Dr Who Review, Part 4 - The Jon Pertwee Era 

I love these videos so much! I have shown them to my friend who i was trying to convince to watch Classic Doctor Who and he says this series was a large part of him deciding to do so. Keep up the good work!

"Jon Pertwee quits from chronic back problems after having to carry the entire show."

The second Doctor regenerated so hard he invented color

Pertwee was the only Doctor I have met in person, when he attended an exhibition of the show's history at a local museum and gallery. As he signed the book I had brought, I told him how much I had enjoyed his performances as the Doctor - he looked up with a warm smile and said, "Thank you, young man...that's most kind of you!" I almost burst into tears!

I met Jon Pertwee in 1972 when I was 6. He was signing Doctor Who books at Hudson's bookshop in Birmingham and we queued up to see him. I was wearing a blue cap that he immediately took of my head and wore while he laughed and joked with us. He was a lovely man who had time for people. I love Tom Baker, but Jon will always be my Doctor.

I had the honour of meeting Jon Pertwee when I was 5 years old. He pushed me around the local town hall on top of k9 when he didn’t have too! My parents told me he stayed in full character until he left the convention. I still have the front page of the paper with our picture on display. An amazing memory I’ll never forget. Such a gentleman. R.I.P Jon

I didn't know that Roger Delgado dying led to the Master's continuation. New found respect for the Delgado Master

All these years and I never noticed that the 3rd doctors exit was the same as his entrance, falling to the floor from the tardis door. Genius production team.

I met Jon Pertwee at a local Dr Who Convention in Wakefield in 1990. I remember him signing autographs for fans when this press photographer walked up and demanded he takes off his glasses. Jon replyed in a very stern voice "don't tell me what to do" and carried on signing for the fans. The photographer who I think worked for the Wakefield Express walked off in shame having been defeated just like one of the Doctors enemies.

Tom Baker may be more widely popular amongst a larger audience, but I think Jon Pertwee's era has a more intensely devoted fanbase. Sure, the hat and scarf are universally recognizable even to people who may have never even seen the show, but whenever I use Jon Pertwee as my profile picture, someone always notices and comments that he was their favorite or one of their top favorite Doctors. I find that interesting, no other Doctor's face has elicited that kind of a response out of random people online.

I absolutely loved The Brigadier, he played it so serious, and was so quintessentially British.

I can definitely see the influence of the Third Doctor on Peter Capaldi's Doctor. Thank you.

Happy 100th birthday to the Third Doctor!!!!

He was "my" Doctor - his adventures are the first I have clear memories of. One of my enduring memories as a child was meeting Jon Pertwee. He opened a large local toystore and it happened to be my birthday, so mum took me as a treat. Pertwee arrived driving Bessie and was in full costime, velvet suit, frilly shirt and cape! The crowd was vast, much larger than had been anticipated. The toyshop had a HUGE supply of the Annual, and Pertwee was autographing them. Despite there being hundreds of children, he took the time to speak to every one of them. I was actually meeting my hero, Doctor Who! He looked down at me, those eyes twinkling as he smiled: "And what's your name, young man?" - he personalised every autograph, and made every kid there feel special, like he was there just for them. He genuinely cared, loved the role, and loved the children, who loved him. I still have that annual.

Interestingly, Ian Fleming was apparently Pertwee's boss in the Navy for some time, and based his James Bond figure partially on Pertwee. Also fitting that the Whomobile was Pertwee's idea, and he had it made without telling anyone at the BBC.

It literally never occurred to me that Pertwee's final collapse from the TARDIS door in his final scene was a mirror of his first scene doing the same thing! Nice catch.

I read that during WWII, Pertwee became a member of the British Military Intelligence group along side James Bond creator Ian Fleming, which brings a whole new revelation when in interviews he said he was basically playing himself when playing the Doctor. As for the Whomobile, that mostly on Jon as he had that car designed and a car workshop built for him for personal use as he used to drive this car in public which confused police officers, seems he was so into the role that he decided to live it. It was used on the show when he drove it to the studio and Barry Letts saw and asked if they can use it to which Pertwee replied "It would break my heart if you don't, this thing has cost me a fortune."

I remember seeing that long chase scene and thinking after a couple minutes went by "wtf is this is this still Dr Who ?" So weird seeing him driving different recreational vehicles and conveyances.

Jon Pertwee was my Dr Who. I was 10 in 1992 when the series was being rerun on BBC2 on a Friday. I loved it, even though they skipped between doctors and series. The Third Doctor came across like a cross between 007 and original Star Trek and he's by far my favourite.

