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Series 3 of Doctor Who, which ran mostly during 2007, saw David Tennant joined by Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones for most of the series' episodes.
- You may be looking for season 3 of the original series.
Predominated by a story arc that dealt with the mystery of Harold Saxon, a British politician who turned out to be the Saxon Master, the series also involved the return of Jack Harkness. Because Jack's involvement in the series was narratively important to Torchwood, the series had a demonstrable impact on series 1 and series 2 of that sister programme.
Since the series 3 commission also included the 2006 Christmas Special, the series could also be said to have started the BBC Wales irregular tradition of having a "one-off" companion. The success of Catherine Tate's Donna Noble would not only cause the production team to successfully court her to return as a regular companion for the next series, it also showed the audience could accept, and apparently enjoy, a single-episode companion. Consequently series 3 paved the way for the inclusion of any number of famous and busy guest stars to be companions in single episodes thereafter.
A trailer for the series was released.
Highlights
Series 3 introduced a slightly tweaked logo, which was first shown in The Runaway Bride, which remained in place throughout the remainder of David Tennant's tenure as the Doctor. A revamped version of the theme tune was also offered up by Murray Gold.
A new costume was added to the Doctor's wardrobe. From this series forward, he had a blue suit of the same basic design as his brown one. Though at first just a way to give him a Pertwee-esque variation from story to story, it would actually become narratively important to telling the story of series 4's Journey's End, where another version of the Tenth Doctor appeared.
Equally important to the future were the series two main story arcs. The storyline with the Saxon Master was crucial to understanding the way in which the Tenth Doctor's regeneration in the later End of Time. Likewise the reasons for Martha Jones' departure at the end of the story were reflected in each of her later appearances in both Doctor Who and Torchwood.
Crucial to the development of the programme was the series' Doctor-lite episode, Blink. It introduced BBC Wales first new enemy that could be said to genuinely rival the Daleks' enduring popularity: The Weeping Angels. They would become one of the Eleventh Doctor's main rivals.
And series 3 was also important for including a direct adaptation of a story that had been originally written for another medium. Though the audios Jubilee and Spare Parts had been the very loose bases for two previous stories, Human Nature was the first, unmistakably direct adaptation of an existing story in franchise story. It would not be the only time when the production office directly adapted a pre-existing work.
The series also inspired the first original animation in franchise history, a 45 minute episode stripped across each episode of Totally Doctor Who's second season. Though nominally a part of the TDW commission, The Infinite Quest nevertheless gave Martha and the Doctor a 14th televised adventure that could be followed each week alongside the live-action programme.
Series 3 also included the first (and so far only) three part story in the new series.
Cast
- The Doctor - David Tennant
- Martha Jones - Freema Agyeman
- Jack Harkness - John Barrowman
- Donna Noble - Catherine Tate
Recurring
- Sylvia Noble – Jacqueline King
- Nerys – Krystal Archer
- Francine Jones - Adjoa Andoh
- Tish Jones - Gugu Mbatha-Raw
- Leo Jones - Reggie Yates
- Clive Jones - Trevor Laird
- Oliver Morgenstern — Ben Righton
- Judoon — Nicholas Briggs
- Novice Hame — Anna Hope
- Face of Boe — Struan Rodger
- Daleks - operated by Barnaby Edwards, Nicholas Pegg, Anthony Spargo, David Hankinson and voiced by Nicholas Briggs
- Dalek Sec - Nicholas Briggs, Eric Loren
- Miss Dexter - Elize du Toit
- The Master - Derek Jacobi, John Simm
- Lucy Saxon - Alexandra Moen
Guest
Television stories
Christmas special
| Episode Number |
