Gotta love the Third Doctor, the dashing scientific gentleman, the Bond Doctor. Now, I know I could’ve filled this post with lots of Venusian aikido, but as always, I tend more toward the clever saves than the badass saves. So here five instances of the Third Doctor being brilliant (spoilers.)
Trapping the Axonites (Series 8, Episode 14 – “The Claws of Axos: Episode 4”)
Ah, the old fake-working-with-the-enemy trick. The Doctor first gets the Master to repair his TARDIS (robbed of its function by the Time Lords) by pretending that he’s ready to abandon the humans so he and the Master can escape together. Then, once the TARDIS is working again, he offers to fuse it with Axos, giving the Axonites the secret of time travel. But the Doctor, of course, has other plans – he’s rigged up a time loop, trapping the Axonites in an unending pocket of time where they can’t hurt anyone. All in a day’s work!
Tricking the Master’s Acolytes (Series 8, Episode 24 – “The Dæmons: Episode 4”)
When the Master’s brainwashed acolytes tie the Doctor to the Maypole and threaten to burn him as a witch (just go with it,) Miss Hawthorne is the one who comes up with a plan to save him, painting him as a great wizard who will smite the acolytes if they attempt to hurt him, but the Doctor catches on instantly and plays his part with aplomb. I love how imperiously he exclaims, “You choose to mock the great Qui Quae Quod?!”, and he easily gets the hang of her entreaties that he make “signs” of his power, such as commanding a lamp to shatter (really, Benton shooting it from afar.) And of course, the Doctor puts the finishing touch on the performance, convincing even Miss Hawthorne that he really is a wizard when he uses his remote-driving device to “send [his] familiar spirit” into Bessie and make her drive of her own accord.
Translating the Tablets (Series 9, Episode 18 – “The Mutants: Episode 4”)
This is a revelation that’s spread out a bit, but the biggest puzzle pieces are sorted out here. The Doctor begins to discover the truth about the Solonians: the mutatations taking place within their population are a natural part of their life cycle, just one they no longer remember. Analyzing the ancient Solonians tablets he and the others discover, he recognizes that it’s a calendar, reflecting the four seasons of Solos’s incredibly-long years (it takes 2,000 Earth years for the planet to make a full rotation around its sun.) From there, he surmises that a repeated symbol in the final season is the radiation that’s been detected on the planet, and he starts to put it together. The radiation triggers the mutations that will set off the Solonians’ metamorphosis, but the process has been disrupted by the ionization from the humans who arrived. It takes him a while to sort all of that out, but this moment is where it begins.
Tricking Omega (Series 10, Episode 4 – “The Three Doctors: Episode 4”)
The Doctors, Jo and company, and the TARDIS are transformed into antimatter when they’re pulled into Omega’s realm, but when Two discovers that his old recorder had fallen into the TARDIS forcefield generator, Three recognizes it for what it is: invaluable. Due to its position, it was shielded from becoming antimatter and thus the only object in Omega’s realm that’s incompatible with the rest. They offer Omega the forcefield generator, with the recorder still stuck inside it, and as he knocks it out of Two’s hands, the recorder counteracts the antimatter realm, causing it to explode and allowing our heroes to make a getaway in the TARDIS. In addition to this clever plan, Three also needs to be lauded for how gallantly he plays the ruse that he and Two will stay behind in exchange for everyone else being sent back to Earth. He’s so gentle with Benton, the Brigadier, and especially Jo, playing his necessary part but still trying to reassure them as much as he can.
Escaping the Daleks (Series 10, Episode 17 – “Planet of the Daleks: Episode 3”)
Technically, the actual escape doesn’t happen until the next episode (what would classic Who be without cliffhanger endings?), but the plan is devised and executed here. With the Doctor and his allies backed into a corner, trapped in a room with the Daleks outside cutting through the only door, the Doctor uses the assets at his disposal. There’s a giant refrigeration unit in the room, along with an enormous vent in the ceiling to channel the base’s hot air upwards. Quickly, he gets to work constructing a makeshift hot-air balloon from some plastic sheeting, and when he turns the refrigerator up to maximum, the resulting hot air rising is enough to lift the balloon, carrying them away just as the Daleks break in. Science for the win!
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