And so, we reach the first major milestone in the exercise. One Doctor down, 10 to go…
But it’s strange to think that while only one Doctor has been covered (and three calendar years) that constitutes 17% of the whole series. Before I did this I don’t think I ever realized just how many episodes Hartnell starred in, or the fact that, in terms of sheer numbers of episodes, his 134 episodes is second only to Tom Baker’s 178.
So what have I learned? Well, the first thing to note is that Hartnell’s Doctor varies from the crotchety old man to the brilliant comedian. From the subtle thinker to the out and out action hero. He’s a much wider spectrum than I guess I have ever perceived him to be.
As an actor he does comedy well and the sad speeches are fantastic. His “Billy-fluffs” are legendary but I think the reality behind that is that there were so few retakes. He makes mistakes that I guess all actors make, but he recovers and carries on. And let’s be honest, people mis-speak (look at George W Bush). If you were to follow someone around for 1,100 years I suspect they’d fumble what they were trying to say more than once.
I’ve never been one to say I have a favourite Doctor. I think even comparing Doctors is a bit like comparing apples with bananas. Or in some cases, apples with suspension bridges. But I think if I ever found myself with a gun to my head and ordered to rank the Doctors (no, I can’t think of a scenario in which that would happen either) Hartnell would have been fairly low down the list. I now think that view is more to do with lack of knowledge of his work than anything else. He’d still be below certain Doctors in my affections but the exercise of watching the whole of his series has made me a lot fonder of him than I was before.
And let’s be honest – without Hartnell we’d never be where we are now. He launched the character, gave it it’s mystery and set up the 47 years that followed his departure. For that alone he deserves a place in all of our hearts.
But it’s strange to think that while only one Doctor has been covered (and three calendar years) that constitutes 17% of the whole series. Before I did this I don’t think I ever realized just how many episodes Hartnell starred in, or the fact that, in terms of sheer numbers of episodes, his 134 episodes is second only to Tom Baker’s 178.
So what have I learned? Well, the first thing to note is that Hartnell’s Doctor varies from the crotchety old man to the brilliant comedian. From the subtle thinker to the out and out action hero. He’s a much wider spectrum than I guess I have ever perceived him to be.
As an actor he does comedy well and the sad speeches are fantastic. His “Billy-fluffs” are legendary but I think the reality behind that is that there were so few retakes. He makes mistakes that I guess all actors make, but he recovers and carries on. And let’s be honest, people mis-speak (look at George W Bush). If you were to follow someone around for 1,100 years I suspect they’d fumble what they were trying to say more than once.
I’ve never been one to say I have a favourite Doctor. I think even comparing Doctors is a bit like comparing apples with bananas. Or in some cases, apples with suspension bridges. But I think if I ever found myself with a gun to my head and ordered to rank the Doctors (no, I can’t think of a scenario in which that would happen either) Hartnell would have been fairly low down the list. I now think that view is more to do with lack of knowledge of his work than anything else. He’d still be below certain Doctors in my affections but the exercise of watching the whole of his series has made me a lot fonder of him than I was before.
And let’s be honest – without Hartnell we’d never be where we are now. He launched the character, gave it it’s mystery and set up the 47 years that followed his departure. For that alone he deserves a place in all of our hearts.