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The third Doctor Who was Jon Pertwee,
a comedian and light entertainer best known for his major role in the
radio comedy The Navy Lark. He might seem a surprising choice
to follow actors of the calibre of Hartnell and Troughton - even more
suprising, given his pedigree, was Pertwee's decision to play the role
of the Doctor almost dead straight. His Doctor was a brilliant
scientist, who didn't suffer fools gladly. Sometimes this made him
seem patronizing and arrogant. Exiled to Earth for a large part of his
incarnation, he was initially deeply resentful of his situation, and
intolerant of the small-minded attitudes of humans, especially the
military thinking of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. After a time, he
settled in - so much so that even when his exile was rescinded, he
still spent most of his time on Earth, and regarded it as his home.
Pertwee's first season in 1970 was his best - it had a new, more adult
style than Doctor Who was used to, and was presented in a more
realistic manner. I feel Pertwee was better suited to this presentation
than the subsequent seasons, which reverted to a more light-hearted
style, and the cosy atmosphere of the "UNIT family". Pertwee's Doctor
is often characterized as a dashing man of action. Combined with his
elegant Regency buck image, we can see how he was modelled after the
glamourous secret agent type characters who were so popular on
television in the late sixties and early seventies - such as Steed in
The Avengers, and most obviously Jason King of Department
S. Pertwee drove a vintage car, and was even proficient in a rare
Venusian martial art. Until about five years ago, I never used to be
particularly keen on Pertwee's Doctor, probably becase my memories of
him were somewhat vague. With an increase in video releases and a
number of repeats, I came to a new appreciation. Though I could not
say outright that Pertwee was my favourite Doctor, I would accord him
that status jointly with his successor, Tom Baker. There is however
quite a large faction of fandom which holds Pertwee in very poor
regard. I think this is a shame. We owe Jon Pertwee a lot. It was
during his time that Doctor Who became a phenomenon. He was
such an immediate success in the role, that the future of the series
was assured for many years to come.
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