Amph The Longest Running Sci-Fi series: "Classic" Doctor Who [1963-1996]

I have been re-watching a lot of these old stories from way back when, and enjoying them immensely. Interestingly, I've also noticed a lot of the mannerisms that the new show has had come from these oldies.

So, were to begin? How about the beginning.

An Unearthly Child
Nov 23 & Dec 14, 1963
The Doctor (listed as "Doctor Who"): William Hartnell
Susan: Carol Ann Ford
Ian: William Russel
Barbara: Jacqueline Hill

The episode starts off with a camera passing by a police man/bobbie walking past a Police Box (they were common sights back in the day). Then the story shift to two teachers from Coal Hill School talking about a student, Susan Foreman, who seems to be oddly brilliant and strangely ignorant. To solve the mystery, they decide to follow her home. She leads them to the junkyard of I.M.Foreman. There they meet with an eccentric old man who claims to have no idea who the girl is, hasn't seen here, and obviously the two teachers were mistaken and she wandered off. They're just about to leave when Susan's voice calls out of the Police Box for her grandfather. Ian an Barbara barge into the Police Box, and are confronted by the TARDIS console room. The rest of the episode explains the premise for the show, including the TARDIS being bigger on the inside, Time And Relative Dimensions In Space, and that the Doctor and Susan are time travelers from another world. Susan loves the 20th century and didn't want to have to leave (again). The Doctor, not trusting the teachers to keep their presence a secret, sets the Tardis in flight. He spends a great deal of time berating Ian for being a simple minded fool for someone who claims to teach science, and generally being unpleasant. And why not? These two just barged into his ship without asking or permission. The Police Box materializes, and a shadow falls on the hillside.
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There were two takes of the original. After viewing the first, the BBC decided to tone down the Doctor's gruff attitude a bit. Also, Susan originally said she was from the 43rd century. In the broadcast version she's "From another world, another time," which could be interpreted many ways. This is probably the only time in the original series that the dematerialization sound is heard on the inside. Also, many of the graphics from the opening effects are spliced in to pad the episode. Whether these were originally going to be in all the time or just as filler this once... May have been discussed.
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The TARDIS materializes on the hillside. The shadow is shown to be of a caveman in skins and a spear. Everyone steps out to explore. Ian and Barbara are shocked to discover the Doctor and Susan were telling the truth. Both Susan and the Doctor comment that the TARDIS hasn't changed. Susan explains that the ship is supposed to disguise itself to blend in.
Meanwhile, the cavemen are having some trouble. The old chief died without explaining how to make fire to his son. An outsider joined the tribe several years ago and is a better hunter. And bigger and stronger. Conflict ensues when the stranger sees the Doctor light a pipe with matches and kidnaps him.
These three episodes (sometimes referred to as "The Tribe of Gumm") show how the Doctor, Ian, Susan, and Barbara all work together, set the foundations of early human society working with such unnatural ideas as forensics, democracy and kindness, and then escape. Because they left in such a hurry, the Doctor didn't get a chance to plot their exact location in time and space, so the Tardis is going to wander around lost... For a while. But he does agree to get Ian and Barbara home as soon as he can.
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William Hartnell, when he got flustered and lost his lines, would shout "what? What? What?" and the cast would try to remind him of where they were in the story.
During the design of the show, there was great debate over what to make the TARDIS look like on the outside. It couldn't be a refrigerator or such, because they didn't want children playing to get trapped i

 

The Daleks
December 21, 1963 through February 1, 1964
same main cast

The story that "destroyed" the original premise for Doctor Who by taking the show from historical kiddie entertainment to pure Science Fiction. Or the story that made Doctor Who the success that it became. I guess that is up for interpretation...
The Tardis arrives in a strange forest of brittle trees and flowers and petrified monsters (look 1/2 lizard 1/2 dog). The entire first episode is the crew exploring the area around the Tardis. Much speculation about what could possibly have caused what they are seeing. Eventually, they come upon a city in the distance and plan to explore it in the morning. Meanwhile, no one checked that the Radiation meter on the Console was way in the red. The Doctor decides not to wait, and leaves early to explore the city. To justify the need to explore the strange city, The Doctor sabotages the Tardis by draining the mercury our of two components. The rest catch up and find him wandering the strange architecture. Eventually they meet strange creatures with harsh grating voices who introduce themselves as the Daleks. Seems there was a war a long time ago between the Daleks and the Thals. The daleks retreated inside their city and created their protective shells to support their new form, as radiation had drastically altered their genetics. Radiation sickness begins to hit the Tardis crew. Susan is sent back to the Tardis for medicine. Much rushing through the creepy forest, with BBC staff smacking Carol Ann Ford with branches. Susan meets the Thals. The Thals, specimens of pure Human, all burly and muscular with golden blonde hair, survived the war and the after effects by use of medicine and have become pacifists and scientist. They use what they retained of their civilization to keep fit and healthy, but are running out of food. They want to trade with the Daleks--after a thousand years, bygones are bygones, and any race intelligent enough to survive must be peaceful... The Daleks, naturally, still hold a grudge, and want to kill the Thals. Susan brings Thal medicine back to the rest of the crew, who discover that the Daleks want to trap and exterminate the Thals. They escape in time to prevent the trap from being a complete slaughter. Ian manages to persuade the Thals to fight back using very crude psychology. The Thals work on sneaking their way into the city through a back entrance made for maintenance. Much man vs nature and hazardous terrain. The Doctor and crew turn off the power station. Oh, the daleks run on static electricity through the floor, like dodgem cars/bumper cars. Without power, the Dalek city falls. The Doctor repairs the Tardis. The Thals thank the Tardis crew, offer to let them stay, but the crew all leaves. Romantic overtures were made to Barbara, who politely declines.
This story took 7 1/2-hour episodes to tell in 1963. A modern version might be a 2-parter. The longer style might seem padded and inflated, and dare I say "boring", to modern audiences, but Terry Nation wanted to include a great deal about the psychological effects of ordinary people being dragged into extra-ordinary circumstances, and the perils of losing oneself in war. And all on a BBC budget.

