Story: Actor Jon Pertwee’s time in the TARDIS in the BBC’s Doctor Who saw the dawn of a new era for the world’s longest-running science fiction TV series: full color, now sporting new special effects and a more grown-up storytelling approach, and for the first time, the star of the show being elevated to true celebrity status outside of the show itself. And being the showbiz professional that he was, Pertwee was up for every bit of it. His life before, during and after Doctor Who is detailed, along with exhaustive profiles of every episode with extensive behind-the-scenes trivia, and a special piece on the making of Day Of The Daleks.
Review: The Doctor Who documentarian trio shrinks to two authors with the exit of Mark Stammers in this volume, but there’s no less information in “The Third Doctor Handbook” than there is in previous books in the series.
One of the more interesting sections this time around is the “In His Own Words” chapter, culling quotes from Pertwee’s past interviews in the mainstream press and from fan interviews. Much of the book’s most fascinating information is found here, including the fact that a salary dispute was chiefly responsible for the end of Pertwee’s tenure. Being the trouper that he is, Pertwee has long attributed his decision to leave the show to the breakup of the team behind his excellent reign as the Doctor. His candid remarks about a number of stories, guest stars and guest creatures are refreshing – for the general media, Pertwee often defended the show and its crew. Many years later, however, he reveals that he shared many of the same concerns about credibility, effects, and plotlines as the fans.
There are extensive behind-the-scenes essays, including coverage of how Doctor Who was first sold to the American TV market (prior to the Tom Baker era, mind you). The discussion of creature and costume development in this unprecedented era of growth for the series is particularly enlightening and enjoyable, while a chapter detailing the development of the story, main characters and mythology of the show – drawing heavily from extensive interviews with producer Barry Letts and script editor Terrance Dicks – is positively fascinating, especially when Letts admits that the return of the Daleks and the Three Doctors pairing of Pertwee and his predecessors in the role were less a case of brilliant brainstorming among the show’s production stuff and more the product of immense pressure from fans both outside and inside the BBC.
In this day and age, where it’s chic to slag off Doctor Who as a campy sci-fi has-been, when’s the last time you heard anything about the series having fans within the BBC ranks? (I’ll be here all night waiting for your answer.)
It’s obvious, though, that the series has fans dedicated enough to turn out a journalistically-sound, professional reference like “The Third Doctor Handbook” – well worth checking out for fans of Pertwee’s Time Lord salad days.
Year: 1996
Authors: David J. Howe & Stephen James Walker
Publisher: Virgin
Pages: 280