by Allan Fish
(UK 1963-1989 17,650m) DVD1/2 (selected episodes only)
A police box standing in a junk yard…
p/d/w various created by Sydney Newman main theme Ron Grainer
William Hartnell (The 1st Doctor), Patrick Troughton (The 2nd Doctor), Jon Pertwee (The 3rd Doctor), Tom Baker (The 4th Doctor), Peter Davison (The 5th Doctor), Colin Baker (The 6th Doctor), Sylvester McCoy (The 7th Doctor), Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Alastair Lethbridge-Stewart), Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith), Katy Manning (Jo Grant), Carole Ann Ford (Susan Foreman), William Russell (Ian Chesterton), Roger Delgado (The Master #1), Anthony Ainley (The Master #2), Michael Wisher (Davros), Mary Tamm (Romana #1), Lalla Ward (Romana #2), Anneke Wills (Polly Wright), Frazer Hines (Jamie McCrimmon), Wendy Padbury (Zoe Herriot), Caroline John (Liz Shaw), Louise Jameson (Leela), Matthew Waterhouse (Adric), Janet Fielding (Tegan Jovanka), Nicola Bryant (Peri Brown), Sophie Aldred (Ace), John Levene (Sgt.Benton), John Leeson (voice of K9), Kevin Stoney (Mavic Chen/Tobias Vaughn/Tyrum),
It’s one of British television’s most beloved old dinosaurs, so big that it will never all come to DVD. In the BBC’s dark days they even recorded over some of them to record some worthless programme or other; a lack of foresight to rival the decision to break up the Titanic’s sister ship Olympic for scrap. After all, who would make any money out of an old boat, eh? Imagine how it might have kept James Cameron’s costs down.
Doctor Who was never perfect; the sets often wobbled, the special effects were laughable, some of the alien costumes looked like they’d been made in Blue Peter – including one which was literally dyed green bubble-wrap. It all seems so long ago since the reboot in 2005, but while it has its problems, it had advantages. Many people have commented how the recent series has to cram too much into its 45 minute running time, giving the story little room to breathe, and yet of course Messieurs Davies and Moffat had little choice. The generation who lap up garbage like X Factor and Strictly would never sit still to watch a story play out over 4-7 weeks. It just wouldn’t happen.
What maintains the interest is the quality of the writing and, in most part, acting. Sure, the scripts may have dozens of those signposted moments where the Doctor or one of his assistants turns their back on a villain and allows he/she to get away, the sort of moments that went out with pantomime. But forget that…
Taking the Doctors one by one, Hartnell was undoubtedly the most crotchety and pompous, but is still beloved by many. Troughton was more eccentric and at times frightened of his own ghost, and while Hines’ Scotsman from Culloden may grate, Padbury was a sight for sore eyes as Zoe. They all departed together at the end of the black and white years to be replaced by Pertwee. He made the part his own, adding a touch of sarcastic humour to proceedings that had been lacking, as well as striking up excellent partnerships with his assistants John (gone far too quickly), Manning (always a favourite) and the lovely Sladen before handing on to the greatest of them all, Tom Baker. To be fair, Baker stayed too long, but he took the role and ran with in, with his manic grin and genuine compassion, and making the most of being able to use the Tardis a lot more than his predecessor. Davison was on a hiding to nothing, but coped far better than Colin Baker and McCoy who were in the end riding a downwards spiral. Oh, and let us not also forget the wonderful contributions of Nick Courtney as the Brigadier and the peerless Roger Delgado (below) as the original Master. As for favourite stories, see War Games (Troughton’s swansong), Ambassadors of Death, The Daemons, Sea Devils, Planet of Spiders (Pertwee’s exit), Terror of the Zygons, Pyramids of Mars, The Deadly Assassins, Talons of Weng-Chiang, Earth Shock, Caves of Androzani (Davison’s excellent farewell) and The Curse of Fenric. Forgive that it went downhill and had as many duds as plums, for sci-fi truly would not be where it is today without it. Remember Douglas Adams once wrote episodes as now Neil Gaiman does. Such was its influence. If I was American, Star Trek would be in this list. But I’m not, so this is…
“If I was American, Star Trek would be in this list. But I’m not, so this is…”
Speaking as an American, I’ll gladly say that “Doctor Who” in any form is, and has been better than almost any incarnation of “Trek”, and especially better than that series’ compromised original incarnation. Some of the movies were okay, and the whole TNG era has some of the best television sci-fi ever made. But that franchise has been on its own gravity well ever since “Enterprise” at least, and is now fully in bullshit mode with the reboot movies. But we all know where my “Star” allegiance lies, so it’s all irrelevant there.