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The Edge of Destruction.
February 8& 15, 1964
The first 2-parter, and largely restricted story due to the budget that was blown making The Daleks. This story takes place entirely within the Tardis.
The Tardis is behaving oddly. It won't materialize, and the scanner keeps showing strange images. While they wait and try to figure out what is going on, the domestic side of the Tardis is shown, including a food dispenser that (like star trek) can produce any flavor combination by pressing a few buttons. The final result looks like cheese or tofu, but can taste like Bacon&Eggs or whatever else. There are murphy bed style lounges/couches. And goodness knows what else. (No bathroom--couldn't show that sort of thing in 1964. Hitchcock's Psycho was the first movie to feature a toilet, after all.) The Tardis proceeds to behav

 

Oh, in case it comes up:

Unearthly Child: Essential (c'mon, it's the very first episode) Good
The Daleks: Essential (introduces the Daleks, The Thals, their war, and Skaro) Very Good
Edge of Destruction: not essential (aside from the cliff-hangers/teasers) Fair


Marco Polo
Same main cast
February 22 to April 24

The Tardis materializes in the path of a caravan lead by Marco Polo on his way to Peking (now Beijing for those interested in place names). Marco Polo confiscates the Tardis as a gift for the Emperor of China. Bandits, sabotage, and intrigue along the way. And once at the palace, the intrigue becomes more so. The Doctor and Emperor form an almost immediate friendship. The Doctor beats the Emperor at chess and wins the Tardis back.
At one point in the journey, someone breaks all the water gourds. The Doctor uses the principle of condensation to provide water for the caravan. Because using the water supply within the Tardis was too sensible I guess. Besides, this was educational for the kiddies.

This is the first story that is lost and gone, thanks to the bureaucracy, bumbling, corruption, and ineptitude of the BBC and BBC Archive. "We don't need to save this copy--it's in the archive." "We're running out of space. We don't need these. The BBC has a copy". Fortunately, for some reason, the audio was stored separately. Narrated CDs (by one of the companion actors) were sold at one point.
Modern versions--instead of 7 28minute episodes, this would probably just be a 2-parter.
"This is crazy. I really dig this."
"What do you hope to unbury that is insane?"

Good, but not essential.

 

Most of the time the surviving audio comes from fans who would put a microphone in front of the TV and record to audio cassette tapes because that was the only way to revisit the episodes. "Was" and still is in many cases, unfortunately.

It's sad that so many episodes are missing, but there's something neat about the fans being the ones to save what's left.

I started making my way through last summer. I'm just about to the end of the Troughton era, which got really rough in terms of missing episodes.

 

True. And what people seem to forget is that it wasn't just Doctor Who. BBC and their Archives destroyed the recordings of ALL the bbc shows in that era. Almost everything. There are a few clips and snippets of 10th planet left, because they were used in later episodes (The Doctor berates a cyberman, and the regeneration sequence). But it seems that not an entire episode is available.
Another show called "Callan" is missing both the first 2 seasons--only a couple episodes survived, much the same way: someone bought them, they were found in an overseas warehouse, whatever.

 

I've started watching new Who, and I'm really interested in the old episodes. Are they available anywhere for a not-too-hefty price? I don't think Netflix has them.

 

Netflix has a lot of them.
Some are even up for instant viewing (careful--some of those are from "lost in time", a collection of incomplete stories).

If you want to actually buy the dvds, hunt around. ebay is popular for used dvds.

 

Keys of Marinus
Same main cast
April 24 to May 16, 1964

The Tardis materializes on an island surrounded by an ocean of acid. On the other side, several one-man submarines pull up onto the beach. There is a huge zigurat-like building. After exploring the island the island for a bit, the Doctor and crew decide to check out the building. The occupants of the submarines seem to have hostile intentions. One of the submarines cracked during the journey, and the acid ocean ate the occupant. The building seems to have no entrances. The crew individually accidentally find secret doors inside. A robbed figure allows traps to befall the crew, until one of them rescues him from an attacking submarine driver. At that point, he brings the crew back together and tells the story of the island. Center to the island is a machine that used to create and enforce lawful behavior over the entire planet of Marinus. But then one person over-rode the conditioning and spread violence and anarchy. This anarchist became the founder the the Voord, the people in the scuba costumes. The machine was switched off, and 5 keys were scattered around the planet. One stayed there. Meanwhile, Arbitan (the now old man) has improved the machine and wants the Doctor and crew to recover the keys. Everyone else who was on the island, including Arbitan's daughter, was already sent, but none returned. The Doctor want's nothing to do with this and tries to leave, but Arbitan puts a force field around the Tardis, which he won't lower unless they fetch the keys. Blackmailed, they agree. Arbitan hands them wristband transporters set to the general locations of each of the keys. Just as they leave, Arbitan is killed by one of the Voord.
First location brings the crew to a pleasure room. In spite of a headache inducing flashing light show when they arrive, wonderous food and drink are provided, along with promises of amazing dresses. Only Ian (still dressed in his Marco Polo costume--complete with chinese characters) is reluctant and distrustful. He wants to know the price. The flashing lights were only the first of 3 stages to indoctrinate the crew into the society, where they would be mindless slaves to a quartet of individuals whose brains had out-grown their bodies. While these brains ruled, everyone obeyed. Barbara tosses during her sleep, and the second stage of indoctrination fails. While she reacts with horror to the ruined state of the previously beautiful room, the other slaves take her away. It seems that once someone has seen the truth, the treatment cannot work again. Barbara finds Arbitan's daughter, who has one of the Keys around her neck. When she finds the room with the brains in jars, she smashes the support machines, and everyone wakes up. One of the other prisoners was a young man Arbitan sent to find the keys even before his daughter. They join the Doctor and crew, resuming their mission to find the keys and bring them back. The Doctor decides to follow up on the young man's plan to skip ahead to the last destination, a civilized city, to find the man's travel partner and the last key. Susan leaves first, to find herself in a jungle surrounded by hostile noises.
The rest of the crew arrive to find Susan terrified out of her wits. Seems the noises ended as dawn finished breaking. Plants are over-running the stone buildings around their landing site. While exploring, Barbara finds a key atop the head of a statue. She climbs onto the pedastal, and the hands of the statue grab her. Ian hears her yelling and comes to the rescue. Barbara throws him the key as the statue turns around. Arbitan's daughter and the young man join Ian. Ian gives the girl the key and tells them to go on to the next location--he will join them after rescuing Barbara. Arbitan's daughter notices that the key is a fake. Ian sends them on anyway. The statue turns back around, so Ian climbs on it, causing it to grab him and turn around again. Inside they find several more traps and a locked door. While looking for a tool, the door inside opens, dropping Barbara into a trap. Ian barely

