One of the most unique eras in Doctor Who history and yet another big gamble the show was taking, a show with a premise on exploring time and space the show decided to all but take that idea away with the Third Doctor era. Instead settling for a home base setting with a larger ensemble of main characters and a more action based tone with the Doctor assisting UNIT with the alien invasion of the week, and even the Doctor himself leaning more towards violence than previously. It definitely succeeded with it’s new change of setting, giving the show a more homely feel, to the point where it was kind of sad when the UNIT days drew to a close and one by one each regular character would move on. So let’s get into some of my recommendations for the Third Doctor.
Spearhead from Space - Arguably the best Doctor intro the show’s ever done, it’s either that or Power of the Daleks, I called the latter the most important Doctor Who story of all time, but I’d say this one was just as important, not only proving the same idea would work twice but also the radical changes the show brought in following the fallout of The War Games. Pertwee hits the ground running with this new incarnation, stranded on Earth, but just in time to thwart an invasion by the Nestenes and their plastic terrors, the Autons. The scene of the Autons coming to life and marching through London is an all-time iconic scene and ten times better than how they did it in Rose!
Doctor Who and the Silurians - The often imitated but never duplicated, there’s been many attempts to tell the story of the Silurans (former rulers of Earth) awakening from hibernation only to find that the humans have taken over and the Doctor tries to bring peace to both races but is left horrified but the atrocites both sides would go to for survival. All these years later and they still can never top the original, every Silurian/Sea Devil story we’ve had both in the show and Big Finish has just been a lesser version of the original, some manage better but this will never be topped. Especially with one of the show’s greatest and darkest endings.
Inferno - Season 7 of Classic Who is my favourite season of all time, both Classic and Modern, what it lacked in quantity it made up for in quality, it just had this intensity and maturity that the show often doesn’t manage in whole decades worth of it. Which really is kind of the drawback of the Third Doctor era, Pertwee peaked literally from the start and it was kind of downhill from there, not a steep downhill slope, but the show did revert to a more traditional afterwards. Inferno being the ultimate highpoint of the Third Doctor era where the Doctor is forced to watch an entire world, very similar to Earth, consumed in fire and lava.
Terror of the Autons - Not as strong as the first Auton story, the greenscreen effects are laughably terrible and some were just baffling (why greenscreen the inside of a museum?!!?), there’s also some meandering as the Doctor tries to work out where to find the villain of the story. But speaking of which, we get our third piece in the trifactor of Doctor Who’s top villains in the Doctor’s own Professor Moriarty, the Master! Delgado just oozes charisma and charm with his first outing as the villainous Time Lord equal to the Doctor’s intellect, it also ups the scares from the Autons with some great creepy moments, not to mention one of the best stunt pieces you’ll ever see in the show.
The Daemons - The Master’s debut saw him appear in each story of the Season and here in the finale he finally gets his commupence in Delgado’s best work as the Master.
The Curse of Peladon - One of the Third Doctor’s early adventures beyond present day Earth in a story that feels closer to old school Star Trek in a lot of ways with an alien world going through a tumultuous political dilemma and a mystery surrounding the planet’s culture and royalty. It’s also the first time in the show’s history to feature a previous villain in a less atnagonistic role with the return of the Ice Warriors (the third villains to appear in more than one era of the show) adopting a more honourable approach.
The Three Doctors - This one always has a bittersweet feel to it, particularly around William Hartnell’s limited invovlement, obviously there was nothing anyone could do what with Harntell’s declining health and what we got from him was as good as anyone could hope for, but you do always wonder just how this story would’ve looked with Hartnell standing right there alongside Troughton and Pertwee. Nonetheless, The Three Doctors is a lot of fun, celebrating ten years of the show by bringing together the three Doctors in an epic clash with one of the Doctor’s childhood heroes, we get the return of Patrick Troughton who steals the show in every scene, introducing the brilliant dynamic of having multiple Doctors who struggle to work together with their wildly different personalities and egos clashing. And most of all we fittingly get the conclusion to the Doctor’s years of exile.
Carnival of Monsters - It’s like the show wanted to compensate for all the years of being mostly spent on present day Earth and so it gave us one of the strangest and most bizarre of stories where the Doctor and Jo become trapped in a tiny circus filled with all sorts of creatures, including the relentless and monstrous Drashigs. The buildup to their reveal I’m surprised isn’t listed in the show’s scariest moments, I just love that eerie silence and that barren empty landscape before these towering creatures burst from the ground!
The Green Death - This would’ve been a lot better if it were just four parts, at six parts there is admittedly a lot of padding and scenes that could’ve been trimmed or cut, but The Green Death does make for one of the show’s best companion departures and something Modern Who could really take a page out of. No sad music, no tears, no speeches, just a warm goodbye between the Doctor and Jo, the Doctor finishes his glass of wine and then silently leaves just as the party’s starting, and then solemly drives off into the night, perfect!
