So that was Series 3 then...

[SiHart]

So, we've come to the end of series 3. We've had highpoints and lowpoints, great stories and supporting characters and actors, a new companion and a new suit for the Doctor, as well as two new incarnations of the Master.

But what are your thoughts overall? We've had little snippets here and there of people who've liked this series more than the previous 2, and some like it less... What do you think?

What have been your highpoints and lowpoints? What do you think of David Tennant in his second year? Has Martha been a plus or minus?

Share all your thoughts about series 3 as a whole here!

Si xx

[Si Hunt]

It's been a funny season. Overall, I have to say it's the weakest of the three for me, with a series of quite poor stories and some really great ones. "Smith & Jones" was the strongest opener yet, a vast improvement on "New Earth", but I didn't really like either "The Shakespeare Code" or the Dalek two-parter, which I found dull. Again, "Gridlock" was an unexpected treat, but then we got more below-average fare in "42" and "The Lazarus Experiment". Then suddenly, the season got better! "Human Nature"/"Family of Blood" and "Blink" were both superb, and then we got a brilliant three-parter to close the season.

So the low's have been lower than ever, the high's higher. Therefore, it's been a very uneven season overall. Also I have some concerns about the predictibility of the format, aired elsewhere. But that aside, Russell's own scripts have been fab this year, he's just been let down by some formulaic contributions from some other writers (Greenhorn and Raynor) and some bizarre publicity decisions (spoling the Dalek Sec Hybrid and trying to keep fairly unexciting events like "Utopia's" connection to the finale and Martha's temporary low-key departure, as surprises).

Overall, not as consistent as other years and formulaic in structure, yet the peaks produced some of the best stories yet.

Si.

[Pip Madeley]

Si speaks some truth there. "42" as definitely the clunker of the season for me, with "The Shakespeare Code" not far behind. But I enjoyed the Dalek two-parter, but saying that, I hope they don't appear next season, just to give us a rest from them. "The Lazarus Experiment" was a fantastic little monster story, with great acting from Gatiss and Tennant, a real treat. The highlights of the season have to be the "Human Nature" two parter, and the Master three parter, but I also have a soft spot for "Gridlock", an enjoyable little tale. Overall, Martha's journey was well told and a great success, and finally I feel the series has left Rose behind.

Looking forward to season four now, especially after hearing Graeme Harper's down for FIVE episodes.

[davethesailor]

This Season has been my favourite out of the three by far. David's doctor just gets better and better. Annoying things like his accent have settled and I don't even notice it any more. I also think he has got the manic/zany part of the docs character just right. It no longer seems over the top.

I have enjoyed every single story this season without exception. I have loved the cliff hangers, especially the last two. I felt like the cliff hangers left me particularly concerned about the doc more than the companions which feels new and I like it!

Highlghts for me has been Blink, Shakespeare Code and nearly everything about Martha.

Lowlights has been the unrequited love theme. Boring!

Dave xx

[Dirk Gently]

I've enjoyed this year. Every year has had its low points, 1st season was Boomtown and Aliens of London/World War 3, 2nd season was Love & Monsters and Fear Her & this year, the 3rd season has got The Runaway Bride, Smith & Jones and now The Last of the Timelords.
But they have been accompanied by some excellent stories, from the 1st season was The Unquiet Dead, Fathers Day, The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances and Bad Wolf/Parting of the Ways. From the 2nd season Tooth & Claw, School Reunion, The Girl in the Fireplace and Army of Ghost/Doomsday. And frm the 3rd Season we got The Shakespeare Code, Gridlock, Humn Nature/Family of Blood & the brilliant Blink (the only story to get 10/10 since the series returned).

So all in all I can't say it was any better or worse than previous years, if forced I'd say it was the best season so far with the 1st season just shading the second.

[Wayne]

We've had little snippets here and there of people who've liked this series more than the previous 2, and some like it less... What do you think?

What have been your highpoints and lowpoints? What do you think of David Tennant in his second year? Has Martha been a plus or minus?

