The Fourth Doctor transmits a distress call, as the Rani kidnaps the First and Second Doctors. The Seventh Doctor and Ace find themselves diverted to London's East End, in the vicinity of Albert Square, Walford. The Rani has trapped them in a time loop: as they bounce back and forth between 1973, 1993 and 2013, the Doctor's regeneration and the identity of his companion become unstuck in time. With the Doctor beginning to suspect the truth about the situation, the Rani unleashes the power of the vast intergalactic menagerie she has assembled.

By September 1989, it was clear that Doctor Who was about to be taken off the air for the second time in four years. Unlike the one-year production hiatus imposed in 1985, however, the programme's twenty-seventh season was unarguably a long way away -- if, in fact, it ever materialised. All of the plans being developed by producer John Nathan-Turner and script editor Andrew Cartmel for 1990 were abandoned. These included the departure of Ace midway through the year, the introduction of a new companion in the form of cat burglar Raine Cunningham, and possibly the Doctor's regeneration... although Nathan-Turner had harboured hopes of persuading Sylvester McCoy to remain for a fifth season as the Seventh Doctor. Officially, Nathan-Turner stayed on as Doctor Who's producer until August 31st, 1990, when he left the BBC to form his own company, Teynham Productions.

In fact, Teynham was part of a trend towards independent production companies creating content for British television. Increasingly, the BBC wanted these firms to develop programming which it could acquire, in a significant departure from its traditional in-house model. More and more, it appeared likely that this was where the future of Doctor Who lay. Amongst the companies who approached the BBC were Limehouse Productions, GAIA Productions, Saffron Productions (headed by former script editor Victor Pemberton), Coast to Coast (the company which had held the Doctor Who movie rights since July 1987), and a group spearheaded by former script editor Gerry Davis and Dalek creator Terry Nation. Although Nathan-Turner had long wanted to leave Doctor Who, Teynham also made inquiries, since it would help put the company on the map. Another production company said to be involved was Cinema Verity, run by Doctor Who's original producer, Verity Lambert. Cinema Verity denied this at the time, but would later publicly declare their interest in Doctor Who in early 1993.

Philip David Segal wanted to forge a production partnership for Doctor Who between Columbia Pictures and the BBC

But perhaps the most unexpected overture received by the BBC came in the form of a phone call on July 12th, 1989 to Roger Loughton, the Director of Co-Production at BBC Enterprises, the Corporation's commercial arm. It was from Philip David Segal, who was then working as a director of television development at Columbia Pictures in Hollywood. Segal had emigrated from England to the United States as a teenager, and he still retained fond memories of Doctor Who. Segal wanted to forge a production partnership between Columbia and the BBC, and had secured tentative interest in Doctor Who from the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), one of the major television networks in the United States. Columbia tendered a formal offer on October 18th, by which time the more junior FOX network was also a possible destination for the show. On October 27th, the BBC indicated that they did not want to rush into an agreement, and would not make any decision about Doctor Who until at least 1990. Furthermore, it appeared that the BBC was not interested in relinquishing full creative control to Columbia, as Segal had envisaged.

On November 29th, Segal -- who had recently been promoted to Manager of Drama Development at Columbia -- was contacted by Felice Arden, a producer working on the proposed Doctor Who feature film for Coast to Coast. Although Segal was underwhelmed by the Coast to Coast screenplay, they began discussing a deal whereby the motion picture would serve as a television pilot in North America, but remain a theatrical venture in the rest of the world. Columbia President Scott Sieglar was interested in this proposal but, by now, the network attached was CBS and they were less optimistic about the plan. In response, in January 1990, the BBC asked Verity Lambert to act as the BBC's representative in discussions with Segal. Shortly thereafter, Segal left Columbia to become the Director of Current Programming at ABC. Without his involvement, the Doctor Who deal with Columbia was effectively dead.

