Doctor Who (series 3)
The third series of British science fiction programme Doctor Who was preceded by the 2006 Christmas special "The Runaway Bride". Following the special, a regular series of thirteen episodes was broadcast, starting with "Smith and Jones" on 31 March 2007. In addition, a 13-part animated serial was produced and broadcast as part of Totally Doctor Who.
The series stars David Tennant as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor, an alien Time Lord who travels through time and space in his TARDIS, which appears to be a British police box on the outside. In the Christmas special he is joined by Catherine Tate as Donna Noble. The series also introduces Freema Agyeman as the Doctor's new companion Martha Jones, who leaves at the end of the series due to her unrequited love for him. John Barrowman also reprises his role as Captain Jack Harkness in the final three episodes which serve as the finale. The series is connected by a loose story arc consisting of the recurring phrase "Vote Saxon", which ultimately is revealed to be the return of the Doctor's enemy Time Lord the Master, first played by Derek Jacobi before regenerating into John Simm.
Episodes
In "Gridlock", the Macra, which originally appeared in The Macra Terror in Season 4, became the fourth monster from the classic series to make an appearance in the revival after the Autons, the Daleks and the Cybermen.Three episodes from Series 3 were adapted from previously published works: "Human Nature" / "The Family of Blood" was adapted by Paul Cornell from his own New Adventures novel, also entitled Human Nature,
"Human Nature" is also the first instance of the Doctor's previous incarnations prior to his ninth being explicitly referenced through the sketches in The Journal of Impossible Things.
Supplemental episode
A 13-part animated serial, The Infinite Quest, was produced and broadcast as part of the children's programme Totally Doctor Who on CBBC. Each installment was approximately three-and-a-half minutes in length and, when compiled, was equivalent to a regular episode. The serial was broadcast in its entirety on 30 June 2007 and later released on DVD.Casting
Main characters
Series 3 was David Tennant's second series in the role of the Doctor, during which he is joined by three companions: Donna Noble, Martha Jones and Captain Jack Harkness.Actress and comedian Catherine Tate was cast as one-off companion Donna Noble for the Christmas special. At the end of the episode the character turns down the chance to travel in the TARDIS, however Tate later reprised her role and returned for a full series starting in the 2008 episode "Partners in Crime".
Following the departure of Billie Piper as Rose Tyler at the end of Series 2, a new full-time companion was needed. On 5 July 2006, the BBC confirmed that Freema Agyeman would join the show as new companion Martha Jones. Agyeman had previously appeared in the 2006 episode "Army of Ghosts". John Barrowman also returned as Captain Jack Harkness for the three-part series finale.
Guest stars
Recurring guest stars for the series included Adjoa Andoh, Trevor Laird, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Reggie Yates, who portrayed Martha's family.Other guest stars included Thelma Barlow, Ryan Carnes, Matthew Chambers, Chipo Chung, Christina Cole, Michelle Collins, Lenora Crichlow, Anthony Flanagan, Andrew Garfield, Lucy Gaskell, Mark Gatiss, Don Gilet, Jennifer Hennessy, Anna Hope, Gerard Horan, Jessica Hynes, Derek Jacobi, Dean Lennox Kelly, Matt King, Chris Larkin, Harry Lloyd, Eric Loren, Stephen Marcus, Roy Marsden, McFly, Alexandra Moen, Carey Mulligan, Michael Obiora, Ardal O'Hanlon, Travis Oliver, Sharon Osbourne, Sarah Parish, Angela Pleasence, Hugh Quarshie, Miranda Raison, Anne Reid, Finlay Robertson, Thomas Sangster, John Simm, Rebekah Staton and Ann Widdecombe.
Production
Development
Following the success of the first series, the BBC announced that Doctor Who had been recommissioned for a third series on 16 June 2005, only two months after the announcement of the second series. Recording for the Christmas special began on 4 July 2006, with production on the series itself beginning on 8 August 2006 and concluding on 2 April 2007.Writing
First-time writers for the show included Gareth Roberts, who previously wrote the interactive episode "Attack of the Graske" and the TARDISODEs, Helen Raynor, one of the show's script editors, Chris Chibnall, the head writer and co-producer of spin-off series Torchwood, and Stephen Greenhorn. Previous writers Paul Cornell, Steven Moffat and Russell T Davies all contributed to the series, with Davies continuing to act as head writer and executive producer. Phil Collinson and Susie Liggat acted as producers, with Julie Gardner as executive producer. Euros Lyn, Charles Palmer, Richard Clark, James Strong, Graeme Harper, Hettie MacDonald and Colin Teague directed episodes in the series.The episodes in series three are arranged in a loose story arc: "Mr Saxon", an alias for the Master. The character's name was first mentioned in "The Runaway Bride"; the Ministry of Defence shot down an alien craft at Saxon's request. Several elements from episodes in the series are contributory to the three-part finale: the events of "The Lazarus Experiment" and "42" were directly influenced by the Master; the Face of Boe's prophecy is directly related to Master; and a similar fob-watch that was used by the Doctor to change his Time Lord biology into human was also used by the Master to hide from the Time Lords.
