So, this was another area of Doctor Who that – coming into – I knew fairly little about. I think there’s a mythos that hangs over the Troughton era these days and I also think it has become very fashionable in Whovian circles to declare Troughton as one of your favorite Doctors. I’m not sure why this is – possibly it’s an attempt to nod towards the fact that to be a Troughton fan you’ve probably watched a lot of recons.
I’m not 100% certain that the modern day hype is justified. And I think a lot of it is simply down to the fact that we perhaps romanticise that which we cannot properly see.
Obviously, the greatest tragedy of Doctor Who history is that so few Troughton stories exist. Almost as great is the fact that many of the ones that do exist simply aren’t the finest stories ever made. Why The Krotons exists when The Macra Terror does not in a supposedly civilized world is frankly beyond me…
Over the course of the three seasons I did fall in love with Troughton’s Doctor and saw him in a new light than perhaps I would have from just watching stories that do exist. But I don’t think he is some peerless Doctor, head and shoulders above the rest. I think his first season saw a definite attempt to show him as quite clown like – the irritating recorder, the dressing up and the hats, etc – very possibly as an attempt to distance himself from Hartnell. Thankfully this settled down in his second season…
The relationship between Jamie and the Doctor is key to the success of this era. I don’t think there is another companion who has travelled as exclusively with the Doctor and as such has defined that Doctor’s era. The second Doctor had only one story without Jamie and Jamie never met any other Doctors.
In terms of quality of the stories, there are some wild differences. But I suppose that’s largely the nature of the show itself. To go from the awfulness of The Space Pirates straight into the superlative War Games is impressive even still…
Over all, it is nice to feel I know a lot more about Troughton’s portrayal as the Doctor now. If I ever had a gun put to my head and was forced to name a favourite Doctor, would he be on my list? I suspect not. But I do appreciate the fondness people have for him a lot more now.
I’m not 100% certain that the modern day hype is justified. And I think a lot of it is simply down to the fact that we perhaps romanticise that which we cannot properly see.
Obviously, the greatest tragedy of Doctor Who history is that so few Troughton stories exist. Almost as great is the fact that many of the ones that do exist simply aren’t the finest stories ever made. Why The Krotons exists when The Macra Terror does not in a supposedly civilized world is frankly beyond me…
Over the course of the three seasons I did fall in love with Troughton’s Doctor and saw him in a new light than perhaps I would have from just watching stories that do exist. But I don’t think he is some peerless Doctor, head and shoulders above the rest. I think his first season saw a definite attempt to show him as quite clown like – the irritating recorder, the dressing up and the hats, etc – very possibly as an attempt to distance himself from Hartnell. Thankfully this settled down in his second season…
The relationship between Jamie and the Doctor is key to the success of this era. I don’t think there is another companion who has travelled as exclusively with the Doctor and as such has defined that Doctor’s era. The second Doctor had only one story without Jamie and Jamie never met any other Doctors.
In terms of quality of the stories, there are some wild differences. But I suppose that’s largely the nature of the show itself. To go from the awfulness of The Space Pirates straight into the superlative War Games is impressive even still…
Over all, it is nice to feel I know a lot more about Troughton’s portrayal as the Doctor now. If I ever had a gun put to my head and was forced to name a favourite Doctor, would he be on my list? I suspect not. But I do appreciate the fondness people have for him a lot more now.