Doctor Who: Season 3
Season 3 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of Doctor Who Season 2.
- Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
- Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
- Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.
Episode Guide
Season 3 Progress Shield
Four Hundred Dawns
Sep 11, 1965
After an encounter with a hostile robot called a Chumblie, the Doctor and his companions are rescued by a group of female Drahvins.
Trap of Steel
Sep 18, 1965
With the knowledge that the planet will be destroyed in two days, the Drahvins instruct the Doctor to help them steal the Rills' ship.
Air Lock
Sep 25, 1965
The Doctor and Vicki encounter the Rills and learn the situation is more complex than they thought while Steven finds the Drahvins' hospitality ever more perilous.
The Exploding Planet
Oct 2, 1965
The Doctor and Vicki enlist the aid of the Chumblies to rescue Steven from the Drahvins and then find a way off the planet before its destruction.
Mission to the Unknown
Oct 9, 1965
Whilst The Doctor, Steven and Vicki are traveling to their next destination. On the planet Kembel, Marc Cory, a Space Security Service agent discovers The Daleks are attending a se
Temple of Secrets
Oct 16, 1965
The TARDIS lands in the middle of the Trojan War, where the Doctor is mistaken for the god Zeus.
Small Prophet, Quick Return
Oct 23, 1965
While Odysseus forces the Doctor to find a way to win the war, Steven decides to get himself taken prisoner in order to enter Troy and find Vicki and the TARDIS.
Death of a Spy
Oct 30, 1965
With Steven and Vicki being held prisoner by the Trojans, the Doctor's only hope of seeing them again is to suggest the idea of the Trojan Horse.
Horse of Destruction
Nov 6, 1965
The Doctor waits inside the Trojan Horse for a chance to reach his companions but Steven's assumed identity as a Greek soldier and Vicki's growing feelings for Troilus endanger the
The Nightmare Begins
Nov 13, 1965
The Doctor runs afoul of the Daleks and Special Security Agent Bret Vyon on the planet Kembel.
Day of Armageddon
Nov 20, 1965
The Doctor infiltrates the Daleks' conference to try and discover their plans, leaving Steven, Katarina and Bret to find a way off the planet.
Devil's Planet
Nov 27, 1965
The Doctor and his friends escape Kembel in the Spar ship but the Daleks force them down on the planet Desperus, where they are threatened by a group of convicts.
The Traitors
Dec 4, 1965
With Katarina being held hostage, the Doctor, Steven and Bret are in danger of having to given in to Kirksen's demands, while, on Earth, Chen has them listed as traitors.
Counter Plot
Dec 11, 1965
The Doctor, Steven and Sara are accidentally transported to the planet Mira where Chen sends the Daleks after them.
Coronas of the Sun
Dec 18, 1965
The Doctor, Steven and Sara escape Mira in a Dalek pursuit ship but when they find the ship is returning to Kembel, they are forced to come up with a new plan to avoid the Daleks.
The Feast of Steven
Dec 25, 1965
The Doctor, Steven and Sara visit a Liverpool police station on Christmas Day and a Hollywood film set during the 1920s.
Volcano
Jan 1, 1966
The Daleks realise the Doctor has given them a fake Taranium Core while, on the planet Tigus, the Doctor encounters the Meddling Monk.
Golden Death
Jan 8, 1966
The Doctor, Steven and Sara travel to Ancient Egypt, pursued by both the Daleks and the Meddling Monk.
Escape Switch
Jan 15, 1966
Steven, Sara and the Monk are captured by the Daleks in order to force the Doctor to hand over the Taranium Core.
The Abandoned Planet
Jan 22, 1966
The Doctor, Steven and Sara reach Kembel where they find the Daleks have betrayed their allies and imprisoned them.
Destruction of Time
Jan 29, 1966
With the Daleks poised to invade the solar system, the Doctor decides his only option is to activate the Time Destructor prematurely, threatening the entire planet.
War of God
Feb 5, 1966
The TARDIS lands in sixteenth century Paris and Steven becomes involved with a group of Huguenots.
