Season Three Recap | Doctor Who Marathon From The Beginning | Most Tumultuous Season Yet! 

Thank you Chris I am a life long fan of Who This is the first time I are watching the earlier stories.

I like a lot of 3, it is very inventive. I really hope whatever next return we get of missing episodes includes soemthing from this season because what we do have i smostly great.

OK, since I’ve just completed my own season three run (determined to get to Hartnell’s regeneration for New Year’s), here’s my top 10 from 10 to 1. 10. The Time Meddler. While I love how absolutely nuts the story gets and the reveal of The Monk’s big secret, it’s honestly a question of preference for me. Love the story, love the Monk, love the new Vicki and Steven dynamic, just some other stuff is higher. 9. Galaxy 4. This surprised me. I listened to just the audio first and found it just kind of ehh. Then watched the animated reconstruction and I’ll be damned if I just didn’t fall in love with the story and the characters. Such a fun perception game turned into a race against time. Steven and Vicki are in fine form and the Doctor plays off so well with both groups, it’s really a lot of fun. 8. The War Machines. I was shocked how much I enjoyed this. Right from the jump, it feels so different, much closer to modern Who. You can definitely see the seeds of what will become UNIT and everything to come with what we enjoy today on this serial. The one strike? Dodo is done dirty, period. 7. The Crusade. With one exception, this is the serial I hope we can see all of someday completed the most. Julian Glover and Jean Marsh absolutely kill it with their performances. It’s one of those gems that you really want even fans who really want to avoid lost content to check out, it’s so strong. 6. The Rescue. It’s really short, but I really enjoy the introduction of Vicki, the mystery behind her stranding and the proof the show can go on after a Companion departure. I’d argue this as an underrated episode that I hope more check out. 5. The Chase. OK, the haunted castle is a bit goofy and Peter Purviss on top of the Empire State Building is almost ridiculously over the top, but it’s honestly such a good serial, the final exit for Ian and Barbara is strong, we get Steven’s introduction and it’s a lot more fun than some would think. 4. The Edge of Destruction. This is where Doctor Who really started becoming Doctor Who for me. After some shaky stuff with cavemen and a rough first two episodes of the Daleks, this is almost a sorbet. Our four principals just acting their socks off in an extremely intense and claustrophobic setting. Hartnell’s monologue against the column is still a defining Doctor moment for his take on the character. 3. The Daleks’ Master Plan. This is the other one I need to see completed someday. I mean, this one takes you through the ringer and takes zero prisoners along the way. I’ll go to my grave thinking the departure of Sara Kingdom might be one of the most horrifying things in the history of the show. Please, if there is a way, let episodes 4 and 12 at least be out there somewhere. Regardless, this is just amazing. 2. The Dalek Invasion of Earth. Between the Daleks rolling through London and the first time Who really makes you cry, this is such a good story and an absolute ride. That you barely notice Hartnell missing due to onset injury for a few episodes tells you the momentum this one is solid. And in the end, the winner and still classic Who champion is… 1. The Aztecs. I absolutely love this story. Perfect blend of principals and supporting cast, a really solid story, some epic moments (Ian winning a fight using his thumb, Barbara being a badass against the high priest, The Doctor making sure River is going to kill him someday if she ever finds out…), I can’t express enough what a joy and a treat the Aztecs really is. Perfect serial to me and could easily be remade today without missing a beat. And that’s my top ten. Have to see if Troughton can make any changes in the lineup, it won’t be easy.

My top ten now is: 1. The Dalek Invasion of Earth 2. The Daleks 3. The Aztecs 4. The Daleks Masterplan 5. The Myth Makers 6. The Time Meddler 7. An Unearthly Child 8. The Gunfighters 9. The War Machines 10. The Crusade For companions it would be 1. Barbara 2. Ian 3. Sara 4. Steven 5. Vicki 6. Susan 7. Dodo 8. Katarina

Season 3 is definitely the hardest season to get through considering what’s missing.

