Doctor Who Series 3 Review

The third season of Doctor Who is a pretty solid season overall with many detractors, but also many very strong stories and characters.

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“So, magic and stuff?

It’s a surprise, it’s all a bit Harry Potter.

Wait till you read book 7.

Oh, I cried“

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Doctor Who Series 3 Review

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Smith and Jones is a very strong opening. I do like openings on the show quite a bit and this is another potent one as it introduces us superbly to Martha so charmingly played by Freema Agyeman. Yes, the story itself isn’t all that great, but at least she is an excellent new companion for the Doctor and while nowhere near as fantastic as Rose, she is good enough and I loved the interactions between the two throughout this season.

The Shakespeare Code is actually a lot of fun as this very amusing historical episode with such a memorable turn from Dean Lennox Kelly as William Shakespeare who is here pleasantly charismatic and funny, especially with his racist remarks. As for Gridlock, it is entirely forgettable.

Daleks in Manhattan definitely is entirely ludicrous when it comes its historical setting and especially period as nobody is racist toward Martha and the episode sadly lacks in detail when it comes to the thirties. However, it is still a pretty strong episode thanks to its cliffhanger and for once solid, menacing use of the Daleks. I loved the look of its villain. Evolution of the Daleks is also a pretty solid conclusion to this story.

The Lazarus Experiment is entirely forgettable so it’s not worth talking about more. 42 is too similar to ‘Sunshine’, although definitely well executed. As for Human Nature and The Family Blood, they are solid episodes, but far from great. I definitely did like its authentic storytelling, but the execution left a lot to be desired.

Blink is the greatest achievement of this season and the only truly great episode. It features a smaller usage of the Doctor himself which proved to be a good choice as the emphasis on new characters is interesting and original. The entire story is very well crafted and its horror tone is remarkably executed with a great atmosphere and intriguing scares.

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Doctor Who Series 3 Review

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Utopia, The Sound of Drums and Last of the Time Lords all constitute the three-parter finale which is definitely solid with a dangerous tone to it, memorable politics and a phenomenal return of the Master so charismatically played by John Simm, but the tonal shifts do not work, the entire affair is too long and it’s frequently silly and very messy.

Overall, this is a solid season for Doctor Who – not the best, but far from the weakest either. I liked the Master and Martha quite a bit and some episodes are superb, but it has its fair share of weaker episodes and it has too many connected episodes and I myself prefer the standalones much more.

Worst Episodes: Gridlock and The Lazarus Experiment.

Best Episodes: The Shakespeare Code and Blink.