Harry -
Let's get this out of the way now: Squeee!
The lasting image I have of this story is the very first one: that Bobby moving through the fog, having a look 'round outside I.M. Foreman Scrap Merchant's place. Bobby moves on, the door suddenly swings open, and reveals... the TARDIS.
Squeee!
This is almost like two separate stories, or a prologue and three-part follow-up. What did you think of the first episode?
Sarah -
The opening sequence makes me positively giddy. Seeing the TARDIS for the "first" time is always magical.
I agree; it is two separate stories. In retrospect, it's impressive how much the first episode sets the tone for the rest of the series. As we've discussed, I never saw any of Hartnell's stories back in the public television days, so the First Doctor was actually my last Doctor. I was only able to catch up on the First Doctor when the stories were issued on DVD, so these are still the freshest for me.
We start with Barbara and Ian, the first of many Earthly companions. I remember being surprised by how much I liked them from the beginning. They're both so wonderfully contemporary yet modern -- intelligent, attractive, caring, and oh so curious. Plus, they seem like great teachers. It's not just curiosity that lead them to that junk yard.
Susan is a delightful mix of teenager and alien. One of my favorite moments is when she's rocking out to John Smith and the Common Men, which allows Ian the chance to play the hep cat teacher. The sequences where she squirms before the camera while demanding that D & E be accounted for made me feel like I was back in Freshman Algebra, confused, uncomfortable, and, unfortunately, not brilliant.
But, The Doctor, Oh, The Doctor! How magnificent is Hartnell? Swinging back and forth -- charming, angry, confused, terrifying. His simple, "No" when he refuses to let Barbara and Ian go is chilling.
Harry -
My first exposure to Hartnell's Doctor was in the early 90s on a Canadian network called YTV. Brilliant programming, but horrible scheduling. I remember having to creep downstairs in the early hours of the morning to watch. Sadly, it didn't last long and the network abruptly pulled the plug on Who. I actually wrote an outraged letter!
Speaking of outrage, how would you feel if a couple of your high school teachers followed you home for a stakeout? Holy...
If someone was watching this story for the very first time, they might mistake Hartnell for the villain of the piece. He's mysterious and elusive. He condescends, he mocks. Then he kidnaps Ian and Barbara. Where does this old bastard get off?!
Sarah -
The initial TARDIS travel montage is wonderfully disorienting. One thing I love about this story is how much of it is told in closeups. There's a perfect claustrophobic feeling to the storytelling. As a viewer, I almost feel trapped.
Every single time I hear the Doctor Who theme, I feel a chill down my spine -- but even more so when it's the very first time!
Harry -
The extended TARDIS takeoff sequence is brilliant. And I agree the direction is excellent. It consistently feels as if we are watching over someone's shoulder. Sometimes there's an actual shoulder in the shot!
If we are looking at this story in two parts, here are my thoughts on the first part:
Favourite moment: Susan's funky dance moves. Totally alien.
Best line: Ian's simple exclamation, "It's a Police Box... It's alive!"
Lasting image: The Bobby in the fog, leading us to the TARDIS.
Sarah -
I can only concur.
Harry -
Let us turn to the second, third and fourth episodes, whose alternative title could have been "Quest for FIRE!"
What's this? Oh my! The Doctor and Susan have transported Ian and Barbara to the land of viking metal. Shaggy men in furs beating each other to death, flaming skulls, dead animals, stones, bones and crones, wow!
For three fairly straightforward episodes, they were very pacey and never dull.
Sarah -
I can't help but feel a bit of a disappointment at going from the excitement of meeting The Doctor to the middle of a Stone Age Soap Opera. Still, it does the job of convincing Barbara and Ian that The Doctor is an alien. Our time travelers are bit players in this story, and I want more of them! As you point out, the story does move along briskly, which is its saving grace.
Harry -
Did you catch the Ayn Rand bit? It's early on, in the exchange between Za and Old Mother:
"My father made fire."
"They killed him for it. It is better that we live as we have always done."
Ooh, right out of The Fountainhead, that one.
Sarah -
Ayn Rand would have been right at home in the Stone Age.
Harry -
I like stories.