 

Notes for Keys of Marinus

Converted to NuWho: probably only 2 episodes, with the drah-ma amped up, massive music queues during the trial. Like "Turn Left" and "Midnight", a couple of short scenes with the vacationing characters would be tacked onto production schedules of other episodes to allow the cast the time off.


The Aztecs
Same main cast.
May 23-June 13, 1964
4 episodes
The Tardis arrives in mezo-american times, in the crypt of an Aztek priest. Much musing about the relative sophistication of Aztek and Mayan civilization, and the coming of Cortez. Barbara picks up a bracelet from a skeleton. Ian is still in his Chinese robes from Marco Polo. Barbara finds one of the secret passages outside (designed so spirits could leave, but robbers couldn't get in). Because of the Bracelet, she is mistaken as the reincarnation of the dead high priest. As a reincarnation, even though the deceased was male, she is awarded every luxury. The crew cannot leave immediately because they need a pulley to open the door, and the Aztecs never developed The Wheel. The Doctor sets about building the pulley from scratch. Unfortunately Barbara has decided to end the practice of Human Sacrifice, much to the consternation of the Doctor and the current High Priest, LToxl. The priest starts working to attack Barbara through her associates. The Doctor lectures Barbara repeatedly about the futility of attempting to change history. "You can't rewrite history, not one line!" LToxl arranges for the Perfect Sacrifice to marry Susan (PS can have what ever he wants--sacrilege to refuse). The Doctor wanders into the retirement area, and by offering a kind old lady a cup of coco, inadvertently proposes marriage. Ian is put into competition against the city guard champion. The champion tricks the Doctor into giving him an advantage against Ian's mystic thumb (which he used to defeat an opponent by putting pressure onto the opponent's ganglia). Barbara directly interferes with the eclipse sacrifice ceremony, publicly denouncing LToxl. The Sacrifice, incensed, leaps to his death, thus ending the eclipse. The crew are denounced as imposters and put in prison. One noble, who has started questioning the society because of Barbara, bribes the guard with all of his possessions. The crew escapes using the pulley. Barbara is full of regrets. "(the noble) is the exception in this society. LToxl is the true representative. Not the other way around. The Noble leave the Aztek world to find some new home elsewhere.

Good episode, possibly essential.

While the props and costumes may have been accurate, the actors, well, don't look very mezzo American. The series was still billed as a kid's educational programme. Susan is very informed about the level of science/mythology within Aztek society, but knows nothing about social customs. Susan presents the younger every-child, while Barbara is more of the Modern person who wishes to use power to alter or improve society, whether society likes it or not. Ah, Rose-tinted specs...

Convert to NuWho: the old woman would have to be River Song again. Probably a single episode. Lots more about not changing history, until the space conquistadors showed up, with some time distortion, and THe Doctor had to boot them out or blow up their ship causing an unexpected eclipse.

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The Sensorites
Same main cast
June 20 - August1, 1964 (6 episodes)
The Tardis lands on a space ship. The crew is unconscious until Ian and Barbara revive them. The ship is orbiting a planet called "The Sense Sphere", and the locals won't allow the explorer ship to leave. The ship's geologist has discovered valuable minerals on the planet, but the locals, the Sensorites, do not wish to allow the ship to leave, as they fear the Terrans will return and strip-mine their planet. Susan is overwhelmed by telepathic messages from the planet. The Sensorites don't want to risk direct contact with the humans, so they are trying to use Susan to communicate. Eventually, the ship crew are back to being sick and comatose. The Sensori

 

Koohii if you can afford to part with some money, I recommend trying to acquire this book!

"In Running Through Corridors, two Doctor Who lovers of old ? Robert Shearman and Toby Hadoke ? embark on an epic quest of friendship: spend the ?gap year? of 2009 (when Doctor Who consisted of a handful of specials rather than a full season) re-watching the whole of Who two episodes a day, every day, from the show?s start in 1963 and ending with David Tennant?s swan song on New Year?s, 2010."

Rob is most known for writing the 2005 episode Dalek and Toby is known for his one-man show "Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf" as well as moderating some of the Commentaries across the Doctor Who classic series range and contributing to the DVD extras.

 

I may look into that. If nothing else, it will look spiffy next to Time Traveler's Guide and Doctor Who: The Early Years.

But I'm having fun on my own right now. Esp with KoM, in which the cliffhangers were almost all different takes of the same scene. The one in the snow was really funny because the emphasis was so totally different.




Reign of Terror
same main cast
August 8 - September 12, 1964
6 episodes. (2 episodes lost/missing)
The Tardis lands in a rural farm house. Unfortunately it is also a waystation on the French equivalent of the underground railroad, trying to sneak royalists and "counter revolutionaries" out from Paris during the Reign of Terror. Fortunately, this is The Doctor's favorite era, so he is well acquainted with it. The crew gets split up and reunited several times. The Doctor is posing as a district manager, with a very spiffy set of clothes. There is a traitor in the underground railroad that the crew exposes. Eventually all are reunited and escape.

Notes: in An Unearthly Child, Susan borrows a book on the French revolution.

This episode is on the short list for having animated replacements, similar to The Invasion. DVD with the animated replacement episodes due out this year. Animation is expensive, so don't expect all the others to be available any time too soon.
Purely historical story.

