History Characters / DoctorWhoThirdDoctor

A noticeably agile and more action-oriented Doctor, he wasn't adverse to sometimes use more than his mind to subdue his enemies, and often resorted to GoodOldFisticuffs, being capable take on multiple opponents at once with his "Venusian Aikido". When the Time Lords finally restored to his memories of driving the TARDIS, he became much more of a gentleman to his companions.

The Third Doctor loved to be a showoff and was prone to magic tricks and all sorts of gadgetry, but that could also be his one downside as well. He sometimes got a little too caught up in his own devices, and if you caught him in one of his surlier moods, you'd encounter a highly abrasive man with a pointed tongue and a masculine pomposity just begging for him to be slapped - something his successors would learn the hard way when times changed and it became more acceptable for people to act out their frustrations.

A noticeably agile Doctor, he could take on multiple opponents at once with his "Venusian Aikido". When the Time Lords finally restored to his memories of driving the TARDIS, he became much more of a gentleman to his companions.

* ArchEnemy: The Delgado!Master and the Daleks.

* ArchEnemy: The Delgado!Master.

->'''Played by:''' Creator/JonPertwee (1970–74, 1983, 1993-1994, 1995[[note]]Briefly reprised his role for the fan production "Devious" in 1995, excerpts of which appeared as a bonus featurette on "The War Games" DVD release for North America in 2009[[/note]])

->'''Played by:''' Creator/JonPertwee (1970–74, 1983, 1993, 1995[[note]]Briefly reprised his role for the fan production "Devious" in 1995, excerpts of which appeared as a bonus featurette on "The War Games" DVD release for North America in 2009[[/note]])

* WhatTheHellHero: Gets a grand one from Jo in "Find And Replace".

* TheBigGuy: At 6'2 1/2", he towers over almost everyone he meets, and is probably the most likely Doctor to [[BadassGrandpa physically hit someone]]. The only person who ever overpowered him was Rossini's musclebound [[ScaryBlackMan circus thug]].

* BadassGrandpa: One of the oldest-looking Doctors, and by far the most fond of getting into hand-to-hand combat to the point where his tenure was basically one long action movie.
* BadassInDistress: See DistressedDude.

The [[TuxedoAndMartini secret agent man]], known for his [[TheEdwardianEra Edwardian]] dress and fast cars (Bessie and the [[{{Thememobile}} Whomobile]]!). Half the time profane, and the other half profound: He spent a great many years trapped on Earth in the 20th Century with the TARDIS rendered inoperative, and often got into misadventures with his "friends" at UNIT, particularly TheBrigadier.

The Third Doctor loved to be a showoff and was prone to magic tricks and all sorts of gadgetry, but that could also be his one downside as well. He sometimes got a little too caught up in his own devices, and if you caught him one of his surlier moods, you'd encounter a highly abrasive man with a pointed tongue and a masculine pomposity just begging for him to be slapped- something his successors would learn the hard way when the times changed from conservatism and it was more acceptable for people to act out their frustrations.

* GadgeteerGenius: As a result of reverse-engineering his TARDIS in the often vain hope of getting it working again, the Doctor developed a newfound degree of mechanical and technological ingenuity with a touch of Time Lord science added for good measure. Three has played host to many kinds of devices, such as a Time Flow Analogue (a sensor made of various everyday accoutrements to detect whenever the Master interfered with the normal flow of time), and even resorted to overhauling entire vehicles to do incredible things most notably his beloved yellow fixer-upper vintage roadster turned tricked-out muscle machine, Bessie (which features an anti-theft device that binds would-be thieves to the car and later includes a super drive for really fast speed driving), and the futuristic Whomobile, which doubles as a hovercar.

The Third Doctor loved to be a showoff and was prone to magic tricks and all sorts of gadgetry, but that could also be his one downside as well. He sometimes got a little too caught up in his own devices, and if you caught him one of his surlier moods, you'd encounter a highly abrasive man with a pointed tongue and a masculine pomposity just begging for him to be slapped- something his successors would learn the hard way when the times changed from conservatism and it was more acceptable for people to act out their frustrations. A noticeably agile Doctor, he could take on multiple opponents at once with his "Venusian Aikido". When the Time Lords finally restored to his memories of driving the TARDIS, he became much more of a gentleman to his companions.