Sarah -
Our cavefolk ancestors are more fickle than the American electorate, as they swing from Za to Kal and back again. Hur's desire to not be given to Kal is at least consistent, not that Bachelor #1 seems to have all that much going for him. Still, the gene pool was fairly shallow, so what's a girl to do?
Fortunately, for everyone except the doomed Kal and acolytes of Ayn Rand, Barbara and Ian rise above self interest and cannot set their humanity aside. With Susan's help, they give The Doctor a lesson in being human, perhaps kindling his love affair with Planet Earth.
Harry -
Yes, there was a lesson learned for the Doctor, even though he spent most of this adventure as a kind of anti-hero, unconcerned with those around him except how they might be used to achieve his own ends. Even after everyone had scampered back to the safety of the TARDIS, it was hard to warm up to this enigmatic figure.
Didn't they all look fabulously disheveled by the end?
Sarah -
Love the disheveled look as they re-enter the TARDIS! I felt slightly exhausted after this story.
The episode cliffhanger four is beyond exciting, as the radiation detector moves to "Danger." The occupants of the TARDIS with the busted chameleon circuit don't know what awaits them, but of course we do...
Favourite moment: Ian telling Barbara that her "flat must be littered with cats and dogs" when she says they must help Za. It's a sweet, touching moment that leaves so much unsaid. This viewing found me especially focused on their relationship.
Best line: "Doctor Who? What's he talking about?"
(The Doctor, when Ian calls him Dr. Foreman.)
Lasting image: Closeups of Old Mother warning Za of the dangers of fire. Scary!
Harry -
Fascinating cliffhanger indeed. I'd forgotten that most of the early stories did this kind of segway into the next one.
Favourite moment: the Doctor getting called out by Ian for picking up the stone as if to use it as a weapon.
Best line: the Ayn Rand bit.
Lasting image: the TARDIS sits somewhere on prehistoric Earth, and a human shadow emerges from offscreen.
Let's get this out of the way now: Squeee!
The lasting image I have of this story is the very first one: that Bobby moving through the fog, having a look 'round outside I.M. Foreman Scrap Merchant's place. Bobby moves on, the door suddenly swings open, and reveals... the TARDIS.
Squeee!
This is almost like two separate stories, or a prologue and three-part follow-up. What did you think of the first episode?
Sarah -
The opening sequence makes me positively giddy. Seeing the TARDIS for the "first" time is always magical.
I agree; it is two separate stories. In retrospect, it's impressive how much the first episode sets the tone for the rest of the series. As we've discussed, I never saw any of Hartnell's stories back in the public television days, so the First Doctor was actually my last Doctor. I was only able to catch up on the First Doctor when the stories were issued on DVD, so these are still the freshest for me.
We start with Barbara and Ian, the first of many Earthly companions. I remember being surprised by how much I liked them from the beginning. They're both so wonderfully contemporary yet modern -- intelligent, attractive, caring, and oh so curious. Plus, they seem like great teachers. It's not just curiosity that lead them to that junk yard.
Susan is a delightful mix of teenager and alien. One of my favorite moments is when she's rocking out to John Smith and the Common Men, which allows Ian the chance to play the hep cat teacher. The sequences where she squirms before the camera while demanding that D & E be accounted for made me feel like I was back in Freshman Algebra, confused, uncomfortable, and, unfortunately, not brilliant.
But, The Doctor, Oh, The Doctor! How magnificent is Hartnell? Swinging back and forth -- charming, angry, confused, terrifying. His simple, "No" when he refuses to let Barbara and Ian go is chilling.
Harry -
My first exposure to Hartnell's Doctor was in the early 90s on a Canadian network called YTV. Brilliant programming, but horrible scheduling. I remember having to creep downstairs in the early hours of the morning to watch. Sadly, it didn't last long and the network abruptly pulled the plug on Who. I actually wrote an outraged letter!
Speaking of outrage, how would you feel if a couple of your high school teachers followed you home for a stakeout? Holy...
If someone was watching this story for the very first time, they might mistake Hartnell for the villain of the piece. He's mysterious and elusive. He condescends, he mocks. Then he kidnaps Ian and Barbara. Where does this old bastard get off?!
Sarah -
The initial TARDIS travel montage is wonderfully disorienting. One thing I love about this story is how much of it is told in closeups. There's a perfect claustrophobic feeling to the storytelling. As a viewer, I almost feel trapped.
