The other half of the Tales has three of the surviving Doctors encounter one of their companions in the "Memory TARDIS", which is explained a little more here. It seems to be a sort of memory space for the ship and needs refuelling from stories - hence why it brings people here to sit and recall an old adventure round a little Thirteenth Doctor console room model which acts like a campfire.
The producers insist it's canon, but I'm not treating it as such - at least not yet. In his interview for SFX magazine, RTD2 states that these will have some relevance in the next series. Will have to wait and see.
First up we have the Fifth Doctor reunited with Tegan. This one's written by RTD2 himself. The story they recall is Earthshock - one you'd think they would hardly have problems remembering. Their memory of events isn't quite the same as mine, as mine has better special effects...
(Whilst it's great that all this material is now on the i-Player, it can never beat the physical media releases, which offer all the extras - including the new CGI options).
In actual fact, they do remember the story, just try not to, due to the demise of Adric.
The Sixth Doctor / Peri instalment is written by Phil Ford. Their story is Vengeance on Varos. Now that the Doctors are involved, we get a bit more information about the "Memory TARDIS" and how it functions. This one ends with Peri and the Doctor heading off on a few more adventures before they have to return to their other lives. Peri wishes to get back to Thoros Alpha first, to take part in a memorial service for King Yrcanos.
If these things look familiar, then it's probably those trailers Pete McTighe creates for the Collection box sets. Whilst some of them can easily be seen as canon, others cannot, like the one for Season 23.
Some of the impact of these Tales has perhaps been lessened by the more recent appearances of characters in those trailers, and those sections of The Power of the Doctor where we saw certain reunions occur only a year ago.
McTighe provides the final Tale, and of the Doctor trio it's my favourite. That's because it is the only one that really feels like a genuine continuation of the era. As well as recalling The Curse of Fenric - the Special Edition version - they discuss a lot of their adventures. We also get a hint of the circumstances under which Ace left. This ties in with comments made in The Power of the Doctor which suggested some falling out.
Like the Sixth and Peri, they set off on one more adventure, and a nice touch is them recalling Sylvester's speech at the close of Survival, with Ace delivering a funny Scottish accent. Whilst the others go for the emotion of the situation, this one is a lot more fun.
On the face of it, the Tales are all about old companions, and some of their Doctors, remembering the past, but each then goes on to show how the companions benefitted from life in the TARDIS, and as much as it's nice to remember, they have new lives which are just as exciting. Look back by all means, but seize the day and live the life you've got.
I'm glad I watched these, but as I will prefer to rewatch these stories on Blu-ray in future, I can't see myself ever revisiting them. A harmless bit of fluff for the anniversary, to incorporate old Doctors and companions, it's a real pity they had to trowel on the emotion so thickly in most of them.
As well as the suggestion of links into the forthcoming series, it is also maintained by the producers that we may get more of these, framing other stories from the archives. These may not involve Doctors and companions, but rather guest characters who featured in them, where the original actors are still available.
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