Doctor Who (Season 3)
From Iwe
| Doctor Who season 2 | |||
| Country of origin | United Kingdom | ||
| No. of episodes | 39: 9 serials | ||
| Broadcast | |||
| Original channel | BBC One | ||
| Original run | 31 October 1964 – 24 July 1965 | ||
| Season chronology | |||
| ← Previous Season 1 | Next → Season 4 | ||
| List of Doctor Who serials | |||
The third season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 11 September 1965 with the story Galaxy 4 and ended on 16 July 1966 with The War Machines.
Contents |
Casting
- See also: List of Doctor Who cast members
Main characters
William Hartnell continues his journey as The First Doctor, accompanied by companions Vicki (Maureen O'Brien) and Steven (Peter Purves). In the third story The Myth Makers, Vicki departed and was replaced by Katarina (Adrienne Hill). Katarina's tenure was brief, the character being killed in episode 4 of the following story, The Daleks' Master Plan. In some companion lists, Sara Kingdom (Jean Marsh) is included as a companion, though her appearances was limited to later episodes of the serial The Daleks' Master Plan.
Dodo Chaplet (Jackie Lane) joined the Doctor and Steven in the next serial, The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve. There were no changes in the primary cast until Steven's departure in the penultimate story, The Savages. In the final story The War Machines, Dodo also departs, and the Doctor was joined by Polly (Anneke Wills) and Ben (Michael Craze). Like the previous season, the cast of companions had changed from start to finish.
Guest stars
Peter Butterworth makes his second and final appearance as the Meddling Monk in the serial The Daleks' Master Plan, though his presence in the story is limited to three parts only; "Volcano", "Golden Death", and "Escape Switch".
Serials
John Wiles replaced Verity Lambert as producer after "Mission to the Unknown". Innes Lloyd, in turn, replaced Wiles after The Ark. Donald Tosh continued as script editor until The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve: "Priest of Death", and was replaced by Gerry Davis beginning with The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve: "Bell of Doom".
The practice of giving each individual episode a different title was abandoned after The Gunfighters, near the end of the season. This season was notable for the longest serial to date, The Daleks' Master Plan, which contained 12 episodes. The record of The Daleks' Master Plan as the longest serial was eventually taken by the 14-part The Trial of a Time Lord, which spanned the whole of Season 23. The single-episode prequel to this story, "Mission to the Unknown", was not only the shortest story, but was notable for the absence of the entire regular cast. The episode came about when Planet of Giants, the opening serial of Season 2, was reduced from four to three episodes, leaving a single episode held over in the production schedule. Rather than attempt to create a single-episode story, or add an episode to an already commissioned story, it was decided to use this one episode as a trailer to set up the upcoming 12-part Dalek story.
Four of the stories from Season 3 ("Mission to the Unknown", The Myth Makers, The Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Eve, and The Savages) are completely missing from the BBC archive, with no surviving episodes. Further, "Mission to the Unknown" and The Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Eve are two of only three stories from the entire run of Doctor Who with no surviving footage from any sources (the other being Marco Polo from Season 1). Only three of this season's stories (The Ark, The Gunfighters and The War Machines) are complete.
Season 3 holds the distinction of being the longest-running season of Doctor Who to date, having produced 45 episodes in 10 serials. Season 6 produced just one episode less in 7 serials.
The Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Eve was the first serial that saw the lead actor cast in a dual role; William Hartnell not only plays the Doctor, but also the Abbot of Amboise. This would be repeated by Patrick Troughton in Season 5's The Enemy of the World.
