Live in living colour, back on your televisions again, is the man who’s going to make Doctor Who a trilogy–Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor. Amazing. I’m the lot of you were worried about your favourite black and white bow-tied Pat Troughton, after he was sent off, without any friends by his side, without a working TARDIS, into the swirly unknown of the vast reassess of space and time.
Prepare to go from a clown to a dandy, and a budget of now three whole ham sandwiches, ormore like two and a quarter. It’s time to let the 70s take hold.
So many things are different about this era. Where to even begin? With the obvious, of course. COLOUR! Mystical, wonderful, colour. It’s actually a bit funny how it took till the 1970s for Who to come into the technicolour dream land. And actually, for a while the only surviving copies of the early Pertwee episodes were the black and white transmitted ones, thanks to the great burning of What The Hell Is Wrong With You BBC. Thankfully, all masterfully re-coloured for our DVD and video cassette viewing pleasure. (And actually now a Blu-Ray Steelbook, which this nerd has to get their hands on) Of course, that didn’t come with it’s complications because there was a struggle to handle the coloured cameras. And in fact, the cameramen sort of walked out. Whoops. So in the end, they had to record the whole thing on film…proper film. The only episode to have that have that happen.
But yes, we finally just get our first glances of the bluest blue in the universe. As our new Doctor stumbles out of the TARDIS, and a UNIT solider nearly shoot him. Go UNIT. Five-rounds-rapid, all the way.
And then after moaning about his shoes and stealing some foppish fellow’s rad clothes and his roadster, the action-packed Doctor springs into action. To fight off the Autons, yes, the window shop dummies from the first Ninth Doctor episode. Except SUPER FRIGHTENING BECAUSE YOU SEE PEOPLE GET SHOT AND MUCH LIKE THE MONDASIAN CYBERMEN IT’S THE EYES. THE PLASTICY FACES. GOD. WHY. FREAKING HECK.
What makes the Third Doctor era so special and different? The Doctor himself. Jon Pertwee himself was a man of action, a former spy, once in the military, and nearly died a bunch of times but didn’t. A shock of white-blonde hair, searing blue eyes, and the body to keep up with things that his predecessors never could.
Did I just call Pertwee hunky?
Of course I did.
So much of Jon Pertwee is infused into his Doctor that it’s hard to tell where Three stops and Jon begins. His love of cars is seen in all the fantastic vehicles the Doctor is seen operating, from hovercrafts, to the bright yellow roadster Bessie, to the actual car of Mr Pertwee–the Whomobile. The Doctor was always jumping onto something. The Venusian Akido, a fighting style that took down everything from Silurians to Living Plastic, is exclusively involved with the Pertwee era.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cr98Piiqh_Y?rel=0
The fashion of the Doctor as well was now well altered. No more Victorian gentleman or baggy hobo. This is a Doctor of finesse and elegance, with rich velvet frocks and elegant silk capes from every colour under the sun, with a ruffle shirt to complete the look. He’s got style, he’s got flare.
The era also gave us the now iconic and ultimate arch-nemesis of the Doctor, the fabulous and fierce. He is the Master, and you will obey. Played by the late Robert Delgado, the Master is beyond amazing and iconic. He’s got mind control, he’s got disguises, he’s got the Doctor’s number and isn’t afraid to mess with him. Hell, there’s like a season and half where every weak the monster/scheme of the week is because of him. He’s got silly aliases. He’s not the best at plans. But he is amazing. He’s threatening and he is something that brings the era into the spotlight. The show as a whole would be poorer without him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHHnO0CdgnU?rel=0
But the Pertwee era suffered from what has become known as stereotypical Doctor Who problems. The budget. Yes, they could now film on locations and get fantastic vehicles and explosive effects and support Liz Shaw’s hairstyle changing every episode. But due to that lack of budget, the entirety of the first season and most of the second involves only adventures on Earth. Until of course the BBC–I meant the Time Lords–gave the Doctor back his budget—I mean, ability to fly his TARDIS.