The connection between 3 and 12, as well between the Pertwees and Capaldi needs to be talked about more

John Pertwee was my first doctor. Always loved his episodes and my Grandfather was in the Daemons episodes so he holds a special place in my heart.

The golden era of Dr Who was the 1970's ( 3rd and 4th Doctors ), not even the new series get near the greatness of these 2 Doctors

The moment I first saw The Green Death and he uttered "Venusian Hakkido" was the exact moment he immediately became my 2nd favorite right after Baker. Pertwee and Baker are The Doctor in my opinion

As someone born in 1971 im Australia, tom baker introduced me to the series but I soon became aware if Pertwee through repeats. He soon became a aware rival for Tom Baker as my favourite doctor.

"So you're my replacements. A dandy and a clown." Classic.

Fun Fact: Jon Pertwee's son, Sean Pertwee, would later go on to play Alfred Pennyworth in Gotham.

Inferno is so great. Even the guest cast is amazing. I was pretty impressed by professor Stahlman's and Sutton's actors

For part of the War, Jon Pertwee worked in Naval Intelligence alongside Ian Fleming, and he was allegedly one of the inspirations for James Bond.

Roger Delgado’s Master was the best Master to this day

I don't care what anybody says- I love the martial art segments from the 3rd doctor.

My best friends grandad was Robert Tilburn who was one of the three survivors on the hood. Interesting to know that he could have served with Jon Pertwee

I must confess: I am a big fan of Pat Troughton and when I saw Jon the first time playing the Doctor, I though, he is an unbearable, arrogant namedropper. But when I rewatched his episodes later, with no connection to his predec..., prediss..., ahem, the guy who played the role before him, I liked him more and more. The setting on earth with UNIT and his spacial relationships towards trhe Brigadier and Jo, his tongue-in-cheek humour etc. is probably the best era of the show along with the Hinchcliffe era of Tom Baker's tenure. Especially today when we are tortured by Chris Chibnall and Jodie Whittaker it makes me mourn of those great times.

Since I was only seven when Jon Pertwee appeared as the Doctor, I have no recollection of Hartnell or Troughton. Jon Pertwee was my Doctor, and I am proud to have been there to witness first-hand who in my opinion was the very best Doctor Who that ever was. I was just as pleased to experience the Tom Baker era in my teens, but Jon Pertwee will always be my favourite. He seemed to embody the very essence of his character, and as you say in your commentary, there was no more heroic figure in the series up to that point. Jo Grant was my favourite assistant (probably because she was extremely cute and needed rescuing so often!), and there was a real feel to the Doctor's opponents, an inspiration to their design and back stories. Also, of course, there seemed to be no end of spare incompetant UNIT foot soldiers to sacrifice, and the Brigadier, who, if you were fed up with your dad, you could easily see taking up the role in his place. I remember with fondness, the alarming-looking Sea Devils, the Daemons, the chilling Silurians, the Axons , the giant maggots from The Green Death and of course, THE MASTER...

Second: He is me! Third: you are confusing her! Third: he is me! love that they are the same person after all

I’d like to see another brawler doctor, imagine the master being mid speech and then getting a right hook to the face

Jon Pertwee made for an excellent Dr. Who. I was lucky enough to meet him at a sci-fi convention in the late 1980s, and he was very friendly and charming, and very patient in dealing with so many eager teenage fans from America.

Your videos are outstanding! The commentary is very professional, and the clips are extremely well selected. I really enjoy learning more about the leading actors' backgrounds. Another valuable thing about your commentaries is the historical context of Doctor Who as it is influenced by other contemporary programs and the development of the show in production, storylines, characters, and costumes. The videos are so good I can watch each one multiple times!

Man that is such an interesting tidbit that Pertwee actually served on the HMS Hood. Like just, wow

My first Doctor...and I fell in love with The Brigadier at age 6.

These are just so freaking well-made, I've been watching them all day

It's kind of ironic that the Brigade Leader is clean shaven in the parallel world, its kind of like the mirrorverse from Star Trek where Mr Spock has a beard

This is when my daddy introduce me to Doctor WHO.. As a 6 year old child in Chicago.. Been a NERD ever since

I grew up in the US in the 80's and on our local Pubic Station they showed an episode either Friday or Saturday nights. I saw Doctors 3-5. Jon Pertwee will always be my favorite. I loved "The Master", and the UNIT fam. Great job on review.