Throughout 1990, the BBC tried to keep Doctor Who fans placated with vague assurances that progress was being made to bring the programme back to television. Frustration peaked with a planned Day of Protest on November 30th, when fans were encouraged to jam the BBC phone lines with calls demanding the show's return. However, it was becoming clear that the only source of new Doctor Who for the foreseeable future would be in print. The comic strip in Doctor Who Magazine had been running since 1979, while Virgin Publishing's line of original novels -- known as Doctor Who: The New Adventures -- was so successful when they debuted in 1991 that the release rate was doubled the following year. Some quasi-Doctor Who videos also began to reach the market under the aegis of companies such as BBV, while Coast to Coast struggled to find funding and an acceptable script for their movie version.

Steven Spielberg gave Philip David Segal his blessing to restart discussions with the BBC

By the end of 1991, additional interest in producing televised Doctor Who had come from Naked Eye Productions, Dark Light, and former producer Derrick Sherwin. There had apparently also been discussions regarding an animated series. But Segal, too, was back in the picture. He had now left ABC to become a vice president at Amblin Entertainment, the production company run by Steven Spielberg, the famed director of movies like Jaws, Raiders Of The Lost Ark and ET The Extra-Terrestrial. Although Spielberg himself was not involved, he gave Segal his blessing to restart discussions with the BBC concerning Doctor Who, and his name value provided additional impetus.

On June 5th, Segal contacted BBC Head of Drama Mark Shivas. Things proceeded slowly but, by the start of 1992, Universal Television -- one of Amblin's primary backers -- had indicated their interest in a Doctor Who project. On April 27th, however, Segal was notified by Peter Cregeen, the BBC's Head of Series, that the Corporation still felt that it was premature to bring Doctor Who back to television. Undeterred, Segal found an ally in the form of Peter Wagg, producer of the eclectic science-fiction series Max Headroom. From around June, Wagg took advantage of his regular travels between California and the United Kingdom to keep the Doctor Who proposal visible within both BBC Drama and BBC Enterprises.

Formal negotiations for a co-production deal began on December 4th. However, matters were complicated by the fact that there were effectively now four parties involved -- BBC Drama, Amblin, BBC Enterprises and Universal -- each of which were keen to safeguard their own interests, especially with regards to budgetary commitments and creative approvals. On March 30th, 1993, Segal received a communication from Tony Greenwood, the Head of BBC Enterprises, who indicated that he no longer felt that an agreement was possible.

Meanwhile, on February 26th, Alan Yentob had been announced as the new Controller of Programmes for BBC One. Having previously occupied the same position with BBC Two, Yentob had demonstrated a fondness for science-fiction, and for Doctor Who in particular. For the first time in several years, the show had an advocate in the upper tiers of the BBC hierarchy. Viewing Yentob's appointment as an opportunity, Segal met with him on June 11th, prompting a new round of negotiations.

While all of this was going on, some attention was being paid to the forthcoming thirtieth anniversary of Doctor Who's debut on November 23rd, 1963. In September 1992, Cregeen had decided against authorising the production of a special episode. Instead, BBC Enterprises decided to fill the void with a direct-to-video celebratory adventure, reuniting the five living actors who had played the Doctor: McCoy, Colin Baker, Peter Davison, Tom Baker and Jon Pertwee. “The Dark Dimension” was announced on June 10th, the day before Segal's meeting with Yentob. It attracted unanticipated levels of interest, and BBC Drama belatedly agreed to become involved. It was now planned to broadcast “The Dark Dimension” on BBC1 on November 28th.

On July 9th, the BBC announced that “The Dark Dimension” had been cancelled

Almost immediately, however, the special ran into problems. One of the biggest roadblocks was thrown up by Segal: he expressed concern that “The Dark Dimension” might be unflatteringly conflated with the proposed Amblin co-production. Furthermore, it quickly became clear that the special could not plausibly be made within its established budget. Although filming on “The Dark Dimension” was due to begin on August 24th, the BBC announced on July 9th that the project had been cancelled.

