The Doctor's Of Doctor Who: John Pertwee

After the "cosmic hobo" met his demise at the hands of the Time Lords in the series "Trial of a Time Lord," the Doctor regenerated into an entirely new man once again. This time the idea that it was simply a reversing some kind of biologic clock was totally scrapped, and it was taken as fact that this new Doctor was his own entity.

If ever there was a James Bond of a Doctor, it was John Pertwee. Sure, the third Doctor was every bit as brilliant as his predecessors, and he still had his flair for technology, but unlike the former two to bear his name, this Doctor was not afraid to throw a judo-chop if he had to. Well...Venusian Aikido chop, but it's the same point: this Doctor was a man of action.

I'm here to explore space and time or kick your butt, and I don't have a TARDIS right now.

However, before one walks away thinking that this was the Steven Seagal of Doctors, Pertwee was still a dapper gentlemen with his evening trousers, smoking jackets, frilled shirts and cloaks. He was authoritative, sometimes to the point of seeming arrogance, but he always meant well, and genuinely cared for his companions. He also had a great fondness for cars, owning two throughout his life: the Whomobile (as it was unofficially called) and his pride and joy: Bessie, a canary-yellow vintage roadster. 

Even for Time Lords, it's all about the car.

For the majority of the third Doctor's life, he was exiled by the Time Lords to earth, with his TARDIS disabled. In this situation, he was more or less forced to work for an organization called UNIT, which dealt with extra-terrestrial happenings on Earth. His adventures with Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, among other companions (among them being arguably the most famous: Sarah Jane Smith) gave him a fondness for the organization that extended beyond his exile. 

The third Doctor is generally remembered as the one who frequently "reversed the polarity of the neutron flow." Much like Sherlock Holmes deerstalker cap, it is remarkable that this stuck with how little it actually appeared in main continuity. It was essentially Pertwee's way of dealing with immense amounts of techno-babble, and really only became prevalent in the extended universe book series. 

Again, many of this Doctors episodes were lost in the same fire that claimed most of his previous incarnation's, but from what can still be found out there, this was a great performance, and a great character. Its almost sad over overshadowed this Doctor usually is after who replaced him, but that's for next time.

Courage isn't just a matter of not being frightened, you know. It's being afraid and doing what you have to do anyway