NuWho conversion: there would be the wind up baroque robots running around working for Robespierre, taking heads. One, maybe 2 episodes.
This is the last episode of season 1--2 month break follows. Some changes in the production staff, new scripts, etc. Second series starts off with a bang. To get everyone's attention, THE DALEKS ARE BACK

 

Planet of the Giants
Same main cast
October 31-November 14, 1964
3 episodes

A mishap in flight leads to the Tardis materializing on Earth, but the crew are only about one inch tall. Worse still, they have landed at a house being used to test a new pesticide. The chemical is so effective that it kills everything--everything. The scientist conducting the experiment reports the concerns to his corporate boss. The boss not understanding the problem, but not wanting to to have government oversight interfering with his profits, shoots and kills the scientist. Barbara gets poisoned when she picks up the baited fruit. The crew figures out what is going on, but has great difficulty getting the attention of the authorities. Eventually they find a way to save the world from the disaster of DN6 insecticide by burning down the house. The truth exposed, the Doctor returns to the Tardis to make the adjustments to return them all to full size. Once that is done, Barbara recovers.

Good, but in no way essential

Notes: a way to make a decent cheap show with the existing giant-sized props, and a nice tribute to The Incredible Shrinking Man. In one scene, the crew is climbing up a giant drain-stopper chain. Carol Ann Ford (Susan) was having trouble, and a hand pushing her up unexpectedly ended up on her bum. True professional, the only response was a glare downward with an innocent expression on her face. Someone probably got a telling off later.
DVD due out some time 2012.

Conversion to NuWho: would be a single-episode. Could be a good story to revisit. Done right it would be a nice one-off story.

 

The Dalek Invasion of Earth
Nov 21 to Dec 26, 1964
6 Episodes
Same Main Cast (for the last time)
The Tardis materializes in London, in the year 2146. The city is a wasteland of abandoned and destroyed buildings. Strange posters are glued to the walls "It is unlawful to dispose of Bodies in the River." The crew finds a dead body of a man with a curious radio helmet attached. Another man with a similar helmet shows up. His voice is empty and grating as he commands the crew to surrender. His whip is rather effective. The crew scatter and run. In time to see a Dalek rise out of the River.
The Doctor and Ian are captured and taken to a group of other prisoners. A Dalek saucer lands in the middle of London. More "RoboMen" exit, along with their Dalek Masters. The Robomen are the enforcers and overseers of the Human Slave population. The prisoners are lead into a room and left there. The Doctor figures a way out of the room, as a Dalek would, and explains the process to Ian. Thus the Doctor passes the intelligence test to become a roboman. He is taken away for processing. Ian persuades the other prisoners to rebel and free the Doctor. Susan and Barbara have been found by The Resistance--a motely band of scientists and people who have just managed to escape. The Daleks broadcast a radio signal as propaganda to try to get any free humans to surrender. The resistance's head boffin has a plan involving a new type of bomb/grenade he developed. Susan spends a lot of time looking at the resistance leader. The Daleks softened up the Earth with a virulent virus, then arrived months later with the cure. From that established presence, they were able to take over.
The Doctor and Ian escape with a few of the prisoners, and run into the rescue attempt being lead by the Resistance. The bomb prototype is an utter failure. The Doctor and crew find out that there is a large workforce of humans being taken to one of the old mining towns. The crew gets split up again. Barbara liberates an old firetruck and uses it to ram her way through Daleks as she and Susan make their way out of town.
The Doctor and Ian find their way into a labor detachment. The Daleks use the humans to clear out the rubble from their explosive drilling. It saves them resources, and is humiliating and demoralizing to the humans (nice to know they are not only hateful, but also petty and sadistic). Susan and Barbara, seeking shelter in a hut used by an old woman and her daughter, are turned over to the Daleks. The daughter wasn't just running to the trader for more food--she was shopping Susan and Barbara to the Daleks. The Daleks send their pet enforcer, The Slither, after them. Susan and Barbara escape. The old woman and her daughter enjoy their freedom, so long as they continue to turn over anyone they come across to the Daleks.
The Slither chases Barbara and Susan. Eventually it is tricked over a cliff.
The Daleks' plan is to bore out the center of the Earth and replace it with a star drive. From there, they will use the Earth as a battle station, with planetary scale weapons in addition to the massive staging platform to speed up their assault. The Doctor manages to trap their boring bomb--the last one, which will destroy all surface life when it exposes the planetary core--well short of it's destination. Barbara claims to have information vital to the Daleks, and distracts them from their monitoring devices with news of a Resistance army about to strike, including Hannibal's mounted strike force and a variety of other historical gibberish. The explosion destroys the mining station, which for some reason has almost the entire Dalek Occupation Force present. With the majority of Daleks gone, the Resistance will be able to recover in time.
The Resistance leader asks Susan to marry him. He has impressed The Doctor greatly. While Susan is saying goodbye, the Doctor ushers Ian and Barbara into the Tardis, then double locks the door. While Susan can only stare at the door imploringly, The Doctor gives her a speech about a stable home with a good husband and a promising future.

 

The Doctor Who vs Dalek movies
OK, let's get these out of the way.
Based on The Daleks, and The Dalek Invasion of Earth, these two movies were made for the matinee kiddie audience of the 1960s.
They are, in short, terrible, terrible movies.
Peter Cushing plays the Doctor, and eccentric scientist who build a giant time machine into a police box, because... he could. His granddaughter, Susan, is about 12. His older granddaughter Barbara and her Boyfriend Ian are hanging around the house. Susan reads massive scientific tomes, Ian and Barbara read normal books, and The Doctor reads the kiddie comics.
It goes downhill from there.
The daleks have massive, massive siren-lights on their heads, they have over-sized pincer arms (I suppose it is more practical than the suction cup, but much less menacing than the undefined form). The Thals are Blue-skinned blondes. Oh yes, these are in COLOUR. whoooooo.
Because they were in the theaters, you could see them more than once.
The stories are mostly the same, but dumbed down.