Since 1980, the BBC had been running an annual charity appeal called Children In Need. In 1983, the twentieth-anniversary special, The Five Doctors, had aired as part of the telethon. Handel worked with BBC Features and was one of the organisers of Children In Need's 1993 edition. Aware that the appeal's broadcast would occur close to Doctor Who's thirtieth anniversary, he met with Nathan-Turner in May to discuss the possibility of creating a five-minute sketch to recognise the milestone. It would be an ideal vehicle for a special gimmick being employed for Children In Need: known as the Pulfrich Effect, it would allow viewers wearing special glasses to watch a programme in 3-D, but would not corrupt the 2-D image for the rest of the audience.

Although Nathan-Turner's immediate reaction was to refuse Handel's offer, his agent soon persuaded him that this would be his opportunity to bid farewell to Doctor Who on his own terms. Complicating matters was Handel's desire for Nathan-Turner to not only produce the special, but write it too. Although he had recently been giving lectures on screenwriting, Nathan-Turner had only limited experience in this capacity himself. Instead, he turned to a particularly enthusiastic student called David Roden. Aware that Roden had been an avid Doctor Who viewer in his youth, Nathan-Turner decided to invite him aboard the project.

Roden quickly developed a storyline entitled “Destination: Holocaust”, involving the Seventh Doctor, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart as played by Nicholas Courtney, and the Cybermen. Nathan-Turner immediately dismissed it as being too expensive. In addition, he and Handel had now decided to try to involve all of the surviving Doctors, rather than just McCoy, much as had been planned for “The Dark Dimension”. Handel also advised that the Pulfrich Effect would require the camera to be moving almost constantly, for which “Destination: Holocaust” had not accounted.

Nick Handel was eager for the sketch to include some element which would generate a lot of publicity

Moreover, Handel was eager for the sketch to include some element which would generate a lot of publicity. In response, Nathan-Turner suggested situating the special in Albert Square, the centrepiece of the BBC's successful soap opera EastEnders. Handel was amenable to this idea and, although the EastEnders production team was more cautious, they agreed to participate nonetheless. With the original five-minute project now bursting at the seams, it was decided that it should be expanded to two episodes. The second installment would be incorporated into Noel's House Party with Noel Edmonds, which would be broadcast the night after the main Children In Need programme. To give the sketch even more room, it was then agreed that Episode One would be extended to seven minutes.

Nathan-Turner wanted to give the project a title which would advertise the Pulfrich Effect gimmick. He suggested “3-Dimensions Of Time”, which Roden amended to “The Dimensions Of Time”. Nathan-Turner ensured that a scene was written to pair the Sixth Doctor with the Brigadier, since Colin Baker was the only series star who had not appeared on-screen with Courtney. It was hoped that the chief villain might be the Master, but when actor Anthony Ainley declined to participate, Nathan-Turner instead approached Kate O'Mara to play the Rani. The character had last appeared in McCoy's debut story, Time And The Rani, in 1987. Her assistant, Cyrian, was named for renowned Shakespearean actor Sir Ian McKellen, an acquaintance of Roden's whom he hoped might be convinced to appear in the role.

Originally, “The Dimensions Of Time” began with a pre-credits sequence in which Cyrian hunted a Cyberman for the Rani's menagerie, presaging a later scene in which he betrayed the Rani to the Cybermen. The purpose of the Rani's menagerie was to allow her to extract the best quality of each species in order to develop a super-race. The monsters encountered in Albert Square were all revealed to be holograms of the creatures trapped in the menagerie, and the Fourth Doctor was amongst those who appeared in Walford.

A key concern was to find a way to represent all seven Doctors in “The Dimensions Of Time”, even though both William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton -- who played the First and Second Doctors -- were deceased. It was decided that they would already be captured by the Rani, appearing as disembodied heads. Because of the 3-D nature of the broadcast, old stills of the actors could not be used for this purpose; instead, Nathan-Turner made arrangements with model makers Sue Moore and Steven Mansfield to construct maquettes of the two actors. This approach also served as a safeguard against the possibility of any of the other Doctors proving unable or unwilling to appear, as they could then be incorporated into the story in the same manner.

