The Pertwee Years- Yes or No?

[Marisa Bynum]

Trapped on Earth and surrounded by UNIT, The Third Man managed to stave off some of the most heinous attacks on the Earth armed only with his wits and deprived (mostly) of his incredible time machine.

...or, the show was earth-bound and the central character and some very unconvincing soldiers managed to stretch out "mad scientist/invasion" storylines until the bottom of the barrel had been scraped clean through.

Ladies and gentlemen - The JP Era -Yes or No?

[Marisa Bynum]

Gah! I meant to post as "No!" The Pertwee Era really irritates me.

Talk about itchy trigger finger...and no, don't start talking about it.

[Ralph]

Yes I totally agree with your glowing praise for this era Marisa

[Pip Madeley]

Sorry but it's just too difficult to vote, you can't generalise five years of Doctor Who like that.

[Ralph]

I think it's intended as an opportunity for the Dave Lewis' of the board to get in another rant

I guess some will be suffering withdrawal symptoms now they've nothing to focus on...

[Dirk Gently]

Nope, sorry. It's neither of those options for me.

Jon Pertwee is not the best Doctor ever but he's by no means the worst either. I can't vote on this without a sliding scale of quality.

[Rob McCow]

I voted a big fat YES.

Heaven help us all!

[Dave Lewis]

I think it's intended as an opportunity for the Dave Lewis' of the board to get in another rant.

I am THE Dave Lewis.

[Milky Tears]

Pertwee raped my granny hair lovin' childhood.

Shouldn't it be "No - just treading water in an old man bathing cap until TB arrived"?

[Phillip Culley]

No - cause the Third Doctor wasn't very good.

Not to criticise Pertwee, who is a fantastic actor, and played the part excellently, however I dislike the attitude of his Doctor, who many times felt like either a smug git, or a child throwing a tantrum.

It's a shame, as I really enjoy the UNIT setup, and there were some very good stories during his era, but I never warmed to the Doctor himself.

[Dave Lewis]

Shouldn't it be "No - just treading water in an old man bathing cap until TB arrived"?

Or "No - just shagging Katy Manning until contracting TB"?

[Si Hunt]

Of course, the original question is bizarre - you can't sum up five years of Doctor Who with a "yes" or a "no". But it's not as bizarre as saying those five years, in which Doctor Who grew from a monochrome series fully out of steam into a brash, colourful, prosporous show was "treading water".

Any era of Doctor Who can possibly be judged by what it gives the show's legacy. And the gems that were forged in the Pertwee era made the whole of subsequent Doctor Who very rich and shiny indeed. The sonic screwdriver was developed into an essential tool for the Doctor, one that would become as well-known as K9 or The TARDIS. The Master, a villain that plagued every subsequent Doctor, was devised in Jon's era, as were famous or memorable monsters the Silurians, the Sea Devils, the Sontarans, the Ogrons, the Metabelis Spiders, the Axons and Omega. The Third Doctor's era spawned the show's most successful and oft-re-appearing companion, Sarah Jane Smith as well as the iconic Bessie.

Best of all, Jon's era showed that Doctor Who could still be Doctor Who in a contemporary setting - something was essential for it's future, and which practically puts the whole of the New Series in its debt. The Doctor also gained his best friend, the Brigadier, possibly the most popular and realistic character in the whole of Doctor Who apart from the Doctor.

Jon's Doctor was one of the best - it's true he could often be patronising or grumpy, but in a way you could empathise with. After all, he was a Time Lord stuck on one planet without the power to time travel. He could also be hilarious, and often sent himself up. Above all though, Pertwee's Doctor was sincere, comforting Jo in an Atlantean dungeon and, in the end, facing his own vanity and faults even at the expense of his life. Who doesn't love the old goat deep down? And if this era looks dated today, it's only because it was so cutting edge at the time.