I defintely like it better than last year, overall. I may not have appeared to've said as much about it on the threads as last year, because i've been distracted somewhat by personal circumstances over the last couple of months or so, & i really feel that i need to give the whole season a more thorough going over sometime pretty soon, but my overiding impression is definitely one of preference over Series 2.
Part of the reason is that right up until the final episode, i don't think there's been any really weak stories throughout the run. It's been very consistent & enjoyable. No dull Fear Her's in this season. Some have said that it perhaps doesn't quite acheive the heights of last season, & i can relate to that, because 'School Reunion' & 'Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel' are still 2 big favourites of mine, & even though this season has given marvelous stuff like 'Human Nature/The Family of Blood', (my fave of this season), I'd still be hard pushed to say i prefer it over Reunion & Rise. But i think that season is better as whole because there were a few stories from last year that i thought were poor, or felt a bit 'meh' about, whereas this year there's only really been one.
The other part of the reason relates to my feelings about Tennant, which touches on a few things. It's well known that i've never really taken to his Doctor, to the point of him actually been my least favourite after last year's series. I've accepted the fact that he's never gonna be a huge favourite, but nevertheless i have got used to him a bit more, & have definitely preffered his performance this year overall, because he's generally toned it down (bar a lot of shouting!) & played it more straight. He is a good actor - i know that from other things he's done, & i've come to realize that some of the issues i've had with the characterization are as much to do with the writing as anything, much in the same way as i feel about John Simm's Master. Even so, last year i rated the 10th Doctor with a 4 or 5/10. Now i'd rate him with a 6 or 7/10. Some people may think i'm damning him with faint praise, but so be it, - Those are my genuine feelings about it. I have warmed to him a bit more, & i think i've finally forgiven him for not being Chris Eccleston.
Before i talk about Freema/Martha, i just want to touch on Rose, as we're comparing the 2 seasons.
In the wake of how Rose was written for is Series 2, i think it's easy to forget just how good Billie Piper was, & what she brought to the table as Rose. Don't blame her for the way she was written for! Rose was a fantastic companion, & anyone who's forgotten just how good Billie was needs to go back & watch 'The Parting of the Ways', after the Doctor has 'sent' her home so that she can be safe, & she's in the cafe with Jackie & Mickey, absolutely desperate to get back to him. I don't think that some of Rose backlash that i've seen expressed here & there has been entirely fair. That said, i do seriously think that Billie/Rose had much more chemistry with Eccleston's Doctor than she did with Tennant's, with brings me (*adopts Barry Norman voice: "and rather neatly, i thought"), to Martha.
I really like Martha as a character, & i liked Freema's performance. I really think there's a much better chemistry there with the 10th Doctor than there was with Rose. I'm actually pretty disappointed with the way things have turned out. I think Freema has been great, & i don't think Martha as a character has reached her full potential at all, & would've liked to see her back for at least one more full season. If i had to choose between Rose & Martha, i have to say that i think Billie Piper was 'exceptional' at times, whereas Freema was 'very good', i don't think she's yet been given the chance to be 'exceptional', so overall i'd have to choose Rose as the better of the two. But that's not to take anything away from Freema. She's been a delight, but Martha's character has felt a bit underdeveloped.
All things considered, there's plus & minus points for both, but for me Series 3 wins out over Series 2. Perhaps the best example is the stories that are really good from Series 2 for me, number about 4 or 5 episodes, whereas in Series 3, they number about 8 or 9.
I rank the seasons so far, thus:
Series 1
Series 3
Series 2

[Lord President]

I think this series started off slow and got better and better reaching a stunning conclusion from Human Nature onwards!

Shakespeare Code and 42 were lowpoints, with Human Nature, Blink and The Sound of Drums/LOTTL blowing my fan-mind!

[Si Hunt]

I think Freema has been great, & i don't think Martha as a character has reached her full potential at all

I agree. I love Freema, but what has Martha had to do? Hardly anything. Her one 'plot thing', the unrequited love for the Doctor has felt shoe-horned in, and completely wrong for such an independent, strong woman. Rather than give her a specific emotional 'hang up' I would have liked to have seen Martha become more involved in the adventures. Perhaps one solution would have been to give her a starring role in the "Doctor Lite" adventure this year, even if this had meant her joining an episode later.