Filming
Production blocks were arranged as follows:| Block | Episode | Director | Writer | Producer | Code |
| 1 | "The Runaway Bride" | Euros Lyn | Russell T Davies | Phil Collinson | 3X |
| 2 | "Smith and Jones" | Charles Palmer | Russell T Davies | Phil Collinson | 3.1 |
| 2 | "The Shakespeare Code" | Charles Palmer | Gareth Roberts | Phil Collinson | 3.2 |
| 3 | "Gridlock" | Richard Clark | Russell T Davies | Phil Collinson | 3.3 |
| 3 | "The Lazarus Experiment" | Richard Clark | Stephen Greenhorn | Phil Collinson | 3.6 |
| 4 | "Daleks in Manhattan" | James Strong | Helen Raynor | Phil Collinson | 3.4 |
| 4 | "Evolution of the Daleks" | James Strong | Helen Raynor | Phil Collinson | 3.5 |
| 5 | "Blink" | Hettie MacDonald | Steven Moffat | Phil Collinson | 3.10 |
| 6 | "Human Nature" | Charles Palmer | Paul Cornell | Susie Liggat | 3.8 |
| 6 | "The Family of Blood" | Charles Palmer | Paul Cornell | Susie Liggat | 3.9 |
| 7 | "42" | Graeme Harper | Chris Chibnall | Phil Collinson | 3.7 |
| 7 | "Utopia" | Graeme Harper | Russell T Davies | Phil Collinson | 3.11 |
| 8 | "The Sound of Drums" | Colin Teague | Russell T Davies | Phil Collinson | 3.12 |
| 8 | "Last of the Time Lords" | Colin Teague | Russell T Davies | Phil Collinson | 3.13 |
An animated serial, The Infinite Quest, was also produced alongside the series and was broadcast as part of the CBBC programme Totally Doctor Who.
Release
Broadcast
The third series premiered on 31 March 2007 with "Smith and Jones", and concluded after 13 episodes on 30 June 2007 with "Last of the Time Lords". Doctor Who Confidential also aired alongside each episode of the series, continuing on from the previous series.Home media
Reception
Critical reception
Arnold T. Blumberg of IGN gave an overwhelmingly positive review of the third series. He praised the acting of Tennant, Agyeman and John Simm, describing Simm's portrayal as "a master stroke". Overall he said, "With an assured air earned by success, Series 3 of Doctor Who is a tour de force excursion across time and space...it doesn't get much better than this". He gave the series 9 out of 10.Nick Lyons of DVD Talk gave a positive review saying, "series three is on par with the last two seasons of the new series." He said that the character of Martha and series three, "will no doubt please fans". He gave the series 4 and a half stars out of 5.
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result | |
| 2007 | Edinburgh International Television Festival | Best Programme of the Year | Doctor Who | ||
| 2007 | Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Awards | Screen Award | David Tennant | ||
| 2007 | Monte-Carlo Television Festival | Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series | David Tennant | ||
| 2007 | Monte-Carlo Television Festival | Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series | Freema Agyeman | ||
| 2007 | National Television Awards | Most Popular Drama | Doctor Who | ||
| 2007 | National Television Awards | Most Popular Actor | David Tennant | ||
| 2007 | National Television Awards | Most Popular Actress | Freema Agyeman | ||
| 2007 | Nebula Awards | Best Script | Steven Moffat for "Blink" | ||
| 2007 | Saturn Awards | Best International Series | Doctor Who | ||
| 2007 | Scream Awards | Best TV Show | Doctor Who | ||
| 2007 | TV Quick Awards | Best Loved Drama | Doctor Who | ||
| 2007 | TV Quick Awards | Best Actor | David Tennant | ||
| 2007 | TV Quick Awards | Best Actress | Freema Agyeman | ||
| 2007 | Writers' Guild of Great Britain | Best Soap/Series | Chris Chibnall, Paul Cornell, Russell T Davies, Stephen Greenhorn, Steven Moffat, Helen Raynor and Gareth Roberts | ||
| 2008 | BAFTA Cymru Awards | Best Drama Series | Doctor Who | ||
| 2008 | BAFTA Cymru Awards | Best Director of Photography: Drama | Doctor Who | ||
| 2008 | BAFTA Cymru Awards | Best Costume | Louise Page for "The Shakespeare Code" | ||
| 2008 | BAFTA Cymru Awards | Best Make-Up | Doctor Who | ||
| 2008 | BAFTA Cymru Awards | Best Sound | Doctor Who | ||
| 2008 | BAFTA Cymru Awards | Best Director: Drama | Doctor Who | ||
| 2008 | BAFTA Cymru Awards | Best Screenwriter | Steven Moffat | ||
| 2008 | British Academy Television Awards | Best Writer | Steven Moffat for "Blink" | ||
| 2008 | British Academy Television Awards | Best Original Television Music | Murray Gold | ||
| 2008 | British Academy Television Awards | Best Sound Fiction/Entertainment | BBC Wales Sound Team | ||
| 2008 | Constellation Awards | Best Science Fiction Television Series of 2007 | Doctor Who | ||
| 2008 | Constellation Awards | Best Male Performance in a 2007 Science Fiction Television Episode | David Tennant for "Human Nature" / "The Family of Blood" | ||
| 2008 | Constellation Awards | Best Female Performance in a 2007 Science Fiction Television Episode | Carey Mulligan for "Blink" | ||
| 2008 | Hugo Awards | Best Dramatic Presentation | "Blink" | ||
| 2008 | Hugo Awards | Best Dramatic Presentation | "Human Nature" / "The Family of Blood" | ||
| 2008 | TRIC Awards | TV Drama Programme | Doctor Who | ||
| 2008 | VES Awards | Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Miniseries, Movie or Special | David Houghton, Will Cohen, Nicolas Hernandez and Sara Bennett for "Voyage of the Damned" | ||
| 2008 | VES Awards | Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Series | David Houghton, Will Cohen, Jean-Claude Deguara and Nicolas Hernandez for "Last of the Time Lords" | ||
| 2008 | VES Awards | Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Broadcast Program or Commercial | Nicolas Hernandez, Adam Burnett, Neil Roche and Jean-Claude Deguara for "Last of the Time Lords" |