The 60’s. A decade of psychedelic, strawberry fields,
incense and peppermint and putting flowers in your hair. It was
also the decade that spawned a sci-fi phenomenon that still continues to this
day. I am of course talking about Doctor Who. Yes many of you new to the program may not
have been exposed to the early years of Doctor Who. For shame if you haven’t. Even though the stories are in black and
white and some of the qualities of the effects are, well, let’s just say dated
to put it nicely, does not deter from
the overall quality of the story that was written and acted out by the actors involved.
60’s Doctor
Who was an important era in the shows history.
For one it gave us the first appearances of the Dalek and Cybermen. It introduced us to another of the Doctors people
who happen to be a mischievous Monk and who would be the torchbearer to The Master
and The Rani. But the one most important
thing that 60’s Doctor Who gave us which is the main thing credited for the
shows longevity is of course regeneration.
Yes
regeneration. If it wasn’t for the
producers to come up with this idea then the show would have ended with William
Hartnell. So instead of ending the show
with him the producers, well more or less booted William Hartnell from the
role, changed actors by having the Doctor change appearances to keep the show
going. Brilliant idea and one that has
been an occasion of great sorrow and excitement throughout the years when the
current actor has decided to leave and replaced by the new guy.
The two main
actors’ that portrayed The Doctor and more or less paved the way for the likes
of Tom Baker, Sylvester McCoy, and David Tennant were of course William
Hartnell and Patrick Troughton.
William
Hartnell who played The 1st Doctor was the man who got the ball
rolling. His Doctor came across as
crotchety but was also sharp as tack.
His Doctor was also very caring and loving even though he didn’t show it
often but it was there. The First Doctor
was also the champion of the little guy.
If there was someone or something being oppressed the First Doctor was
right there to help them out. Whether it
was helping earthlings against the Daleks in The Invasion of Earth or helping
out Londoners against WOTAN in The War Machines you could expect The First
Doctor to be there leading the charge.
The second
man to play The Doctor during the 60’s was Patrick Troughton. The 2nd Doctor is generally referred
to as the cosmic hobo. I refer to him as
a classic Doctor whose mannerisms have been imitated by future Doctor’s right
up to the current one Matt Smith. His
comedic style was quite a change from the dominating presence of his predecessor. His style was a more kind and bumbling character
but when the situation called for it the Second Doctor could be dead serious
and commanded respect from his adversaries.
The Second Doctor also liked to
make gadgets and brought some mystery to The Doctor like in Tomb of the
Cybermen and also in The War Games.
Unfortunately
a lot of the stories from the 60’s have been destroyed or lost and we only have
a handful of complete stories from this era.
This is a shame really because there are some great stories that will
never be seen. But the ones that we do
have are a treasure trove of Doctor Who’s early history and should be watched
over and over. So if you are a new fan
of Doctor Who who caught on with the show during David Tennant’s or Matt Smith’s
era then you need to do yourself a favor and watch some of the show’s finest
stories from the 60’s and see what has inspired the show you are watching now.
No comments:
Post a Comment