But that also gives the era a charm. We’re stuck in the militaristic world of UNIT full of guns and uniforms and un-named extras dying every week. But it makes the era so distinct, so separate from any era that comes before or after it. You grow to love UNIT, the practical scientific side of Who is given more of a chance to be explained and allowed to breathe. It gave us action packed awesomeness but also kept it’s story and it’s characters. There’s a reason why character’s like the Brigadier and Jo Grant are so prevalent and so popular even today.
The Brig’s met nearly every Doctor in some form or another, and Jo was just back during the Sarah Jane Adventures. It’s not a fluke that they’ve endured.
Speaking of which.
-takes a deep breath- Sir Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. God, his drivers license must be huge. Thanks to him, UNIT, the United Nations (Well, now Unified Nations but ech, politics) Intelligence Taskforce was born. He had met the Doctor before, back when the world was still monochrome and the Yeti were attacking the Underground. And then again when the Cybermen had decided to also try their hand at taking over London. So here he is, the strong and mustached Brig, played by the dashing and iconic Nicholas Courtney, whose answer to everything is to pump it full of led, properly of course. He’s always seems to be at his wits end with the Doctor’s antics and yet everything is perfectly under control with him at command. He knows what he’s doing, and fear is not in the Brig’s vocabulary. Who wouldn’t want to charge into battle the Brigadier at the helm?
Doctor Elizabeth Shaw, also known as Liz played by the brilliant Caroline John. As fiery as her red hair, wit sharper that a bayonet, intelligence far beyond what I’ll ever achieve. She’s got degrees in everything science and she won’t let you forget it. She was meant to be UNIT’s new scientific adviser and oh look the Doctor’s here, you can be his assistant. Which she takes so sassily and saltily, that I just made up two words to describe it. She’s obviously clever and so very independent, and in fact she leaves because she’s sick of handing the Doctor test tubes and telling him he’s brilliant. Her banter with the Brig is amazing and a sight to behold and she’s easily one of the sadly forgotten, but strongest female companions the show has ever produced.
Sergeant John Benton, actual puppy, played by John Levene. I love Benton. You love Benton. Everyone loves Benton. He’s a Sergeant in UNIT, and yet he’s an adorable sweetheart. He’s not afraid to use his gun, but he has such a kindness, such a big heart, and you just want to protect him from all the bad things coming his way. He’s the Brig’s left hand man, loyal and there to charge into the fray. Even if he doesn’t get everything right, he’s the farthest thing from bumbling. But not afraid to make jokes and ask questions and unexpectedly appear naked after being turned into a baby. Only Sargent Benton could this happen to.
Captain Mike Yates! Played by the lovely Richard Franklin. The right hand man of the Brigadier. He’s sarcastic and smart, jokingly teasing not only the Doctor but also his superior officer the Brig. He and Benton are often paired up during these weekly adventurers. And they are just the perfect combo. The tragedy of Yates is how the loyalty and the trust UNIT has in him is destroyed due to a terrible mind control encounter and you see a character who you can’t help but like and enjoy watching fall so far. But that’s what makes Yates wonderfully complex and also wonderfully human. His flaws aren’t reasons to despise him.
Jo Grant, adorable precious and cute Jo, played by the just as quirky and eccentric Katy Manning. Jo is fantastic. Too often is Jo seen as the worst that a companion can offer: the mini-skirt, go-go boots, rings, always asking questions. But really, that’s all superficial. Jo fought against the Master’s mind-control by spouting nursery rhymes, she nearly sacrificed herself to save the Doctor multiple times, she really become the best friend of the Third Doctor. Able to handle herself, but much like the Doctor you might have to grab her by the hand and help guide her way. Just to make sure. Jo is just so bubbly and bouncing, eternally curious but also eternally cautious. She can make friends with all sorts, and be the kind ear when the Doctor needs a listen. I love Jo, and you should too. And when she leaves to go get married to a hippy named Cliff, the heartbreak on the Doctor’s face is our heartbreak as well.