The way that “Doctor Who” has grown and evolved over the years says as much about the way that British television has changed over the decades as it does about science-fiction, and there’s plenty to be observed there. Looking at the classic series and the reboot side by side, I’m reminded of the old Python skit pointing out the “film outside, video inside” motif on BBC programming, drawing attention to how all the interiors correspond to the same shooting and dramatic techniques as soap opera or television plays. That’s part of what helped the series thrive even when the budgets couldn’t keep up with the cosmic scale of the stories being penned– so much of early television owes to the conventions of theater, that you could get away with actors and scripts selling much of the substance of the story rather than any kind of action or coverage onscreen. It’s a testament to the quality of the renewed franchise that the writing and performances have kept up to the same standard (and at times, over-the-top style) as the previous versions, but it all means something different in an age of television where those two aspects were more or less the only really dependable ingredients, save for some of the more maverick of live-TV directors and producers.
The original format of the show as far as time is also worth noting given the ways that the modern version fits comfrotably into the contemporary hourlong conventions. Even by the early 90′s there were more and more successful high-concept sci-fi series being made (mostly in the US) in the prime-time hourlong format that if the show were going to survive, it needed to grow beyond a mere half-hour. The pace may seem a lot faster and more hectice, but in a lot of cases the multi-parts still cover the same length of time, just in a shorter span– instead of a standard serial being spread over 4 half-hour episodes, we get 2 hourlongs. Granted, you do have some single-episode gems that feel as though they’re getting cut within an inch of their lives and not given the same room to breathe that the classic, longer-running stories did, but there’s no longer an ounce of fat on their bones.
It’s tempting (and/or frightening) to wonder what the show might’ve turned into if that abortive backdoor pilot made for FOX had survived, but obviously things turned out for the best. It certainly would’ve been in good company with “The X-Files”– now THERE’s the show to include if you’re an American.
Yes, but The X Files was 90s. Doctor Who was same generation as Star Trek, only it came several years earlier. Essentially, though, it’s a series that is a no win situation for the Wonders in-crowd. This old series is too vast – not to mention patchy in places – that it’s impossible to start watching it if you never have, while the new series is hated by fuddy duddies.
Yes, it’s saying something to recognize that the show debuted only a day after the Kennedy assassination. There are still other shows from the same generation as DW that I’d compare it to favorably before the original “Trek”, not as a means of correcting anything from this article mind you, but just because there’s better stuff out there than the likes of James T. Kirk (though granted, his kissing Uhura is a milestone). Granted, most of the other shows I’d think of don’t fit into quite the same box as this– “Twilight Zone” and “Outer Limits” are great sci-fi, but anthology series without the benefit of a long-running protagonist to bond with, and something like “Dark Shadows” is a perfect match of stage-television tactics and long-running genre storytelling, but fantasy instead of sci-fi. ST’s a fine franchise, and in its subsequent iterations something that lived up to its potential, but its original incarnation is too compromised for my tastes.
DW’s classic vault of stories is certainly too vast for most viewers to approach the full breadth of it with any other reaction than a head-ache, but in a sense that makes it easier for one to acceptably approach piece-meal. The more these serials go streaming, especially, it’s easy to just pick a random multi-episode story and go with it. Just about any of the Tom Baker adventures are probably about as fine an introduction as anything (“City of Death” was a blast to revisit). For me, it’s a bit like approaching the library that’s built up for some superhero comics over the years– you don’t really need to devote yourself to reading all five decades’ worth of “Spider-Man” or “X-Men” to get the deepest possible appreciation of those books (and God help you if you do)– just skimming through the highlights is a worthy enough undertaking on its own.