Bessie, the Master, Jo Grant, Metabelis Three, Sonic Screwdriver, UNIT, Greyhound One, Azal Azal! A Tear, Sarah Jane? It was an era that GAVE US so much. I'm sure you all love Tom, but could we have ever had Tom without the Pertwee Years? The Third Doctor's era brought Doctor Who from simple space adventure to a fully fledged, gloriously camp and exciting action adventure that suddenly had a massive fanbase. How far Doctor Who travelled in those years is just monumental.

How could you all forget?

Si.

[Paul Monk]

I didn't take to the third Doctor at all really to begin with but over time I've grown to like the old coot loads. He's not the best Doctor but I love his grumpy cantankerous side. I think he's a Doctor you can relate to if you work in some daft overly bureaucratic office, like I do.

[Marisa Bynum]

Surely it's "no," for Jo Grant alone?

[Perry Vale]

It would probably be a 'yes' for Jo Grant's short skirts/boots, but I too cannot go for such limited options, sorry.

[Captain Tancredi]

Yes, without a shadow of a doubt. Between 1970 and 1974, 'Doctor Who' was better than it had ever been before in almost every department- scripting, production values, direction, you name it. Jon Pertwee himself is something of an exception to the character actor background of the majority of Doctors, and yet it doesn't come through from his performance at all- his light entertainment credentials come to the fore at certain times, and his interplay with Roger Delgado is worth the admission alone.

The worst criticism that you can level at the Pertwee era is the number of overlong six-part stories which are strung out half as long again as they should have been. This was, as I understand it, primarily a budgetary exercise designed to allow for sets, costumes, cast, filming etc. to be paid for out of six weeks' money rather than four. Later production teams went for shorter stories but compromised on the production values- only the Peladon stories from the Pertwee era have no location work- although there's probably no perfect solution to the problem.

[SiHart]

Yes and No. I like it alot more than I used o, but as with every era there are bits I love and bits I can't stand. My main problem is with Mr Pertwee himself, rather than his Doctor and his era, which is a rather different matter altogether.

Si xx

[Carol Baynes]

Of course, the original question is bizarre - you can't sum up five years of Doctor Who with a "yes" or a "no". But it's not as bizarre as saying those five years, in which Doctor Who grew from a monochrome series fully out of steam into a brash, colourful, prosporous show was "treading water".

Any era of Doctor Who can possibly be judged by what it gives the show's legacy. And the gems that were forged in the Pertwee era made the whole of subsequent Doctor Who very rich and shiny indeed. The sonic screwdriver was developed into an essential tool for the Doctor, one that would become as well-known as K9 or The TARDIS. The Master, a villain that plagued every subsequent Doctor, was devised in Jon's era, as were famous or memorable monsters the Silurians, the Sea Devils, the Sontarans, the Ogrons, the Metabelis Spiders, the Axons and Omega. The Third Doctor's era spawned the show's most successful and oft-re-appearing companion, Sarah Jane Smith as well as the iconic Bessie.

Best of all, Jon's era showed that Doctor Who could still be Doctor Who in a contemporary setting - something was essential for it's future, and which practically puts the whole of the New Series in its debt. The Doctor also gained his best friend, the Brigadier, possibly the most popular and realistic character in the whole of Doctor Who apart from the Doctor.

Jon's Doctor was one of the best - it's true he could often be patronising or grumpy, but in a way you could empathise with. After all, he was a Time Lord stuck on one planet without the power to time travel. He could also be hilarious, and often sent himself up. Above all though, Pertwee's Doctor was sincere, comforting Jo in an Atlantean dungeon and, in the end, facing his own vanity and faults even at the expense of his life. Who doesn't love the old goat deep down? And if this era looks dated today, it's only because it was so cutting edge at the time.

Bessie, the Master, Jo Grant, Metabelis Three, Sonic Screwdriver, UNIT, Greyhound One, Azal Azal! A Tear, Sarah Jane? It was an era that GAVE US so much. I'm sure you all love Tom, but could we have ever had Tom without the Pertwee Years? The Third Doctor's era brought Doctor Who from simple space adventure to a fully fledged, gloriously camp and exciting action adventure that suddenly had a massive fanbase. How far Doctor Who travelled in those years is just monumental.