Notes: When approached for the second movie, Peter Cushing said he would only do it if the same girl was there to play Susan.
Bernard Cribbins played one of the side characters (resistance leader?) before his slightly more significant role in NuWho.
The movies were allowed to use The Daleks if the BBC got the casings after the movies were done. This resulted in a major improvement in the TV Daleks (once they were put into proper TV configuration). Oddly enough, these Daleks appeared on TV before the movie hit the screens).
In spite of being widely regarded as shoddy (if not awful), these movies have a very warm spot in many people's heart. Supposedly Moffat likes the movie Dalek design better, and wanted that to be the basis of the New Dalek design introduced in Victory of the Daleks.
What can I say, they may be popular, but still awful. There are fans of Plan 9 from Outer Space; there are fans of these movies.

 

The Rescue
Jan 2-Jan 7, 1965
2 episodes.
Maureen O'Brien joins the cast as Vicki
The Tardis arrives on a planet with a crashed space ship on it. The Doctor has been here before and looks forward to meeting some old friends. The ship has two survivors, a man who has been partially paralyzed, and a young girl--the captain's daughter. They are menaced and threatened by Koquillion, a native with ferocious looking head and clawed hands. The rest of the crew were all killed by the natives, by Koquillion is working to protect Vicki and the man from the natives. There is a rescue ship coming. The Doctor and Ian find the nearby town deserted. Barbara finds Vicki and befriends her. Vicki hides her presence fro Koquillion.
Something isn't adding up. Ian bursts into the room that the man was staying in to find it empty. He has been using a tape recorder to fake his presence. Barbara accidentally kills Vicki's pet. Vicki runs away crying but eventually forgives Barbara. The Doctor leads Ian, Barbara, and Vicki into a cave to the back entrance of the native temple. Koquillion confronts them. The Doctor points out that the outfit and robes are supposed to be worn only at ceremonial times. Koquillion is actually the man from the ship. He killed the rest of the crew and everyone in the town to cover his murder of one of the crew of the ship during the voyage to this planet. The Doctor, Ian, and Barbara flee with Vicki in the Tardis, stranding the man in the ceremonial chamber. Ghostly figures of the natives--ordinary looking humans--chase the man into a deep crevasse. The Doctor offers Vicki the chance to join the Tardis.
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Notes: the producers asked Maureen O'Brien to dye her hair black. This was the first suggestion (of the many made to her) she baulked at. "Why don't you just get Carol back? I'll dye my hair black after I leave the show, so I'll have a different look for other parts."
Most of the story was written to show of an emotional range for the new companion, and to introduce her. Much of it is totally illogical.
So, ghosts? I guess that's just a psionic manifestation of the natives. Yeah, that's it.
What about when the rescue ship arrives? Won't they wonder what happened to Vicki? The rest of the crew? The natives? Oh well.
Vicki is the first new companion to join the show since it started.
OK story, not really essential
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NuWho: it would be a single episode. Lots of exposition about the natives. Something about the ceremonial outfits and definitely some explanation of the ghosts


The Romans
New main cast
Jan 16 - February 6, 1965
4 Episodes

The Tardis materializes in Ancient Rome on the side of a mountain. It overbalances and falls down the cliff. The crew find an abandoned Villa and take a vacation there. Barbara and Vicki wander into town to do some shopping, where they attract the attention of slave traders. The Doctor decides to visit Rome and takes Vicki with him. Ian and Barbara have a quiet time with gentle teasing that almost borders on friendly flirting, but more like comradely jibes. Then the slave traders arrive and ambush them, taking them prisoner to boost their stock for market.
The Doctor and Vicki come across the body of a man beside the road with a Lyre. The Doctor picks up the Lyre. "It isn't going to do him any more good, is it?" Very pragmatic. He is mistaken for the famous composer and musician Maximus Pettulian (the dead man), who was on his way to the court of Ceasar Nero. Ian is sold into slavery aboard a galley, while Barbara ends up a serving girl for Ceasar's wife when she is purchased at auction by the head of staff. The Doctor flatters Nero constantly, and pulls a variation of The Emperor's New Clothes when asked to perform. The Doctor also finds that he is expected to participate in Maximus Pettulian's plot to assassinate Nero. Nero has taken an infatuation with Barbara, and is constantly trying to express his affection for her (whether Barbara likes it or not--not). Nero's wife, jealous, tries to have Barbara poisoned.
The Galley Ian is on crashes in a storm. He and his oar-m

 

The Web Planet
William Hartnell, William Russel, Maureen O'Brien, Jacqueline Hill
FebRuary 13-March 20, 1965
6 episodes
The Tardis arrives on an alien planet with a very thin atmosphere--the stars are visible on the horizon, and everyone puts on life support jackets. The Doctor makes some comment about gravity, and takes out his gold pen to demonstrate, only to have it disappear from his hand. Giant ants show up, wearing large gold collars. The crew also discovers walking/talking larval grubs. A group of butterfly humanoids flies down to the surface. They call themselves the Manoptera (instead of Lepidoptera?). This was their planet, but they were forced to flee when a being known as The Animus arrived, took control of the Zarbi workers(the ants) and used the Zarbi to attack the Manoptera. Now the Manoptera are ready to take back their planet. The grubs, it turns out, have a case of ancestor worship--they are Manoptera who have had their development stunted by the Animus and Zarbi. There is also a type of living insect cannon that looks like a rolly-polly sow-bug. The grubs burrow and dig underground. There are acid lakes. Anyone who accidentally tunnels into one is responsible for blocking the hole--with their own bodies if necessary. The Animus uses the gold harnesses to control the Zarbi (and can control other beings with them as well). In fact, anything Gold is at the Animus' command (including the Doctor's disappearing pen). Plans are made, reports sent back to Manoptera command, transmissions intercepted by The Animus. The Animus attempts to absorb the Doctor's mind. The Manoptera arrive, their invasion is severely weakened. But the Grubs come to their assistance in fighting and defeating the Zarbi. Without their harnesses, the Zarbi are a helpful labor force. The animus is destroyed, balance of nature is restored. And the Tardis departs.
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The parallels and social commentary that can be read into this script are quite telling--the communist/animus taking control of the workers and getting them to rebel against the upper class butterfly people... Then turning back to proper obedient servitude when the upper classes return... And that isn't even the goofiest thing people have said about this plot.
Very much the introduce children to the Insect world story. The puppetry and costuming border on Henson for detail, functionality, and imagination. While goofy, it is amazing work, on a very very low budget. And everyone playing it straight makes the story work. Had just one person gone silly, the story would just fall apart. On the other hand, this could also go with the hash-brownies route for the stoner circuit.

