Season 3 (Doctor Who 1963)

This article is for the 1965-66 season of Doctor Who; for other third seasons of other programmes, see Series 3.

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The third season of Doctor Who ran between 11th September 1965 and 16th July 1966. The season was marked by extremes. At 12 episodes, The Daleks' Master Plan was the longest story in the show's history until superceded by the 14-episode The Trial of a Time Lord in 1986 (although some consider that tale to be four separate serials broadcast under a single title); the single-episode story Mission to the Unknown remains the shortest Doctor Who story ever televised (not counting the several mini-episodes produced since 2005 and the only one in which neither the Doctor nor any companions appear (this episode, too, is controversial, however, as its role as a prologue to Daleks' Master Plan renders it more the 13th episode of that story rather than a standalone). The season also had the greatest number of different companions (7), and producers (3). It also featured the first appearance of actor Nicholas Courtney, although not in his most famous role as The Brigadier. And, this was also the season of The War Machines; to date the only televised story in which the taboo of never referring to the Doctor directly by the name "Doctor Who" is broken.

Behind the scenes, it was dominated by the departure of Verity Lambert, the immensely exhausting production of The Daleks' Master Plan, and preparations for William Hartnell's departure -- including intense discussion over how to handle such an unprecedented changed in lead actor on a show still at the height of popularity. It consisted of ten serials (listed below) and 45 episodes, the majority of which are considered lost, though three serials, The Ark, The Gunfighters and The War Machines, exist in complete form.

Stories

• Galaxy 4
• Mission to the Unknown - Only single-part story aired during the original 1963-89 run; only story not to feature the Doctor
• The Myth Makers - First appearance of Katarina and final appearance of Vicki Pallister
• The Daleks' Master Plan - Final appearance of Katarina and first and final appearance of Sara Kingdom; first story to feature the death of a companion
• The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve - First appearance of Dodo Chaplet
• The Ark
• The Celestial Toymaker
• The Gunfighters - Final story to use individual episode titles
• The Savages - Final appearance of Steven Taylor
• The War Machines - First appearances of Ben Jackson and Polly Wright and final appearance of Dodo Chaplet

Notes

• Stories ranged from 4 to 12 episodes in length. Up to The Gunfighters, each chapter had its own title, but beginning with The Savages, overall story titles were introduced.

Main Cast

• The Doctor - William Hartnell
• Vicki - Maureen O'Brien (Departed in The Myth Makers)
• Steven Taylor - Peter Purves (Departed in The Savages)
• Katarina - Adrienne Hill (Introduced in The Myth Makers and departed in The Daleks' Master Plan)
• Sara Kingdom - Jean Marsh (Introduced and departed in The Daleks' Master Plan)
• Dodo Chaplet - Jackie Lane (Introduced in The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve and departed in The War Machines)
• Ben Jackson - Michael Craze (Introduced in The War Machines)
• Polly - Anneke Wills (Introduced in The War Machines)

Stories set in this season

• PDA: Salvation (after The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve)
• PDA: Bunker Soldiers (after Salvation)
• CC: Mother Russia (between The Gunfighters and The Savages)
• MA: The Man in the Velvet Mask (between The Savages and The War Machines)

Adaptations and merchandising

Video

VHS

• The Ark
• The Gunfighters
• The War Machines
• The Hartnell Years (Celestial Toymaker ep 4)
• Daleks: The Early Years (Dalek Master Plan 5+10)

DVD

• Lost in Time (The Daleks' Master Plan 2, 5 & 10, The Celestial Toymaker 4)
• The War Machines

Novelisations

• Galaxy Four
• The Myth Makers
• The Daleks' Master Plan:Mission to the Unknown/The Mutation of Time
• The Massacre
• The Ark
• The Celestial Toymaker
• The Gunfighters
• The Savages
• The War Machines

Audiobooks

• Galaxy 4
• Mission to the Unknown/Daleks Master Plan
• The Myth Makers
• The Massacre
• The Celestial Toymaker

External Links

• BBC Website Guide to Season 3