The first time I watched Inferno I was literally on the edge of my seat. Jon had some really good stories and is a definite favourite of mine

All due respect to Jo Grant (and her screaming ability), and Sarah Jane (who was an amazing companion), the one season with Liz Shaw (who is one of my faves) was really great. A strong, independent scientist who was the awesome. They did her dirty because she was "too smart"

I love the UNIT era, I might just like Quatermass * does quick web search to find out some episodes of the show are missing from the BBC archives* AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH

I just discovered the 3rd Doctor, and he’s a total badass. After watching a couple episodes, he became one of my favorite characters in television.

As someone who has only watched modern who, this is a nice way to get a feel for how classic doctor was when it was current

Jon and Tom will always be my Doctors and I have all their well watched and worn DVDs. They will always be part of my life.

Tom Baker was the Doctor I grew up watching, but Jon Pertwee was my first exposure to Doctor Who when it began airing in Ontario about three years behind the UK air date. I barely knew or remembered what was going on in the brief time I watched him (didn't remember the Whomobile, but very young me would have loved it). I've since gone back and watched his run and he definitely stands as one of my favourites, with his best work standing right next to Tom Baker's.

I initially watched Jon Pertwee just because I'm a completist, but damn, his regeneration still brought tears to my eyes.

Jon Pertwee is my favourite Doctor for many reasons. I liked his old English entire, eccentric mannerism, man of action, no nonsense militant attitude, his martial art fighting skills (using Aikido), his quick wit, resourcefulness and not to mention his canary yellow vintage roadster that he nicknamed Bessie. He was very lucky to have brilliant story writers such as Malcolm Hulke, Terry Nation and Don Houghton, and brilliant companions. I enjoyed watching his adventures when he teamed up with the Brigadier and the unit to face the sinister Master and all kinds of dark forces, I'm not convinced Chris Chibnall is the answer for the new Doctor. I have my views on it and won't be watching the new series out of principle, and the direction the show is heading towards. With that said, thank you for the upload and your personal insight.

I really love all these stories with UNIT. They have a special British flavor. And the spy vibe

I’m on the last season of the Second Doctor and I’m excited for this era! I love a more of a grumpy Doctor tbh (my fav Doctor so far being the 12th Peter Capaldi) so I cant wait

Another well-done video, and it has actually made a connection for me that I haven't noticed for almost 40 years. I was a kid in the 70s so watched all of the Pertwee era, but I also watched a very creepy ITV childrens show called "Escape Into Night" (which can still be found on DVD and is well worth a watch, to see what else Dr Who viewers were also watching at the time). Escape into Night is memorable for its frightening monsters - giant menancing Stones with a single gtaring eye, which terrified the child viewers of the time, including myself. I had never noticed until now the similarity in design of Escape's Stones to the Gel Guards of "The Three Doctors". It is noticeable that Escape was broadcast between April and May 1972, whilst The Three Doctors was still in the Scripting phase. In fact Who's filming didn't start until November 1972, leaving plenty of time to design the Gel Guards. Although they are obviously designed primarily as a cheap monster for an actor to shuffle along in, they are supposedly made of the amorphous energy gel that inhabits Omega's world, so could theoretically be any shape,.The similarity of design could be coincidental, though knowing Doctor Who's penchant for borrowing designs and themes from other shows and movies, it was almost certainly an attempt to tap into the fear generated by Escape's Stones. If so, it is no wonder they look so underwhelming today, divorced as they are from the now mostly forgotten menace of the One-Eyed Stones of "Escape Into Night" that influenced them.

i was first introduced to doctor who in about 2013-2014, when i was around 10. i primarily watched the 11th doctor since that’s what my local library had on dvd. fast forward a couple years and i had moved halfway across the country. now living at my grandparents house, i didn’t have much to do. they didn’t have wifi, or cable tv. all i had was the few tv channels that came over antenna. i happened across a channel that played old sci-fi shows, and it was all i watched for about a year. every night at 11:00 they played 2 episodes of classic who, this was my introduction to the 3rd doctor. the first full story i saw was inferno, though i saw the last two episodes of the ambassadors of death, and i was obsessed. the lack of any time or space travel didn’t even cross my mind at the time, and the james bond like action and adventure was just amazing to me. i remember that time very fondly, coming home after school every day and waiting excitedly until night came and i could go on another adventure with the doctor and company. i know exactly how children in the 70s must have felt waiting for the next episode each week. i love every incarnation of the doctor, but the 3rd will always be one of my absolute favorites, and who i consider to be my doctor. jon pertwee remains one of my favorite actors, and i thank doctor who for introducing me to him.

