In 1969, the actor Patrick Troughton, who had been appointed three years earlier as the second Doctor Who, decided to relinquish the role.

This was due to a combination of the extremely tough schedule involved in the filming of the series, and the concern on the part of Troughton that he would end up being typecast in the role, and that this would retard his future career.

Troughton did become the only one of the Doctor Who actors to be seen again in the role, when he appeared in both the 10th and 20th anniversary specials of the long running series.

At the start of the 1970s Doctor Who was ready for a bit of a facelift. For a start the monochrome pictures of the preceding series were to be replaced with glorious color.

Pertwee also, as Troughton had done before him, was to bring his own unique style and personality to the role. This time the Doctor took on the personality of a sort of mad professor crossed with a cosmic avenger.

There were also more helpers added to help the Doctor in his interplanetary adventures, a Sergeant played by John Levene, and a Captain played by Richard Franklin.

Also added to the series during the early Pertwee era was another classic villain, this time known simply as the Master. This character was a Time Lord just like Doctor Who, but of a totally different kind.

Completely sinister and evil, as befits the best of television villainy, the Master was to be seen in battles with Doctor Who for the next three series, before being left out for some considerable time due to the tragic death of the actor who played him, Roger Delgado. Pertwee himself continued in the role of Doctor Who until the middle of 1974, before stepping down to return to his first love, the stage.

 

Jon Pertwee sadly died of a heart attack while on holiday in the USA. He was 76. At the time he left Doctor Who, he had served in the role for far longer than either of his predecessors. Although Tom Baker was to comfortably beat this record, Pertwee remains fondly remembered by loyal fans of science fiction.

Fortunately for fans of Doctor Who during the Pertwee era, these color episodes have survived in their entirety. Modern generation who were not even born when Jon Pertwee was playing Doctor Who can now enjoy his performances through the modern media of DVD and home video, and it is even possible to enjoy Doctor Who in audio form with Doctor Who Audiobooks, which even include the scripts of some of the lost episodes from previous series.