Si.

[Andrew Curnow]

I've r-e-a-l-l-y enjoyed this years's run of stories. Last year, it wasn't really until as late as "Fear Her" that I got used to Tennant, and after a dreadful opener in "New Earth" (still my least favourite new series story by a clear margin) I felt very 'let down' after the high excitement of 2005.

But 2007's batch, as I say, have been great. I've not been in any great rush to rewatch any of them, it has to be said (The Lazarus Experiment is the only episode I've watched more than once) but I rather like holding onto that 'first viewing glow' - like in the old days, I've greatly enjoyed watching each episode, but once that's finished I've been excitedly looking forward to the next one, and then the next one.

The only story which has been a disappointment, as for many, was the Dalek two-parter, and I think that a large part of that was due to my getting perhaps unrealistic expectations about it - the clips at the end of The Runaway Bride seemed to suggest something v-e-r-y special, but in fact the potentially exciting backdrop of the theatre wasn't really a key setting to the story at all and it somehow wasn't the story I was expecting.

But that small niggle aside, I've loved season 3. Tennant has gone from being a so-so for me, to a Doctor that actually did deserve to win DWM's "Favourite Doctor" poll - he's not unlike the Tom from seasons 16 & 17 I loved as a kid, and his unpredictability is one of his strongest assets. Freema as Martha has been a triumph too, although I'd agree that she arguably hasn't been given as much to do, or as key a role, as Rose - but the performance has always been compelling, and certainly never had me pining for the gorgeous Billie.

High-points - "Hol Krol Snol Pol Tol Sol" from Smith & Jones still makes me laugh; as does "Hey Nonny Nonny". The return of Captain Jack, and then of the Master, were superbly done, and going into the series knowing virtually nothing, it's been a real revelation each week. "Gridlock" was such an unexpected and unusual little piece, but absolutely superb; the scene between Martha and the Doctor ("Oh, you should have seen that planet...") was beautifully handled. The Doctor becoming human was a great adaptation of the novel, and possibly one of Who's all-time greats, and at the same time demonstrated how much of Tennant's "excess" as the Doctor is purely performance, rather than 'bad' acting; his John Smith was absolutely a different man, which made the inevitable conclusion all the more heart-breaking. Blink had us all laughing in places, and held our attention totally throughout. Even the supposed 'also-rans' have delighted me, from the pub quiz madness of 42, to the faux-Davison of Mark Gatiss' Professor Lazarus.

It's been, to coin a phrase, the trip of a lifetime, and I am so glad to be able to say that for 45 minutes a week I've just been able to sit back, forget everything, and just enjoy it. Fantastic, as that other bloke used to say.

[Darren]

Despite some low moments, and contrary to what the cheeky Milky Man might say , I feel series 3 has been consistantly better than Series 2. We were finally free of Rose and her cutesy, sickening obsession with the Doctor. This allowed the Doctor to grow up a bit and stop behaving like a schoolboy which was clearly a result of Rose's influence. David Tennant has flourished as the Time Lord, bringing a darker, more serious edge to the character. Even in stories which have fallen short of my expectations, he has seriously impressed. As has Freema who ws perfectly cast as feisty, intelligent and independant Martha.

In turn the show itself has turned dark and bleaker. Throughout the run, there has been a constant sense of foreboding and grimness with our heroes in serious danger, unlike S2 where the Doctor & Rose seemingly skipped flippantly and arrogantly across time and space. Don't get me wrong, I liked S2, but S3 shows that enough was enough. The Doctor has also suffered quite badly over the last 13 episodes, perhaps to prove he's not physichally and emotionaly indestructible.

The Jones family were a let down, after Jackie, Pete & Mickey. Aside from my dislike of Francine, it has occured to me that they were appalingly written. They really were little more than ciphers, there to plug the gaps rather than to be characters you could connect with. It is fair to say that Rose's clan were intrinsic to S1 & 2, but more should have been made of the Joneses.

