Doctor Who: The Big Review (Season 10)

Doctor Who: The Big Review

Season 10 (1972 - 1973)

And we're back with Pertwee's fourth season in the role! I'm excited for this one, I know we have some more alien attractions to see and I know we begin with our first multi-Doctor story! From villains like Omega to the usual culprit, the Daleks. I'm not sure how I'll perceive these stories, but I've heard some great things... At least for some of them! Without further ado, let's just get into it!

As always, I will grade each story on an A+ to F scale, judging it fairly, and with respect to the era it aired. Judging an episode from the 1960's with the same expectation of a modern episode would not be fair. Below is a summary of my grading criteria:

For each serial, I will provide a list of the main cast (omitting a few who don't appear often), and a list of some key facts of the episodes, such as the writer and director. I will then offer a little synopsis and my overall verdict. My favourite serial will then be listed at the bottom, where I will offer a few further thoughts and opinions. 

Below is a table which offers some short, concise figures and a more in-depth description follows just below.

1. THE THREE DOCTORS (four episodes)

Main Cast: Jon Pertwee (The Third Doctor), Patrick Troughton (The Second Doctor), William Hartnell (The First Doctor), Katy Manning (Jo Grant), Stephen Thorne (Omega), John Levene (Sergeant Benton), Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart), Rex Robinson (Dr. Tyler), Roy Purcell (President). 

Broadcast: 30 December 1972 - 20 January 1973

Writer: Bob Baker & Dave Martin

Director: Lennie Mayne

Synopsis: The Time Lords' very own solar engineer, Omega, the creator of the experiments that allowed their race to travel in time seeks revenge. He was left for dead by his very own people, but The Doctor and his fellow incarnations are not on his side. The Time Lords recruit the three for help when Omega drains the civilisation's power. 

Verdict: Considered as a tenth anniversary special, I had high hopes. Seeing all three Doctors again was a real delight and made for a pretty great opening story! There may have been a flew flaws in characterisation, and Omega's 'shouty' persona grated towards the end, but overall  I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Jo is really shining and I'm loving the more comedic tone.

GRADE: B+

2. CARNIVAL OF MONSTERS (four episodes)

Main Cast: Jon Pertwee (The Third Doctor), Katy Manning (Jo Grant), Leslie Dwyer (Vorg), Cheryl Hall (Shirna), Michael Wisher (Kalik), Tenniel Evans (Major Daly), Peter Halliday (Pletrac). 

Broadcast: 27 January 1973 - 17 February 1973

Writer: Robert Holmes

Director: Barry Letts

Synopsis: On the Planet of Inter Minor, The Doctor and Jo are trapped inside a miniscope! This beastly device of showman, Vorg's creation, shrinks life forms down for a display for his own entertainment. 

Verdict: Such a peculiar story, but still rather intriguing. I enjoyed the idea of it quite a lot, and the execution weren't half-bad. This one took some time to develop, but I did thoroughly enjoy it for the most part. Nothing special by any means, but entertaining nonetheless! Also, Shirna was a great character and I'd have enjoyed seeing more of her!

GRADE: B+

3. FRONTIER IN SPACE (six episodes)

Main Cast: Jon Pertwee (The Third Doctor), Katy Manning (Jo Grant), Roger Delgado (The Master), Michael Hawkins (General Williams), Vera Fusek (President), 

Broadcast: 24 February 1973 - 31 March 1973

Writer: Malcolm Hulke

Director: Paul Bernard

Synopsis: From the Earth, to Draconia and the Planet of the Ogrons, a plot is being developed. The Daleks employ the infamous Master to provoke a war between humans and Draconian's Galactic Empires.

Verdict: First of all, the set design in this serial was really quite something to be in awe of, it was really strong. On the other hand, there does seem to be a lot of time spent in jail/locked up somewhere. Also, The Master... Again. Not a bad story, though, and the score was quite some fun too!

GRADE: B-

4. PLANET OF THE DALEKS (six episodes)

Main Cast: Jon Pertwee (The Third Doctor), Katy Manning (Jo Grant), Bernard Horsfall (Taron), Prentis Hancock (Vaber), Tim Preece (Codal), Jane How (Rebec).

Broadcast: 7 April 1973 - 12 May 1973

Writer: Terry Nation

Director: David Maloney 

Synopsis: Continuing on from the events of the previous serial. a wounded Doctor has fallen into a coma, but the Daleks have not given up. A small batch plan to revive an army of Daleks that have been kept in suspended animation on the Planet of Spiridon. 

Verdict: First of all, the quality of set design and colouring was pretty impressive. The stories felt so vivid, even if they were a tad unbelievable in parts. It wasn't the most inventive story ever produced, nor was it as engaging as others, but it was enjoyable enough. 

GRADE: B-

5. THE GREEN DEATH (six episodes)

Main Cast: Jon Pertwee (The Third Doctor), Katy Manning (Jo Grant), John Levene (Sergeant Benton), Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart), Richard Franklin (Captain Mike Yates), Stewart Bevan (Professor Clifford Jones), Jerome Willis (Stevens), Tony Adams (Elgin).

Broadcast: 19 May 1973 - 23 June 1973

Writer: Robert Sloman & Barry Letts (uncredited)

Director: Michael E. Briant

Synopsis: The Doctor takes off to investigate something strange in South Wales. With UNIT, they uncover a mine where the waste product of an oil mine has killed the miners and made maggots grow to giant size.

Verdict: Jo and The Doctor made for their most compelling performance, and both presented their relationship in a really fine way, in fact the character interactions in this were some of the finest I've seen so far - really lovely to see. Jo's exit was a really sweet moment. I must say, the political messages are VERY obvious, and so clear, but I quite like seeing contemporary issues discussed (whether this be in the 70's, or now, 2022). Although the serial did slow somewhat during the middle episodes, the majority was really quite riveting, and the maggots were vile - which is good!

GRADE: A-

My Conclusions

Honestly, I think this was the most solid series yet. I don't think any episode really stood out as the leading story of the era, but they all had strength to them. I think the design elements of this series were phenomenal, minus the odd dud, but I was quite surprised by the budget for what I was watching. It's so strange to consider that literally ten years previous felt so wildly different to what I'm seeing now, here with Season 10. If you can't see from my verdicts above, my favourite episode, however narrow the lead was...

Yes, my top episode has to be The Green Death. I just think it had a lot of positives to offer. The best aspects of this story definitely came from the relationships between characters. Jo's love for Jones actually felt quite realistic, and formed itself quite nicely, something I don't think has yet happened - of course ignoring the very sudden proposal of marriage. I also think the Doctor and Jo have reached a point where their connection was just perfect to end on. Their growth was quite lovely, however subliminal it was. The effects, music and design was all pretty great for this story, and despite the constant usage of CSO, it looked overall quite good. Solid. Jo's exit was quite lovely also. 

*

I think this season built on the positives of last, and the leading two really excel here. Jo is genuinely so lovely and valuable, and The Doctor has a softer more comedic side. He had it previously, but they feel more at ease here. I think there's a lot of enjoyable side characters, and the episodes have a lot of hope and grandeur to them. I must say - shout out to the art departments because I found myself surprised by the quality of everything. Kudos to them!

So, on average, this series got a grade B which works out at an 8.4/12 (the entire A-F scale works out at a max of 12. This is actually the highest score yet, besting the high of Season 2's 8.13. In fact, this season was the closest yet to achieving a B+ average, and with such few stories, that is quite hard to do. I did really enjoy it and it was my favourite of the era. I'm sad to see Jo go, but more than ready to welcome you know who!