Good, but not essential.

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NuWho conversion: only 2 episodes, lots more WWII motifs thrown in (or maybe WWI), Super CGI insects, and the animus, instead of being like a glowing spider web, would be just a pulsing blob. Oh, and the companion (for some strange reason) would be sexier/more flirtations with the Doctor when possessed.


The Crusades
Same main cast
March 27-April 17, 1965
4 Episodes (2 lost)

The Tardis lands near Richard the LionHeart during one of the skirmishes. King Richard and his retinue are ambushed by Saladin's forces. Ian performs ably in battle and rescues Richard. Richard knights Ian, and the crew join Richard back to his camp. The crew get caught in the politics and decisions of the Crusade. Barbara is put into Richard's sister's court. Politics and policies of both camps are explored. Ian is sent as a diplomat to Saladin. Saladin's own court is full of schemers. There is talk of Richard offering his sister in marriage to Saladin to bring peace, but she is not interested in being a bargaining chip.

Notes: Pure historical episode--no alien bugs flying around. Ian knighted. Julian Glover stars as King Richard--would later play Scaroth (last of the Jagoroth) in City of Death, as well as ending up in Empire Strikes Back as General Veers, the one who "chose poorly" in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and a Bond villain in For Your Eyes Only.
Episodes 2&4 are mi

 

The Space Museum
Same main cast
April 24 to May 15, 1965
4 episodes

An unknown malfunction in the Tardis causes the Doctor and companions to arrive slightly out of phase with normal time. Vicki drops a glass of water and it (and the water) leaps back into her hand. The Crusader costumes hang in the wardrobe and everyone is wearing their "normal" clothes, but no one took the time to change. They walk outside onto a stagnant and decayed world, where 6 to 7 years of dust have built up on the ground, and the soil is barren, but they leave no footprints. There are many space ships standing nearby, and a building. Looking around, The Doctor concludes they must be in a space museum (he'd never found one before). The museum is vast, a maze of displays, including every piece of electronic bric-a-brak in the BBC, and a Dalek shell. Various locals seem oblivious to their presence, neither seeing nor hearing them. Vicki is somewhat disconcerted when she passes her hand through what should be a solid object. More disconcerting, The TARDIS is on display. But not the one they arrived in--The Doctor not only passes his hand through it, but walks through it. Then they discover that they themselves are museum exhibits, on display in glass cases. Vicki reasons that they must be out of phase with time, and they are seeing their future. The Doctor is impressed with Vicki's comprehension of Time as an abstract. Something changes, and everything they've done catches up. Their footprints appear, the water glass breaks, and the planetary security is aware of intruders.
There are two groups of people on the planet: The guards, wearing white (the governor and lieutenant have gold braid on their shoulders), and the rebels (who all look like college students in denims, polo shirts, and tennis shoes). The Rebels are the actual natives. The Guard represent a massive interplanetary empire that conquered their world centuries ago, and turned it into the museum dedicated to their accomplishments. After wiping out all the adults, the children were allowed to become slaves and servants. The are hoping that the mysterious aliens will be willing and able to help liberate their planet from the Empire. The Guards are annoyed with unannounced visitors disrupting their schedule. The Doctor is captured when he stops to examine a display and taken to the Governor for interrogation. The Governor uses a TV to telepathically interrogate the Doctor. Amused, the Doctor turns the device against the Governor. "How did you arrive here." an image of a penny-Farthing bicycle. "Where are you from?" video of walruses swimming off an island. "But these are aquatic life forms. You are not aquatic." Picture of The Doctor in an Edwardian bathing costume. Annoyed, the governor sends the Doctor to be processed as an exhibit.
The Rebel Youths get hold of Vicki and explain the history of the planet. Everyone is eager to rebel... as soon as they're ready. Vicki, annoyed has them take her to the armory, where she reprograms the computer to open the door without going through all the security checks. The Governor has paralyzing gas pumped into the Museum to flush the elusive aliens out. Barbara is caught in the building...
Ian has fun beating up and intimidating the guards. It has been such a long time, that the guards barely seem to know how to respond to an actual challenge to their authority. The rebels finally get moving, taking out the barracks. Ian makes his way to the governor's office to find out about the Doctor, then forces the Governor to reverse the museum embalming process (more like flash free-drying).
The Doctor recovers (despite the Governor's warnings that it was impossible). The Guards show up to recapture everyone. It is looking like they are going to be processed and put on display after all. Vicki points out that they haven't been idle--since arriving they've interacted with a number of people. The guards arrive. The Rebels arrive and shoot the guards. The newly freed rebels want everything not theirs (thus the Empire's) off their planet. The Doctor takes a Time/Sp

 

The Chase
May 22 - June 26, 1965
6 Episodes
Same Main cast (for the last time)

