Jon Pertwee

Dear Gary—

“I wonder why he’s wearing fancy dress.” Jon Pertwee has taken William Hartnell’s “citizen of the universe . . . and a gentleman to boot,” to the next level. His velvety jackets and ruffled shirts are always colorfully coordinated and refined. People might inquire, “Going to a fancy dress party?” but the Doctor is no fool. Jon Pertwee’s Doctor is more than ready to enter the fray; he just wants to look good doing it.

And Jon Pertwee’s Doctor is indeed ready for action. He has taken Patrick Troughton’s penchant for running and turned it into high speed chases in motor boats, helicopters, hover crafts, motorcycles, cars—just about any mode of transportation available. And when he catches up with his man he is ready for hand to hand combat, fencing, Venusian karate (or aikido); Pertwee’s Doctor is well equipped for a fight.

Yes, it is that time, Gary. Time to reflect back on Jon Pertwee’s long run as the Doctor. I see from my original rankings that I placed him a rather dismal eighth. I am tempted to move him up at least one notch, just above Davison, but that might be only because he is freshest in my mind, so I am going to reserve judgment.

I started out my Jon Pertwee experience by discovering that I disliked him more than I thought, but I ended by learning I liked him more than I thought. Jon Pertwee began his generation ill-tempered and rude, perhaps as a result of his exile. Jo Grant eventually softened him and a more tender side of the Doctor emerged.

However I still have a sense of detachment from this third Doctor. Perhaps this, too, is a result of his exile. Hartnell and Troughton were wanderers, hobos, adventurers; but they both had their TARDIS, their home base. Pertwee is stationed on Earth for most of his generation; he has stability with UNIT; he is in familiar territory. But this stability, this familiarity is foreign to him; it is not of his own choice. Perhaps this is why he seems more distant and inaccessible.

What we do get with Pertwee more than with the previous two is action. But perhaps this, too, creates a barrier to our (or my) affection. High speed chases are exciting; however they don’t do much in the way of character development.

That is not to say, Gary, that Jon Pertwee’s Doctor has a lack of character development. Indeed, this third generation goes a long way in enriching the legend of both the Doctor and the Time Lords.

For the first time with Pertwee we not only learn that his home planet is Gallifrey but we have brief glimpses of this planet as well. We meet several Time Lords, most prominently the Master (although I have to say that the Master was a bit overused), and we get more insight into the Time Lord philosophy of non-interference (although they have no problem interfering in the Doctor’s life) and as “galactic ticket inspectors.”

With Pertwee we learn of the Doctor’s affection for Venusian culture, not just their martial arts but their philosophy and lullabies. We learn of his old boyhood mentor who gave him the secret of life, and we even meet this wizened Time Lord in Pertwee’s final serial. And let's not forget his beloved Bessie; although the Doctor seems to forget her in favor of his more modern hover car during the end of his reign. Jon Pertwee's Doctor does enjoy tinkering with gadgets.

The Jon Pertwee era also ushered in some new enemies for the Doctor, most notably the Master, the Silurians, and my favorite the Sontarans. And it expanded on the role of old friends; without Nicholas Courtney as the Brigadier I’m not sure I could have made it through the Pertwee years. The sonic screwdriver and use of the name John Smith, both introduced by Patrick Troughton, were also expanded on with Pertwee.

Jon Pertwee has made the role of the Doctor his own. He has explored elements of his predecesors and taken them to new levels, and he has forged new territory. One side note I would like to make that always rather bothered me, however--William Hartnell's Doctor was always keen on admonishing people for calling him 'Doc.' Pertwee never seems to mind this; multiple characters throughout his run get away with it. "Not a doc and not a god" seems to have been forgotten.

If I were to pick my favorite Pertwee story I would probably say The Time Warrior. Inferno is also great fun and Colony in Space and TheMutants are examples of strong scripts enhanced by some inspired casting.

I am more than ready, though, to say goodbye to Pertwee and am excited to begin the Baker era.

As the Brig would say, Gary, “Well, here we go again . . .”