->'''Honorable mention:''' "Devious" (ongoing fan project since the mid-[=1990s=])[[note]]A psuedo-canonical attempt to officially bridge the gap between the Second and Third Doctors with the concept of a halfway complete regeneration and a Second-And-A-Halfth Doctor played by Tony Garner due to being made after Patrick Troughton's lifetime; this project is acknowledged and previewable on the DVD for "The War Games". Jon Pertwee appeared in it in 1995, his very last reprisal of the role of the Doctor in a televisual story production.[[/note]]

The Third Doctor loved to be a showoff and was prone to magic tricks and all sorts of gadgetry, but that could also be his one downside as well. He sometimes got a little too caught up in his own devices, and if you caught him one of his surlier moods, you'd encounter a highly abrasive man with a pointed tongue and a masculine pomposity seemingly asking for him to be slapped- something his successors would learn the hard way. A noticeably agile Doctor, he could take on multiple opponents at once with his "Venusian Aikido". When the Time Lords finally restored to his memories of driving the TARDIS, he became much more of a gentleman to his companions.

The Third Doctor loved to be a showoff and was prone to magic tricks and all sorts of gadgetry, most notably his beloved yellow fixer-upper vintage roadster turned tricked-out muscle machine, Bessie, and the futuristic Whomobile. but sometimes got a little too caught up in his own devices, and if you caught him one of his surlier moods, you'd encounter a highly abrasive man with a pointed tongue seemingly asking for him to be slapped- something his successors would learn the hard way. A noticeably agile Doctor, he could take on multiple opponents at once with his "Venusian Aikido". When the Time Lords finally restored to his memories of driving the TARDIS, he became much more of a gentleman to his companions.

The [[TuxedoAndMartini secret agent man]], known for his [[TheEdwardianEra Edwardian]] dress and fast cars (Bessie and the [[{{Thememobile}} Whomobile]]!). Half the time profane, and the other half profound: He spent a great many years trapped on Earth in the 20th Century with the TARDIS rendered inoperative, and often got into misadventures with his "friends" at UNIT, particularly TheBrigadier. The Third Doctor loved to be a showoff and was prone to magic tricks and all sorts of gadgetry, but sometimes got a little too caught up in his own devices, and if you caught him one of his surlier moods, you'd encounter a highly abrasive man with a pointed tongue seemingly asking for him to be slapped- something his successors would learn the hard way. A noticeably agile Doctor, he could take on multiple opponents at once with his "Venusian Aikido". When the Time Lords finally restored to his memories of driving the TARDIS, he became much more of a gentleman to his companions.

The [[TuxedoAndMartini secret agent man]], known for his [[TheEdwardianEra Edwardian]] dress and fast cars (Bessie and the [[{{Thememobile}} Whomobile]]!). Half the time profane, and the other half profound: He spent a great many years trapped on Earth in the 20th Century with the TARDIS rendered inoperative, and often got into misadventures with his "friends" at UNIT, particularly TheBrigadier. A noticeably agile Doctor, he could take on multiple opponents at once with his "Venusian Aikido". When the Time Lords finally restored to his memories of driving the TARDIS, he became much more of a gentleman to his companions.

[[caption-width-right:342:''"{{Reverse the polarity}}."'']]

* BowtiesAreCool: Wasn't as flagrant about it as Eleven, nor did he wear one as often as Two, but he would on occasion wear a spiffy bowtie.

* EmbarrassingTattoo: Embarrassing for the BBC, that is. The Third Doctor has a dragon tattoo on his arm that can be seen quite plainly during the events of "[[{{Recap/DoctorWhoS7E1SpearheadFromSpace}} Spearhead from Space]]." This is actually a tattoo from actor Creator/JonPertwee's navy days, when he got really really drunk and woke up the next day with the tattoo on his arm while in port. And no, he wasn't