| Story | Serial | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Production code | UK viewers (million) | AI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 018 | 1 | Galaxy 4 "Four Hundred Dawns"†[1] "Trap of Steel"†[2] "Air Lock" "The Exploding Planet"†[3] | Derek Martinus and Mervyn Pinfield | William Emms | 11 September 1965 18 September 1965 25 September 1965 2 October 1965 | 9.0 9.5 11.3 9.9 | 56 55 54 53 | T |
| Two ships have crashed after a space battle, but the planet they have landed on is about to be destroyed. The beautiful female Drahvins seem friendly, but in fact it is the ugly Rills that are more tolerant and forgiving. | ||||||||
| 019 | 2 | Mission to the Unknown†[4] | Derek Martinus | Terry Nation | 8.3 | 54 | 9 October 1965 | T/A |
| Space agent Marc Cory is investigating the sighting of a Dalek ship and discovers they have a base on Kembel. But his crew are infected by Varga plants, imported from Skaro, and start to mutate into Vargas. | ||||||||
| 020 | 3 | The Myth Makers "Temple of Secrets"†[5] "Small Prophet, Quick Return"†[6] "Death of a Spy"†[7] "Horse of Destruction"†[8] | Michael Leeston-Smith | Donald Cotton | 8.3 8.1 8.7 8.3 | 48 51 49 52 | 16 October 1965 23 October 1965 30 October 1965 6 November 1965 | U |
| The TARDIS lands outside Troy during the siege. The Doctor is captured by the Greeks and given two days to devise a plan for taking the city. Steven and Vicki are captured by the Trojans, and given two days to devise a means of banishing the Greeks. | ||||||||
| 021 | 4 | The Daleks' Master Plan "The Nightmare Begins"†[9] "Day of Armageddon" "Devil's Planet"†[10] "The Traitors"†[11] "Counter Plot" "Coronas of the Sun"†[12] "The Feast of Steven"†[13] "Volcano"†[14] "Golden Death"†[15] "Escape Switch" "The Abandoned Planet"†[16] "Destruction of Time"†[17] | Douglas Camfield | Terry Nation and Dennis Spooner | 9.1 9.8 10.3 9.5 9.9 9.1 7.9 9.6 9.2 9.5 9.8 8.6 | 54 52 52 51 53 56 39 49 52 50 49 57 | 13 November 1965 20 November 1965 27 November 1965 4 December 1965 11 December 1965 18 December 1965 25 December 1965 1 January 1966 8 January 1966 15 January 1966 22 January 1966 29 January 1966 | V |
| Some six months after the events of "Mission to the Unknown", the TARDIS arrives on the planet Kembel, and the Doctor leaves the TARDIS to try to find medical aid for the wounded Steven Taylor leaving him with the Trojan girl Katarina. | ||||||||
| 022 | 5 | The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve "War of God"†[18] "The Sea Beggar"†[19] "Priest of Death"†[20] "Bell of Doom"†[21] | Paddy Russell | John Lucarotti and Donald Tosh | 8.0 6.0 5.9 5.8 | 52 52 49 53 | 5 February 1966 12 February 1966 19 February 1966 26 February 1966 | W |
| The arrival of the TARDIS in Paris in 1572 places its occupants, the Doctor and Steven in a dangerous siuation. Tensions between Protestants and Catholics are at fever pitch in the city. | ||||||||
| 023 | 6 | The Ark "The Steel Sky" "The Plague" "The Return" "The Bomb" | Michael Imison | Paul Erickson and Lesley Scott | 5.5 6.9 6.2 7.3 | 55 56 51 50 | 5 March 1966 12 March 1966 19 March 1966 26 March 1966 | X |
| Ten million years into the future, the TARDIS materializes on a vast spacecraft called the Ark where the whole human race is bound for a new world. | ||||||||
| 024 | 7 | The Celestial Toymaker "The Celestial Toyroom"†[22] "The Hall of Dolls"†[23] "The Dancing Floor"†[24] "The Final Test" | Bill Sellars | Brian Hayles and Donald Tosh | 8.0 8.0 9.4 7.8 | 48 49 44 43 | 2 April 1966 9 April 1966 16 April 1966 23 April 1966 | Y |
| The Doctor becomes invisible in the domain of the Toymaker, leaving Dodo and Steven incredulous. They step outside into a strange realm where the Doctor reappears, saying he recognizes the place they are in. | ||||||||
| 025 | 8 | The Gunfighters "A Holiday for the Doctor" "Don't Shoot the Pianist" "Johnny Ringo" "The OK Corral" | Rex Tucker | Donald Cotton | 6.5 6.6 6.2 5.7 | 45 39 36 30 | 30 April 1966 7 May 1966 14 May 1966 21 May 1966 | Z |
| The Doctor gets his tooth pulled by Doc Holliday in Tombstone while Dodo and Steven literally sing for their lives. The travellers are caught up in the events leading up to the famous "Gunfight at the OK Corral". | ||||||||
| 026 | 9 | The Savages (all episodes missing) | Christopher Barry | Ian Stuart Black | 28 May 1966 4 June 1966 11 June 1966 18 June 1966 | AA | 4.8 5.6 5.0 4.5 | 48 49 48 48 |
| The TARDIS materialises on a distant planet in the far future. The TARDIS crew find the planet inhabited by both the Elders and bands of roaming savages. | ||||||||
| 027 | 10 | The War Machines | Michael Ferguson | Ian Stuart Black and Kit Pedler | 25 June 1966 2 July 1966 9 July 1966 16 July 1966 | BB | 5.4 4.7 5.3 5.5 | 49 45 44 39 |
| The TARDIS lands in London, in Fitzroy Square near the newly completed Post Office Tower. The Doctor meets an advanced revolutionary computer named WOTAN (Will Operating Thought ANalogue) who believes human are inferior to machines. | ||||||||
^†: Episode is missing
Missing episodes
DVD releases
| Serial name | Number and duration of episodes | R2 release date | R4 release date | R1 release date |
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