FA+
Shop
My Picks for the Best and Worst of the Third Doctor
11 years ago
The good, the bad and the ugly of the overall series: The good; the stories are tight and well paced, something that the first doctors lacked. I hate to admit it, but this IS the high water mark of the series, there are few if any really shitty episodes. There is continuity in the series at this point, actions in one serial appear again in others to bite the doctor in the ass. There is social commentary, the doctor is very conscious of pollution and renewable energy, to the point of being condescending.
The bad: Very little is bad, my only gripe is that THIS is not Doctor Who, it is actually James Bond, which is something I care little for. Spy capers just don't work for me. There is also a strange problem where several episodes feel like three of more ideas happening in a story--with little resolution.
The ugly: A few of the episodes I watched were still in black and white, which made the show look fantastic. Going to colour was inevitable, but the change made things more plastic and fake.
My Favourite Episodes
The Silurians: A great morality tale with a downer ending. The doctor loses some of his trust and a lot of his patience with Lethbridge-Stewart. Highly recommend this one.
Inferno: The same reason I liked Planet of Giants applies here, this is a classic Sci-Fi scenario (alternate earths) and it has wolfmen.
The Mind of Evil: This episode was the first of the series to feel like true Who. It suffers from the too many stories angle though, starting off as an assassination plot and dropping that to become a monster of the week.
The Three Doctors: All the doctors in one serial? Yes. William Hartnel's final appearance on television before his death. I'm so glad that we got to see him one last time.
Carnival of Monsters: The Doctor and Jo are in a fish bowl and are chased by worm monsters that were so well done, they appeared in at least two other episodes. The costumes of the aliens however are abyssmal.
Death to the Daleks: Have I mentioned that I don't like Dalek episodes? Love the creatures hate the plots. This was a great episode, see it just to listen to the most inappropriate music ever used for the big bad.
Planet of Spiders: Occult rituals, meditation and spiders that use mind control...yeah this is my cup of tea.
The Worst Episodes
Ambassadors of Death: So slow paced and boring that I had to look up what the plot was for this review. A shame, the premise is actually really good.
Terror of the Autons: An absolute mess of an episode, the doctor performing random magic tricks, scientists being miniaturized (and the plot being dropped), a very poor start for the Master.
The Curse of Peladon & The Monster of Peladon: These two are virtually the same plot, with infuriating characters. If I had been one of the ambassadors I'd have ordered an orbital nuke strike. Fuck these episodes.
Notable Episodes
The Daemons: Needed more wickerman and less Summer Isle.
The Time Monster: Enjoyable, almost put it in my favourites because of a scene where the doctor is talking to another character while the monster flails about in the air (you can tell the actor is trying to maintain balance). Its right out of a Zucker and Zucker film.
The bad: Very little is bad, my only gripe is that THIS is not Doctor Who, it is actually James Bond, which is something I care little for. Spy capers just don't work for me. There is also a strange problem where several episodes feel like three of more ideas happening in a story--with little resolution.
The ugly: A few of the episodes I watched were still in black and white, which made the show look fantastic. Going to colour was inevitable, but the change made things more plastic and fake.
My Favourite Episodes
The Silurians: A great morality tale with a downer ending. The doctor loses some of his trust and a lot of his patience with Lethbridge-Stewart. Highly recommend this one.
Inferno: The same reason I liked Planet of Giants applies here, this is a classic Sci-Fi scenario (alternate earths) and it has wolfmen.
The Mind of Evil: This episode was the first of the series to feel like true Who. It suffers from the too many stories angle though, starting off as an assassination plot and dropping that to become a monster of the week.
The Three Doctors: All the doctors in one serial? Yes. William Hartnel's final appearance on television before his death. I'm so glad that we got to see him one last time.
Carnival of Monsters: The Doctor and Jo are in a fish bowl and are chased by worm monsters that were so well done, they appeared in at least two other episodes. The costumes of the aliens however are abyssmal.
Death to the Daleks: Have I mentioned that I don't like Dalek episodes? Love the creatures hate the plots. This was a great episode, see it just to listen to the most inappropriate music ever used for the big bad.
Planet of Spiders: Occult rituals, meditation and spiders that use mind control...yeah this is my cup of tea.
The Worst Episodes
Ambassadors of Death: So slow paced and boring that I had to look up what the plot was for this review. A shame, the premise is actually really good.
Terror of the Autons: An absolute mess of an episode, the doctor performing random magic tricks, scientists being miniaturized (and the plot being dropped), a very poor start for the Master.
The Curse of Peladon & The Monster of Peladon: These two are virtually the same plot, with infuriating characters. If I had been one of the ambassadors I'd have ordered an orbital nuke strike. Fuck these episodes.
Notable Episodes
The Daemons: Needed more wickerman and less Summer Isle.
The Time Monster: Enjoyable, almost put it in my favourites because of a scene where the doctor is talking to another character while the monster flails about in the air (you can tell the actor is trying to maintain balance). Its right out of a Zucker and Zucker film.