* EmbarrassingTattoo: Embarrassing for the BBC, that is. The Third Doctor has a dragon tattoo on his arm that can be seen quite plainly during the events of "[[{{Recap/DoctorWhoS7E1SpearheadFromSpace}} Spearhead from Space]]." This is actually a tattoo from actor Creator/JonPertwee's navy days, when he got really really drunk and woke up the next day with the tattoo on his arm while in port. And no, he wasn't ashamed of it. The producers HandWave this by claiming the Doctor never had a tattoo and we're all seeing things. Much later, though, Eleven notes that tattoos are fairly common for Time Lords, and Eight boasts about having one in the novels.
** Part of the [[Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]] claims it's a prison tattoo, which he bears during his exile to Earth. Another Time Lord, [[Literature/FactionParadox Grandfather Paradox]], ended up with the dragon tattoo put on ''his'' arm by the Time Lords when he was branded a criminal; unlike the Doctor, Paradox cut the arm off.
* ExpandedUniverse: Notably the oldest Doctor to appear in a fan-made video spinoff: "Devious." However, the thing has inexplicably been in DevelopmentHell ''since 1995'', and was at one point used for audio bits in the Creator/BigFinish story ''Zagreus'' just to get it out there in some way.
* {{Expy}}: Jason King (that ''hair!'') crossed with [[Series/AdamAdamantLives Adam Adamant]] (that ''cape!''), with a slice of [[Series/TheAvengers John Steed]] for good measure. Or you can boil it down to what every show took inspiration from at the time: '''Franchise/JamesBond'''.
** Going from that, you could also argue that this Doctor was also a slight {{expy}} of [[Creator/JonPertwee Jon Pertwee]] himself, as Pertwee was [[http://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/tv-radio/379986/Jon-Pertwee-From-secret-agent-in-WWII-to-Dr-Who apparently one of the three men who inspired James Bond]]. The others were, supposedly, Creator/IanFleming himself and Creator/ChristopherLee. Good company.
%%* FaceDeathWithDignity
* FamousLastWords: "A tear, Sarah Jane? No, don’t cry. While there’s life, there’s..."
* FascinatingEyebrow: He ''hates'' this regeneration at first -- realising just how expressive his new eyebrows are eventually warms him up a bit to his new face. (And it means he can very easily speak Delphon, the language of comical eyebrow wiggling.)
* FishOutOfWater: The Doctor is looking more "alien" in this era of the TV series (two hearts, a dumb alias, magic gizmos). Part of it is being plucked out of a fantastic environment wherein his human qualities were more dominant.
* {{Foil}}: Three is tall, professional and no-nonsense, much unlike the clownish Two.
* GeniusBruiser: Is the most violent classic series Doctor and tinkers with gadgets to justify the genius part.
* GentlemanAndAScholar: What this Doctor becomes once his exile is lifted.
* GentlemanSnarker: The most gentlemanly Doctor so far.
* GildedCage: Being stuck on pre-space exploration Earth is bad enough. Worse is being SurroundedByIdiots, as the Doctor viewed UNIT as a whole.
* GoodIsNotNice: During his first two seasons he would be incredibly rude to people for no good reason, then become the picture of politeness soon thereafter. He got more polite when his exile was lifted. Apparently, a Time Lord finally able to fly his TARDIS again after years in exile is guaranteed to improve his manner.
* GoodOldFisticuffs: This old fella may have some snow on the roof, but there's fire in the chimney. He boxes by Queensbury rules, having taken lessons from the great John L. Sullivan himself. ("[[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E2CarnivalOfMonsters Carnival of Monsters]]")
* HarmlessLadyDisguise: Used once.
* HeroicBSOD: A rarity for this Doctor, but he was actually ''sent into a coma'' during the events of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS7E4Inferno Inferno]]" from what he experienced. Then again, he had just seen an alternate world filled with familiar faces and redeemable people [[DownerEnding utterly destroyed by lava and proto-human zombies]]. This state lasted for almost an entire episode.
** It can also be argued that the events of "Inferno" wound up giving the Doctor a WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes level of attitude towards the world going up in fire and destruction, as we see in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS8E2TheMindOfEvil The Mind of Evil]]."
* IAmSong: That's right, Jon Pertwee (singing ''as the Third Doctor'') wound up recording a song that rivals most villain songs for just being pure awesome. Just ''try'' not to jam out to [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7tKAi-lDhM I am... The Doctor!]]
* IconicItem: Bessie and the Whomobile. This Doctor loved his gadgets and cars. He's also the first Doctor to make extensive use of the [[MagicTool sonic screwdriver]].
* IChooseToStay: After spending a good chunk of his tenure trying to fix the TARDIS so he can escape UNIT, once it's actually fixed he chooses to stay and continue the fight against alien invaders against Earth. His successor however did not share the sentiment and left as soon as possible.
* IHatePastMe: He and Two really rubbed each other raw. Three is embarrassed by his past self for [[ObfuscatingStupidity playing the buffoon]] and his disheveled look, while Two seems to think his future-self is over-dressed and anal-retentive.
* [[IKnowKarate I Know Venusian Aikido]]: ''Hai!''
* IMeantToDoThat: There's something very blasé about his announcing that he has gotten the TARDIS working again that suggests it's bluster covering up for the fact that the Time Lords are still pulling his strings. ("[[Recap/DoctorWhoS11E4TheMonsterOfPeladon The Monster of Peladon]]")
