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User:DaveJB/History of Doctor Who 1963-1969

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This is a history of the Science Fiction TV show Doctor Who between the years 1963 and 1969. It covers the William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton eras of the show.

Adventures in time and space

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After actors Hugh David (later a director on the series) and Geoffrey Bayldon had both turned down approaches to star in the series, Verity Lambert and the first serial's director Waris Hussein managed to persuade fifty-five year-old character actor William Hartnell to take the part of the Doctor. Hartnell was known mostly for playing army sergeants and other tough characters in a variety of films, but Lambert had been impressed with his sensitive performance as a Rugby League talent scout in the then-recent film version of This Sporting Life, which inspired her to offer him the role.


Hartnell's Doctor would initially be accompanied by his granddaughter Susan Foreman (played by Carole Ann Ford), originally to have been merely a travelling companion, but with a family tie added by Coburn who was uncomfortable with the possible undertones the relationship could carry were they to be unrelated. They were joined in the first episode by two of Foreman's schoolteachers, Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill) and Ian Chesterton (William Russell), from contemporary 20th century England. This remained the line-up of the series for the entire first season, but over time the regular line-up would change regularly as the Doctor's various companions left him to return home, having found new causes on worlds they had visited and elected to stay there, or even occasionally being killed off. He would always quickly find new travelling companions, however. The characters of the companions were used by the production team to relate the point of view of the viewers at home, asking questions and furthering the stories by getting into trouble.

Doctor Who predates the original Star Trek as one of the first TV series to be given two chances at producing a first episode. The very first episode of the series, "An Unearthly Child", had to be refilmed due to technical problems and errors made during the performance. During the days between the two tapings, changes were made to costuming, effects, performances, and the script (which had originally featured a more callous Doctor, and Susan doing disturbingly strange things; such as flicking ink all over a room's walls). This second version of "An Unearthly Child", the first episode of the serial 100,000 BC, was transmitted at 5.15 PM on November 23, 1963, but due to both a power failure in certain areas of the country and the overshadowing news of US President John F. Kennedy's assassination, it drew minimal comment and was repeated the following week immediately before the second episode.

It was not until the second serial, The Daleks, that the programme caught the imaginations of viewers and began to ingrain itself in the popular consciousness. This was primarily due to the Dalek creatures introduced in this story. Devised by scriptwriter Terry Nation and designer Raymond Cusick, they were completely un-humanoid and like nothing that had been seen on television before. Lambert had in fact been strongly advised against using Nation's script by her direct superior Donald Wilson, but used the excuse that they had nothing else ready in order to produce it. Once it was clear what a great success it had been, Wilson admitted to Lambert that he would no longer interfere with her decisions as she clearly knew the programme better than he did.

Hartnell's Doctor was not initially paternal or sympathetic. He was cantankerous, bossy and occasionally showed a streak of ruthlessness. However, the character mellowed as he grew closer to his companions, and he soon became a popular icon, especially among children who watched the series. This alteration in the portrayal of the Doctor began during the fourth serial, Marco Polo. Hartnell was absent during episode two, and on his return his portrayal of the character mellowed considerably.

The programme became a great success, frequently drawing audiences of 12 million or more, and the Daleks came back for several return appearances. Whitaker left the show early in the second season (though continued writing for it until 1970), being briefly replaced by Dennis Spooner, who in turn was replaced by Donald Tosh at the end of the season. Pinfield also left halfway through the season due to poor health, but was not replaced.

By the time of the third season in 1965, however, some difficulties were beginning to arise. Lambert had moved on, to be replaced as producer by John Wiles, who did not have a good working relationship with Hartnell. The lead actor himself was finding it increasingly difficult to remember his lines as he was suffering from the early stages of the arteriosclerosis that would later kill him. Wiles and Tosh came up with a way of writing Hartnell out in the story The Celestial Toymaker, by having the Doctor made invisible for part of the story, intending that when he re-appeared he would be played by a new actor. However, Wiles was forbidden to replace Hartnell by new Head of Serials Gerald Savory. Wiles had also hoped to make other bold changes, such as introducing a companion with a cockney accent (which was vetoed as he was told all characters must speak "BBC English"), and resigned shortly afterwards (allegedly after learning that he would be sacked at the end of the season), with Tosh also resigning on principle.

By 1966, however, it was clear that Hartnell's health was affecting his performances, and that he would not be able to carry on playing the Doctor for a long period of time. By this point Savory had moved on as Head of Serials and his successor, Shaun Sutton, was more favourable to change, allowing Wiles' replacement, Innes Lloyd, to make many of the very changes that Wiles had been barred from. Lloyd discussed the situation with Hartnell and the actor agreed that it would be best to leave, although later in life he would claim that he had not wanted to go.

The cosmic hobo

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Lloyd and story editor Gerry Davis came up with an intriguing way of writing the First Doctor out - as he was an alien being, they decided that he would have the power to change his body when it became worn out or seriously injured, a process that was called 'renewal', but would later become known within the mythology of the series as 'regeneration'. Whereas Wiles had intended to replace Hartnell with another actor but playing the same character, Lloyd and Davis elected to change the entire personality and appearance of the Doctor. They cast actor Patrick Troughton, who first appeared in November 1966 after the changeover from Hartnell had been seen at the end of the story The Tenth Planet. That serial also introduced the popular Cybermen, villains who would return to face the Doctor on several subsequent occasions.

Troughton played the role generally in a more lightweight, comical manner, albeit still with much of the original character's passionate hatred of evil and desire to help the oppressed. He also on occasion showed a darker side, manipulating his companions and the people around him for the greater good (examples include The Tomb of the Cybermen and The Evil of the Daleks). Davis left the show at the end of the fourth season, and was replaced by Peter Bryant. A few months later, Lloyd left the show and Bryant was promoted to producer. Bryant's successor as script editor was Derrick Sherwin (though Victor Pemberton had filled the job for Bryant's first serial, The Tomb of the Cybermen).

Troughton remained in the part for three seasons until 1969, eventually tiring of the workload of starring in a regular series. By this time, the viewing figures for Doctor Who had fallen considerably, and new script editor Terrance Dicks recalled that there was some talk of ending the series at the conclusion of its sixth season in 1969 (though this has been denied by Bryant, Sherwin and director David Maloney, with paperwork suggesting it was in danger at the end of the seventh season in 1970). The series' budget was also increasingly strained by the cost of exotic sets, costumes and props everytime the Doctor visited a new setting, and so Bryant and Sherwin (now effectively acting as co-producer, though the BBC refused to credit him as such) came up with the idea of reducing the cost of the series by setting all of the adventures on Earth, with the Doctor to act as the Scientific Advisor to an organisation called UNIT, the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, charged with defending the Earth from alien invasion.

This new set-up was tested in the season six story The Invasion, and at the end of the season was put in place more permanently by having the Second Doctor captured by his own race, the Time Lords, and sentenced to exile on Earth with his appearance being changed again as punishment for his interference in the affairs of other races. Thus Doctor Who ended its sixth production block, and its black and white era. From then on, in common with all BBC One programmes, it was to be produced in colour.

Main Actors

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The Doctor

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Companions

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Etc.

Key Production Staff

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Producers

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Story/Script Editors

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