The LEGO Dimensions Doctor Who Title Sequence & Breakdown

Connor Johnston takes apart the Doctor Who LEGO Dimensions title sequence.

In the midst of a new series of Doctor Who, one can often forget that outside the televised episodes there is still an abundance of Who-related goodness to indulge in. This week, LEGO Dimensions has offered fans a first look at the special opening sequence that accompanies the Doctor Who Level Pack being released on the 6th of November. The complete Doctor Who level allows players to play as each of the thirteen doctors while encountering Daleks, Cybermen and other adversaries from the Whoniverse.

Before we begin our breakdown, you can watch the opening titles for yourself below:

Journeying through the mists of time, we enter the illuminating clockwork vortex. Lego gear pieces line the interior of the scene as we prepare to delve into familiar waters – with various surprise cameos along the way. The first incarnation to make an appearance in the titles is Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor, clutching as tightly as his little Lego hands can manage to a clockwork hand. Almost as sudden and fleeting as his regeneration into Capaldi, Smith is whisked of the screen and the scene continues.

Following Smith, Second Doctor Patrick Troughton once again makes his way onto “The Wheel in Space” … And actually achieves more screen time here than he did in the entire second episode of the Troughton story with the same title. Unlike the original “Wheel in Space”, this gear is not inhabited by Cybermen; for they’re far too busy being remarkably overused elsewhere.

Continuing through the vortex, David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor seems to be pulling a Captain Jack (Sparrow – not Harkness) in attempting to make like a hamster and outrun a turning wheel. Keen eye viewers will in fact notice that the Tenth Doctor is in fact running away from his fear of commitment, with a Lego Rose Tyler visible just outside the frame demanding he finish his sentences.

As we exit through the clouds of time, the titles find a spare moment to shoehorn an appearance from the Ninth Doctor – despite a tempting option to skip him. The Lego Christopher Eccleston was due to have quite a larger role in the titles sequence, but rejected the opportunity due to a behind the scenes dispute – and as such doesn’t appear at all. The Ninth Doctor you see here is actually a Lego Sylvester McCoy in a plastic wig.

The Time Vortex is revealed in its full glory. The beauty of this title sequence is that literally every inch of what is presented onscreen is constructed with digital Lego pieces. The amount of effort and skill used to create such a visual masterpiece once again stresses both the ability and exertion of the team behind Lego Dimensions.

As the TARDIS emerges from the vortex, so too does the Sixth Doctor Colin Baker, still searching for a script that can at least give the illusion of being a success. Of course I tease! Climbing and jumping through the very depths of time is simply the newest addition to Mel’s cardio routine. We can only praise Davros that the sequence doesn’t come with a running commentary from the carrot consuming fitness enthusiast herself.

If you listen closely, you can hear the horrified screams of Ainley/Davison shippers as the Fifth Doctor floats onto the screen, opting for an entrance that instead feels more like a tribute to Michelle Gomez’s Mary Poppins arrival in “Death in Heaven” – as opposed to his one true Masterly love. The Third Doctor Jon Pertwee can just be made out stranded on the back of a single planet – strikingly symbolic of his first three series behind the controls of the TARDIS.

It’s a crisis on two Earths as both the Fourth Doctor Tom Baker and Seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy fly in on their twin planets, the latter now in his own costume as oppose to a few seconds earlier. At this point the only thing that could make the trailer more enjoyable would be if Tom Baker tripped over his scarf. Honestly, the fact that this has never occurred is so illogical one would think his entire era was written by Peter Harness (I kid)!

The Eighth Doctor Paul McGann appears just as the titles manifest across the screen. Note his reliance on the giant letter’s spelling out ‘DOCTOR’, just in case he ever forgets who he is again.

Finally the Lego-Man of the hour himself, Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor explodes on the screen in tremendous fashion – winking to the audience as his giant decapitated head flies through space. Capaldi’s Lego figure itself is a triumph of the team behind Dimensions – made from 78% Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene and 22% Polycarbonate Plastics, meaning that in a way, the toy itself is **CUE DRAMATIC MUSIC DROP** – a Hybrid….

The title of the adventure explodes onto the frame as a lone Red Paradigm Dalek is booted off the screen quicker than its TV Show counterpart. “The Dalek Extermination of Earth” reads like a poorly written rip-off of the original poorly written rip-off “The Dalek Invasion of Earth 2150AD” – but at this point the Lego Dimension’s team have done more than enough to prove themselves, not even a shabby title could ruin this enthralling adventure!

Taking a page from ALMOST EVERY RUSSELL T DAVIES FINALE EVER, the scene opens up on the Daleks spreading death and horror across London. Funnily enough (despite only being shown for a mere 2 seconds of screen time), the opening shot of the Lego adventure showcases more consequence, scale and destruction in a Dalek invasion of London than in the entirety of “The Army of Ghosts / Doomsday” and “The Stolen Earth / Journey’s End” combined.

“Do not resist the will of the Daleks! All humans must present themselves for processing!” narrates Nicholas Briggs. We pan across to the TARDIS, having just landed – as it usually does – in the midst of chaos.

From the doors of the TARDIS the Twelfth Doctor emerges, now thankfully with a body connected to his head. “London… in the future. Or at least what’s left of it” voices Capaldi.

“Who else but the Daleks would cause so much destruction?”  – And one can confirm: this is one of the greatest things you will have watched this year.

LEGO Dimensions is on sale now, available to play on Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and Wii U. The Doctor Who level pack for is released November 6th for £26.99