Doctor Who: Ranking All 13 Doctors From Worst To Best

9. The Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee)

Doctor Who Matt Smith Jodie Whittaker Christopher Eccleston Colin Baker
BBC

The Pertwee years began with one of the most notable changes in the show's history: no longer was the Doctor parading across time and space, but instead, he was stuck on Earth, working as a scientific adviser to UNIT.

While stranding the Doctor on Earth was done for budget reasons and not story reasons, it ultimately felt like an inspired decision, because it allowed Pertwee's strengths to shine. Well-spoken and with a suave dress sense, this Doctor felt a bit more human than his predecessors, which made him a great fit for a high amount of Earth-centric stories.

Restricting the Third Doctor to Earth also made him feel like the main line of defence between humanity and any alien attackers, and that whole "saviour of humanity" idea - thanks to it being a central theme of the modern Doctor Who years - is now something we fully associate with the character (Pertwee's era also introduced the Master, another Doctor Who staple).

The Third Doctor had a dominant presence, and it always felt like he was in control - but he still possessed that likeable spark underneath. He's like one of those cool teachers who are strict when they need to be, but also know when to be kind and friendly.

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Danny has been with WhatCulture for almost nine years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. He has been writing and video editing for 10+ years, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers and uploading them to YouTube (they're admittedly a bit rusty by today's standards). If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order or to tell you about the making of 1988's Remembrance of the Daleks, Danny is the person to ask.