The single biggest diasppointment of Series 3 was the final two parter which ended the run with a whimper and was a great shame as some of the shows finest episodes had preceded it.

So, a few stinkers, a couple of enjoyable stories, and some outstanding television. throw in superb acting and gorgeous direction, and you have Series 3 of Doctor Who.

[Carol Baynes]

I was completely expecting to disagree with Darren, but I generally agree with you there!

I loved "The Shakespeare code" as well, which seems to get slated on here. The last four episodes were all great (less so the finale, but it was still decent). My favourite of the three seasons so far. I'm not an Eccleston fan though, sorry to say. Liked his season and performance very much, and it was a great re-launch, but I feel Doctor Who would be a disaster with a long term reluctant lead, so I'm glad he went when he did.

[Captain Tancredi]

Season 3 will forever be remembered as the one in between Season 2 and Season 4.

The main achievement, I think, has been in being consistently better week in week out- not only has it been less uneven than the two previous ones, but I'd rate most of the stories as 8-9/10 rather than the 6-8 of the first two. You can't point to an obvious weak link.

[Dave Lewis]

Season 3 will forever be remembered as the one in between Season 2 and Season 4.

The main achievement, I think, has been in being consistently better week in week out- not only has it been less uneven than the two previous ones, but I'd rate most of the stories as 8-9/10 rather than the 6-8 of the first two. You can't point to an obvious weak link.

I have to admit I disagree entirely with Ian - I think this has been a highly uneven season, with some of the best that 'new' Doctor Who has had to offer, but also some of the worst. Blink has been, in my opinion, the best thing we've seen since the series came back, but Last Of The Time Lords was almost entirely awful and was easily weaker than any episode preceding it... it was almost as bad as 'old' Doctor Who!

The series swung from one extreme to the other, with each moment of glory like The Shakespeare Code being followed by crap like Daleks In Manhattan. But it started poorly, with Smith and Jones, and it ended (one great scene notwithstanding) in even worse shape. And the uneven-ness doesn't end with the episodes. For every inspired use of guest stars like John Simm, Jessica Stephenson, Derek Jacobi and Mark Gatiss, there has been the dreadful underuse of Freema Agyeman and John Barrowman. Tennant has been fantastic and awful in almost equal measure. The Master was a great returning villain but the Daleks were dull as dishwater and the Macra meant literally nothing to me. Highs and lows, baby...

For me, season three has easily been the weakest yet.

[WhiteCrow]

Interesting to read everyone's opinions.

For me the series has been consistenly a good one. I know I've been quite critical of it at times, mainly because it was a good one, but it was just short of a great one.

Like many I found 42 a bit of a clunker. And the final trilogy had the seeds of something epic but didn't quite deliver for me. Maybe I need to watch all 3 in one sitting.

But what of the flip side? What was done well? I liked (although didn't love) the Dalek story, which I think was a different and challenging way of doing a Dalek story.

Blink was pure brilliance - and I really looked forward to it the least. Another great episode from Steven Moffat filled with tension and creepyness. To me he makes new Doctor Who in a way that makes you feel you're a 4 year old in 1975 watching Genesis of the Daleks for the first time. It feels like the way you feel Doctor Who should feel. But thankfully we don't get 13 episodes like this because it would get boring.

And of course Human Nature was another story of brilliance. Some issues with real depth covered there - we like to think the horrors of World War One are behind us, when we sent young men barely 18 out to die. Read the casualty lists from Iraq and it's disturbing how many young lives have been cut short before their 20s. But its also a great twist to study the Doctor without actually having the Doctor there until the last 10 minutes - a brilliant dark ending, and a very emotional and touching final scene.

[Si Hunt]

The main achievement, I think, has been in being consistently better week in week out- not only has it been less uneven than the two previous ones, but I'd rate most of the stories as 8-9/10 rather than the 6-8 of the first two. You can't point to an obvious weak link.