David Roden developed a new storyline which pitted the Doctors against the Celestial Toymaker in an amusement park

Unfortunately, in July, the EastEnders crossover threw up a major hurdle. The soap opera's production team had made allowances for just one day of recording on “The Dimensions Of Time” at their BBC Elstree facilities in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire. However, the time-consuming choreography which the Pulfrich Effect required meant that it would be impossible to complete twelve minutes of material in such a short timeframe. Nathan-Turner decided to start fresh without the crossover and, in July, Roden developed a new storyline called “The Endgame”, which pitted the Doctors against the Celestial Toymaker in an amusement park. The villainous entity had first appeared in 1966's The Celestial Toymaker, and Nathan-Turner had hoped to bring him back in 1986 for the ultimately-unmade “The Nightmare Fair”. Handel, however, was eager to retain the EastEnders crossover, and it was finally agreed that a second day at BBC Elstree could be set aside for “The Dimensions Of Time”.

In mid-August, it was decided that the end of Episode One should present viewers with a choice of how the story might be resolved, followed by a phone-in vote to raise more money for Children In Need. It was initially thought that there would be three options: the Brigadier saved the day, all of the Doctors joined forces, or the Doctor forged a telepathic link with the Rani. Soon, this was simplified to a choice of which EastEnders character would save the Doctor -- Christine Hewitt or “Big” Ron, played by Elizabeth Power and Ron Tarr, respectively. When Nathan-Turner learned that Power was being written out of EastEnders, the female option became Mandy Salter, as portrayed by Nicola Stapleton.

By now, Tom Baker had indicated that he was unhappy with his intended role in “The Dimensions Of Time”, so Nathan-Turner found a compromise wherein the ensnared Fourth Doctor, isolated from the rest of the action, would broadcast an appeal for help. The setting of the start and end scenes was also changed to Greenwich to accommodate McCoy; he had other commitments on the planned recording dates at BBC Elstree, but could make himself available the following day. Pertwee and Colin Baker were able to commit to the project, but Davison was tied up in reshoots on the family film Black Beauty, which might prevent him from taking part.

Although Nathan-Turner and Roden had both hoped to direct “The Dimensions Of Time” themselves, the assignment went to Stuart McDonald, as part of his duties for the main Children In Need programme. At one point, the Noel's House Party team had wanted their director, Arch Dyson, to make Episode Two, but it was soon agreed that this would render the production unnecessarily complex.

Tom Baker wanted to turn around to reveal a bullet hole through the Doctor's cheek

The first day of recording was September 21st, at Fountain TV Studios in New Malden, Surrey. The main concern was the material in the Rani's TARDIS; with Sir Ian McKellen having declined to play Cyrian, the role had instead gone to Sam West. Since the old TARDIS console room set had been accidentally junked following the completion of The Greatest Show In The Galaxy in 1988, it was originally thought that special effects could key the Rani and Cyrian into a miniature replica, much as had been done on Time And The Rani. However, the Pulfrich Effect precluded this, so a new set constructed for the Panopticon '93 convention by Andrew Beech of Dominitemporal Services was used instead, and paired with a refurbished version of the TARDIS console which had debuted in The Five Doctors. Tom Baker's monologue was also shot at Fountain, with the actor thoroughly rewriting his material. Bizarrely, he wanted to turn around at the end of the scene to reveal a bullet hole through the Doctor's cheek, but Nathan-Turner was able to convince him to settle for a bruise in the shape of a question mark.

The bulk of “The Dimensions Of Time” was then recorded on September 22nd and 23rd, on the EastEnders backlot at BBC Elstree. Although Davison had managed to ensure his availability, the roster of the Doctor's companions was a source of uncertainty. Amongst those who had hoped to participate but were ultimately unable to appear were Katy Manning (Jo Grant), Mary Tamm (the first Romana) and Janet Fielding (Tegan Jovanka). Almost at the last minute, Frazer Hines (Jamie McCrimmon) also had to back out due to a change in the shooting schedule for his soap opera Emmerdale; fortunately, Nathan-Turner was able to bring Carole Ann Ford (Susan) aboard at short notice. To play the various monsters, Beech helped with an appeal to various fans who owned their own costumes. Lorne Martin, who had been involved with a variety of Doctor Who exhibitions, also contributed a number of outfits.

