The First Doctor By @cheezypeas

23^rd November, 1963. The date that started it all. The magic, the adventure that we have all held so dear to our hearts ever since.

A blue Police box, an incredibly intelligent pupil whose behaviour prompts her teachers to find out more about her. Then they meet her Grandfather…..

First impressions count, right? Susan and Ian’s first impression really wasn’t complementary (especially after being kidnapped) and this has throughout the years been the assumption of quite a number of Doctor Who fans:

“Oh the First Doctor, he was a grumpy old boy”

“He really didn’t do much apart from talk, quite boring really”

“Don’t think he was very nice, quite rude in fact”

Why has the Doctor’s initial attitude in his first scene of An Unearthly Child continued to be the general consensus of his character? This article will hopefully change people’s unfair perception of the First Doctor and encourage everyone to watch more of his stories.

 

Grumpy? Of course! How would you feel in an elderly body plagued with rheumatism, surrounded by silly humans and having to save the World and the universe on a regular basis? Now, cast you mind back to each and every subsequent regeneration and tell me, have any of the other 10 never been grumpy? Of course they have- even the mild mannered Fifth Doctor had his grouchy moments.

"You took away my cricket bat, how DARE you!"

People have also have an unfair opinion that the First Doctor had no sense of humor, and had no taste for adventure. Take a look at The Romans where he is clearly happy and joyful, amusing Vicki with his unusual quirky humour. In The Web Planet he demonstrates his excitement and wonder in exploring the terrain of the planet Vortis. Like every regeneration since, the Doctor clearly shows his sense of wonder, his thirst for excitement when he discovers something new and interesting.

In the same story when Ian’s pen goes missing and he gets the sense he’s being watched, the Doctor is keen to explore to find out, rather than take the boring cowardly option of staying in the Tardis. Hardly a boring old chap you have to agree. It appears Ian would be more appreciative of pipe and slippers than the Doctor!

He has also demonstrated he can be quite the action man. Take for example scenes from The Chase, The Romans and The Crusade where he demonstrated his fighting skills, which could easily match someone half his age.

What a lot of people forget is although he did take the unusual and not so pleasant step of kidnapping Ian and Barbara in the first story, was to protect himself and Susan. However, he could be just as warm and gentle as his subsequent regenerations. He was very much a devoted Grandfather to Susan protecting her ferociously, and when she found love it took all his composure to let her go. Listening to his final farewell to Susan:

“One day, I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine.”

Although there wasn’t dramatic Tenth Doctor tears and angst, in a way the First Doctors farewell is somewhat more poignant and tragic as he looks upwards, proud and composed and yet you can tell he’s suffering on the inside. He was also very protective of his companions, especially Vicki whom reminded him of his beloved Granddaughter. 

He also demonstrated the sarcasm and wit which has never left him even after 10 regenerations:

“The Doctor: What do you think of that, now, eh? A Viking helmet.

Steven Taylor: Maybe.

The Doctor: What do you mean, "maybe"? What do you think it is, a space helmet for a cow?

I hope this article has changed a few misconceptions people have had and it has encouraged fans to explore this greatly forgotten era with the First Doctor who started it all. Next time look at all the subsequent regenerations; you’ll see the mischievous, grumpy but gracious and kind old man in each and every one.

To end, here are a few lovely comments regarding the First Doctor I found on YouTube:

“I've been going through the classic episodes in chronological order. I'm still on the Hartnell era, and he is a real joy to watch. He's grumpy, stubborn, and utterly devious, but he has two hearts of gold.”

“The First Doctor doesn't get enough credit, I mean after all, he began this legacy. So before everyone who is a crazy Tennant or Baker fan goes on about how they can't imagine Who without him, just remember that there would be no Tennant or Baker if it weren't for Hartnell.”

“While all of the subsequent Doctors have been really brilliant, none of them could be where they are without the foundation that William Hartnell laid down.

Bless him and may he rest in peace.”

The Romans By @The_Knights87

“When we get out of here, I’m going to comb all the slave markets, question everybody. Someone must remember her.”

During Doctor Who’s second season the production crew decided to do something different.  They decided to make a historical with a different twist.  They decided to make it funny and take advantage of William Hartnell’s comedic presence.  William Hartnell used to do a lot of comedy when he first started acting and the Romans was the perfect vessel for him to revisit his roots.  

The Romans is not your usual Doctor Who story. Besides the fact that it is pretty funny it also was one of the few stories where there were two stories going on at once.  First you have The Doctor and Vicki are en route to Rome when they come across a body. In fact it’s the body of Maximus Pettulian.  The Doctor picks up the lyre just as a centurion arrives and mistakes The Doctor as the famous lyre player.   So they are whisked to Rome and an audience with Emperor Nero. 

