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 Season Ten started with a very special story to celebrate ten years of the show. "The Three Doctors" was very special indeed as for the first time it brought three incarnations of The Doctor together. For William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton this also became the first time they appeared in the show in colour.
Being the current Doctor Jon Pertwee still took centre stage but this still allowed his predecessors to take full part in the storyline and they did not just play cameo roles. In fact after the Third Doctor crossed over the time bridge, leaving the Second Doctor at UNIT, Patrick Troughton gave a wonderful performance alongside a dumbfounded Brigadier (played by Nicholas Courtney). This story became the first of Patrick Troughton's three returns to the program (The others being 1983 Fifth Doctor story "The Five Doctors" and 1985 Sixth Doctor story "The Two Doctors").
Sadly though William Hartnell's failing health prevented him from taking an active role, as the First Doctor, in the entire story – resulting in a re-write so that his involvement could be restricted to brief scenes that were pre-filmed and then shown on a monitor. This story was to become the last appearance in the show for this well respected actor, and indeed his final work as an actor, as he passed away, two years later, in April 1975.
"The Three Doctors" was a milestone in more ways than one. Being the first multi-Doctor story it established the concept of The Doctor being able to meet his past incarnations. However more importantly with the show's ratings now stable after the ups and down of the late Sixties, Producer Barry Letts and Script Editor Terrance Dicks had decided to use this story as a vehicle for removing the Earthbound constraints which had been imposed on the programme for budgetary reasons since the beginning of the Third Doctor’s era which began with Season Seven in 1970. And so, at the conclusion of this story, the Time Lords are seen to reverse their decision to banish him by sending back his dematerialisation circuit in thanks for defeating Omega. The Doctor was once again free to travel in all of space and time. This therefore allowed the season to start with a story mainly set on Earth and to end on Earth but with the other three stories set in outer space and on other alien worlds that The Doctor would visit without the intervention of the Time Lords.
The first of these was "Carnival of Monsters" in which The Doctor and his companion Jo Grant find themselves inside a Miniscope – a machine used for entertainment that The Doctor thought had all been disposed of when, in the past, he had ensured that the Time Lord High Council had them banned. At first The Doctor and Jo think they are still on Earth, on a cargo ship on the Indian Ocean, but they soon realise that things are not quite right. They are in fact on the planet Inter Minor where a travelling showman and his assistant have arrived to earn some credit bars by entertaining the populous.
The next two stories could be considered to be one whole story arc – covering twelve episodes. "Frontier in Space" introduces the Draconians – described as Jon Pertwee’s favourite alien race. This story also sees the return of The Master – the last time The Doctor’s arch-enemy would be played by Roger Delgado. Sadly Roger Delgado was tragically killed in an automobile accident in Turkey, while travelling to a location shoot for a film. His untimely death was less than three months after this story’s broadcast and brought a premature end to both a beloved Doctor Who character, and indeed a well respected member of the acting profession. This story finished with the revelation that The Master had been working for the Daleks – which lead directly into the next story – the classic "Planet of the Daleks" in which The Doctor’s deadliest foes would yet again prove to be a force to be reckoned with. The Doctor though is not alone in having to face the Daleks. As well as the ever resourceful Jo, help also arrives in the form of the Dalek’s home planet Skaro’s other indigenous race - the Thals – who The Doctor last encountered in the very first Dalek story – "The Daleks".
Despite being given his freedom to travel anywhere in time and space The Doctor would still continue to assist UNIT and to do what he can to protect his adoptive planet. And this is certainly the case in the final story of the season. "The Green Death" has The Doctor, Jo and UNIT in Wales fighting against the threat of giant maggots caused by the dumping of hazardous waste into a disused coal mine. But the real threat comes from BOSS - a large and powerful computer, housed inside Global Chemicals, that has plans for world domination.
This last story of the season, however, is now remembered as the one in which Katy Manning, who played Jo Grant, left the show. The departure of Katy Manning marked the beginning of the end for the so-called UNIT family, which had been together since the start of Season Eight - two and a half years earlier. From her bumbling start, in "Terror of the Autons", Jo Grant had transformed into a much loved travelling companion – and one that The Doctor, and the viewers, would truly miss.
The Doctor's exile having been finally lifted by the Time Lords had given the show a new lease of life and thanks to the hard work, put into the show in previous seasons, Doctor Who continued to enjoy tremendous growth with "The Three Doctors" even achieving more than 10 million viewers – something no story had achieved since the 1965 First Doctor story "The Web Planet" way back in Season Two. Even the least watched story, "Frontier in Space", achieved a very respectable 8 million viewers. At this time it was welcome news that this anniversary season had seen Doctor Who perform as well in the ratings as it ever had, even returning to the top ten programmes of the week during the broadcast of "The Three Doctors". After years of uncertainty the show certainly deserved its renewed success.
But as this anniversary season drew to a close it was tinged with sadness caused by the shock of the news about Roger Delgado’s untimely death so ending one of the best portrayal of The Doctor’s arch enemy, The Master, and the heart wrenching scene of The Doctor driving off alone, into the sunset in Bessie, after having to part company with Jo.
But even before the season finished the tenth recording block continued with one more story that would be the first to be shown in Season Eleven. This story was "The Time Warrior" which is famous for heralding the introduction of another classic Doctor Who monster – the Sontarans - and more importantly for the show the introduction of a character who become one of the most popular Doctor Who companions of all time – journalist Sarah Jane Smith.
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"The Three Doctors" demonstrates for the first time the mildly antagonistic relationship that the previous incarnations of The Doctor have for themselves. This is especially noticeably between the Second Doctor and the Third Doctor. A memorable example of this is the scene where The Third Doctor and his companion Jo Grant, who are trapped inside the TARDIS, are joined by the Second Doctor. This leads to both Doctors trying to explain to Jo who the Second Doctor is which includes the classic line spoken by the Third Doctor ‘Jo, it's all quite simple - I am he and he is me!’. This though confuses her even more. The scene continues with each incarnation of The Doctor getting in each others way and generally arguing over the best course of action to free the TARDIS. The Time Lords, aware that they are not getting along decide to obtain the assistance of the First Doctor. On appearing on the TARDIS view screen he dismisses his other incarnations with the brilliant conversation: ‘Ah, there you are! I seem to be stuck up here. So you're my replacements! A dandy and a clown! Have you done anything? in which the gobsmacked Second Doctor replies: ‘Uh, well we've assessed the situation’ which then prompts the First Doctor to reply with ‘Just as I thought. Nothing’.
Another must see event in this story is Sergeant Benton’s and The Brigadier’s first trip in the TARDIS. While Sergeant Benton does not seem to be phased by the TARDIS the exact opposite could be said for his commanding officer. After the Third Doctor queries Sergeant Benton with the line: ‘Well Sergeant, aren't you going to say that it's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside - everybody else does’ Benton replies calmly with the line ‘That's pretty obvious isn't it?’. The Brigadier though is not convinced that the TARDIS can travel anywhere in time and space and after exiting the TARDIS he storms off to get help convinced they have arrived in Cromer!
Finally in "The Green Death" look out for the scene where The Doctor temporarily stumps BOSS by asking ‘If I were to tell you that the next thing I say would be true, but the last thing I said was a lie, would you believe me?’. BOSS at first realises that this is an illogical question but after being goaded by The Doctor he attempts to find an answer – a task that even this powerful computer is unable to achieve.
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(Position = 9 out of 31)