Title | Writer | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | The Runaway Bride | Russell T Davies | Euros Lyn | First appearance of Donna Noble and Sylvia Noble. Only appearance of Geoff Noble which has not been excised from final broadcasts. |
Regular season
| Episode Number |
Title | Writer | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smith and Jones | Russell T Davies | Charles Palmer | First appearance of Martha Jones, Tish Jones, Francine Jones, Leo Jones, Clive Jones and the Judoon. Destruction of the sonic screwdriver model first seen in TV: Rose. |
| 2 | The Shakespeare Code | Gareth Roberts | Charles Palmer | First appearance of Elizabeth I; her hostility toward the Doctor stems from the events of The Day of the Doctor 30 years ago. |
| 3 | Gridlock | Russell T Davies | Richard Clark | Reintroduction of the Macra and final appearance of the Face of Boe. Debut of a replacement sonic screwdriver, nearly identical to the previous model. |
| 4 & 5 | Daleks in Manhattan / Evolution of the Daleks | Helen Raynor | James Strong | Return of the Cult of Skaro. Death of Daleks Sec, Jast, and Thay. Dalek Caan escapes. |
| 6 | The Lazarus Experiment | Stephen Greenhorn | Richard Clark | Appearance of Tish Jones, Francine Jones and Leo Jones. |
| 7 | 42 | Chris Chibnall | Graeme Harper | Episode has the shortest title of any Doctor Who story to date broadcast in televisual format. First appearance of Miss Dexter. |
| 8 & 9 | Human Nature / The Family of Blood | Paul Cornell | Charles Palmer | Introduction of the concept of the Chameleon Arch. |
| 10 | Blink | Steven Moffat | Hettie MacDonald | First appearance of the Weeping Angels. Doctor-lite and companion-lite episode. |
| 11, 12, & 13 | Utopia / The Sound of Drums / Last of the Time Lords | Russell T Davies | Graeme Harper (1) Colin Teague (2, 3) |
Reintroduction of the Master, and Jack Harkness. Last appearance of Miss Dexter, Tish Jones, Leo Jones and Clive Jones. Final regular appearance of Martha Jones and Francine Jones. |
Animated special
| Episode Number |
Title | Writer | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | The Infinite Quest | Alan Barnes | Gary Russell | Shown originally in 13 parts on Totally Doctor Who, later rebroadcast as 1 episode. First time an animated serial of Doctor Who premiered on television. |
Adaptations and merchandising
Home media
DVD
All episodes of series 3 were released in 2007 in both individual volumes and in boxset form by 2|Entertain for Region 2, in 2006 by Warner Home Video for Region 1, and by Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment (under the Sony Pictures Home Entertainment imprint) in other territories.
In 2014 the series was re-released on DVD in the US, split into two volumes labelled "Part One" and "Part Two" respectively, mimicking the home video release of Series 6 and 7. This release is missing much of the bonus content seen on the previous box set. Re-packaged versions of the complete series were also made available.
| name | Number and duration of episodes |
R2 release date | R4 release date | R1 release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doctor Who: The Runaway Bride The Runaway Bride |
1 x 60 min. | 2 April 2007 | 1 July 2007 | |
| Doctor Who: Series 3, Volume 1 Smith and Jones The Shakespeare Code Gridlock |
3 × 45 min. | 21 May 2007 | 1 August 2007 | |
| Doctor Who: Series 3, Volume 2 Daleks in Manhattan / Evolution of the Daleks The Lazarus Experiment 42 |
4 × 45 min. | 25 June 2007 | 5 September 2007 | |
| Doctor Who: Series 3, Volume 3 Human Nature / The Family of Blood Blink |
3 × 45 min. | 23 July 2007 | 3 October 2007 | |
| Doctor Who: Series 3, Volume 4 Utopia / The Sound of Drums / Last of the Time Lords |
2 × 45 min. 1 x 52 min. |
20 August 2007 | 7 November 2007 | |
| Doctor Who: The Complete Third Series | 1 x 60 min. 12 × 45 min. 1 x 52 min. |
5 November 2007 | 5 December 2007 | 6 November 2007 |
Blu-ray
Series 3 was included in the Doctor Who: Complete Series 1-7 Bluray boxset, released November 4th, 2013 in the UK and on November 5th, 2013 in the US.
Novels
Awards
This series won a 2008 Saturn Award in the category of "Best International Series", following its transmission on the American Sci Fi Channel.