The Three Doctors - Episode 3

A few stats again to start this entry. This is Jon Pertwee’s 79^th episode as the Doctor with William Hartnell appearing in his 132^nd and Patrick Troughton appearing in his 120^th. There now I can get on with the episode. The episode now moves from Earth to wherever they have landed now. It’s inevitable that the show moves to a quarry but for some reason it works quite well and the location filming (mainly around the entrance to Omega’s base) is done well and Lennie Mayne did well.

This is the episode where Omega is introduced. His introduction is fairly impressive and its quite quick before we find out that he is determined to get revenge. Omega is the one that invented Time Travel but paid the ultimate price which would explain why he’s gone a bit bat poo crazy. I commented that Pertwee didn’t really have much involvement in the previous episode but he more than makes up for it in this episode. The first several minutes are the Doctor talking to Omega and every so often it Jo and Tyler. The action then moves to Troughton’s Doctor along with the Brigadier and Benton. All the stuff with the Brigadier is funny and is continuing to have fun with it. Benton does feel like he’s just making up the numbers. Omega is well realised and that’s done due to Stephen Thorne’s performance. He was really good as Azal in ‘The Deamons’ and here he uses his height to be very imposing and everytime he’s on screen he is brilliant.

The bickering between Troughton and Pertwee’s Doctor is fun to watch and normally would be something of great annoyance but on this occasion it works really well. What works better is when they seem to be getting on. Hartnell’s involvement again comes at the end of the episode except with the Second and Third Doctors otherwise engaged, it means that Billy Hartnell has to interact with the Timelords and this marks a first for his Doctor.

The episode seems to go in a strangeness that I haven’t seen before in Doctor Who. The Third Doctor is battling inside Omega’s mind. The episode ends with the Doctor being held in some sort of wrestling move with Omega taunting him. It’s a strange ending so I can’t decide whether it’s a good cliffhanger or not. It’s certainly not boring and the story is maintaining my interest.