|
|
Post by martinw8686 on Mar 4, 2023 1:29:21 GMT
I've seen very little First Doctor serials, I was wondering if anyone could suggest which episodes are his best.
I've seen The Dalek Invasion of Earth and The Tenth Planet.
I'm looking to start with An Unearthly Child and The Daleks, then perhaps The Time Meddler.
The Ark sounds interesting but I'm not sure how well regarded it is.
|
|
|
|
Post by masterdoctor on Mar 4, 2023 1:48:41 GMT
The Time Meddler for sure, not only is it one of my favourite Classic serials, but it's great to see the origins of The Monk.
|
|
|
|
Post by Sir Wearer of Hats on Mar 4, 2023 9:13:24 GMT
The Dalek’s Masterplan
|
|
|
|
Post by mark687 on Mar 4, 2023 10:56:29 GMT
War Machines
Time Meddler
Unearthly Child/Invasion Earth
Regards
mark687
|
|
|
|
Post by bonehead on Mar 4, 2023 16:02:00 GMT
The Time Meddler for sure, not only is it one of my favourite Classic serials, but it's great to see the origins of The Monk. When The Time Meddler was repeated early in 1992, a couple of friends who were watching it with me were amazed at the leisurely, atmospheric pace of the episodes and how they took time to set up the story - and they said they preferred it to the quick-snap production values of latter-day episodes (still fresh in their minds). Strange what you remember.
The Daleks Masterplan remains my favourite Hartnell extravaganza. By now, the Doctor's role had been reduced due to the lead actor's health - but he was still very much around, often orchestrating events. This gave the Doctor almost an omni-presence; a puppet master, which was an idea I liked a lot, albeit borne out of neccessity. It's extra episode length also allowed long moments of drama, levity, genuine shocks and plenty of Daleks, not to mention Magic, er, Mavic Chen's growing instability.
I'd say that's my favourite William Hartnell episode.
PS - I'd recommend The Ark. It's a nice, quite clever story with some really good performances and some gloriously hammy ones. There's also a favourite moment where Dodo asks the villain of the piece soimething like "Are you up to something?" The reply is, "Er, erm ... no." Least convincing denial I ever heard!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2023 18:14:16 GMT
I've seen very little First Doctor serials, I was wondering if anyone could suggest which episodes are his best. You can't 'see' it, but I highly recommend the BBC soundtrack release of The Daleks' Master Plan... it really is a great story.
The Reign of Terror and Marco Polo would also be up there as very good First Doctor stories.
|
|
|
|
Post by Kestrel on Mar 4, 2023 21:14:11 GMT
Hm... I definitely don't disagree with any of the stories suggested already, but honestly? I think they're all pretty good. Sure, there are some issues with a few of them, but Hartnell is very consistently great. I mean, there's a reason why this TV show outlasted its protagonist.
The only story I can think of that I'd want to especially recommend, that hasn't been mentioned already, is The Romans. It's a two-parter, so it's paced pretty well and doesn't overstay its welcome, it's a pure historical (always fun), it's got some really fun humor, and it's a fantastic showcase of Hartnell at his most impish and mischievous and not-entirely-on-top-of-things demeanor.
|
|
|
|
Post by timleschild on Mar 4, 2023 22:26:16 GMT
Hm... I definitely don't disagree with any of the stories suggested already, but honestly? I think they're all pretty good. Sure, there are some issues with a few of them, but Hartnell is very consistently great. I mean, there's a reason why this TV show outlasted its protagonist. The only story I can think of that I'd want to especially recommend, that hasn't been mentioned already, is The Romans. It's a two-parter, so it's paced pretty well and doesn't overstay its welcome, it's a pure historical (always fun), it's got some really fun humor, and it's a fantastic showcase of Hartnell at his most impish and mischievous and not-entirely-on-top-of-things demeanor. The Romans is 4 parts. |
|
|
|
Post by Digi on Mar 5, 2023 1:55:01 GMT
A lot of terrific choices already listed. Personally I also have a lot of time for The Aztecs as well.
