Geek Syndicate Issue 9 March 2014 | Page 47

Geek Syndicate
NOTE: Unless stated otherwise, all images in this article are © BBC Worldwide
In the third of their Doctor Who articles, Luke and Antony present their choices of the best television stories
from two more Doctors. Taking us through the seventies and into the very early eighties, here are their picks
from the Third and Fourth Doctors…

THE THIRD DOCTOR (JON PERTWEE 1970-1975)
LUKE’S CHOICE:
DOCTOR WHO ...

It was a big ask from the creative team: we had a new Doctor with a new cast; a Doctor Who no longer had access to
his TARDIS. One who was now Earth bound, and for the
first time, broadcast in colour. It was quite a different show
and yet the crew somehow pulled it off. Not only did this
seventh series of Doctor Who work, it is possibly one of the
best that the show has ever had. Each story was either an
alien invasion story or a mad scientist story, yet the ingenuity of the creative team meant that none of the stories
felt repetitive. The crowning jewel of the series was Doctor
Who and the Silurians (the only televised story with “Doctor Who” in the title). Written by Malcolm Hulke (one of my
favourite Doctor Who writers), there was a more adult vibe
than ever before.
Hulke’s scripts are often filled with shades of grey, asking questions of morality with the Doctor being the moral
compass that we all wished we could live up to. In modern terms I think the best way to describe the way that he
wrote the Doctor was the way Nolan’s Batman was presented. This Doctor is incorruptible and not afraid to do
what is right even if it is the unpopular course. We really
see in Hulke’s scripts that he is an alien and not human.
Nowhere is this more the case than in this story. The Doctor picks the right side even though it is not human.

Synopsis (from Tardis.wikia.com):
At Wenley Moor nuclear research facility, they’re experiencing technical difficulties. The source is something old,
the former rulers of the Earth, and they have awoken.
As I think I made clear last issue, I am not a fan of the
Third Doctor. I feel that his personality does not fit with
my vision of who the Doctor is. At the same time, his five
year run had some cracking stories. His first season is exceptional and I would argue one of the best in the series
as a whole. I would advise anyone to watch some of these
stories. While the central character does not feel like the
Doctor to me, there is some damn fine science fiction going on in this first year.

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