Series 3 (Doctor Who)

Series 3 of Doctor Who, which ran mostly during 2007, was "Martha's year", since David Tennant was joined by Freema Agyeman for most of the series' episodes.

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.

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 involvement on the programme. 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. 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.

Cast

Recurring

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.

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.
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.
4	Pt. 1: Daleks in Manhattan Pt. 2: Evolution of the Daleks	Helen Raynor	James Strong	Return of the Cult of Skaro. Death of Daleks Sec, Jast, and Thay. Dalek Caan escapes.
5	The Lazarus Experiment	Stephen Greenhorn	Richard Clark	Appearance of Tish Jones, Francine Jones and Leo Jones.
6	42	Chris Chibnall	Graeme Harper	Episode has the shortest title of any Doctor Who story to date broadcast in televisual format.
7	Pt. 1: Human Nature Pt. 2: The Family of Blood	Paul Cornell	Charles Palmer	Introduction of the concept of the Chameleon Arch.
8	Blink	Steven Moffat	Hettie MacDonald	First appearance of the Weeping Angels.
9	Pt. 1: Utopia Pt. 2: The Sound of Drums Pt. 3: Last of the Time Lords	Russell T Davies	Graeme Harper (1) Colin Teague (2, 3)	Reintroduction of the Master and Jack Harkness. Final regular appearance of Martha Jones.

Animated special

Episode Number	Title	Writer	Director	Notes
N/A	The Infinite Quest	Alan Barnes	Gary Russell	Shown originally in 13 parts Totally Doctor Who, later rebroadcast as 1 episode

Adaptations and merchandising

Home media

DVD

All episodes of series 3 were released in 2007.

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

Novels

6 martha books — Several novels featuring companion Martha Jones.

Awards

This series won a 2008 Saturn Award in the category of "Best International Series", following its transmission on the American Sci Fi Channel.

External links

BBC website index for series 3

Tardis