|
|
|
|
Post by timleschild on Mar 6, 2023 17:19:35 GMT
A lot of terrific choices already listed. Personally I also have a lot of time for The Aztecs as well. yes one of my favourites |
|
|
|
Post by ollychops on Mar 6, 2023 17:49:00 GMT
Can't go wrong with The Dalek Invasion of Earth and The Time Meddler. The Aztecs is pretty decent too (I didn't think it matched the hype but that's just me). I also really quite like The Edge of Destruction and The Space Museum but YMMV with those ones.
|
|
|
|
Post by bonehead on Mar 6, 2023 18:54:15 GMT
I'd add The Massacre to my list too. It was brave to put this rather dry historical on after the spectacular Daleks Masterplan, but it underlines the broad variety of stories Doctor Who told, even back in 1966. It's a cleverly written piece, and possibly offers Steven Taylor his best showcase as well as allowing William Hartnell to play a dual role while reducing the actor's workload. And it introduces a new travelling companion!
|
|
|
|
Post by martinw8686 on Mar 23, 2023 11:29:02 GMT
My collection is slowly growing, I'm aiming to get all the individual DVD releases but starting with the essentials for each Doctor. I've got almost all for 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 but have huge gaps with 1 and 3.
My First Doctor collection consists of;
An Unearthly Child, The Daleks, Edge of Destruction, The Aztecs
Dalek Invasion of Earth, The Rescue, The Romans, The Space Museum, The Chase, The Time Meddler
The Dalek Master Plan (audio), The Arc, The War Machines, The Tenth Planet
what's the best of what's left?
The Three Doctors, The Five Doctors
|
|
|
|
Post by mark687 on Mar 23, 2023 11:45:54 GMT
My collection is slowly growing, I'm aiming to get all the individual DVD releases but starting with the essentials for each Doctor. I've got almost all for 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 but have huge gaps with 1 and 3. My First Doctor collection consists of; An Unearthly Child, The Daleks, Edge of Destruction, The Aztecs Dalek Invasion of Earth, The Rescue, The Romans, The Space Museum, The Chase, The Time Meddler The Dalek Master Plan (audio), The Arc, The War Machines, The Tenth Planet what's the best of what's left? The Three Doctors, The Five Doctors If you like The Romans you'll like The Gunfighters and a more unusual suggestion The Savages Three Doctors is better for the 1st Doc but Five Doctors is a better experience overall Regards mark687 |
|
|
|
Post by grinch on Mar 23, 2023 11:56:56 GMT
My collection is slowly growing, I'm aiming to get all the individual DVD releases but starting with the essentials for each Doctor. I've got almost all for 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 but have huge gaps with 1 and 3. My First Doctor collection consists of; An Unearthly Child, The Daleks, Edge of Destruction, The Aztecs Dalek Invasion of Earth, The Rescue, The Romans, The Space Museum, The Chase, The Time Meddler The Dalek Master Plan (audio), The Arc, The War Machines, The Tenth Planet what's the best of what's left? The Three Doctors, The Five Doctors If you like The Romans you'll like The Gunfighters and a more unusual suggestion The Savages Three Doctors is better for the 1st Doc but Five Doctors is a better experience overall Regards mark687 The Savages is really quite excellent. If it wasn’t for the fact it’s all missing, I honestly think it would up there among the best First Doctor stories. |
|
|
|
Post by bonehead on Mar 23, 2023 12:37:28 GMT
If you like The Romans you'll like The Gunfighters and a more unusual suggestion The Savages Three Doctors is better for the 1st Doc but Five Doctors is a better experience overall Regards mark687 The Savages is really quite excellent. If it wasn’t for the fact it’s all missing, I honestly think it would up there among the best First Doctor stories. Even as audio-only, it works well, I think. It's quite a chatty piece, and Raymond Jones' music is unique and very effective. |
|
