Third Doctor Summary

When Barry Letts took over Doctor Who, he instituted a new era that had been set up by his predecessors as a means of making the show both more relatable and less expensive to produce. Thus the Third Doctor era, even when finally granted a repaired TARDIS, felt so much different than any other era of the show. It wasn't the Doctor and a companion(s) thumping around the universe but a Doctor with a home base and support staff on Earth. That brought about both pros and cons and I think for me, that is a good summary of the Third Doctor era, pros and cons.

When I look back on the Third Doctor era, I can't help but notice that although there are several stories I quite enjoyed, I could never go the full nine yards and say that these stories were deserving of the full 5 rating. There was always something that bugged me about each story. But on the other hand, I can recall very few stories that left me with a strong desire not to watch them again. In fact, several of the stories that are regarded as clunkers of the era (such as The Time Monster) I actually found reasonably enjoyable. So while the show didn't hit the highest of highs, it also avoided the lowest of lows.

What the Third Doctor era usually comes down to is how much James Bond you want in your Doctor? For the three seasons in which Barry Letts was in complete control and Jo Grant served as the companion, the Doctor was usually quite James Bond. My principle complaint about this is that the stories tended to take a similar tone and get meandering. The Doctor would rely a bit too much on defeating the enemy in a physical battle or in whipping up a quick device that would shut things down. What's more, these solutions tended to go very last minute which made the prior episodes (and often it was 5) feel like there was just a lot of wheel spinning.

The best third Doctor stories usually took a more intellectual tone and operated in the grey area where neither side was wholly good or evil, or were a snappy adventure which kept things bouncing from point to point and resolved themselves in a proper manner. Lesser stories wandered around too much with repeated action or slap-dash fixes that made the rest of the story pointless.

Similarly, the nature of the Third Doctor played a large role in the appreciation of his stories. Throughout his era, with perhaps the exception of his very first in which he is channeling the Second Doctor, the Third Doctor is a pompous ass. That can be played well for laughs from time to time or if he is challenged by those he sees as lessers but who are able to match him from time to time. One of the reasons Season 7 is so highly regarded is due to the intellectual heft that can be brought by Liz Shaw and to a lesser extent Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. Even Jo brings a bit of practical grounding here and there which works with the Third Doctor, and even brings out his compassionate side from time to time. Stories where he is allowed to be pompous and have no checks usually fall a bit short.

The Third Doctor era should be recognized as one of the best in terms of the companion. The Brigadier is a constant and often good counterbalance to the Doctor. Lesser stories in this era slip into the trap of making the Brig seem like a shoot first buffoon, which is not within his character at all. He is at his best when he brings practicality against the Doctor's high mindedness and naiveté. Of the three regular companions, Liz Shaw is my favorite, being able to go toe to toe with the Doctor intellectually and meshing well with him in a Holmes-Watson like manner. Jo is also endearing, especially once they reduced the volume of "she's a klutz" jokes. She operates much like a ward for the Doctor, being instructed by him but also opening his mind to new possibilities here and there. Sarah Jane is Sarah Jane but she is sharper when first introduced. She's too much of the stereotypical view of Women's Lib so that while she is entertaining and enjoyable, she can also be grating while spouting tropes. So while I love Sarah Jane, I think she's probably my least favorite of the Third Doctor companions.

I think one of the grand ironys is that the Third Doctor era may end up as one of the highest average scores of any Doctor era and yet I think it would likely be one of the least likely for me to grab to randomly watch. I can appreciate consistency but when you get an itch to watch a story, its usually because there is a certain hook and a lot of the Third Doctor stories lack that hook. It's a good era, well made and well acted for the most part. But unless there is a certain draw from that particular characterization of the Doctor, I could see it considered as something of a lesser era. Unlike some of the later eras when there is open debate as to whether a certain era is good or note, if someone says they don't care for the Third Doctor era, it's usually let lie. People like it or they don't and there is a respect for those that don't. Of course, even those that don't usually point out that they think it a well made and acted segment of the show. So even when not caring for an era, it is respected and I think that's more where I fall. I respect it, think a number of stories are pretty good, but don't think of it ahead of other eras, even if they have stories that are more likely to be junk just because I feel the ride is more memorable.

Highest Rated Story: The Green Death - 4.5

Lowest Rated Story: The Dæmons - 1.5

Average overall rating: 3.375

Spearhead From Space
Doctor Who and the Silurians
The Ambassadors of Death
Inferno
Terror of the Autons
The Mind of Evil
The Claws of Axos
Colony in Space
The Dæmons
Day of the Daleks
The Curse of Peladon
The Sea Devils
The Mutants
The Time Monster
The Three Doctors
Carnival of Monsters
Frontier in Space
Planet of the Daleks
The Green Death
The Time Warrior
Invasion of the Dinosaurs
Death to the Daleks
The Monster of Peladon
Planet of the Spiders