RIP Richard Franklin

"The high production values such as Star Trek" I know what you mean but that made me laugh so loud. Star Trek, the show of Planet Hell and Invisible Spaceships where 85% of each episode was characters having long conversations because they didn't have any money for sets, costumes or effects. Making aliens wear giant helmets so they didn't have to have make up or prosthetics I wonder if there's a Blake's 7 review that says it couldn't match the high production values of Dr Who . Loving this review series BTW. Watching it in the background while at work

"Inferno" was my first ever Doctor Who story and I cant think of a better introduction!

The pleasure of hearing Delia Derbyshire's soundtrack in context is reason enough on its own to watch this youtube series. That it is so well constructed and illuminating is a bonus.

Jon Pertwee was my first Doctor and perhaps my favorite. Also UNIT and the Brigadier have always been one of my favorite elements of Doctor Who.

Re: his re-assigment from the HMS Hood to officers training. I read that his new Commanding Officer was Ian Fleming.. Definitely a little James Bond in Doctor #3

Watching these backwards as should be appropriate for a Time Lord documentary and since the recent train wreck... Great content but this episode is so affectionate... wonderful piece. Thank you :)

Jon Pertwee’s time as the Doctor is far and away my favourite era of the show.

i can't choose between Jon Pertwee or Tom Baker -- they're both equally great in their ways.

I would like to see Bessie (that old yellow car) come back for an episode. I think it would be kind of cool.

I am glad this installment had some of its focus on the Pertwee Classic "Inferno". This co-starred the great Christopher Benjamin and probably my favorite of the Pertwee era.

Funny enough my first exposure to classic Who was just a couple of years ago with some Pertwee stories. Ropey special effects aside I was surprised how much I enjoyed it, especially Pertwee's performance as the Doctor. Even after all these decades the guy just *radiates* charisma and presence off the screen.

@20:55 one of the best Who cliffhangers ever in the entire series (new and Classic!). Despite the dodgy CSO, the acting and story absolutely make you feel terrified for the horrific fate of these people. I remembered this Cliffhanger vividly during my childhood and teen years...heck, stuck with me to this day as it is just absolutely nightmarish and achieves a visceral sort of primal terror that I can’t quite explain. Excellent stuff! On a more lighthearted note, in those days information wasn’t the instant google search we enjoy today, and the US had just gotten the Pertwee stories, and for reasons I still don’t understand Inferno was the earliest Pertwee story we saw until many years later when the perfectly good and color Spearhead from Space and Doctor Who and the Silurians were aired (but nomAmbassadors!). Anyway, my confusion at the early stories led me to believe the garage that the TARDIS Console was in was the actual TARDIS interior “back then”! It wasn’t until the console disappears near the end of the story that I finally realized that it probably (maybe?) wasnt the interior of the TARDIS but I couldn’t understand why the console was out by itself! :-)

I met Joh Pertwee in 1995. Very interesting and educated man. He had a very good sense of humour. He was always my favourite Dr although I've not watched any since Peter Davison much other than the occasional show.

Pertwee is my favorite Doctor of the classic Doctor Who.

In real life, Jon was very close friends with Ian Fleming who based James Bond on him. His version of the Third Doctor falls in line with the Gentleman Adventurer of the 1960s and early 70s. Classic examples of these characters were Simon Templer, John Steed, and John Drake. They were always immaculately dressed, courteous to women, drove fast cars and never carried a gun. They easily could look after themselves, and the Third Doctor carried this off brilliantly with his witty observations and suave elegance. It hasn't been matched since. Jon was my favourite of the incarnations. It wasn't until David Tennant took over that I bothered to watch DW again. I had forgotten how good "The Daemons" was, along with "The Green Death" despite the budgetary constraints. He never really got over the death of Roger Delgado which caused him to leave the show. Jon Pertwee was a class act. Thanks for posting this.

Saw the Baker installment listed on my recommendation and clicked not expecting to hang around. Hours later, almost all the installments watched, several meals in the interim and pretty much the whole day committed to it, here I am. And, mind you, I don't even call myself a fan of the franchise at all, having only watched the classic reruns in the '90s with my kids, as more or less something to share with them. I've had no interest at all in Doctor Who since. But your work is so compelling and nostalgic for me that I had to binge.

Courage isn't just a matter of being frightened you know. It's about being afraid and doing what you have to do anyway. - Planet Of The Daleks

Pertwee is still my favorite Doctor. Many good stories from that era too. He rises above the cheesy effects. I don’t think “Carnival of Monsters” would be as fun with slick modern digital effects.