* InsufferableGenius: He was smarter than all of UNIT put together, and would frequently make this obvious, even belittling the slowness of others when he was feeling particularly JerkAss. However, most of UNIT put up with it because he really was that brilliant. However, Liz Shaw, his first companion in this incarnation and a skilled scientist herself, eventually had enough and walked, arranging Jo Grant to replace her with the indirect comment that all the Doctor needed was "Someone to pass you your test tubes, and to tell you how brilliant you are." As noted above, he is far easier to get along with once his exile is lifted.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He can be pompous, arrogant, rude, patronising and stubborn, but he's still a good guy and genuinely cares about his companions, however much he may insult them.
* MasterSwordsman: Not shocking for this action hero, quite frankly, but the Doctor is able to out-fight the Master in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS9E3TheSeaDevils The Sea Devils]]" in a fencing duel. [[WithMyHandsTied He then eats a sandwich while holding the Master at swordpoint]]. [[UpToEleven A sandwich that happened]] [[CrowningMomentOfFunny to be the Master's lunch]]. And ''then'' he throws the Master back his sword so they can have some more fun. According to the Twelfth Doctor, he learned from the best: Richard the Lionheart, Hannibal Barca and... Creator/ErrolFlynn.
* MilitaryMaverick: There is a bitter quality to the Third Doctor as he clearly needs the protection and technology that UNIT provides. On the other hand, the Doctor finds himself trying to pull mankind up to his own level and failing, such as in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS7E2DoctorWhoAndTheSilurians The Silurians]]". Trivia: The ending to this episode would be recycled for "[[Recap/DoctorWho2005CSTheChristmasInvasion The Christmas Invasion]]", cementing that the Doctor will ''never'' see eye-to-eye with UNIT.
* MrSmith: "Smith. Doctor John Smith."
* NervesOfSteel: Very few things scared him. When something does, it's a matter of OOCIsSeriousBusiness.
-->'''The Great One:''' Is that fear I can feel in your mind? You are not accustomed to feeling frightened, are you Doctor? You are very wise to be afraid of me!
* OnlySaneMan: Well, ''this'' is certainly a new experience to the Doctor. Part of the charm of the UNIT era is its B-movie craziness despite being set in the "real" world of the 1970s, and the neutered Doctor's barely-masked frustration at all of the incompetence around him.
* PowerLossMakesYouStrong: A madman ''without'' a box is just a madman. A Time Lord ''without'' knowledge of time is just someone calling himself a lord. No wonder he's so irritable.
** The Second Doctor was more than willing to kill the Ice Warriors on their first appearance. In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS9E2TheCurseOfPeladon The Curse of Peladon]]", the Ice Warriors surprise him by turning face, proving that even monsters, at least in some cases, are just people who haven't achieved their full historical development yet. So in that sense, being exiled to Earth was an education for him.
* PrideBeforeAFall: Three's entire arc. Best remembered for his flamboyant confidence, he nicks the wrong crystal in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E5TheGreenDeath The Green Death]]" and is killed by spiders who are still seeking it a year later. Adding insult to injury, The Great One uses her psychic powers to make him [[PlayingWithPuppets dance like a toy]].
* QuintessentialBritishGentleman: With a lot of "dear old chap", "my good fellow" and "topping day, what?". Also a case of AuthorAppeal, as he intentionally evoked the atmosphere from that ''other'' famous Creator/SydneyNewman show, ''Series/TheAvengers''. However, GoodIsNotNice.
* RoguesGallery: The Nestene Consciousness, Autons, Silurians, the Master, Axos, Azal, Daleks, Ogrons, Sea Devils, Omega, B.O.S.S., Sontarans, and the Eight Legs.
* SharpDressedMan: Starts out in a black velvet cape in his first story, and soon adds velvet jackets, sleeve ruffles, ascots, leather gloves, giant rings, bowties, waistcoats and the occasional knee-high boots. (The signature giant plaid mantle overcoat, however, is still a perpetual fashion disaster.)
* ShowerScene: Gets a long shower scene right off the bat in his first episode, then spends some time walking around in just a towel.
* SilverFox: Handsome for his age.
* SpeechImpediment: Had a lisp.
* TapOnTheHead: The neck-pinching variant.
* TookALevelInKindness: Once he regained his usual level of control of his [=TARDIS=], the Doctor quickly mellows into quite a gentleman.
* VerbalTic: A man will know that the Third Doctor likes him when he is addressed as "m'dear chap".
* VitriolicBestBuds: With TheBrigadier and Mike Yates.
* WaistcoatOfStyle: Wore them frequently.
* WatchThePaintJob: You have to admire the vanity of a man who stops Lethbridge-Stewart from shooting at a bad guy because it might ding his car.
* WhatHaveWeEar: Sometimes did this sort of magic trick for fun, and also to distract his jailer in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS11E4TheMonsterOfPeladon The Monster of Peladon]]", except in this case, the coin came out of his own mouth.
* WigDressAccent: Does a passable impression of a Welsh milkman and, a few minutes later, a Welsh cleaning lady.
* WithMyHandsTied: He's as equally good at breaking free and escaping from capture as he is being captured.
* YouGetMeCoffee: His partnerships with Jo and Sarah Jane had a rocky start.

