Here it is, the end of the First Doctor's era. The final Hartnell adventure!
...and it seems our Billy was absent for a portion of the story again. How unfortunate.
Sarah -
A pity he fell ill during the filming and the writers had to scramble to rewrite episode 3. It gave Ben more to do, but it’s a bit of a letdown to get so little of Our First Doctor in his final story.
I’m experiencing conflicting emotions right now -- excited at the changes ahead and feeling nostalgic for all the good, and not-so-good, times we’ve had.
Harry -
Despite Polly's premonitions, there isn't much of a buildup for the big moment, and Hartnell's absence in part three actually serves to underscore that something is happening to the Doctor, physically. The producers did the best they could in uncharted waters.
Sarah -
His absence from so much of the story does lessen the effect of the regeneration. But let’s discuss the rest of story! We find ourselves at the South Pole in 1986. It’s not quite the 1986 I remember, but the title graphics more than make up for it.
Harry -
I like that they continued to experiment with new titles throughout the later Hartnell era.
Sarah -
Mama Mia, Bellissima! Despite Polly’s dishiness, the Snowcap Station blokes are more than a little confused to find themselves with visitors. Little do they know that trouble follows these visitors across the universe – or do they follow the trouble?
I really like the casting of the Snowcap crew and astronauts. They do a great job of immediately setting the scene and inhabiting their universe. I almost felt short of breath in the claustrophobic rocket scenes. Now that was some acting!
Harry -
The crew of the Zeus IV were great, even if they couldn't quite get their choreography right.
Sarah -
A minor detail when you’re trapped in space! Back at the South Pole, John Brandon’s American Sergeant was some crazy casting – getting an American to play an American? Daring casting.
Harry -
I love that his character is actually credited as "American Sergeant."
Sarah -
They should have called him “Joe” or something. Bringing in Canadian Robert Beatty, the Pride of Hamilton, Ontario, to play General Cutler turns it into an international extravaganza! (As a side note, it seems both Brandon and Beatty both had long careers in television and film, so good on them.)
Harry -
AAAAA! I was born in Hamilton, Ontario! How do you know all this shit??
Sarah -
a) I'm turning into Toby
b) I'm a librarian
c) all of the above
Harry -
Awesome!
Well, Part One of this story played out almost as a template. The Doctor and friends arrive somewhere interesting and they go for a look around. They meet up with some locals and plunge right into the situation, leading up to the cliffhanger reveal of the monster of the story.
Sarah -
It’s the classic Doctor Who template and it always works. Well, mostly.
Harry -
And here they are, the Cybermen! What a wild look. How did the actors manage to move around with those giant headlamps?
Sarah -
It was almost a little anticlimactic after all that build up, but they are fairly wild looking. The whole mouth staying open while they talked thing kind of freaked me out – even when they didn’t quite sync it up properly.
Harry -
There's an additional element of horror to these Cybermen because we can compare them to future models. These are more like prototypes that still have vestigial human hands. You can even catch a glimpse of human eyes through the eyeholes. That creeped me out, not to mention the sing-song voices.
Sarah -
Their early, more human, form is definitely more disturbing than the later high-tech models. The offer to take the human population of Earth to Mondas to be upgraded to Cyberfolk is so matter of fact. The Cybermen clearly think this is a great offer and can’t understand why everyone’s not signing up.
Still, what’s with the Doctor’s invitation to the Cybermen to “stay here and live with ‘us’ in peace?” Who’s “us” Timelord?
Harry -
I guess by this point the Doctor was feeling quite at home on Earth. He did break out the "Earth hat and scarf" once more for this adventure.
Sarah -
I’m going to miss the Earth hat and scarf.
Harry -
It is my mission in life to someday acquire and be cool enough to wear the First Doctor's Earth hat and scarf.
Sarah -
The rest of the planet’s reaction to the invasion is also interesting. Everyone seems terribly calm about a twin planet showing up, at least in the media.
Harry -
Maybe everyone chilled out by 1986, at least the world leadership and media?
Sarah -
I’ll look forward to finding out.
Speaking of the reaction, I really question the effectiveness of International Space Command, getting their information on the new planet from the news media. That said, the Secretary General is a perfect late 60s bureaucrat, doing a great job of stating the obvious in all his scenes. Without him, we might not be able to figure out what was going on!
Harry -
The analogue-equipped space command looks a bit clunky too, but I imagine this was cutting edge technology in 1966, or at least looked it.
My favourite moment is probably when General Cutler gives orders to prepare the Z Bomb. I loved everyone's shocked expressions. The only thing missing was one of the crew shouting "GENERAL! NOT THE Z BOMB!" with over-the-top horror. But these are professionals after all. Sabotage is more their thing.
What's that? Oh dear, the Doctor's just done a face plant.
Sarah -
And up steps Ben! What a resourceful chap, setting up the projector to blind the Cyberman and steal his weapon. His remorse at killing the Cyberman is so human and underscores the difference between the populations of the two planets.
Harry -
I really like Ben, not because he's a cute sailor bloke. Okay, not just because he's a cute sailor bloke. Too bad his and Polly's run as companions will be short lived.
Sarah -
Being a cute sailor bloke certainly doesn’t hurt.
Despite the Doctor’s absence, I loved the sabotage subplot. What’s not to love about a crawling-through-an-airshaft scene?
Harry -
The first of many!
Sarah -
Traditions have to start somewhere!
The bomb did look at bit like someone’s science fair project, but the actors sold the scene for me. I was more than a little stressed watching them try to diffuse the bomb. I was holding my breath when the countdown that ends episode 3 began.
Meanwhile, Polly gets to make coffee. Sheesh.
Harry -
Brutal!
Sarah -
In the end, of course, the Cymbermen are foiled and the Earth is saved.
Harry -
What a relief. But do you get the feeling this isn't the last we've seen of the Cybermen?
Sarah -
One can only hope.
Harry -
Sadly, this is the last we'll see of William Hartnell as the lead. I've watched this regeneration scene countless times and it remains one of my favourites. The quick cuts and closeups, the bizarre sound effects, and the TARDIS going haywire -- the connection between it and the Doctor evident so long ago!
Ben and Polly are just getting used to this "travelling through time and space" business, now their Doctor has vanished!
Sarah -
I’ve seen the clip many times, but it never carried as much emotional weight as it did this time. Before we began this little project, I had only seen Hartnell’s first three stories. I always meant to get around to catching up on these stories, but that plan wasn’t going very far.
I’ve grown to love the First Doctor more than I ever expected.
Harry -
Someday, when I grow up, I hope to be as cool as the First Doctor. Overall, this a fun space exploration story combined with a base-under-seige drama, with soon-to-be-famous monsters and the critical first regeneration scene. Epic!
Best line: "I don't understand it, he just seems to be worn out." Polly foreshadowing what is to come.
Favourite moment: the crew reacting to the Z Bomb order, although it could have been even more over-the-top!
Lasting image: the Cybermen emerging through the snow.
9/10
Sarah -
A strong end to the era. Onward to the Troughton era!
Best line: "What did you say, my boy? It's all over? That's what you said... but it isn't at all. It's far from being all over..." I got a bit teary-eyed.
Favorite moment: Ben in the airshaft. It just made me smile.
Lasting image: Definitely the first Cybermen appearance.
9/10
Our marathon continues with Story #30 - The Power of the Daleks...
