The third season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who was originally broadcast on BBC1 between 1965 and 1966. The season began on 11 September 1965 with Galaxy 4 and ended with The War Machines on 16 July 1966. The production team underwent several changes; Verity Lambert, the programme's original producer, was replaced by John Wiles, who developed a positive working relationship with the new story editor, Donald Tosh. Wiles and Tosh both departed later in the season, replaced by Innes Lloyd and Gerry Davis, respectively. Early stories carried over from Lambert's leadership, and many of Wiles and Tosh's later serials were altered by their successors.
The season continued to star William Hartnell as the first incarnation of the Doctor, an alien who travels through time and space in his TARDIS, which appears to be a British police box on the outside. Maureen O'Brien and Peter Purves continued their roles as the Doctor's companions, Vicki and Steven Taylor. O'Brien departed at the conclusion of the third serial, The Myth Makers, replaced by Adrienne Hill as Katarina. Hill's tenure was brief, replaced in the following serial, The Daleks' Master Plan, by Jean Marsh as Sara Kingdom, who also departed by the story's end. Jackie Lane joined the series as Dodo Chaplet in The Massacre; both she and Purves departed by the season's end: Purves in The Savages and Lane in The War Machines, replaced in the latter by Anneke Wills and Michael Craze as Ben and Polly.
The ten serials were written by ten writers: Tosh, William Emms, Terry Nation, Donald Cotton, Dennis Spooner, John Lucarotti, Paul Erickson, Lesley Scott, Brian Hayles, and Ian Stuart Black. The serials were mostly directed by newcomers, Derek Martinus, Michael Leeston-Smith, Paddy Russell, Michael Imison, Bill Sellars, and Michael Ferguson; the exceptions were Douglas Camfield, Rex Tucker, and Christopher Barry, who were involved in earlier seasons. The first five episodes were filmed from July to August 1965 within the same production block as the second season; the remainder of the season began recording in September and lasted approximately ten months, with weekly recording taking place mostly at Riverside Studios or the BBC Television Centre.
The 45-episode season was watched by an average of 7.65 million viewers. It started strong with Galaxy 4, peaking at 11 million viewers, though it gradually decreased to a nadir of 4.5 million during The Savages, the lowest since the first episode in 1963. Critics praised the direction and performances, particularly Hartnell and Purves, and the ambition and themes were well-received despite mixed thoughts on their execution. Audience response saw consistent Appreciation Index scores, peaking for The Daleks' Master Plan but receiving Doctor Whos lowest ever score during The Gunfighters. Several serials were erased by the BBC from 1967, though some were eventually recovered; 26 episodes remain missing. The serials received several audio, VHS, and DVD releases as well as tie-in novels, and some missing stories were reconstructed using animation and off-air audio recordings.
Cast and characters
William Hartnell as the First Doctor, the original incarnation of the Doctor, a Time Lord who travels the universe in a time travelling spaceship called the TARDIS with companions. Initially irascible and prickly, the Doctor has warmed up to his companions. He is eccentric and occasionally aloof, dressing in an Edwardian-style costume, and possesses an academic interest in human history and an aversion to violence. Maureen O'Brien as Vicki, a teenager from the planet Dido in the 25th century. She possesses a youthful enthusiasm, adolescent charm, and adventurous spirit, though she is feminised and often helpless, treated as childlike by many, including the Doctor, with whom she grows close. Vicki has some technological skills, which are occasionally useful. Peter Purves as Steven Taylor, an astronaut shipwrecked on Mechanus who escapes on the TARDIS. He is courageous and headstrong, outwardly acting like an action hero but possessing chivalrous gallantry and emotional depth. Steven is argumentative at times, disagreeing with the Doctor on several occasions, and prefers to make his own decisions. Adrienne Hill as Katarina, a handmaiden to the Trojan priestess Cassandra in 1184 BC. She is timid and helpless, with a naïve speaking pattern, no education, and limited knowledge of technology; she believes that the Doctor is Zeus and the TARDIS his temple. She knows that she will die and believes he is taking her to the afterlife. The Doctor appreciates her simple and worshipful attitude. Jean Marsh as Sara Kingdom, an agent of the Space Security Service. She is armed and powerful but quickly believes what others tell her. Sara is a dedicated soldier loyal to Mavic Chen, the Guardian of the Solar System, for whom she kills her own brother, Bret Vyon; however, upon learning Mavic Chen's intentions, she dissents, joining the Doctor and Steven to defeat the Daleks. Jackie Lane as Dorothea "Dodo" Chaplet, a young woman from England. A descendant of Anne Chaplet, a servant girl from 16th-century Paris, she is childlike, carefree, and naïve, bearing a resemblance to the Doctor's granddaughter, Susan. Her fast speech and use of slang distracts frustrates the Doctor, though they quickly become close. Dodo is introduced with a Mancunian accent but soon loses it. Anneke Wills as Polly, a 24-year-old secretary from London. She is an it girl, representing Swinging London. Polly is upbeat and intelligent but impulsive and occasionally naïve, easily frightened when faced with danger. Michael Craze as Ben Jackson, a 24-year-old able seaman with the Royal Navy. He is loyal, courageous, and resourceful, and his technical knowledge and practical experience often prove useful in helping the Doctor. Ben and Polly soon grow close after meeting.