The Time-Space Visualizer is a massive piece of machinery. The Doctor manages to eventually repair it, and demonstrates it for Ian and Barbara. Ian gives the time and place, and we get to see Abraham Lincoln deliver the Gettysburg Address. Barbara provides the time and place for Queen Elizabeth's court, where Shakespeare is being questioned about the scandalous portrayal of Falstaffe, and receives suggestions for Hamlet and Three Wives of Windsor. The Tardis arrives on a desert planet, and Vicki, who has a bad case of teenager with Cabin Fever, goes running off to explore. Ian gets to follow. The Doctor and Barbara decide to take advantage of the two suns to tan a little. The TSV starts making noise, and Barbara sees Daleks on the screen and calls the Doctor to come and see. They hear about the Dalek's time machine, and that it is going to hunt down the "Enemy Time Machine", destroy it, and kill the crew. The Doctor and Barbara try to find Ian and Vicki.
Ian and Vicki are well across the desert. There is something with tentacles under the sand behind them (they haven't noticed). Instead, they find a hidden lever in the ground. Vicki recounts a childhood memory then she and Ian go down exploring. What they don't notice right away are the octopus-like creatures in the shadows--or the hatch outside closing behind them.
The Doctor and Barbara are caught in the sandstorm outside, at night, in the desert.
The Doctor and Barbara wake up to find the Tardis has been buried. As have the Daleks. One rises out of the sand not far from them. They run. A strange scaley person walks up to the daleks and is killed. Two more find The Doctor and Barbara and explain that once this was an ocean world, but the suns started to get closer (the planet was in a decaying orbit) and the oceans dried up. All life died except the scaley Aradians and the Mire Beasts (octopus creatures). The Aradians offer shelter and try to help them find Ian and Barbara. The Doctor warns them that the Daleks are hunting them, and that they will kill anyone who tries to stop them, or anyone that isn't a Dalek. The Daleks force some natives to dig up the Tardis. The natives have to hold Barbara and the Doctor hostage to turn them over to the Daleks or be killed. The Mire beasts have been destroying their tunnels and city by invading faster then they can be killed. Vicki and Ian are in a condemned section, but manage to find and rescue the Doctor and Barbara (with help from a Mire Beast). The Tardis has been dug out, and the diggers exterminated. Only one Dalek is left on guard duty. It is baited into a trap Ian makes from loose boards, the Doctor's jacket, Barbara's cardigan ("Oh, not again") and some sand. The crew bait the dalek, tricking it into falling down into a hole, then run for the Tardis as more Daleks arrive.
The doctor determines that the Daleks are 15 minutes behind them in the time stream, and lectures Ian and Barbara that no, the tardis can't just fly faster. The Tardis computers need 12 minutes to fix position and recharge before taking off again. While in flight, the Doctor begins working on a machine. The Tardis lands atop the Empire State Building in 1966, where they talk to a yokel tourist from Alabama. The Tardis leaves and the Dalek ship arrives. THe Yokel does not impress the Daleks, but for some reason they don't kill him. Next stop: The Marie Celeste. Barbara has a thing about classic sailing ships, is arrested as a stowaway. Vicki clobbers the officer with a belaying pin. Ian is sent to bring them back in, but Vicki mistakes the top of his head for another member of the crew and clobbers him as well. Dazed Ian is dragged back to the Tardis. Again, the Daleks arrive just after the Tardis leaves. The officer regains consciousness just in time to meet the daleks. The whole crew panics and jumps ship--no one even had to be exterminated. The Daleks search the ship, find no trace of the Tardis or The Doctor, and leave.
Next stop: an ancient castle. Confusing--there are

 

I was halfway through typing up comments on the next episode when the browser tab closed. Lost it all. #$@%!!!

So now you get the shortened version:

The Space Museum: Good, but not essential
The Chase: ok, but essential

The Time Meddler:
July 3 - July 24, 1965
4 episodes
William Hartnell, Maureen OBrien, Peter Purves

Steven Taylor made it into the Tardis after all (when The Doctor was showing Ian and Barbara how to work the Dalek time machine?) Steven doesn't believe that bit about the Tardis (while very impressive) being a Time Machine. There are several rounds of very cute dialog which I had typed up before the afore-mentioned malicious and unprovoked browser window closure.
The Tardis materializes on a beach. At the top of a cliff, a monk sees the Tardis and is curious. He takes out binoculars to have a better look. The Doctor goes to find a gentler path up the top of the cliff. Vicki and Steven decide not to wait for him and climb up. The monk eavesdrops on the conversation and looks at his wrist--he seems to have lost something.
Nearby, two men from a village go off to look into the big treasure chest that washed up on the beach. The Doctor walks up to the village hut and meets the woman there, who, once her suspicions are allayed, offers the Doctor a horn of mead. From the conversation, the Doctor works out that the year is 1066, less than a week from the Viking invasion that preceded the Battle of Normandy. Steven and Vicki come across a villager who just found something on the ground. Steven is a raging bully and attacks the man to find out what it was: a wrist watch. The monk has his binoculars out and sees a Viking ship. He makes his way back to the monastery. The Viking scouting party lands. They are looking for information about ideal landing sites for the fleet. And any plunder they find on the way is always good. The Doctor hears the monks chanting from the Monastery and asks the woman about it. She says that monastery was abandoned for years, but new monks arrived last week. Only one has been seen in the village. While she goes in to get more mead, the chanting has an odd audio effect. The Doctor thanks the woman and heads up to the monastery. While searching it, he comes across a gramophone playing a record of the chants. As he chuckles while switching it off, the monk traps him with a jury-rigged cage.
The next morning, the monk is cooking eggs in a frying pan. Steven and Vicki are captured by the villagers. The man Steven attacked is hostile, but the others find Vicki reasonable, and the woman vouches for them, and tells them the Doctor went up to the Monastery. The Vikings attack the woman while her husband is working. Then they find some villagers to fight. All but two are killed. At the Monastery, Vicki and Steven run into some of the other oddities and anachronisms.
Vikings and Villagers have more troubles. The Doctor escapes because he found a secret tunnel the Monk didn't know about from his cell that leads out into the woods. The man Steven attacked just isn't having a good day--in the fight with the vikings he gets injured and is taken up to the monastery for care. When he hears that Steven and Vicki went up to the Monastery to find him, he comforts the woman who was attacked by the Vikings and goes up to find his friends. He and the monk play contests of wits. The Doctor deflects several tricks. The surviving vikings decide to hide at the monastery until the main invasion lands. The Doctor deals with one, while the monk tricks the other. Steven and Vicki find a power cable, and follow it into a sarcophagus. Inside is... a Tardis Console room. The Monk... has a Tardis.
The Monk and the Doctor trade more comments as the Doctor forces him back to the Monk's Tardis. Steven and Vicki have searched it and found the Monk's plans to destroy the viking fleet before it lands. Everyone meets back together in the console room and the monk explains. By destroying the viking fleet, the Saxon king will have an intact army to fight of William the Conqueror, and (with a little help) there could be

 

Wow, this seems to have been moved.
There was a whole different section for non SW tv and movies--and now it is gone, blended into the Amphitheater.
Well, I might get around to continuing this.

