A “newbie”’s thoughts
Sure, I know
Doctor Who but as I said at the start, I’m very much clueless when it comes to anything prior to the Pertwee era, and even then, I only remember the odd snatch of story from the odd episode. After Baker I think I gave it up - I certainly don’t recall much about Davison, McCoy and certainly not the other Baker - so I’m sort of in uncharted territory here, and am almost, but not quite, looking on this as my first real experience with Classic
Who. And what do I think of my first run-in with the timelord?
Well, surprisingly, while I’m not exactly impressed I’m not completely laughing at this either. Not yet anyway. The basic script holds together well, and while the acting could be a little less, well, British I guess, that was the sixties so what can you expect? In an era when Kojak would be grinning “Who (no connection) loves ya, baby?” and Mannix would be, well, doing whatever Mannix was doing, British cop shows would still feature the calm, polite bobby who trod his beat in shows like the already-mentioned
Dixon of Dock Green and
Z Cars. It’s just how the British are, and the BBC was always aware of maintaining standards.
Characterwise, what do I think? Susan is highly excitable, perhaps a good caricature of a sixties English schoolgirl, though I was surprised to find out she was an alien (Gallifreyan, I assume), believing the title “grandfather” for Hartnell was merely honorific, or a way to legitimise the otherwise perhaps odd relationship between an old man and a young girl. She comes across as impatient, precocious and the kind of girl you might be tempted to give a slap to, but I’m sure I’ll get to know her better as the episodes and seasons wind on. It’s interesting to see that this is, to my - admittedly flawed and basic - knowledge, the only time the Doctor has had more than one Companion, certainly the only time before the reboot when he has three. That was intriguing.
Do I think the idea of a schoolgirl being forced to take along her teachers on her adventures is a good idea? I most certainly do not, and I can see many instances developing where the two adults - once they get their bearings, or space/time legs I guess - try to lay down the law and teach Susan how she should behave. Many disapproving tsks on the way, methinks! But we’ll see. As for Hartnell, well, I am surprised to find that originally the show’s creator wanted the character of the Doctor to be an adversarial one, a man who was against all science and invention and wanted to destroy the future. Hmm. That could have been interesting. Of course, I guess they later addressed this through the Doctor’s eternal nemesis, the Master.
As for Hartnell himself, I think here his character works. He’s an irascible, impatient old man who has little time to explain things and has a very superior attitude towards the two teachers. He shows some guile though, when he pretends, near the end of the episode, that he is in fact letting the two go - and with them, Susan too - but then slams the TARDIS into drive, as it were, and off they all go, unwilling participants (well, two of them anyway) in the Doctor’s adventures. Sneaky! His manner is a little irritating; very supercilious and very condescending, but sort of consistent with older people when dealing with younger, a sort of half-jealousy of their youth mixed with a healthy disregard for all the things they don’t know and he does. Whether this attitude will wear thin as the show goes on I don’t know, but it is perhaps telling that of all the Doctors, Hartnell was the oldest; after this they went with younger men, and still do. Other than one woman, but she’s young too. You know what I mean. And there’s John Hurt of course, but that gets us somewhat off the track.
As an opening (pilot I guess, as the original was, as I said, not aired) episode, it sets things up nicely and does give you a feeling of wanting to know where this will go, though I feel that it only goes back in time to the Stone Age or somewhere. Could be wrong about that, but we’ll see. Initially conceived, I believe, as a sort of aid to history for kids, a fun way to learn about the past, it might very well be that the story and plot took second place to facts and figures, and dates and places to be taught. Again, I guess we’ll see.
Diagnosing the Doctor
Given that I’m, as I said, very unfamiliar with about ninety percent of the Doctors, this is where I will give my initial, and later ongoing assessment of each. As this is only the first episode there’s not a lot I can say, and yet there is, so let’s get to it. Time’s a-wastin’. Sorry.