The Time Warrior - Much like the Silurians, the original Sontaran story still stands as the best, being our introduction to Sarah-Jane Smith also sweetens the deal admittedly.
Invasion of the Dinosaurs - If you were to ask me “Dan, I’ve never seen any episode of the Pertwee era, what’s it generally like?”, I can’t think of a better example than Invasion of the Dinosaurs, it’s probably the quintessential Third Doctor story; present day, UNIT, six parts, terrible monster effects (though the dinosaurs still look better than the ones from the Jurassic World trilogy!), an insane science project and Pertwee doing all the things we love from driving fast cars to beating people up to being irritated at the Brigadier! But it does earn some original points for featuring the first time a regular protagonist turns antagonist!
Shadow of the Past - Moving to Big Finish we have one of my favourites featuring Liz Shaw, I like Jo a lot, but to me Liz was the better companion of the two and it really sucks just how short lived her tenure was. One of the Doctor’s more independent companions who could match his intellect, or at least not get lost by it. Caroline John shines in a story that’s both a first appearance but chronologically a sequel to Library of Alexandria.
Find and Replace - As I said previously, I do like Jo a lot and her and the Doctor made for one of the show’s strongest pairings. In this story you can really feel the love pouring from Katy Manning that she had for Jon Pertwee, but we also get a more fun side to her with Manning pulling double duty as Jo Grant and trans-temproal adventuress Iris Wildthyme (think something along the lines of the drunken loud mouthed aunt you’re hoping missed the wedding invite)
The Last Post - Caroline John’s final performance as Liz Shaw prior to her death and she goes out in an aweomse story, a celebration of Season 7 as it takes place throughout the course of the season and revealling something quite sinister underneath all the alien threats the Doctor’s more occupied with.
The Scorchies - If I could sum this up in three letters, thos letters would be WTF! This was clearly James Goss adapting some repressed nightmares about the Muppets, Sesame Street or other puppet related shows, turning them into these firghtengly cheerful homicidal monsters!!! (But not bad singers)
Ghost in the Machine - A great horror piece with Katy Manning bringing a more chilling side to her, as is normally the case with great horror, the best thing to do is go in completely blind and let it creep under your skin.
The Third Doctor Adventures Volume 2 - Big Finish’s first attempt at fully recasting a deceased actor for the Doctor with Tim Treloar taking the reigns for the Third Doctor Adventures. Understandably this sort of idea people may not be comfortable with but hey, I didn’t hear many complaints about Richard Hurndall in The Five Doctors. And honestly, Tim Treloar does as good a job with the role as you’d hope, he really shines at bringing the Third Doctor to life, the second volume of the series notably features a unique villain, one who was an apprentice to a great and evil creature, a creature you could say truly was the master!
Landbound - An edition to Big Finish’s yearly writing competition where fans could submit a synopsis and excerpt and if they win, they get to have their short story written, produced and released! What I love about these yearly releases is they’re a lot more personal than your usual short story and Landbound is quite the touching tale of a former ship captain who becomes friends with a fellow traveller who too misses the oceans he used to sail
The Third Doctor Adventures Volume 5 - This set features the recasting of both Liz Shaw and the Brigadier, with Caroline John’s daughter Daisy Ashford filling the shoes of her late mother and talented impressionist Jon Culshaw filling the army boots of Nicholas Courtney. Both do their characters and original actors proud in the sequel to Inferno, nowhere near as strong as the original but an admirable sequel as the Doctor is faced with another outbreak from one of his most traumatising adventures and his only option is to find a cure once and for all
Still Life - A runner up to the Paul Spragg Short Trip competition, given the rare treatment of being a bonus feature (but only if you buy a subscription package featuring An Alien Werewolf in London), and honestly it should’ve been the winner! Anyone who’s had to deal with cancer in a family member may find this hits very close to home, but it’s done in such a beautiful way. It’s just a shame it’s tied to one of the worst audios I’ve listened to, 2019 in general was not a good year for the Monthly Range and An Alien Werewolf in London was a real lowpoint. As I mentioned with Home Again, Home Again in the First Doctor, you may be better off waiting for when Big Finish attempts their second relaunch of the new app if they intend on the bonus short trips being availalbe free of charge.
The Sacrifice of Jo Grant - This was my first time hearing Tim Treloar as the Doctor and I was immedietaly won over. Now any vetrans should know that a title like this and the premise they throw out there very early should always be taken with a bucket of salt! Not spoiling anything, but longtime fans really should know how this works by now! But ti’s still a great and heartfelt tale of Jo in her later years having one more day with her Doctor, as well as Kate Stewart getting one last opportunity to talk to her father.