I couldn't disagree more. For me, the season had a big lull in the middle, with plenty of weak links. "42" passed by in what I remember as just a dreary blur, and I don't honestly want to see the Dalek story again for a few years. However, the season was bookended by great stories, namely "Smith & Jones", "Blink" and "Human Nature".

Si.

[Captain Tancredi]

I couldn't disagree more.

You can't both disagree with my first statement, surely?

What's interesting is that opinions do seem to be split into two fairly solid and well-defined camps. Be interesting to see what that bodes for the future.

[The Secretive Bus]

"Human Nature of Blood" and "Blink" were some of the finest Doctor Who episodes ever transmitted. Wonderful stuff. Unfortunately I found series 3 a great step down from last year, with a real sense of repetition setting in and stories that I just didn't really like very much. Despite the Slitheen episodes I really enjoyed series 1, and series 2 was pretty good overall, but series 3 was definitely disappointing. I'm not sure where series 4 will lead us...

[Martin Penny]

I've really enjoyed this season, with the exception of 'Last of the Time Lords' and '42' I've been happy with every episode. Last year there were a number of stories I just thought were 'okay' and nothing more. Rose had begun to irriate me as well, though that was due to the way she was written rather than Billie Pipers acting. So I found Martha to be a breath of fresh air, and her exit was nicely handled, even though I found myself not really caring too much she was gone, perhaps because I knew she would be back in some way?

I also think the whole 'Saxon' theme was handled a lot better than last years Torchwood, which came across as nothing more than a big advert for a new spin off show, with no mystery behind it at all. I also loved the return of The Master, in both his Jacobi and Simm forms, but John Simm just stole the show for me. Other characters that I was particularly impressed with this season were Dalek Sec, Baines and Professor Lazarus, all of whom were great fun to watch. Sec in particular was a character I really liked, and was sad to see die. And, unlike many, I loved the Dalek two parter.

I admit I had problems with David Tennant last year as well, but now that he seems to have toned down his performance somewhat, I've grown to really like him.

Overall, I wouldn't say this reached the exciting new high's of Season One, but I definately preferred it to Season Two. I would agree with comments that parts of the season felt like a re-tread of things we have already seen though, become a bit formulaic. They definately need to take more risks next year, but at least we finally got an alien planet!

[Matthew T]

I agree almost entirely with Si Hunt.

Season 3 got off to a very strong start with "Smith & Jones", easily the best season opener we've had yet. But then came "The Shakespeare Code", which looked good, but I found fairly uninspiring.

"Gridlock" was superb, but it was after that that things went downhill, "Daleks in Manhatten", "Evolution of the Daleks", "The Lazarus Experiment" and "42" were all below par, and in fact for the first time ever while "42" was on I was doing other things - perhaps I need to give that one another go now the DVDs out!

Thankfully along came "Human Nature / The Family of Blood", an excellent pair of episodes - more than I was expecting because I thought "Father's Day" was just a tad overwrought. "Blink" is the best episode of the series, and "Utopia" was immensely thrilling.

The final two episode didn't quite scale the heights of the previous two season finales, but the season thankfully still went out on a high for me after the disappointing mid-season lull.

It should be noted that even episodes I didn't like as much as the others were enjoyable. I really can't understand how people rant over episodes they didnt like as if it's ruined their life.

[Martin Penny]

Looking forward to season four now, especially after hearing Graeme Harper's down for FIVE episodes.

I wont be satisfied until he directs all THIRTEEN!!!

Seriously though, I am glad he's been given some more, although I didn't care for 42, his energetic direction made it watchable.

[Master_Rose]

Yes an excellent series, not sure if it was better than S2 but I found the final episode (and I hate to say it) slightly "corny"
It just didn't sit right, the doctor living in a tent !, and Martha's family waiting on the Master for a whole year in something that looked like it came out of Captain Scarlet !

