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| Third Doctor | |
| Also known as: | Dr. John Smith |
| Race: | Gallifreyan - Time Lord |
| Home Planet: | Gallifrey |
| Home Era: | Rassilon Era |
| Appearances: | Full List of Appearances |
| Actor: | Jon Pertwee |
Contents |
The Third Doctor was the result of a forced second regeneration imposed upon the Second Doctor by the Time Lords. (DW: The War Games) This Doctor was exiled to 20th century Earth and his memory blocked so he could not use his TARDIS to escape. He struck up an arrangement with old friend Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart wherein he would serve as UNIT's "scientific advisor", and in return could use UNIT's technical and scientific facilities to attempt to make the TARDIS operational again. (DW: Spearhead from Space)
After the arrival of the Master on Earth, the Time Lords began to allow the Doctor limited use of his TARDIS, but always compelling it to return him to 20th century Earth when his missions were completed, essentially turning him into "some sort of a galactic yo-yo". (DW: The Claws of Axos)
When the first three Doctors successfully stopped Omega in his quest to destroy the Time Lords, they rewarded the Third Doctor by restoring his knowledge of the TARDIS codes and lifting his exile. (DW: The Three Doctors)
The Third Doctor continued to assist UNIT, though his presence on Earth was now much more intermittent. Finally, to defeat the Spiders of Metebelis III, he sacrificed his own life by exposing himself to lethal levels of radiation. With the assistance of his old mentor K'anpo Rimpoche, he was able to regenerate into his fourth incarnation. (DW: Planet of the Spiders)
The Third Doctor often had problems with the Brigadier's tendency to think of situations in military terms and with petty officials generally. The Third Doctor had a continuing series of contests and challenges with the Master, and was the first known incarnation to encounter the Silurians and Sea Devils as well as the Ogrons, and the Autons. (DW: Doctor Who and the Silurians, The Sea Devils, Spearhead from Space, Terror of the Autons and Day of the Daleks) The Third Doctor never faced the Cybermen but he and Sarah Jane Smith did witness a Raston Warrior Robot massacre a squad of Cybermen (DW: The Five Doctors)
The Third Doctor was a man of action, aggressively joining the fray whenever he could, unlike the first two Doctors who generally insinuated themselves into events discreetly. This was a Doctor who was unafraid to pitch in with his physical skills, often bringing his mastery of Venusian aikido into play when the situation called for it.
But much like his predecessors, his keen mind was still his primary asset, and this was a Doctor who particularly loved to create and play with gadgets of all sorts. This passion displayed itself both in terms of the Third Doctor's scientific bent and in his love of vehicles, such as his yellow roadster Bessie and his car which he specially built.
Staunchly moral, often to the point of being preachy, the third Doctor was every bit the gentleman, a hero of the Victorian mold.
The Doctor had a noticeably antagonistic relationship with his predecessor, the Second Doctor. Their relationship was so rocky that they were incapable of working together without the authoritative presence of the First Doctor. (DW: The Three Doctors, DW: The Five Doctors) The nature of the Second Doctor's regeneration into the Third may be the cause of their open disliking of each other.
The Third Doctor was known for his great passion for gadgets.
He would also occasionally perform magic tricks
He also loved his vintage car Bessie and later his futuristic Whomobile almost as much as he loved his TARDIS.
He could at times by very tetchy and argumentative, an attitude that he demonstrated repeatedly with bureaucrats and other authority figures.
Being a man of action, he used a wide variety of martial arts including Venusian Aikido.
He was also the first Doctor who would consume alcohol. The First Doctor is offered and seems to drink wine in The Romans.
"Reverse the polarity of the neutron flow" is thought to be his most commonly used quote, but in fact he only says it fully once. In The Paradise of Death, he admits to Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart that the phrase doesn't actually mean anything from a scientific point of view.
As the Fifth Doctor was going through a rather unstable regeneration at that point however, the claim of having had an adventure with the Brigadier and chasing the Ice Warriors may not be entirely factual.
| The incarnations of the Doctor |
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| First – Second – Third – Fourth – Fifth – Sixth – Seventh – Eighth – Ninth — Tenth – Eleventh |
| Companions of the Third Doctor |
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| Television Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart • Liz Shaw • Jo Grant • Sarah Jane Smith Other media Arnold • Jason • Crystal • Zog • Jeremy Fitzoliver |
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