Serials
: Episode is missing
Production Development In December 1964, Doctor Whos producer, Verity Lambert sent a memo to the BBC's head of serials, Donald Wilson, requesting that the programme take a break in July and August 1965, following the transmission of its second season, as it performed worse in that period; Wilson disagreed, wanting the second season to run longer. A month later, Wilson proposed that Doctor Who should continue indefinitely, with a planned nine-week production break between the second and third seasons; ultimately, the break was delayed and lasted six weeks. The third season opened with five episodes—the four-part Galaxy 4 and the singular "Mission to the Unknown"—that were created as part of the programme's second production block and held for transmission. Although Lambert was credited as producer for Galaxy 4, her successor—John Wiles, who had joined the programme in early June 1965—was effectively responsible for the show during its production. "Mission to the Unknown" was the final story for which Lambert was credited.
Wiles and Donald Tosh, the programme's new story editor after Dennis Spooner's departure, immediately developed a positive working relationship. When a six-part serial was extended to become the twelve-part The Daleks' Master Plan, an unhappy Wiles threatened to resign; Tosh, also unhappy, persuaded him to stay. By the end of the serial's production in January 1966, both men had submitted their resignations, Wiles partly due to his strained relationship with Hartnell and desire to return to writing and directing, and Tosh partly out of loyalty to Wiles and desire to do other work. Tosh had also discovered that the vision of Wiles's replacement, Innes Lloyd, differed from his own. The Massacre was Tosh's final credited work, though he remained during production of The Ark, which was Wiles's last credited work as producer. Lloyd shadowed Wiles during filming for The Ark, and The Celestial Toymaker was his first credit on the programme.
Casting William Hartnell's contract to portray the programme's protagonist, the First Doctor, was renewed on 24 May 1965, covering six serials in the third season; this was amended to five serials on 23 June, reflecting the extension of the six-part The Daleks' Master Plan to twelve parts. Neither contract applies to the single story "Mission to the Unknown", for which Hartnell is credited (as specified in his contract) but does not appear. Hartnell's relationship with Wiles was poor; he was upset by Lambert's departure. Further upset came from the death of Hartnell's aunt Bessie, the only person from his childhood to whom he was close; the production schedule prevented him from attending her funeral. Hartnell had a dual role in The Massacre, as the Doctor and the Abbot of Amboise. He was largely absent from a later serial, The Celestial Toymaker, while on holiday; as his contract was due to expire during the serial, the production team considered replacing him with a different actor when he reappeared, partly due to Hartnell's fragile health and conflict with the team; however, before this could be enacted, Hartnell's contract was renewed on 15 February 1966, seeing him through to the end of the third production block, covering the rest of the third season and the first two serials of the fourth.
The season saw several changes for other lead cast members. Maureen O'Brien and Peter Purves, who portrayed Vicki and Steven Taylor, were contracted on 21 May 1965 until the end of The Myth Makers. Wiles later decided to renew Purves's contract for a further 20 episodes (to the end of The Ark but not O'Brien's, having witnessed arguments regarding her dialogue in rehearsals for Galaxy 4; he informed them on 3 September. O'Brien was shocked, as she had returned from holiday expecting to maintain the job, though she was ultimately glad to move on as she had disliked the role and scripts. Adrienne Hill was contracted on 9 September to replace O'Brien as Katarina in five episodes. Wiles and Tosh decided that Katarina would be killed in The Daleks' Master Plan for shock value, as writers of subsequent stories faced difficulty fitting her in. Hill's first work on the series was recording Katarina's death scene.
Hill was replaced by Jean Marsh as Sara Kingdom, who was also killed in the serial's climax. Katarina and Sara were the first companions to be killed in Doctor Who. Marsh was contracted on 14 September; she had previously played Joanna in the second-season serial The Crusade, for which Hill had been considered. O'Brien's departure and Hill and Marsh's casting were announced on 2 November. The frequent cast changes left Purves worried for his role; he felt he might be replaced by Nicholas Courtney, who was cast as Bret Vyon in The Daleks' Master Plan on 14 September; Courtney returned in the 1968 serial The Web of Fear to play Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart, who later became a prominent recurring character in Doctor Who. The first candidate to replace Katarina and Sara in The Massacre was Anne Chaplet, a servant girl destined for death before being saved by Steven. Tosh and Wiles were cautious of introducing a historical companion after difficulties writing for Katarina. The script was rewritten to introduce Anne's descendant, Dodo, as the new companion, with similar character traits. Jackie Lane was cast as Dodo on 29 December 1965.