The third season of Doctor Who ran between 11 September 1965 and 16 July 1966. The season was marked by extremes. At twelve episodes, The Daleks' Master Plan was the longest story in the show's history until superceded by the fourteen-episode The Trial of a Time Lord in 1986 (although some consider that tale to be four separate serials broadcast under a single title); the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 designation, though, is controversial, as its role as a prologue to Daleks' Master Plan renders it more the thirteenth episode of that story rather than a standalone). The season also had the greatest number of different companions (seven) and producers (three). It also featured the first appearance of actor Nicholas Courtney, although not in his most famous role as The Brigadier. 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 a lead actor on a show still at the height of popularity. It consisted of ten serials (listed below) and forty-five episodes, the majority of which are considered lost, though three serials, The Ark, The Gunfighters and The War Machines, exist in complete form.

Television stories Edit

Notes Edit

• All stories were exactly four episodes in length, except Mission to the Unknown (one episode) and The Daleks' Master Plan (twelve episodes). Up to The Gunfighters, each chapter had its own title, but beginning with The Savages, overall story titles were introduced.

Cast Edit

Primary cast Edit

• The First Doctor – William Hartnell

Secondary cast Edit

• Vicki – Maureen O'Brien
• Steven Taylor – Peter Purves
• Katarina – Adrienne Hill
• Sara Kingdom – Jean Marsh
• Dodo Chaplet – Jackie Lane
• Ben Jackson – Michael Craze
• Polly Wright – Anneke Wills

Guest cast Edit

• Maaga – Stephanie Bidmead
• Marc Cory – Edward de Souza
• Achilles – Cavan Kendall
• Bret Vyon – Nicholas Courtney
• The Monk – Peter Butterworth
• King Charles IX – Barry Justice
• Zentos – Inigo Jackson
• The Celestial Toymaker – Michael Gough
• Ike Clanton – William Hurndell
• Chal – Ewen Solon
• Major Green – Alan Cirtus

Stories set during this season Edit

• AUDIO: The Anachronauts (during The Daleks' Master Plan)
• PROSE: The Little Drummer Boy (during The Daleks' Master Plan)
• AUDIO: Home Truths (during The Daleks' Master Plan)
• AUDIO: The Drowned World (during The Daleks' Master Plan)
• AUDIO: The Guardian of the Solar System (during The Daleks' Master Plan)
• AUDIO: The Perpetual Bond (between The Daleks' Master Plan and The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve)
• AUDIO: The Cold Equations (between The Daleks' Master Plan and The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve)
• AUDIO: The First Wave (between The Daleks' Master Plan and The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve)
• PROSE: Salvation (between The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve and The Ark)
• PROSE: Bunker Soldiers (between The Ark and The Gunfighters)
• AUDIO: Mother Russia (between The Gunfighters and The Savages)
• AUDIO: Tales from the Vault (between The Gunfighters and The Savages)
• AUDIO: Return of the Rocket Men (between The Gunfighters and The Savages)
• PROSE: The Man in the Velvet Mask (between The Savages and The War Machines)
• PROSE: The Rag and Bone Man's Story (during The War Machines)

Adaptations and merchandising Edit

Home media Edit

VHS Edit

• The Ark (1998)
• The Gunfighters (2002)
• The War Machines (1997)
• The Hartnell Years (1991 (Celestial Toymaker 4)
• Daleks: The Early Years (1992) (Dalek Master Plan 5+10)

Loose Cannon VHSes Edit

• Galaxy 4 (1999)
• Mission to the Unknown (2000)
• The Myth Makers (1998/2006)
• The Daleks' Master Plan (2003) (Episodes 1-4,6-9,10-12/2 parts)
• The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve (2001)
• The Celestial Toymaker (1999)
• The Savages (1999/2008)

DVD Edit

Novelisations Edit

• 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 Edit

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

External links Edit

• BBC Website Guide to Season 3