The First Doctor - My thoughts overall

First off my little tribute to Hartnell:

I have to say how much my views have changed after watching his 29 stories, this was a Doctor who, at first, wasn't a favourite of mine. When I came into Classic Who in 2007 the only Hartnell DVD's that were out at the time were: The Beginning, The Aztecs, The Dalek Invasion Of Earth & The Web Planet and to be honest I found all of them dull on first watch. I dislike the Susan Character, didn't really warm to 1st, Ian or Barbara and just found his stories dull.

Fast forward to 2009 & Hartnell is now my fifth favourite Doctor (although first on the Marathon rankings, so far), here we have a Doctor who is a wise old Grandfather who is weary of you at first & can appear quite rude, but in time grows to be rather fond of your company. Hartnell's Doctor didn't change as dramatically as some did during their reign but by the end of Season 3 I had grown to like him a lot.

For me his first series is his weakest, mainly as the stories are slower & Susan is just bloody annoying, then with the addition of Vicki his second series improves on the first greatly. His third series is my favourite though seeing as it's the most diverse of the lot with some really experimental story styles. His two appearances in the fourth season are a bit of a step down, but to be fair, considering Hartnell's own deteriorating health it's rather understandable.

The First Doctor's companions were also, on the whole, a rather great bunch, save for one or two. What I really like is that, with the exception of Dodo, The First Doctor always gives a nice little speech about the departing companion & always comes across as genuine when delivering them. Below are my thoughts on each companion/companion team:

Susan - Oh dear, now I don't blame Carole Ann Ford for this at all but I just don't like the character. When Susan was introduced in Episode 1 or An Unearthly Child she had a kind of cool, other worldly aurora about her. However from Episode 2, onwards she just turns into a whiney, annoying character & to me can spoil a story every so often. Again I don't blame Ford for this, it's just that they seemed to have thought of how they wanted to set up the character & then wrote for her in a completely different way.

Ian & Barbara - What a great team they were, over 16 stories we saw them introduced as two everyday school teachers & saw them develop into two knowledgeable space travelers. I don't think they were ever bad in a single story they appeared in and, for me, their departure was really sad. A truly great team of which I don't think anyone ever matched them ever again in the series.

Vicki - Oh how much an improvement was Vicki over Susan, from her first story to her last I really enjoyed her character. Her Granddaughter/Grandfather relationship with the First Doctor came across far more genuine that First did with Susan. I liked how Vicki could also be cheeky at times with the rest of the Tardis crew, especially in The Chase were she teases Ian on several occasions. A great little companion, just a shame her final story is missing.

Steven - I rather liked Steven, sure he was no Ian but he was a rather likable character. He could be a bit hot headed at times (sometimes using his fists first before approaching someone with caution) but he always looked out for his fellow companions & The Doctor. Steven also carried stories well when The First Doctor was absent (notably The Massacre... & The Celestial Toymaker). A rather good companion played well by the mighty Purves, just a shame that yet again his final story is missing, although his final moments are at least available in 8m format.

Katarina - A rather interesting companion considering she had one of the shortest reigns ever in the history of Who. Personally I think it's a shame that she wasn't kept on although think about it I can understand why they didn't. Considering she's the first companion from the past & so doesn't "get" the modern or futuristic world I rather like Adrienne Hill's portrayal. However considering how the Daleks Master Plan was wrote & the way the story was going, she just never really fitted in. Had The Myth Makers occured after DMP then she probably would have stayed on, however it wasn't & unfortunately she never really fitted in. She did however had a very moving, haunting & dramatic death. A good companion that was unfortunately introduced at the wrong time & yet again another one whose first & last episodes are missing, in fact she has only the one episode sadly.

Sara - What a great companion she was, such a shame she only lasted one story, however her ending was very haunting & perhaps the eeriest of the lot. Jean Marsh was excellent as the Emma Peel style Sara Kingdom and works well throughout the story. Also the first female companion who didn't scream her way through the stories. Her final scenes in Episode 12 were excellently reconstructed by LC & show just how scary her deterioration was. A shame she wasn't kept on past the story, however considering her demise I think we ended up with the better option in some respects. A shame then that yet again her final episode is missing.

Dodo - I didn't mind Dodo TBH, sure she was a bit of a busy body at times but I preferred her to Susan. As to why they asked Jackie Lane to have a Yorkshire/Northern accent in The Massacre... is beyond me. The way she's handled as well is rather poor also, first off tacked onto the end of The Massacre & then she just suddenly disappears in episode 2 of The War Machines. Even the Doctor doesn't give her the usual farewell speech. Shame really as I didn't think she was that bad really.

Ben & Polly - A great double act, of which I'll go into more detail when it comes to reviewing the Troughton era. They get a great introduction in The War Machines and seem to gel with The First Doctor quite well although they never really develop a relationship as they're only together for three stories. However during that short time I found them instantly likeable, however as I say more about them in the Troughton review.

Enough of my ramblings, onto my most & least favourites from his era:

Favourite Companion: Ian & Barbara and Ben & Polly (I count these as Companion teams as they are introduced & leave at the same time)
Least Favourite Companion: Susan (see above)
Favourite Alien: Daleks (they're really great in the Hartnell years)
Favourite actor: William Hartnell (of course)
Favourite actress: Jacqueline Hill
Favourite Cliffhanger: Episode 3, where The Doctor stands definatley as a War machine approaches him.
Favourtie Stories: Top Three - The Daleks Master Plan (5/5), The War Machines (5/5) & The Time Meddler (4.75/5)
Least Favourite Stories: Bottom Three - Galaxy 4 (2.25/5), The Web Planet (1.5/5) & The Sensorites (1/5)
Favourite soundtrack: Daleks Master Plan (Episode 12 in particular)
Favourite Writer: According to my top three favourite stories, Terry Nation, Dennis Spooner, Ian Stuart Black & Kit Pedler

And the Hartnell special category…

Favourite fluffed line: You'll end up as cinders in Spain