Terror of the Master - A precursor to the Audio Novels that followed later that year, everyone know’s Jon Culshaw’s flawless impersonation of Tom Baker, but honestly his Pertwee often gets overlooked, it’s none too shabby either and he carries this story excellently, especially with his work as the Delgado Master, his most prominentaly featured appearance in Big Finish to date, I don’t know how much longer it’ll be before that inevitable appearance in the Third Doctor Adventures but Jon Culshaw’s as good a stand-in as you can get so I see no reason to delay any longer
The Third Doctor Adventures Volume 7 - That cover art is just depressing to look at, all the orignial actors featured on that cover are now gone! But what we get is one of the strongest sets in the Third Doctor Adventures, especially The Gulf with Sadie Miller stepping into her late mother’s shoes as Sarah-Jane Smith in one of the Third Doctor’s most atmospheric and unsettling stories, a lot of Lovecraftian horror with this storywhich just goes hand in hand with Doctor Who
Scourge of the Cybermen - My favourite Thrid Doctor story, we’d already had audios pitting the Third Doctor against the Cybermen, something we sadly never got on TV, but this story made me truly realise what a missed opportunity it was. This really nails that menace and terror the Cybermen pose, just by their mere presence and how they don’t even hve to do much to get people panicing, it’s Simon Guerrier’s finest work and a great start to the Audio Novels range.
New Recruits - Just getting it out of the way, I hate the intro music to The Diary of River Song, how did they not think to change it in the near decade this series went on for! It tries way too hard to be epic and impressive but it just comes off as loud and in your face. That said though, there’s a lot of good releases in The Diary of River Song range, some excellent ones even (Friend of the Family) and New Recruits was a fun set with an enjoyable finale with River and the Third Doctor working together.
The Annihilators - If you missed it at the time this story originally had a cover art ommiting the Second Doctor’s involvement so it was quite the shock when they pulled a last minute reveal. It takes what looked on the surface to be a solid but run of the mill Season 7 seven parter story that hits all the right beats of the era it pays homage to, and adds quite the wildcard with the Second Doctor and Jamie crashing the party! But there’s more to their involvement as this story mostly serves to set up the Second Doctor’s upcoming adventures in Season 6B
The Threshold - A welcome return of the Short Trips range after a year’s hiatus, The Threshold is less of a Third Doctor story and more one that features the Third Doctor with the Delgado Master taking centre stage in a story that’s more psychological and introspective of the Master’s character. Culshaw delivers his best work as the original renegade and I am looking forward to his proper first appearance in the Third Doctor Adventures
Kaleidoscope - The humour in this goes a little bit overboard at times as is usually the case with Alan Barnes but it’s still a very fun release that keeps you flummoxed as to where the story’s even going half the time.
AWOL - Hopefully not the last we’ll hear from the Short Trips but until then we have the Volume 12 box set, more focused on the Modern Who Doctors this time, and yet it’s the Third Doctor whos teals the show in a story that finally addresses the aftermath of The Silurians and the Brigadier’s actions, it also shows why the Doctor and the Brigadier’s friendship is so powerful even after all the arguments and clashes in morals.
Intelligence for War - Did anyone else think this would be a Great Intelligence story? Well anyways, this one’s a great edition to the Third Doctor Adventures with Daisy Ashford delivering her best work as Liz Shaw as she’s accused and imprisoned for treason
The Children of the Future - Part of this year’s mini-series Sontarans vs Rutans and the strongest of the set, thankfully it’s not necessary to listen to the other stories to get into this one (though I strongly can’t say the same for the finale!) as Sarah and the Brigadeir investigate the Doctor’s suspicious behaviour involving the Sontarans sworn enemies the Rutans.
Deathworld - As I said with The Three Doctors, there was always that bitter feeling with how limited with First Doctor’s involvement was. Thankfully we get the story that truly brings the three Doctors together in the original planned tenth anniversary story, vastly different from what we got on TV which is exactly what the Lost Stories range is meant for. I’ve never viewed the Lost Stories as canon so to speak but more an intriguing glimpse as to how things could’ve been if matters had worked out differently. Deathworld is a great what if glimpse into Doctor Who history.
The Quintessence - We really did lose out by not having the Third Doctor square off with the Cybermen. This is a new line of canon where the Doctor reunites with an older Jo and the two resume their travels. I was initially against this idea in principle, but given that Katy Manning’s almost 80 now, it would be silly for her to keep putting on that same mid-20s voice from over 50 years ago, so I do get why they’ve taken this new approach. And in any case, it’s still an amazing Cyberman story one that focuses more on the horrors of what it means to become a Cyberman which Big Finish almost always excel at. One of this year’s best releases
And that’s my list for the Third Doctor, I’d love to read any of your recommendations, anything you agree or disagree with, till tomorrow folks!