How could you all forget?

Si.

Good grief, Si, you've said it all, man! A better argument could not have been made!

[Si Hunt]

Thank you!

Si.

[Carol Baynes]

Thank you!

Si.

Why, you're welcome, sir!

...and what's wth all this Katy Manning loathing from certain quarters?! Jo Grant is a personal favourite of mine. I practice saying "I'm your new assistant" in the mirror all the time*

*...not actually true, but I might try it now!

[WhiteCrow]

Considering how much the subject of the Pertwee years has driven this site close to civil war in the Last Doctor Standing, well done to the author of this post for rubbing salt in the wound ...

[Captain Tancredi]

The opportunity to address a clumsy colleague as a ham-fisted bun vendor practically justifies the entire Pertwee era on its own.

[Andrew Curnow]

for Si's post above.

Personally, the third Doctor is my least favourite incarnation, BUT I would say that Pertwee is perhaps the most consistent actor to play the Doctor - I can't say he ever gives a bad performance in the part, he is just totally convincing and he really IS the Doctor.

The other thing that always strikes me about the Pertwee era is its initial confidence - his first year especially is virtually an entirely new show from what went before. The main character is called the Doctor, yes, but apart from that there's hardly any obvious link from the 60s to the 70s. But it comes across on screen as having been made by people who were quite certain that it would be a success. The stories from that first year are well-written, powerful, non-patronising family drama - the themes, for example, from The Silurians, or Ambassadors, are very thought-provoking (I'm too young to remember the transmissions in 1970, but the novelisations of those Mac Hulke stories really gripped me as a kid, and made me think too).

I don't like every Pertwee story, but I don't like every story from any era; and to modern eyes, yes, some of the stories are too padded, stretching four-part tales into six parts. But there's a clear determination on all fronts to really push the show and to be as good as possible. I know that Terrance Dicks has often said that there only priority was to produce something, anything, to fill 25 minutes of a Saturday, but I think he's doing himself & Barry Letts a disservice there. For every time I mock the dreadful "The Monster of Peladon" I would also praise to the hilt such tales as "The Daemons" or "Inferno" or "The Time Warrior".

If you need further proof of just how important and exciting an era of Who it was, consider the number of people who watched it as kids, who still love Jon Pertwee because of those five years. And one final thought is that as well as reinventing the show, those years also reinvented the Doctor - in the 60s the Doctor was the slightly older, intelligent sort, with the action being handled by a young male companion. With Pertwee, suddenly the Doctor was the man of action (I can't imagine how fandom reacted to that in 1970, because we're just so used to it now, but it is one hell of a shift in character) and that template basically stuck for the next fifteen or so years (only McCoy varies from it, having Ace to handle the rough stuff). Jon Pertwee was the perfect choice for the third Doctor, and from the lead downwards, his era is full of charm, wit, action, dignity and charm.

Haiii!!!

[Si Hunt]

You know, the more I've thought it today, the more I realise how much the New Series took the Pertwee era as it's template. People go on today about the emotional, "family" aspect to the new series, fans usually unflatteringly but nevertheless having to accept that it's why so many people (especially women) tuned in. Yet before all of this, the Third Doctor had a "family", from the unflappable Brig to daffy Jo and lovable old Sergent Benton. They were his Tylers, in a way. And surely before the New Series, the last (and only?) time old Doctor Who really tackled the Doctor facing real human emotion was with the sorrowful 'down in one' swigg of Champagne and maudlin departure of a clearly scorned loser in love when Jo Grant got engaged.

It comes as no surprise really to reflect that when the Doctor returned to hit audiences in 2005 it was with a 'regular' Earth based cast around him, yeilding a sonic screwdriver and battling Autons.

Si.

[Andrew Curnow]

The Pertwee era even gave us the 'Doctor + 1 female companion' template which (ignoring robot dogs) was the template for the lion's share of the series all through the 70s and 80s.