Geek Syndicate Issue 7 | Page 13

Geek Syndicate
8. The Third Doctor – Jon Pertwee (1970-1974)
Often termed the “James Bond” of the Doctors, the Third was very much the actionman. If you want a high-speed chase or a swift venusian akido chop to the neck, this is the Doctor to turn to. Jon Pertwee also brought a great wisdom to the role, however he often came over (to me) as somewhat condescending and “HAI!” The Doctor unleashes Venusian Akido holier-than-thou, even to his companions at times to whom he normally seemed to be the favourite uncle.
Image © BBC Image © BBC David Tennant, Manic Defender

I also have a bit of a problem with this Doctor’s attitudes. Generally, the Doctor is an anti-establishment figure, on the side of the rebels and liberals. Here, however, the Time Lord works with (not for!) the British Government and United Nations military. He has an army division to back him up and despite his claims of non-aggression, he’s not afraid to use it. Of course, there are a plethora of great stories to delve into in this five year period – not least of which is the first anniversary story, which brings the three incarnations of the Doctor seen on screen together to fight a foe from the Time Lords’ past. I think that it’s a shame Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks (the show’s producer and script editor) were left with an Earth-bound Doctor to deal with as the programme feels more like Quatermass or The X-Files than Doctor Who for the majority of this era.

7. The Fifth Doctor – Peter Davison (1982-1984)

The main problem that faced Davison was in replacing the hugely successful (and long running) Tom Baker. Indeed, such were the concerns that the audience might not remember that there had been other Doctors, the BBC ran a “five faces of Doctor Who” season featuring adventures from the previous incarnations. Peter Davison is a superb actor and really shines in most of his performances – despite having a very crowded TARDIS when he first arrived.

What I quite like about Davison is his Doctor’s fallibility. In Warriors From the Deep, the TARDIS crew survive to adventure another day, but the Doctor’s goal of a peaceful resolution failed utterly and aggressors had to be poisoned. Such was the level of death during his time (he even lost a companion to the Grim Reaper) that one of his companion’s reason for leaving was to get away from death. It’s unfortunate that it’s really during this period that the quality of the series is seen to have degenerated somewhat. On top of every-

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