[Logo Polish]

Basically, a fine beginning, with two very enjoyable episodes to start off with. Then it got into of a bit of a rut for a while. Gridlock wasn't bad exactly, I don't mind it, but it felt a bit lacking ultimately. Dalek story a rather odd mix of the very good and the awful (I still quite like some of the period detail, but the story itself is messy and not very well thought out imo), Lazarus Experiment felt too basic and never really got out of first gear. Thought 42 was alright though, albeit simplistic, but it did cook up a fair bit of tension and excitement, and looked nice as a production. Human Nature/Family of Blood was sublime - first episode in particular was beautiful, one of the best episodes the revival has offered yet - in fact it may even be in my top two overall.

Blink was also good in that it hit most of the bases, but just wasn't quite my sort of thing. As for the last three parter, I'm afraid I only found the first of those episodes at all watchable. I'm glad for other people if they managed to enjoy the last two, but they really did nothing for me at all.

So, for me, good, indifferent, excellent, before sliding down to extremely unenjoyable. I think I agree with Dave about the inconsistency, even if his and my high and low points aren't exactly the same. I preferred last year's, frankly, although this year's was possibly more enjoyable than the first - I'm not sure how I'd rate it compared to that one really.

[Jon Masters]

Overall I've probably enjoyed series 3 more than the other 2. As others have said, there were no absolute stinkers although this was balanced by there being less really top rate stories for me.

DT has been far more consistently in character , and removed a lot of the excesses of his previous series. Martha has been a good companion well played (in most stories), but has been criminally underused unlike Rose we get very little idea of her motivation most of the time, and her love for the Doctor has not been a welcome character trait.

My main issue , however, remains the quality of some of the writing. While New Who can, not unexpectedly, run rings round Classic Who in terms of production values, there have still been very few stories told that rank up with the classics. A lot of the guest writers have done a good job, but still too often I'm seeing a series of 'moments' linked together sometimes pretty poorly, rather than a coherent story that leads the viewer through.
I have to admit that RTD has been better for me in this respect than series 1 or 2 or the Specials (especially Gridlock) though Last of The Timelords still had nasty recurrences of this trait. While I appreciate I'm never going to love the 'emotional' stories as much as the plot driven ones , there have been enough examples this series where true emotional moments have been successfully derived from the story, rather than bolted on (e.g. Lazarus, Blink). The worst culprit was the Dalek 2 parter which could have been edited down to a sequence of unconnected action / emotional moments and dispensed almost entirely with its flimsy plot. And I know I'll sound like a broken record, but I really really hope RTD has moved on from his Rose obsession (notice how she even got squeezed into LOTTL, despite it making no sense whatsoever).
I look forward to Series 4 with a hope that things continue in this vein of improvement, and perhaps a bit more variety. I'd also be quite keen for no old monsters to be brought back, if that means they won't be written off quite so readily as the Daleks / Cybermen / Master have been.

[Jim]

Season 3 just edges it for my favourite season so far. The clarity of the plots this year, the superb visuals, the performances (including a much improved Tennant), Martha for just being refreshing and effortlessly spot on, the darker tone and atmosphere - I think we got it all.

I dont think we did get a duffer of an episode, Lazarus and 42 might have been unremarkable but there was plenty in them to enjoy. The rest ranged from great to superb. The Dalek 2 parter is much better second time round, Gridlock was oddball perfect, Shakespeare Code + Smith and Jones real fun and of course Blink, Utopia, Human Nature and Family of Blood -Dr Who at its best. I was a fan of the final episode too - it engaged me more than the cyber/dalek finale last year - I thought Last of the Timelords was edge of seat fantastic.

My family started watching it again after loosing interest in Season 2 so that has probably injected an increased buzz.

Brilliant season as far as Im concerned!

[Philipnet]

I'd have to say this was a season of good episodes with bad bits, and bad episodes with good bits. Characters I didn't warm to (The Master) and some I did Joan Redfern and Martha.

I thought religion played too high a role - was RTD trying to appease people after last year's Christmas special derided Christian's(*) belief that God created the world?

Nothing matched Girl In The Fireplace for excellence - although nothing ever could ever beat it.

I haven't bought any of the recent series's on DVD and nothing really stands out in this season to make me go out and buy this one. I am however looking forward to this year's Christmas special, and next years episodes of Dr Who and Torchwood.

* And other religions.