September 24th, the fourth and final day of filming, took the cast and crew to Greenwich in London, beginning aboard and around the nineteenth-century clipper Cutty Sark. Here, Deborah Watling had to wear a cloak as Victoria, to hide the fact that her arm was in a cast following a recent rollerblading mishap. The material involving the helicopter was then recorded at the Royal Naval College, before the scene with Leela was taped at the National Maritime Museum and Queen's House. Louise Jameson had agreed to reprise the role of Leela on the condition that she would not wear her original, skin-baring outfit. Unfortunately, the best alternative that designer Ken Trew was able to find at short notice was an unflattering Hiawatha costume.

From September 25th to 27th, the Visual Effects Studio at BBC Television Centre in White City, London was home to model and effects filming for “The Dimensions Of Time”. In editing, shots of a Dalek were removed at the insistence of Terry Nation's agent, Roger Hancock. The special's title became Dimensions In Time to avoid confusion with the same-named second installment of 1965's The Space Museum.

Meanwhile, Nathan-Turner wanted a new arrangement of the Doctor Who theme music for the project, and he approached the Pet Shop Boys at Roden's suggestion. The band was too busy to accept the offer, but they did offer permission to use their new single Forever In Love instead; this idea was vetoed by Handel. The band Erasure subsequently agreed to participate, but not until it was too late for them to become involved. Instead, Nathan-Turner accepted the offer of fan Mike Fillis, who had played the Sea Devil at BBC Elstree and had taken the opportunity to give the producer a demo tape that he had created with Adrian Pack under the band name Cybertech. Their fast-paced arrangement was dubbed over an accelerated version of the McCoy-era title sequence, after the idea of adding the TARDIS to the EastEnders titles was deemed too costly.

The return of Doctor Who to BBC television for its thirtieth anniversary earned the programme its first Radio Times cover in ten years. It also drew tremendous ratings, with Children In Need's audience spiking by four million viewers for Episode One on November 26th. The telephone vote alone raised over £100,000, as Mandy (22,484 votes) bested “Big” Ron (17,044 votes).

Even though Dimensions In Time was just a romp for charity, it hinted at the enormous affection that the British public still held for Doctor Who. And, by now, it appeared that the BBC was finally ready to embrace that enduring popularity. After weeks of press rumours, the BBC had confirmed on October 28th that they were negotiating with Amblin Entertainment with the aim of bringing Doctor Who back to television...

• Doctor Who Magazine #209, 16th February 1994, “No Time (And Three Dimensions In Space)” by Mike Tucker, Marvel Comics UK Ltd.
• Doctor Who Magazine #249, 12th March 1997, “I Am What I Am...” by John Nathan-Turner, Marvel Comics UK Ltd.
• Doctor Who Magazine #255, 27th August 1997, “27 Up” by Dave Owen, Marvel Comics UK Ltd.
• Doctor Who Magazine #324, 11th December 2002, “Archive: Dimensions In Time” by Andrew Pixley, Panini Publishing Ltd.
• Doctor Who Magazine Special Edition #10, 13th April 2005, “Ride On Time” by Andrew Pixley, Panini Publishing Ltd.
• Doctor Who: Regeneration by Philip Segal and Gary Russell (2000), HarperCollins Publishers.
• Doctor Who: The Complete History #90, 2019, “Shada”, edited by John Ainsworth, Hachette Partworks Ltd.
• Doctor Who: The Eighties by David J Howe, Mark Stammers and Stephen James Walker (1996), Virgin Publishing.
• Doctor Who: The Handbook: The Seventh Doctor by David J Howe and Stephen James Walker (1998), Virgin Publishing.
• Doctor Who: The Nth Doctor by Jean-Marc Lofficier (1997), Virgin Publishing.