Ive just discovered these programmes and they are the absolute best I've ever seen on the series. Ive watched Dr Who since the first episodes and these bring back so many memoreis and intelligent commentary so sadly lacking in any BBC productions.

Grundig: "Probably the best name on a colour television" PROBABLY!?! God its fun to see how advertising has changed

This was my favorite doctor. He was.smart,stylest and was a man of action. His most dangerous nemesis of all time is The Master. He gave the doctor no end of trouble.

I first saw this show in 1973 and I met Jon and Liz Sladen in 1982 in New York City. They were both very charming and they're still deeply missed.

Pertwee is my second favourite doctor of all time, just behind Capaldi's. This video encapsulated perfectly what kind of man he was and why he's possibly the best male role model of the doctors, why his earth-bound era was so great and what ultimately helped make 70's doctor who the best decade of the show, along with the zany greatness of Tom Baker of course! :)

Love Pertwee. My 2nd favorite doctor . He was also the first doctor we saw in the States. Only problem I had with Pertwee/ Letts era was using the máster too much. Hinchcliffe, Holmes, Baker , Sladen era was the pinnacle of Dr. who .

"While there's life..." Hits like a truck nearly 50 years on.

A regeneration story where the Master turns good? Sound familiar?

Jon Pertwee - My Doctor. A great era for Doctor Who. Thanks for putting together these superb videos

Good to hear some real love for the Pertwee era.

"Shoes...must find my shoes"

Yep….definitely going to give Dr Who a go. Don’t hate me, but I don’t think I could sit through the black and white initially…so I’ll start with Colour and go back if I want to! Great vid

Would anyone else love to see Jodie Whitaker regenerate into Sean Pertwee

With reference to The Master... When he first appeared, many of my generation had the inbstant thought.. "The War Chief!" A missed opportunity

Pertwee was my "fist Doctor." Long story, but when I was first "introduced" to the Doctor I went to the library and randomly picked a Doctor Who dvd. It just happened to be one of Pertwee's episodes. I was born a few months before Pertwee left the show, so I guess you could say that Pertwee is "my doctor." He certainly was swashbuckler of a Doctor. The stories I've seen have been fun. Oh, also, Sara Jane... be still my heart.

I was 9 when Jon Pertwee became The Doctor..... and as much as I've liked/disliked many others that followed, he to this day, still remains "MY" Doctor..... ;-) Lovely video..... Thank you :-)

This should be aired by the BBC at some point. These videos are potentially better than anything they would create considering that you don’t have access to any of their catalogue of props or costumes.

Jon Pertwee is in my opinion one of the better Doctors in the original series. He was easy on the eyes and he so smooth. The fourth Doctor had the right balance of silliness and seriousness, that was necessary for the situations that the Doctor and his companions had found themselves in. Perfect Doctor for the time. He definitely ranks 1st, and Tom Baker 2nd, with Davidson 3rd. The best of the best.

Inferno was my very first Dr Who episode I ever watched, and this is my favorite era of classic Who. I love any episode where it is "alien X attacks Earth, the Dr and UNIT have to stop them; and the subsequent shooting and soldiers flying all over the place. "Day of the Daleks" is among my favorite of all Dr. Who eps, it is one that I will watch over and over again and still get excited after all these years. Thank you for allowing me to go down memory lane again and keep up the awesome work!!

I suppose with the 'UNIT Family', I'd say that along with Brigadier (the Father figure) and the Doctor (the Uncle), one could say that the Master is almost the 'half-brother'.

The writing was great in The Pertwee era.Silurians was an excellent science fiction idea .The early Pertwee is influenced by both Quartermas and the more fantasy Avengers episodes Again a professional documentary with some great insights .

My FAVORITE Doctor! I grew up watching mostly the 4th's series through the late '70s to '81, I was introduced to Doctor Who through reruns of the 3rd's series on the non-profit channel PBS. It was '77, and Star Wars had completely changed pop culture, so N.American movies & TV were grabbing up science fiction where ever they could.

Pertwee was the first Doctor Who series to be widely aired in the USA. For viewers in the 1970's , it was a shocking change from the sometimes juvenile American SF series, and built a firm fan base. Many US Dr. Who fans still remember Pertwee as their first and favorite Doctor.

Dear John , loved him I liked that he was serious , I was 8 in 1972 I was terrified of the cyber men , my favourite Doctor by a mile happy times

My favourite Doctor. Also the great UNIT family.