The Sea Beggar
Feb 12, 1966
While trying to find the Doctor, Steven discovers a conspiracy to assassinate a man known as the Sea Beggar.
Priest of Death
Feb 19, 1966
Steven has discovered the identity of the Sea Beggar, but can he warn the Huguenots in time?
Bell of Doom
Feb 26, 1966
Steven rejoins the Doctor and they leave Paris just ahead of the massacre, leaving Anne behind.
The Steel Sky
Mar 5, 1966
The Doctor, Steven and Dodo arrive on a giant spaceship millions of years in the future, transporting the last humans away from the doomed Earth.
The Plague
Mar 12, 1966
With the Ark infected with a cold virus, the Doctor must convince the Guardians to trust him so he can find a cure.
The Return
Mar 19, 1966
The Doctor, Steven and Dodo have travelled 700 years into the future and find that the Ark is now under the control of the Monoids as it approaches Refusis.
The Bomb
Mar 26, 1966
The Monoids abandon the Ark, leaving Steven and the Guardians to die, but a mutiny in their ranks may give the Doctor a chance to bring about peace.
The Celestial Toyroom
Apr 2, 1966
The Doctor, Steven and Dodo arrive in the realms of the Celestial Toymaker, who forces them to play his deadly games.
The Hall of Dolls
Apr 9, 1966
While the Doctor continues to play the Trilogic Game with the Toymaker, Steven and Dodo are involved in a deadly game of musical chairs.
The Dancing Floor
Apr 16, 1966
Steven and Dodo are forced to cross the dancing floor, where the Toymaker's dolls plan to force them to dance for eternity.
The Final Test
Apr 23, 1966
As the Doctor nears the end of his game against the Toymaker, Steven and Dodo take on Cyril in a lethal game of hopscotch to try and recover the TARDIS.
A Holiday for the Doctor
Apr 30, 1966
The TARDIS arrives in Tombstone, Arizona in 1891. Where the Doctor is looking for a dentist when he has a toothache, where The Doctor finds the local dentist is the famous Doc Holl
Don't Shoot the Pianist
May 7, 1966
With the Clantons believing the Doctor to be Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp takes him into protective custody but this leaves Steven and Dodo in danger.
Johnny Ringo
May 14, 1966
Earp comes to Steven's rescue and arrests Phineas Clanton, prompting the Clantons to decide to enlist the help of Johnny Ringo.
The O.K. Corral
May 21, 1966
The Clantons have shot Warren Earp, leading to a showdown between the two families with the Doctor powerless to prevent bloodshed.
The Savages (1)
May 28, 1966
The Doctor, Steven and Dodo arrive in the far future and are welcomed by the advanced civilisation of the Elders but soon begin to suspect they are hiding a secret.
The Savages (2)
Jun 4, 1966
The Doctor, Steven and Dodo investigate why there are Savages in the Elders' city and uncover the true price of the Elders' perfect society.
The Savages (3)
Jun 11, 1966
The Doctor has been subjected to the Elders' extraction process and Steven and Dodo must return to their city to rescue him.
The Savages (4)
Jun 18, 1966
The Doctor urges the Savages to finally bring an end to the Elders' oppression and enlists the help of an unlikely ally.
The War Machines (1)
Jun 25, 1966
The Doctor and Dodo return to London in the present day where the Doctor becomes concerned about WOTAN, a new super-computer installed in the Post Officer Tower.
The War Machines (2)
Jul 2, 1966
Dodo is under the control of WOTAN and attempts to lure the Doctor into a trap, while the rest of WOTAN's slaves begin construction on its robotic War Machines.
The War Machines (3)
Jul 9, 1966
Ben tries to escape from the warehouse but is captured by Polly, who is now also under WOTAN's control, and forced to work on construction the War Machine.
The War Machines (4)
Jul 16, 1966
The first War Machine is defeated but the Doctor only has a matter of hours to destroy WOTAN before the rest of its army is activated.