60th Anniversary Doctor Who Marathon...Take 2 "Season 3" TV stories The Savages (10/10) The Massacre (9/10) The Myth Makers (9/10) The Dalek's Master Plan (8/10) The War Machines (7/10) The Ark (7/10) Galaxy 4 (7/10) The Gunfighters (6/10) Mission to the Unknown (6/10) The Celestial Toymaker (2/10) A year ago, during my 1st try with this, I was a lot more harsh with the Gunfighters. Now, I can see a few more positives. It is probably Dodo's best story, and the Doctor has a great deal of screen time, especially at this late period of his time in the role. Gunfighters was also quite a lot of fun. My criticisms from a year ago do remain. Steven was seriously let down by the script, 40 (yes, 40) verses of a mediocre song overstayed it's welcome after 3 or 4 verses, and...I don't get why someone from centuries in the future is all gaga about playing a gunman in the American old west. The major Tardis crew ally of the season, I vote goes to the Rills from Galaxy 4. With the Savages from...the Savages being a close second. While the Daleks were definitely a major threat, I think the greatest villain was Mavic Chen this season. While the Toymaker himself was relatively interesting and intimidating, the Celestial Toymaker as a story didn't really work for me. And the animation did NOT help matters. This season is, so far, by far the most I have seen of Ian's AI reconstructions. While I do have some slight hangups with them (lip sync and some movements especially) they are at a minimum far superior to the Loose Canon reconstructions of the past. His reconstructions are back in the realm of moving pictures. And for his incomplete stories, returning to the Loose Canon stills generate quite a bit of whiplash for the remaining episodes. That being the case, I would far rather just listen to the audio for the episodes not having his treatment yet. I hope during a future marathon (for the 70th perhaps), all of the missing episodes will receive AI reconstructions from Ian and his team by that point. Big Finish The Crash of the UK-201 (10/10) Entanglement (10/10) The Ravelli Conspiracy (9/10) The Sontarans (9/10) Daughter of the Gods (9/10) The War to End All Wars (9/10) Fugitive of the Daleks (8/10) The Dalek Occupation of Winter (8/10) The Cold Equations (8/10) Mother Russia (8/10) The Perpetual Bond (8/10) The Anachronauts (8/10) Across the Darkened City (8/10) The First Wave (7/10) Fields of Terror (6/10) Home Truths (6/10) The Guardian of the Solar System (6/10) The Founding Fathers (6/10) Companion rankings Vicki Ian Chesterton Steven Taylor Barbara Wright Oliver Sara Susan Dodo Katarina

Is there a particular era of Doctor Who you are or are not looking forward to the most in this re-watch going forward?

I've enjoyed your travels through Season Three. There is so much to enjoy and if those pesky missing episodes ever turn up I'm certain it would achieve far more recognition. There are 2 misfires for me ... The dullness that is The Celestial Toymaker (God, I'm still hoping Neil Patrick-Harris isn't him in the upcoming 60th Specials as predicted), and the overlong Daleks Masterplan, which would have been much better served as a 6 parter (those first six episodes are bleeding brilliant) and then a four part story devoid of Daleks but featuring Chen at an earlier point in his life and then a final Dalek two parter. Sadly, this elongated drama makes the Daleks less of a threat (enter the Monk and Egypt). It's interesting that after the 12 part Masterplan that the production team settles on four episodes as being the optimum length for story telling. My top five from this season are: 1. The Massacre 2. The Savages 3. The Myth Makers 4. The War Machines 5. Galaxy 4 It's going to be a few years until the series was THIS diverse and unpredictable again ... (hark, what is that I hear?) The sounds of battle of bases under siege? No! Sadly it's the sounds of an vessel stuck in mud trying to prevent itself from being stuck in a rut! Roll on Season 6!

At this stage, my personal ranking would be: 1) The Time Meddler 2) The Aztecs 3) The Crusade 4) The Romans 5) The Gunfighters 6) The Daleks' Master Plan 7) The Rescue 8) The War Machines 9) The Web Planet 10) The Dalek Invasion of Earth Comparing my list to yours, I think the big difference is that I have a much harder time getting on with reconstructions than you do. I have to say, I'm jealous, as I absolutely wish I could get the same level of enjoyment out of Marco Polo, for instance, that you and others clearly do (and to be fair, it hovers just outside the top ten as is) and maybe with repeated viewings I will, but so far it hasn't happened. I think I'd rank the companions in much the same order, though I might swap Katarina and Dodo just because it is hard to get over how dirty the programme does Dodo for the most part, through no fault of her own, and also I think I'd maybe put Steven just ahead of Vicki, although both are great and I'll always wish there were more stories with the Tardis team established in The Time Meddler. I think it may be significnt that both Steven and Vicki start out as clear replacements for, respectively, Susan and Ian, but end up - in large part thanks to the fantastic performances Peter Purves and Maureen O'Brien put in, coupled with their undeniable chemistry with each other and with Hartnell - becoming incredibly strong characters in their own right.