retro-the-best....: [New post] Doctor Who action figures -The Third Doctor

Monday, June 20, 2011

[New post] Doctor Who action figures -The Third Doctor

Doctor Who action figures -The Third Doctor

dailypop | June 20, 2011 at 9:44 am | Categories: Doctor Who- 3rd Doctor | URL: http://wp.me/p4kUt-2KX

Doctor Who action figure reviews - The Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee)

Perhaps the most popular of the classic Doctors after Tom Baker is Jon Pertwee. Reigning in the role of the time traveling hero for five successful years, Pertwee's Doctor was a departure from the character as depicted by his predecessors William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton. When actor Jon Pertwee was hired to play the Doctor he was most familiar to the British public for being a song and dance man and comedian, equally talented with a guitar and making silly voices. But after he first appeared as the dashing dandy on screen, all of that changed.

Despite its praises today for being one of the best periods of the program's history, the three year run of Patrick Troughton saw a devastating crash in viewing figures with around 4 million tuning in for the last few parts of his last story, the War Games. The BBC figured that Doctor Who had enjoyed a good run but was finally finished. This led to plans for a follow up program to fill its slot, presumably something in the vein of Nigel Kneale's Quatermass series. When Kneale was approached by Doctor Who producer and former script editor Derrick Sherwin, however, it became apparent that this was not in the cards. Nevertheless, Sherwin was a big fan of Kneale's work and took on board that influence in reshaping Doctor who for a new generation (and far cheaper than the previous three years).

Revived in full color with a new leading man and supporting cast, Doctor Who was a terrific hit with viewers, regaining its place in the top viewed programs at the time. Exiled to the Earth, the Doctor was the scientific adviser to U.N.I.T., a special group assembled to deal with unusual threats to the planet such as Cybermen.

The look of the Third Doctor was originally going to be a very staid affair as proposed by Pertwee with a simple grey business suit as his costume. But when the actor appeared for his first photo call in an outlandish frilly shirt, bow tie and opera cape, the production team realized that they had found their ideal design. Based in part on the costume of Adam Adamant, the look would hint at a dashing and heroic character as well as possessing a magical quality.

A much taller man and grander actor that his predecessor, Patrick Troughton, Pertwee was encouraged to draw from his own personality and heighten specific elements for his incarnation of the Doctor. Thus the Third Doctor was charming, eccentric, a bit forceful and over-bearing at times with a love for fine wine, fast cars and gadgets. Even in the 1980's, Pertwee's version of The Doctor had retained a very strong following from the general public.

Character Options has (to date) released five different versions of the Third Doctor in action figure form. I have also purchased an excellent custom figure from a talented designer on ebay, bringing my own collection to six distinct versions of the character.

The first two releases of the Third Doctor were released as exclusive products available only from Forbidden Planet in 2009.

Based on his appearance on the Sea Devils, the Doctor is dressed in a dark blue crushed velvet coat, a scarlet-lined opera cloak draped over his shoulders. Packaged with his sonic screwdriver and a Sea Devil, this could be my absolute favorite version of the character in toy form as it maintains a kind of dignity along with an air of eccentricity. The sculpt is re-used throughout the remaining six variants with minor tweaks. Pertwee's curly locks are wonderfully sculpted as is his distinctive facial features.

The Death to the Daleks set was of course more popular as it came packaged with the silver and black version of the Dalek sculpted with the redesigned gun arm used in that story. A much darker suit is accented with red piping and a dicky bow tie. A dark pair of boots worn over the Doctor's slacks was far more sensible for the story set in the muddy quarry and is recreated excellently here. For most fans of classic Doctor Who, these first two releases remain the best for presenting the most iconic version of the Third Doctor and including two memorable monsters.

Pertwee as he appeared in the Sea Devils and Death to the Daleks

The next release of the Third Doctor was what is called a 'kit bash' of the first two releases, combining the slacks from the Sea Devils figure with the jacket and dicky bow tie from the Death to the Daleks design to recreate the Doctor's look from the Green Death. A very conservative look for the normally fashionable dandy, this is also a very nice look for the character.

Packaged with a set of three giant maggots from the Green Death, this version of the Doctor was released exclusively for sale at Forbidden Planet in the UK and at the San Diego Comic Con in the US.

The fourth release of the Third Doctor was a more colorful design as seen in the classic story Carnival of Monsters. The review Batmanmarch has pointed out that numerous sculpting issues prevented the previous three releases from being 100% screen accurate which were finally resolved here. The design used for the basic sculpt of the jacket, shirt and bow tie was based on the Third Doctor's appearance as seen in Carnival of Monsters. The cut of the jacket collar and the trim matches the outfit worn in this story perfectly. The odd greenish blue shirt, sage green jacket and red-lined brown opera cape along with the already seen high boots make this the most unusual and outlandish of all the Third Doctor action figures.

Pertwee as he appeared in the Green Death and Carnival of Monsters

The latest official release of the Third Doctor comes from 1974's Time Warrior. The same sage green jacket is paired with a solid white dress shirt and dark dicky bow tie. The slacks and shoes have been strangely muddied as part of Character Options' artistic license (similar to the grass staining on the Fourth Doctor's overcoat from Logopolis in the Fifth Doctor regeneration figure). I have to admit to being a bit let down from this variant as it was less visually interesting than many of the other possibilities and also failed to really capture the earthy look of the costume from this story.

Pertwee as he appeared in the Mutants and the Time Warrior

The final action figure of the Third Doctor in my collection is a one of a kind custom based on the character's appearance from The Mutants. I was hesitant to purchase this figure as I was unsure how it would look on the shelf but in the end I am very glad that I took the risk. The dark red jacket along with the lighter red neckerchief and purple-lined opera cape is complimented by a pair of black driving gloves and tall boots. An outstanding paint job even depicted the slim black piping on Pertwee's jacket from this story.

Pertwee as he appeared in The Mutants (custom)

Even though five variants have been released, there are so many more versions of the Third Doctor yet to be released in action figure form. The Third Doctor wore so many uniquely hued suit jackets that the possibilities are varied as to what could be released next.

The red jacket and blue-trimmed opera cape from the Three Doctors is a strong contender.

The white shirt (sans bow tie) and red jacket along with the tartan designed opera cape from Day of the Daleks (due for DVD release in September) is another favorite.

The blue crushed velvet jacket with matching shirt and dicky bow tie from Planet of the Spiders is another possibility... but there are so many more.

Personally I am hoping for the custom cut-away coat that Pertwee wore in Planet of the Daleks to be released. This would require a re-sculpt of the character, the first real redesign since 2009.