The Best and Worst of Jon Pertwee

[Mr Light]

I just finished marathoning through the entire run of the Third Doctor. Whew! I thought I had seen a lot of it as a kid on PBS, but it turns out I'd only seen the first 30 minutes of like a third of them. They aired at 11:30pm and I guess I always fell asleep right quick

Unfortunately I found most of them to be extremely long-winded and/or uninteresting. Any time it was a six episode serial I just really groaned. I still like the character of the Third Doctor though.

For favorite companion I definitely have to go with Jo Grant. I thought it was hilarious the way she talked and acted like a ten year old child! Liz Shaw left me cold and Sarah Jane is just there (why is she the most popular Classic Companion?! I like her in SJA and all but she's so boring here)

While they definitely over-used the Master too much, his appearances were always the highlight of this era. I loved his calmness and cool sense of humor; I've been raised with a silly over the top Master (Ainley, Simm).

So anyway, my Best and Worst:

THE BEST:
Three Doctors. This was one of the few I had on VHS as a kid and I watched it a million times. Not only is it great for the Doctor bickerings, not only is it great for the villain of Omega, but it's a legitimately good and interesting story, something that most of Pertwee's serials didn't have.

Terror of the Autons. First appearance of the Master and Jo and good returning use of the Autons.

Frontier in Space. Actually managed to have interesting outer space political intrigue. The Draconians were cool. Plus, the Master AND the Daleks?! Also, Delgado's final appearance.

The Daemons. Solid story. Nice location filming.

The Sea Devils. Nice on-water filming, the Master, and the Sea Devils actually looked cool.

THE WORST: these serials just basically did not interest me at all.
Ambassadors of Death. Mind of Evil. Claws of Axos. Curse of Peladon. The Mutants. The Time Warrior (in spite of the first appearance of the Sontarans and Sarah Jane). Invasion of the Dinosaurs (not just for the absolutely horrible dinosaur "effects" but the story itself). Monster of Peladon.

The most disappointing would be Pertwee's final serial, Planet of the Spiders. I'd never seen this one so I was looking to seeing what killed him off. So I got six episodes of silly little wiggling spiders, a Buddhist temple, a mentally challenged janitor or something like that... oy.

 

[Saga]

i thought Claws of Axos, Invasion of the Dinosaurs and Planet of the Spiders were all pretty good. didn't really care for Colony in Space though. to each their own i suppose.

 

[captcalhoun]

Frontier in Space was the one with the Master, Draconians and Daleks

 

[diankra]

Best for me: Silurians, Ambassadors, Inferno, Mind of Evil, Frontier in Space, Curse of Peladon

Worst (dull): Colony in Space, Monster of Peladon, Planet of the Daleks
Worst (overambitious): Claws of Axos, Planet of the Spiders, Mutants.

 

[Anji]

The Sea Devils made me a Pertwee fan. I love Inferno, I can probably repeat it back to you line by line.

Both Peladon episodes rocked because of Alpha Centauri. Loved him, totally loved him.

And Pertwee had his moments: The Venusian Lullaby in the Curse of Peladon, the tale of his "blackest day" when he and Jo are locked in the tomb in Atlantis in the Time Monster and virtually any scene with Roger Delgado as the Master. The cool elegant gentlemenly rivalry they had for each other.

I loved Jon. Even in his stinkiest episodes there was still something about him that glued you to that screen.

 

[Mr Light]

One thing that surprised me was how serious he was as the Doctor. I think the only two Pertwee serials I had on VHS as a kid were Three Doctors (where he has the hilarious bickering with Troughton) and Green Death, where I remember him dressing up in drag as a cleaning woman or something (I didn't rewatch this one). So I had this expectation of him being a comedic person who dresses up in disguises.

 

[Saga]

The Green Death is another great Third Doctor story. he's a very underrated Doctor.

 

[Valin]

Pertwee is still my favorite Doctor.

Best episodes: Inferno; The Daemons; Curse of Peladon; The Sea Devils; The Green Death.

Worse:Carnival of Monsters

 

[captcalhoun]

i don't think there's a Pertwee serial i haven't liked.

out of:
Spearhead From Space
The Silurians
Inferno
Terror of the Autons
The Three Doctors
The Sea Devils
Frontier in Space
Planet of the Daleks
Day of the Daleks
Invasion of the Dinosaurs
Curse of Peladon

 

[VDCNI]

Along with the 6th Doctor my least favourite era of the show.

There are only two stories I'd put up there with the greats of Who.

Inferno & Carnival Of Monsters.

 

[VDCNI]

Along with the 6th Doctor my least favourite era of the show.