FIRST DOCTOR - WILLIAM HARTNELL
As I mentioned, the first Doctor is also the oldest, as after this the idea of I guess a father-figure would be somewhat dropped, to allow, I suppose, young people to connect more with the Doctor himself rather than the Companion(s), as it was probably originally envisaged they would, or would be directed to do. I know of Hartnell, of course (who doesn’t?) but only as a vague, old-guy figure. I’ve never seen any of his work, perhaps the odd cameo in new Who if he made any, but basically nothing. So when he appears on screen it’s almost like some old tramp trying to steal the TARDIS (which is ironic, as we later learn, or it is built up in the mythology of the show, that the Doctor did in fact half-inch the time machine from his home planet and basically went joyriding the spatial and temporal waves with it), looking quite suspicious, the sort of person that were you to find him hanging around a junk yard would indeed have you running for the nearest beat bobby. Not that he looks dangerous, as such, but you might think he had wandered away from an old folks’ home.
His character, here anyway - I believe it changes as the season unfolds - is one of a man who is used to both getting what he wants and doing what he likes, and answering to nobody. He is very curt and condescending, even insulting to the two teachers, refusing to answer any questions and laughing at their attempts to try to understand what it is they have stumbled upon. He is, at least, grandfatherly towards his niece, though it must also be said that he is, or seems to be, or pretends to be, willing to dump her in order to keep his secret. This turns out to be a ruse, but still. He’s not someone used to, or willing to giving explanations, and seems impatient and frustrated, like a savant trying to think down to a normal person’s level. He is most annoyed to find intruders in the TARDIS, but his solution to this is weird. I suppose (as we’ll find out, or I will anyway) the idea is to show them that this is all real, and not some trick. This will, of course, become a sort of modus operandi for the Doctor, as after all, showing is better than telling, and it’s hard to deny the existence of time travel, however difficult it may be to accept it, when you find yourself in ancient Rome or where(when?)ever.
You would have to say that on first viewing, and if you knew nothing about the show and its characters, the Doctor is not a nice person. He’s not someone you’re going to root for, someone you’re going to like, someone in whose company you would want to be. In fact, the idea of being stuck in a spaceship (alright: space/timeship) with an old git like that would not be on the top of anyone’s wish list. Later Doctors would be - slightly - more approachable, but the timelord would always betray a certain impatience and a sense of tolerance towards his Companions, treating them, as I mentioned elsewhere, more really as pets than equals, which of course they’re not. Equals, that is. Technically, they’re not pets either, but this seems to me to be the best characterisation of the relationship between the Doctor and those who accompany him in the TARDIS.
Back to Hartnell though. Some of his logic is, to say the least, specious. He rambles on about how it is seen to be impossible to fit a larger building within a small one, comparing this to seeing a picture of a larger building on TV, which to me is missing the point completely and does not in any way prove his case. But he also gives the impression he’s just throwing out various ideas to show how insignificant he regards humans (remember: Susan, his first Companion, is not human, so Chesterton and Wright qualify as the first of our species to travel with him in the TARDIS), and that he really doesn’t care whether they believe him, understand the principles, or just **** off and leave him alone. I think - not sure but I think - we see him use the sonic screwdriver for the first time, when he closes the door of the TARDIS, but other than that he seems just a crazy old man. No wonder they think he’s lost it, and has dragged their student (who surely is definitely human and not at all from another planet) into his fantasy.
As I mentioned, the original idea was for the Doctor to be, well, evil, and I think in this Hartnell embodies the characteristics and moral attitude that best illustrate this original Doctor. He has no love for humanity (that will come later) and no desire to stay here other than that his granddaughter has chosen to live here and made a home for herself. In fact, the only real personal or emotional tie to the planet is Susan, and without her it’s quite likely he would be just as happy living in the ninth century or on Boron XXIV or hanging out at the western fringes of the Horsehead Nebula. The idea of the Doctor protecting Earth, being its champion, won’t, I expect, come till much later, and possibly with new regenerations of the character.
For this first episode though, and the introduction of William Hartnell as the Doctor, I would have to say I’m not impressed. I don’t like him, I don’t understand him and I certainly don’t empathise with him. Let’s see if that changes over time. Sorry.
Currently, after one episode which is admittedly not much to base a character assessment on, my score is
Doctor: First (William Hartnell) - S01E01 - 10/100