Sarah Jane Smith
~An Interlude by M.H. Norris~
On this part, Tina has graciously allowed me to take over their article and have another chance to sing the praises of my favorite fictional character, Sarah Jane Smith.
Of course, we know that the wonderful Sarah Jane Smith was played by the equally (if not more so) wonderful Elisabeth Sladen.
Lis received a call from her agent (actually her husband, Brian left it on a note) that she had an interview the next day for Doctor Who.
Going in, she read for a part of a girl named Sarah Jane. Through a series of events, she ended up on location with Jon Pertwee and meets him there. What she didn’t know at the time was that he had asked to be included in the casting process of this next companion.
Why is that?
Apparently, there was a companion that almost was. A woman was cast but the chemistry between her and Jon wasn’t what it needed to be so eventually she was let go. This put the production team extremely far behind, so far behind that Lis didn’t even get to sit at the table read for The Time Warrior and didn’t meet most of the cast and crew until she joined them to film.
How did we meet my favorite companion?
The Brigadier brings the Doctor to a research facility. Scientists have gone missing and the Brigadier hopes the Doctor can provide insight. He meets a scientists named Rubeish who tells him that there’s another woman, Lavenia Smith, who is also staying on that floor.
A couple minutes later, this young plucky woman walks in and introduces herself as Lavenia Smith. The Doctor quickly sees through her charade and she reveals that she is Lavenia’s niece, Sarah Jane Smith.
Little did Sladen know how much this new gig would change her life. She talked about stepping into the TARDIS for the first time as she started filming in her autobiography. “But I remember how excited I was stepping in there for the first time. The door closed and the importance of what I was about to do suddenly hit me. It was a massive moment. I was entering that funny blue box as Lis Sladen but I’d be emerging as Sarah Jane Smith.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZ5NqVfAOUU?rel=0
Let’s take a second to note that Sarah Jane making it out of her first serial unscathed was nothing more than sheer dumb luck. She sneaks into the TARDIS without the Doctor’s knowledge and then proceeds to sneak out in the Middle Ages and end up in the middle of events beyond what she could have imagined.
At the end of it all though, she’s made a new friend and is about to go on an adventure that will change her life forever.
I love the relationship Sarah Jane and Three have. It’s very different from her relationship with the later Doctors she will interact with. This “older” Doctor helps to smooth the rough edges of Sarah Jane’s youth. A good description is that, at times, Sarah Jane emulates that relationship with the kids from Bannerman Road in the Sarah Jane Adventures.
For five serials–for just 26 episodes–this dream team (my favorite Doctor and my favorite companion) went on adventures. She faced Sontarans, Ice Warriors, Dinosaurs, Daleks, and Spiders before we bid farewell to Jon Pertwee’s Doctor.
Sarah Jane also gets another distinction. While Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge Stewart may hold the record for most Doctors he’s interacted with, Sarah Jane is in second place. Between primary canon and EU material, she’s interacted with every Doctor besides Nine, War, and Twelve.
Sadly, all good things must come to an end. Jon decided that he needed to be paid more for the work he was doing. When the powers that be wouldn’t give him a raise, he decided it was time for him to leave. Lis was devastated. She knew this before her first serial had aired.
One of the lines in her autobiography never ceases to break my heart when I read it.
The Doctor was leaving. I hadn’t seen that coming and Jon hadn’t either, I think. To be fair, he seemed content with his decision, which was great. Where it left the programme, however, I had no clue. Would they replace him? Could they replace him? And if they did, would the new Doctor want me?
Would the new Doctor want Lis Sladen? Who wouldn’t want Lis Sladen?
