It’s amazing to think that The Third Doctor Adventures has reached its tenth year. Back in 2015, the range was something of a risk for Big Finish. While they had released hundreds of full-cast Doctor Who audios at this point already, they had been mostly stories for the Fourth to Eighth Doctors, played by the original actors in all cases. Stories featuring the first three Doctors had been told, but they usually relied on at least partial narration from actors who had originally played the companions.
The Third Doctor Adventures was different. Not only were they full-cast stories for the Third Doctor’s era, but they had even recast the role made iconic by Jon Pertwee. Generally speaking, a key selling point for Big Finish was that they used the original actors as much as possible. If the original actor was no longer with us, they generally found ways to work around it other than recasting.
The closest they had come to recasting before this point was when actors who had played the First and Second Doctor's companions also had to play the Doctor as well. (It has to be said, many of these performances were amazing to listen to, especially Fraser Hines’s excellent take on Patrick Troughton’s Doctor.)
In the case of Tim Treloar’s casting, however, this was a much bigger risk. After all, he’d had no previous connection to the TV series, and while the range would begin with both Katy Manning and Richard Franklin playing their old characters of Jo Grant and Captain Mike Yates, the idea of a recast Doctor was still a huge gamble.
Strong start
Thankfully, Treloar’s casting worked extremely well. While his performance wasn’t an exact match for Pertwee, it was clear that he was playing the Third Doctor, at least, capturing a lot of the spirit and quirks of Pertwee’s original performance.
Even better was his chemistry with Katy Manning. Listening to them together, it’s clear that they share the same level of chemistry that Manning originally shared with Pertwee. This is even clearer in the behind-the-scenes interviews. You can hear how much bringing this era back to life means to Manning.
The stories also worked well at capturing the spirit of the Third Doctor's stories. In terms of writing, music, and sound design, Volume 1's “Prisoners of the Lake” and “Havoc of Empires” each felt like a great fit for the era.
Playing it safe
There was only one element in the beginning that didn’t quite work – narration. For both of Volume 1’s stories, in addition to portraying the Third Doctor, Tim Treloar also provided narration, as well. It’s easy to see why this was done. Not only had narration worked well for The Early Adventures – a range focused on telling full-cast stories featuring the First and Second Doctors – but it also worked as a way for Big Finish to say that they had not recast the Third Doctor, Tim Treloar was just filling in as the narrator.
They needn’t have worried. Treloar’s casting was accepted by the Big Finish fandom extremely quickly, and the main complaint about Volume 1 was that the narration felt out of place. Starting with Volume 2 onwards, the narration was completely phased out.
Over time, The Third Doctor Adventures gradually became more and more successful. While only one volume was released each year from 2015 to 2020, the range provided a nice variety of stories taking place across Pertwee’s second, third and fourth seasons. These stories included Daleks, Cybermen, the Monk and even a former companion of the Master!
Recasting major characters
2019 proved to be a major year for the range, and indeed for the Third Doctor on audio. Volume 5 of The Third Doctor Adventures saw the first appearance of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in the range. Now played by Jon Culshaw, the Brigadier was such a vital part of the Third Doctor’s era that an appearance felt long overdue. Unsurprisingly, the Brigadier has appeared in most of the volumes since.
Volume 5 also featured another significant recasting, with Daisy Ashford cast as Dr. Liz Shaw. This was extremely fitting, as Ashford is the daughter of Liz’s original actress, Caroline John. While Liz was a great companion, we only had one season with her on TV, a season totalling just four (mostly long) stories. Since 2019, Big Finish has given us many great stories with Liz, providing the companion with plenty of great exploration.
Along with the fifth volume of his own range, the Third Doctor also made an appearance in The Legacy of Time, the box set celebrating 20 years of Big Finish making Doctor Who on audio. The box set featured the Fourth to Eighth Doctors, each in their own stories and each played by the original actor. But it also featured a story for the Third Doctor, as well. Being included in a big celebration with the other Classic Doctors was a big sign of how popular The Third Doctor Adventures had become. More than that, it also showed how easily the fandom had accepted Tim Treloar as Big Finish's Third Doctor.
An increasingly confident series
The Third Doctor Adventures has only grown since 2019. Not just in terms of releases – especially since the range was increased from one to two releases a year in 2021. But there’s been a greater variety in terms of the stories told and, to an extent, the eras. For example, while the range was initially focused on stories set during Pertwee’s middle three seasons – specifically, when Jo Grant was his companion – stories were now being released set during Season 7 featuring Liz Shaw, as well as Season 11 featuring Sarah Jane Smith (portrayed by Sadie Miller, the daughter of original actress Elisabeth Sladen).
There’s also been more flexibility in the stories told, as well. After providing listeners with a large number of four-parters, the range started releasing six and even seven-part stories, another great way of emulating Pertwee’s distinctive era.
The range has even been a little more experimental, particularly with the most recent audios featuring Jo Grant – or rather, Jo Jones. Set a short while after her departure in “The Green Death” for the Doctor but decades later for Jo, these new stories provide a fresh way of exploring their relationship.
The Third Doctor Adventures has come a long way since it began back in 2015. It’s a range that’s grown with confidence and still provides many Third Doctor stories that feel true and authentic to the era. It also features a strong cast that captures the performances of the original characters well. Tim Treloar’s performance, in particular, continues to stand out. Starting out strong, his performance has only grown and developed the past ten years, becoming a key reason for the range’s success.