Doctor Who: Season Three Recap

Season three is the weakest season of Hartnell, and sadly its also the most missing season of Hartnell.

The bright spots in this season are the "Daleks' Master Plan" (even if it probably could have stood to be a little shorter), "The Massacre" (really for the last scene with Steven, and the performance of Hartnell as another character...too bad it is missing), "The Celestial Toymaker" (I'm so gunning for that animation someday), and "The War Machines" (no complaints at all).  Sadly of the Hartnell years, this season was hit the hardest and very few stories survive in their entirety.

A weak aspect of this season is that the companions are so unsteady throughout, that it doesn't really feel as strong as seasons 1 and 2 and many subsequent seasons.. Vicki departed rather preemptively in my opinion, and Steven's departure should have been at the end of "The Massacre"...instead of his quick return and departure later in the season, which frankly while it was a good end to the character, it wasn't as strong dramatically as it was during "The Massacre".  Even the "Daleks' Master Plan" couldn't keep the companions steady (I think the Doctor gains and loses a few companions over the course of that story!).  The Doctor is our leading man, but it is good to have a steady hand by his side, and the constant cast changes this season hurt it slightly (well that and so many missing episodes).

The addition of Dodo is puzzling. Her introduction is tacked onto "The Massacre", for no other reason as to insinuate that Anne Chaplet may have lived to produce a daughter or ancestor or something. That kind of takes the dramatic punch out of the scene that preceded her randomly showing up to the TARDIS. Then she just sort of leaves the Doctor off-screen.

I think its easy to figure out why things aren't as solid this season. Verity Lambert left as Producer during production. Its also clear that William Hartnell's health was diminishing, and if they wanted to keep the show alive, they were going to have to figure out something. Without the strong leadership of Lambert, and a star quickly became difficult to work worth do to his age and illness...the production was riddled with problems, and frankly I think that some writers didn't really know what they are doing with the show anymore. All this and without a real strong supporting cast...it just wasn't working anymore.

NEXT TIME: The Doctor faces off with pirates.