!! Tropes associated with his comics era
* RoguesGallery: Cedric Mathews, Rudolph Steiner, Ernst Wolfgang Spiegal, Vogans, Daleks, Ugrakks, the Abbot of Mai' Sung, and the Master.

!! Tropes associated with Big Finish
[[quoteright:152:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/a7d1ae0918ca6c9c676402de4492e11e.png]]
-> '''Voiced by:''' Tim Treloar (2013; 2015–present)

Creator/BigFinish offers a bit more of a glimpse into the Third Doctor's psyche than the TV series did, showing strong concern for his companions on top of his usual suave way of life.

* AbhorrentAdmirer: Iris Wildthyme (as usual). Three manages to ''weaponise'' it, and manipulates her by taking her out to dinner.
* AccidentalProposal: After [[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E5TheGreenDeath Jo left him]], he asked Iris to come travel with him for a while. She interpreted it as a marriage proposal. He promptly retracted the offer.
** Also counts as a stealthy ActorAllusion, since Jo and Iris are both played by Creator/KatyManning.
* IWasQuiteAFashionVictim: Five is quite embarassed by his old collection of frilly shirts. Eleven outright calls Three "Oscar Wilde on a bad day".
* LongGame: In order to protect Jo, he [[spoiler: sets events in motion that would only come into play decades later]].
* NoodleIncident: Apparently, Jo and Three like to go out ballroom dancing on Saturday nights with Benton.
* RoguesGallery: Cybermen, Diamond Jack, Ice Warriors, Mim, the Monk, Scorchies, and the Sentinels of the New Dawn.
* WhatTheHellHero: Gets a grand one from Jo in "Find And Replace".

%%!! Tropes associated with Titan Comics
----

* FaceDeathWithDignity

* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: The UNIT years are vaguely set somewhat in a "near future", which could be anywhere from the [=1960s=] to the [=1980s=]. The Brigadier's daughter lampshaded this continuity (or lack thereof) in "[[Recap/DoctorWho50thASTheDayOfTheDoctor The Day of the Doctor]]" when she requested an archive file.

* BadassGrandpa: One of the oldest-looking Doctors, and by far the most fond of getting into hand-to-hand combat.

* {{Foil}}: Three is professional and no-nonsense, much unlike Two.
* GentlemanAndAScholar: What this Doctor becomes once his exile is lifted: the friendliest and most polite of the incarnations.

%%!! Tropes associated with Titan Comics