Tom Baker did not, then again he was in the Day of the Doctor). Paul McGann also took part (subject to filming commitments) despite also getting The Night of the Doctor.

If you don’t know what I am talking about then pop over to the BBC and have a look for the thirty minute send-up. If not you won’t get all the in-jokes…

What was the Five(ish) Doctors reboot?

This documentary has its tongue firmly in its cheek as it traces the attempts of Davison, Baker and McCoy as they sneak into the Cardiff studios and attempt to get in on the Day of the Doctor despite there being no part for them. The style is very British – self-deprecating, silly and yet underneath most fans will have wished that there could have been some way beyond that already used to feature them all.

On their way they are aided by David Tennant and Jack Barrowman (about whom we learn a dark secret), we learn what it means to be the family of actor who has played the Doctor and meet Ian McKellen, Peter Jackson, Nick Briggs and Frank Skinner to name but some of the cameos.

Eventually they do (sort of) manage to get on set but, of course, Steven Moffat ends up cutting some of that material unknowingly. We do end up with the belief that maybe one scene remains…

The send-ups are great: Steven Moffat is very droll at rejecting all the telephone calls from the three actors and Russell T Davies makes an appearance (quel domage – not) equipped with special sonic eyes (not).

Overall it was a bit of fun and acted as a piece of light relief without diluting the power of the anniversary episode itself.