lisagslack14

Welcome to the 1st William Hartnell/1th Doctor Appreciation Thread


















OP is pending

Mrs.Almeida

Thanks for opening this thread. I made some changes to the title, so it would fit

Raonaild

I liked the fact that the First Doctor got a bit of a shout out in this week's ep

I've liked all the Doctors in one way or another, but I'll admit I've had trouble warming up to the earlier Doctors. I've watched a number of the surviving stories, but the thing that really strikes me is that the First Doctor is rather different in that he isn't really the focus of the show in the same way that later Doctors are. Because he was older (though not really that much older, he just seemed that way) and not in the best of health, they always had to have several younger companions around to handle all the action. The pattern changed by the Second Doctor where he had fewer companions and did more of the running.

portiaslegacy

I am new to Dr Who. I am really starting with the episodes in their first air on BBC-A. However I borrowed the first four stories of he original and it was kind of shockingly different. Not only are the kidnapped companions Barbara and Ian much more the focus of the plots the Doctor is often kind of a villain. Currently the Dr. is not always the most humane person, but he was pretty brutal in those early episodes.

William Hartnell had to quit the show because of bad health, which probably has something to do with why he seems so much older. The other thing is he was somebody's grandfather (The relationship with Susan was often sweet) so he had two generations younger than he on the TARDIS

forestfire

Thats two appearances for Hartnell in this series. Wonder if we'll see any more?

Raonaild

There's a Hartnell reference that appears in every episode - the St. John Ambulance sticker on the TARDIS door. It hasn't been there since Hartnell's time.

forestfire

Oh wow! THAT is pretty cool. I think that will be the first thing I do when I get the series on DVD. Rewatch all the episodes to spot all the Hartnell references.

Good catch on those, by the way.

ADDT: Actually now I think about it. I remember when River was flying the TARDIS, and she checked the outside radiation levels and environment before allowing the Doctor to leave. They always did that in the Hartnell era. Perhaps that was another shout-out?

Raonaild

Vincent and the Doctor, another Hartnell reference, *tick*.

That's three in 10 eps. That's more than the previous four series and specials put together.

Raonaild

While I've been recovering from my broken arm this week, I've been rewatching some classic Who serials, including several Hartnell serials: The Dalek Invasion of Earth, The Space Museum, The Chase and The Time Meddler.

Now, obviously a lot of the Doctor Who canon was established during those first years - the Doctor, the TARDIS, regeneration, the Daleks, the Cybermen, etc etc. But whenever I watch his serials I also notice smaller, more subtle thing established during those first years. For example, the fact that Daleks are capable of time travel (The Chase). The First Doctor also blames the situation in The Space Museum as the TARDIS "jumping a time track", an explanation he's used again since, as recently as Amy's Choice.

Almeida's Army

In honour of last weeks rewatch of An Unearthly Child, I thought I'd bring this thread back up

Raonaild

This weekend I watched The Gunfighters for the first time.

I thought it was a pretty good story and pretty well made, but I found the constant use of the Last Chance Saloon ballad through all four parts annoying.

Almeida's Army

Havent seen that one either but its meant to be quite a funny one...

Raonaild

I thought the first ep had one of the most clever titles of the classic series, "A Holiday for the Doctor".

The Sensorites is supposed to be out on DVD next month, I'll probably pick that one up when it's released. Most of the colour episodes I've seen on TV even if they haven't been released on DVD yet, but these old B&W eps I've never seen before.

Almeida's Army

I've seen every available classic story bar about 10.

Child of Time

The first Doctor is hilarious in The Web Planet. He keeps giggling. Grumpy one minute and hyper the next... Gotta love him.