Third Doctor
Well, Third Doctor is the one who saves the program from being cancelled. You may ask the question why do I say that. Well, Troughton finds it hard to work so much with as the Doctor and chooses to leave the program. At the same time the budgets strains are pushing the BBC to cancel this great TV program. As a result, Sherwin and others decide to move the program to having just adventures on Earth. They do this by having Troughton’s Doctor go on trial with his race, the TimeLords. The TimeLords find him guilty of messing with the laws of time and getting involved in the lives of other races. At the end of War Games, they sentence him to exile on Earth and cause him to regenerate.
When the TARDIS lands on Earth in Spearhead from Space, it is the first color episode ever filmed for Doctor Who. He is basically a stranger to the members of U.N.I.T. because his appearance is different. Jon Pertwee is now the Doctor, but Sherwin wants Ron Moody but he turns down the role.(1) Because he turns down the role, Sherwin is able to cast another actor on his shortlist. The man’s name is Jon Pertwee.
Jon Pertwee’s Doctor is one I can give an opinion. He is not the first Doctor I view, but when I am 16 or 17 years of age LPB broadcast most of his stories. I remember watching this action packed Doctor. He and his faithful car he calls Bessie. He also is a more physical Doctor as well. Apparently, Pertwee is an avid lover of riding different modes of transportation.(2) I remember the motorcycles as well as the hovercraft. Sherwin really believes that Pertwee will bring comedy to the role but does not. He plays it very straight and I can say there is not much comedy during his tenure as the Doctor.
It is during Pertwee’s tenure the BBC cuts the number of episodes to twenty to twenty-eight episodes. As stated above they move the shows location to Earth, but neither the new producer Barry Letts nor script editor Terrance Dicks like this idea. So they seek ways to allow the DOctor to travel through time and space again. This will happen after The Three Doctors. The Anniversary story will feature all the Doctors from the beginning. Although Hartnell is able to to do much due to health reasons.(3)
It is during the Third Doctor’s reign that Letts brings the character of the Master to the program. Roger Delgado plays the Master and according to what I read the feeling of overuse of the character. The plan is to find a way to write the Master out of the program, but because of the death of Delgado this doesn’t take place. The loss of Delgado puts a strain on Pertwee because they are good friends. Then Katy Manning choses the leave the program and to Pertwee it is like his family is breaking up. It is for this reason Pertwee decides to leave the program. Now, according to Elizabeth Sladen on the DVD release of Invasion of the Dinosaurs, Pertwee asked for a big pay raise and when turned down leaves the role.(4)