That’s where all the comedy starts.  As the Doctor plays Nero for a fool.  But impersonating Maximus Pettulian doesn’t come without it’s risk as assassins are still a foot to kill the Doctor now.  You see they think they failed in their attempt to kill Maximus Pettulian and well I think you can figure it out.

The second story involves Ian and Barbara getting kidnapped by slave traders Ian gets sold to one slave trader who has him rowing a boat in the Mediterranean while Barbara gets sold to Tavius who works in the court of Nero.  While a decent man he does warn Barbara that if she tries to escape she will be killed.  

This second part is truly good as it shows Ian to be the man of action.  In fact this is probably the best performance by William Russell in Doctor Who.  Ian goes through so much to try and save Barbara that you start to believe that there is something more than friendship between the two school teachers.

But the true comedic gem of this story is Emperor Nero himself. Derek Francis puts in an excellent performance as Nero.  He is funny and can turn dead serious at times that makes you wonder if Nero was truly like how they portrayed him. 

It is true that most historical Doctor Who stories are boring and dry at times but The Romans is the exception.  It is funny, and action filled and full of great moments that makes this story a must see for Doctor Who fans. Plus it is great how Nero gets the idea of how to burn Rome to the ground. The Romans is truly one of the best historical Doctor Who stories of all time and one of the best William Hartnell stories as well mainly because William Hartnell performance is as the Ninth Doctor says “Fantastic”.

The Web Planet By @The_Knights87

"We seem to be caught. Trapped somehow. This is some strange phenomena. There's no power in the ship. It's useless."

The Web Planet isn’t one of those stories that you go crazy over to watch again.  No in fact, it is quite boring.  Ok.  To be fair The Web Planet wasn’t intended to be watched in one sitting.  It was in fact a serial that was to be enjoyed weekly with the traditional cliff hanger and classic way to tell a story back in the sixties.

This story that comprises part of the second season of Doctor Who shows William Hartnell to be completely comfortable in the role of the First Doctor.  In fact despite his stumbling of words he does a remarkable job with the battle of wits with Animus. The Animus is an intelligence that has mind control over the Zarbi and their fellow creature the larvae gun. In fact the other creatures in this story the butterfly like Menoptera.  These creatures occupy the planet Vortis which at one time was peaceful where they all lived in harmony.

The Web Planet isn’t one of my favorites but it does hold a special place in my heart.  As a child my late Aunt gave me this book as a birthday present.  Not sure how old I was when I got the book as a present which as it was called back in the day “Doctor Who and The Zarbi” but I remember being enamored about reading a new Doctor Who adventure that I had not seen before.   Since I live in the USA we did not get the William Hartnell stories for quite some time yet.  So this was my first foray into an era of Doctor Who that I was not familiar with yet.

You see in the US we were inundated with Tom Baker stories for quite some time.  It wasn’t until the late 80’s that we got the Hartnell stories so most of our exposure was through the brilliant Target books of the series.  These books were a looking glass into worlds of Doctor Who that were not available to us and thanks to my aunt for getting me started on collecting the Target Books.

 So when I saw The Web Planet for the first time I was excited to see a story that I read come to life.  So in a sense The Web Planet isn’t one of the best stories but one that has special meaning to me.  So join us Wednesday for The Web Planet. Bar opens at the normal Wednesday time of 7:00 PM BST (2PM EST USA).

The Space Museum by @The_Knights87

"You'll make a perfect specimen for my museum."

There are all types of museums.  All over the world and for the most part free to enter.  There are art museums, museums that house historical articles and museums that have natural history like dinosaurs and such. 

But the most famous museum of all is the Space Museum.  What is the Space Museum? Well it is a museum that is on the planet Xeros.  What is unique about this museum is that there are some pretty interesting exhibits on display.  Like for instance a Dalek from the planet Skaro.  Yes a Dalek on display.  Well maybe its shell as it is pretty empty inside luckily for us.

The gem of the museum is the exhibit of the time travelers.  Yes a true gem that.  The four time travelers and their blue box.  It is in fact a marvel that they can all fit in that box and travel through time.  So marvel at the time travelers known as The Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Vicky and look at their wonderful craft The TARDIS the next time you are on Xeros and are visiting The Space Museum. 

So join us in seeing how The Doctor gets out of this predicament when we journey down the path of Doctor Who’s classic history as The DoctorWhoBar watches the second season William Hartnell story “The Space Museum”

Doctor Who - The Sixties By @The_Knights87

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 1^st 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 2^nd 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.