There are only two stories I'd put up there with the greats of Who.

Inferno & Carnival Of Monsters.

 

[Cutter John]

Only eps I didn't care for were his entire first season, and Planet of the Daleks. Can't count how many times I've tried to watch 'Planet', but gave up out of boredom about thirty minutes in. I swear Terry Nation really did only have the one Dalek plot in him didn't he?

 

[23skidoo]

Sarah Jane is just there (why is she the most popular Classic Companion?! I like her in SJA and all but she's so boring here)

I take it you've never seen her with the Fourth Doctor, otherwise you wouldn't have to ask that. Wait till you get to Pyramids of Mars and The Hand of Fear.

While they definitely over-used the Master too much, his appearances were always the highlight of this era. I loved his calmness and cool sense of humor; I've been raised with a silly over the top Master (Ainley, Simm).

That one season where he was in every story is a highlight of Pertwee's era, and then they made a conscious effort to scale him back. They'd planned to kill him off (possibly regenerating Pertwee at the same time), but Roger Delgado got killed in a car crash so the Master just disappeared off the scene for a while.

I don't disagree with your best and worsts at all. However I would add The Silurians and Inferno to the best list. I know lots of modern audiences don't like the longer stories, but I think when done right, they shine. And these shone.

One thing though that I find difficult to do and that is truly objectively review the serialized Doctor Who after I've sat through all 4 episodes of, say, Spearhead from Space in one sitting. Remember these stories were meant to be viewed in 25-minute chunks with a week in between, and were paced and plotted accordingly. A story that seems overlong, plodding, etc. (a frequent complaint regarding the longer stories) when watched in one sitting makes on a whole new feel when the cliffhangers truly were cliffhangers. (People in Britain who were kids in 1976 still talk about a rather infamous cliffhanger from The Deadly Assassin that was completely diffused in the PBS omnibus version, or when viewed back to back with the conclusion on DVD). Sometimes I've considered taking a story I've haven't seen in a long time, and watching it not over the course of a couple hours, but over the course of a month or 2, one episode a time. I wonder how different our view of the show might become (good or bad) if we put ourselves back in the shoes of the pre-video/pre-PBS omnibus generation.

Alex

 

[Davros]

When I think worst Jon Pertwee, I think first of Worzel Gummidge.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiP0j-LHv88

 

[Mr Light]

I've seen all the Tom Bakers back in the day and I don't remember giving a flip about Sarah Jane. My favorites were Leela and Romana I (NOT Romana II).

 

[VDCNI]

I'm another one who doesn't care for Sarah Jane either way - much prefer Baker with Leela and Romana.

 

[Grenrob]

my favourite doctor is jon pertwee.i became a fan when i first watched inferno

BEST:spearhead from space,silurians,inferno,curse of peladon,carnival of monsters,frontier in space,planet of the daleks,invasion of the dinosaurs and monster of peladon.

WORST:claws of axos,terror of the autons,the time warrior,three doctors and day of the daleks.

ABSOLUTE FAVE: It has to be Inferno or carnival of monsters or monster of peladon.

I love The peladon episodes because the Ice Warriors are my favourite enemies (as well as autons and the master) and Alpha Centuri is really really really awsome!

My Favourite Companions in order:-
Liz Shaw
Sarah Jane/Jo grant
Brigadear/Benton
Mike Yates
the rest of U.N.I.T

My Favourite enemies in order:-
Autons
Ice warriors
Master
Drashigs
Daleks
Silurians
Sea Devils( i like the aliens but i dont like the serial)

 

[Redfern]

I'd enjoy "Inferno" more if it weren't for the arbitrary "Primords". These were "victims" who came into contact with a geen ooze who then turned into green werewolves squealing like stuck pigs when injured. I get the impression they were inserted simply because DW was expected to have a memorable monster in each serial. But they certainly didn't advance the plot. I found Pertwee's "sideways" jump into a divergent continuum far more interesting. (Hmm, Trek's "Mirror" universe is remembered for goatee styled beards. DW's divergent contiuum is remembered for the eyepatch. Cross the two and I guess one would get a full on "pirate" dimension! )

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[Pindar]

I'd be hard pressed to find a Pertwee story I didn't like. Apart from bad effects Dinosaurs is a great story and I love Carnival of Monsters.

 

[Mr Awe]

I've been rewatching Pertwee's story's and I enjoy almost all of them. There were several in his first season that I didn't care for so much, Spearhead from Space and Ambassadors of Death. They seemed to drag. But mostly, I thought his stories were great!

Mr Awe