Every single time I hear the Doctor Who theme, I feel a chill down my spine -- but even more so when it's the very first time!
Harry -
The extended TARDIS takeoff sequence is brilliant. And I agree the direction is excellent. It consistently feels as if we are watching over someone's shoulder. Sometimes there's an actual shoulder in the shot!
If we are looking at this story in two parts, here are my thoughts on the first part:
Favourite moment: Susan's funky dance moves. Totally alien.
Best line: Ian's simple exclamation, "It's a Police Box... It's alive!"
Lasting image: The Bobby in the fog, leading us to the TARDIS.
Sarah -
I can only concur.
Harry -
Let us turn to the second, third and fourth episodes, whose alternative title could have been "Quest for FIRE!"
What's this? Oh my! The Doctor and Susan have transported Ian and Barbara to the land of viking metal. Shaggy men in furs beating each other to death, flaming skulls, dead animals, stones, bones and crones, wow!
For three fairly straightforward episodes, they were very pacey and never dull.
Sarah -
I can't help but feel a bit of a disappointment at going from the excitement of meeting The Doctor to the middle of a Stone Age Soap Opera. Still, it does the job of convincing Barbara and Ian that The Doctor is an alien. Our time travelers are bit players in this story, and I want more of them! As you point out, the story does move along briskly, which is its saving grace.
Harry -
Did you catch the Ayn Rand bit? It's early on, in the exchange between Za and Old Mother:
"My father made fire."
"They killed him for it. It is better that we live as we have always done."
Ooh, right out of The Fountainhead, that one.
Sarah -
Ayn Rand would have been right at home in the Stone Age.
Harry -
I like stories.
Sarah -
Our cavefolk ancestors are more fickle than the American electorate, as they swing from Za to Kal and back again. Hur's desire to not be given to Kal is at least consistent, not that Bachelor #1 seems to have all that much going for him. Still, the gene pool was fairly shallow, so what's a girl to do?
Fortunately, for everyone except the doomed Kal and acolytes of Ayn Rand, Barbara and Ian rise above self interest and cannot set their humanity aside. With Susan's help, they give The Doctor a lesson in being human, perhaps kindling his love affair with Planet Earth.
Harry -
Yes, there was a lesson learned for the Doctor, even though he spent most of this adventure as a kind of anti-hero, unconcerned with those around him except how they might be used to achieve his own ends. Even after everyone had scampered back to the safety of the TARDIS, it was hard to warm up to this enigmatic figure.
Didn't they all look fabulously disheveled by the end?
Sarah -
Love the disheveled look as they re-enter the TARDIS! I felt slightly exhausted after this story.
The episode cliffhanger four is beyond exciting, as the radiation detector moves to "Danger." The occupants of the TARDIS with the busted chameleon circuit don't know what awaits them, but of course we do...
Favourite moment: Ian telling Barbara that her "flat must be littered with cats and dogs" when she says they must help Za. It's a sweet, touching moment that leaves so much unsaid. This viewing found me especially focused on their relationship.
Best line: "Doctor Who? What's he talking about?"
(The Doctor, when Ian calls him Dr. Foreman.)
Lasting image: Closeups of Old Mother warning Za of the dangers of fire. Scary!
Harry -
Fascinating cliffhanger indeed. I'd forgotten that most of the early stories did this kind of segway into the next one.
Favourite moment: the Doctor getting called out by Ian for picking up the stone as if to use it as a weapon.
Best line: the Ayn Rand bit.
Lasting image: the TARDIS sits somewhere on prehistoric Earth, and a human shadow emerges from offscreen.
Sarah -
Episode one is a 9/10 for me. The rest would be a 6 or 7/10 -- I guess that would average to 8/10.
Harry -
I'll give it a 9 overall, fuelled with exhuberance for our quest!
Our marathon continues with Story #2 - The Daleks...
Hi Sarah and Harry,
ReplyDeleteI'm very excited to read your blog as the rewatch goes on! I adore Hartnell's Doctor. Best of luck with the marathon!
Hello and thanks for the comment! Hope you enjoy the ride -- we've been having a blast so far.
ReplyDelete