I started watching the reboot series 2 or 3 months ago (starting with season 5, then circling back to 1 before finally making my way through 6), and I immediately fell in love. The new series certainly has some crappy episodes (Daleks in Manhattan is godawful), but the nearly all of them have some clever touches and at their best they’re more scary and more fun than practically anything else on television. I love that each episode can have its own twist, its own monster, it own genre, really–it’s almost like an anthology show with a couple core characters. This new series is actually rapidly gaining appeal and audience among college students in the US, and I keep meeting people who’ve just discovered it like me. I’d personally tell anyone interested to start with season 5, which is practically a reboot of the show anyway and a great intro to new viewers, since season 1 starts off pretty rocky while they try and iron out what exactly the show is supposed to be.
I watched a documentary on the history of the show, but I haven’t seen any full episodes from the classic Who as yet. That’s probably heresy or something for older fans, but hey, I’m a young American who’d barely heard the name a year ago, so give me a break. I would like to check out a few older stories, though, and I’ll hopefully get around to that before too long. Glad to see the Doctor on this list, Allan.
Well, the reboot is literally next up in the countdown, had to have them consecutively. And I know it is gaining in popularity Stateside. The reboot does have some awful episodes – Fear Me, Love and Monsters, The Unicorn and the Wasp – but some are exceptional, though sadly the pacing is too quick for older fans. Buit Blink, Family of Blood/Human Nature, The Eleventh Hour and several others are just about faultless.
There’s a more detailed look at the reboot up to just before Season 5 here…
http://wondersinthedark.wordpress.com/2010/01/02/the-rebirth-of-doctor-who/
Whenever older fans are upset about reboots and changes, odds are the franchise in question is doing the right thing.
If I’m not mistaken, “Human Nature/Family of Blood” is originally inspired by a “Doctor Who” book that was published during the hiatus, wasn’t it?
StephenM, I had a bit of an advantage because reruns of the Tom Baker and Pete Davison years were still showing on PBS stations when I was very young, and though I obviously wasn’t understanding most of what was going on, I loved the hell out of it. Baker’s probably the best Doctor to start with in the old series, though the really early years are surprisingly easy to slide into. Davison’s fun, and nicely laid back in a way that you wouldn’t expect from the classic and modern versions. After him, however, you might as well skip to the Davies and Moffat update.
Jon Pertwee was “my” Doctor, as I was 9 years old when he took on the role, so he was the one where I really did hide behind the sofa and I have very fond memories of his years in the role – I still have a sneaking feeling that he was the real Doctor. I did like Tom Baker too, but for me it was never quite the same and the show seemed to get less scary (this was, of course, really because I was getting older). Must admit I didn’t stick with the show through Davison, Colin Baker and McCoy’s years, except for the occasional episode.
I like your point about the original series having time to develop its stories, Allan – with the reboot, much though I’ve enjoyed it, I’ve often been slightly bewildered as to what is going on and have had to get my kids to explain to me. And yes, many of the aliens’ costumes in the original show did look like Blue Peter creations.
Judy, I loved Pertwee and I think the fact that budget limitations meant they kept him in Earth for nearly his entire tenure may have made him as you describe. The modern version, while I love it it at its best, does move quickly, bewilderingly so at times for those not used to the pace.
Indeed, many have criticised the new show for this, for not allowing its stolries to breathe, butfast pace can work, and youngsters today are easily able to follow it as they’re used to the pacing and would expect no less. Sometimes it’s to the detriment, but the episodes remain inherently clever. The best way to describe it is almost as screwball sci-fi. Screwball comedies of the golden age never stopped for breath and insisted you keep up. They go extremely well together and the best of New Who does match the best of old, though the worst also matches the worst.
Second what Allan says here. The new series is also made by and for generations who’ve viewed progressively denser and denser sci-fi shows and movies as well as experienced other media-iterations since they were kids. The pace ups the challenge, of course, but the bigger thing is whether or not you grew up with the technobabble of “The Next Generation”, cyberpunk and other works of that ilk, and have grown accustomed enough to recognize when it’s being played up for comedy or stakes.