And as we wrap up his run, we need to note how Pertwee’s send off changed Doctor Who canon forever. The Third Doctor’s last serial, Planet of the Spiders, Three seems to know what’s coming (I actually have a theory on that but that’s for another post someday). Towards the end of the episode, we meet the Doctor’s old mentor K’anpo – a fellow renegade. He regenerates, and uses that word to describe it. In that moment, on that screen is the first time that word is used to describe the act. A word that is so common to Whovians today didn’t exist until June 8, 1974–over 10 years after the show first appeared. When the first Doctor regenerated on October 29, 1966 and the Second on June 21, 1969 this process was referred to as renewal.
In one part of one serial, Doctor Who canon was changed forever and we gained the word regeneration. We also see the first non-Doctor Time Lord regenerate on screen.
Conclusion
~Tina Maria DeLucia~
While the Third Doctor Era is often said to be all action, there is very good substance. Does the end justify the means? Was the Brigadier correct in destroying an alien race, even one that had killed large groups of human life, even if it would be like genocide? How far are you willing to go to save a doomed world? When can you let someone go?
There’s a beautiful speech by the Doctor, while he and Jo are locked up. As she describes his home planet, a planet with a name now–Gallifrey. He says things so wistfully, childhood nostalgia and yet sorrowful memories of a place he’d never like to go back to. A moment in time when the Doctor finally realized the beauty in the world. It’s such a quiet moment in a usually loud flashy era. And it’s moments like that, that seem to shine.
JO: What happens if the Master wins?
DOCTOR: Well, the whole of creation is very delicately balanced in cosmic terms, Jo. If the Master opens the floodgates of Kronos’ power, all order and all structure will be swept away, and nothing will be left but chaos.
JO: Makes it seem so pointless really, doesn’t it.
DOCTOR: I felt like that once when I was young. It was the blackest day of my life.
JO: Why?
DOCTOR: Ah, well, that’s another story. I’ll tell you about it one day. The point is, that day was not only my blackest, it was also my best.
JO: Well, what do you mean?
DOCTOR: Well, when I was a little boy, we used to live in a house that was perched halfway up the top of a mountain. And behind our house, there sat under a tree an old man, a hermit, a monk. He’d lived under this tree for half his lifetime, so they said, and he’d learned the secret of life. So, when my black day came, I went and asked him to help me.
JO: And he told you the secret? Well, what was it?
DOCTOR: Well, I’m coming to that, Jo, in my own time. Ah, I’ll never forget what it was like up there. All bleak and cold, it was. A few bare rocks with some weeds sprouting from them and some pathetic little patches of sludgy snow. It was just grey. Grey, grey, grey. Well, the tree the old man sat under, that was ancient and twisted and the old man himself was, he was as brittle and as dry as a leaf in the autumn.
JO: But what did he say?
DOCTOR: Nothing, not a word. He just sat there, silently, expressionless, and he listened whilst I poured out my troubles to him. I was too unhappy even for tears, I remember. And when I’d finished, he lifted a skeletal hand and he pointed. Do you know what he pointed at?
JO: No.
DOCTOR: A flower. One of those little weeds. Just like a daisy, it was. Well, I looked at it for a moment and suddenly I saw it through his eyes. It was simply glowing with life, like a perfectly cut jewel. And the colours? Well, the colours were deeper and richer than you could possibly imagine. Yes, that was the daisiest daisy I’d ever seen.
JO: And that was the secret of life? A daisy? Honestly, Doctor.
DOCTOR: Yes, I laughed too when I first heard it. So, later, I got up and I ran down that mountain and I found that the rocks weren’t grey at all, but they were red, brown and purple and gold. And those pathetic little patches of sludgy snow, they were shining white. Shining white in the sunlight. You still frightened, Jo?
JO: No, not as much as I was.
Tina Marie DeLucia
If I may be permitted a nitpick or two, you mis-spelled sergeant as sargent and it’s ‘Brigadier Sir’.
And no mention of Benton naked in The Time Monster?? I’m shocked.
Nice piece, I remember the repeats of the D3 era fondly,