 

Oh, hey, this is relevant to my interests. I'd be interested in reading more, if you do.

 

The decision to merge them all was made on the temp boards - seemed to make more sense to have everything together with the appropriate tags rather than maintain all the individual forums and splitting up the discussions.

 

Looks like my last review got clipped in the transfer process. Well, maybe they'll find it, or maybe it exceeded the word count.

Beginning the 3rd year. Doctor who is still on almost every week, with almost no break for the actors.

Galaxy Four
September 11, 1965 - October 2, 1965
The Doctor, Steven, and Vicki land on a planet contested by a race of beautiful blonde women and some horrible little stubby creatures. It turns out that the beauties are the evil ones.
1 episode was discovered last year. Only fragments exist of the other episodes. Thank you BBC archives and BBC storage idiots. Hopefully more of the overseas warehouses will turn up other treasures.
Not a particularly well received episode. You'll have to find the Target Novelization and decide for yourself.

Mission to the Unknown
October 9, 1965
A rocket ship lands on a planet on a survey mission. One by one, the crew all die. There is a "Varga" plant that infects humanoids, transforming them into more Varga plants.

This is the only episode of Doctor Who not to have The Doctor in it. This episode was the set up for The Dalek Master Plan, the longest story until Trial of the TimeLord in 1985. For some reason, the BBC did not want a 13 episode story. Triskadecaphobes?
Audio recordings and a few bits of video are still around

 

The Myth Makers
October 16 - November 6, 1965
Or, Doctor Who and the Trojan War. Achilles has just killed Hector when the Tardis arrives. Achilles believes the Doctor is Zeus in disguise. Aggamemnon forces the Doctor to design war machines and strategies to help the Greeks defeat the Trojans. Steven fights a duel with Paris and is injured. Vicki befriends Cassandra, a priestess in the Trojan temple. The Doctor mentions to Odysseus about a giant wooden horse plan, but is willing to let Odysseus take all the credit. The whole horse gambit is played out. Vicki decides to stay behind with Troilus (slayer of Achilles) and help him (and his brother Aneas) found Rome. Cassandra's handmaiden, Katrina, with no where else to go and Vicki's blessing, joins the Tardis crew.

All 4 episodes are currently lost--only some audio remains.
Essential, as a recurring character is lost, and another joins. The importance will become clear next story.
Nu Who version? Would probably be a 2-parter, with the Trojan Horse being an alien space ship in disguise, and Achilles being a Sontaran. Or a Cyberman.
If the Tardis is responsible for translating everything, Vicki is going to have to take a crash course in ancient Greek and Latin. And won't the locals think it odd that suddenly she cannot speak coherently, and when she does, she sounds like a foreigner? Of course, this episode was made long before that aspect of the Tardis was ever explained (in Masque of Mandragada).

 

The Dalek MasterPlan
November 13 1965 to January 29, 1966
Continuing the story begun in Mission to the Unknown... The Tardis lands not far from the spaceship last seen in that episode. The Doctor, worried about Steven's infected wound, goes outside looking for help. Katrina is left behind to play nurse. An explorer (played by the actor who would later get the role of Colonel & Brigadier Gordon Leftbridge Stewart, Nicholas Courtney), sent to find out what happened to the crew from MttU, finds the Doctor, and starts behaving like a pompus git. The Doctor takes him back to the Tardis, and somehow ends up tieing the man up, then going out looking for help again. The Daleks, meanwhile have been meeting with other races to plot the invasion and conquest of Earth. This is the first time Daleks have teamed up with any other race. They have a complicated plan that requires one last ingredient: A Mole of Pure __(it's a macguffin)__. Only one such item exists. It took over a year to mine. Mavek Chen, Supreme leader and protector of Earth, is willing to betray his position and title in order to gain power with the Daleks. The explorer tells Katrina that the medicine Steven needs is in his belt, and sure enough, Steven's condition improves rapidly. The Doctor discovers the conference, and tries to learn what the Daleks are up to, and barely manages to escape while stealing the macguffin. Knowing that enemy agents are somewhere in the forest, the Daleks set fire to all the trees. The Doctor, explorer, Steven, and Katrina escape on a space ship. There is a detour to a prison planet, where they get separated. Prisoners take over one of the ships. Katrina is taken hostage. In order to save the Doctor and Steven, Katrina opens an airlock and is blasted out into space. This makes Katrina the sortest run companion until Adam in Series 1, and the first of two companions to be killed (the other being Adric) in the entire run of the original show).
At some point, the explorer is killed by another Officer, Sara Kingdom, under orders from Mavek Chen. The explorer was her brother, and she had been told he was a traitor. The Doctor and Steven convince her otherwise, and persuade her to help. More running around. Back to the Tardis. The Doctor starts another chase through time and space with the Meddling Monk (who is also part of the conspiracy/plot) helping the Daleks. Locations include a 1960s police station and a hollywood movie set. In Ancient Egypt, both parties collide, and the Doctor has to hand over the Macguffin in exchange for Steven and Sara's lives. But he has taken the time to sabotage the Monk's Tardis again.
Everyone ends up back at the original planet. The Dalek's weapon is a Time Destructor. Chen was trying to play politics to become the leader not just of Earth, but the entire alliance. The Daleks, of course, once they had what they wanted, kill everyone else. The Doctor activates the Time Destructor, which accelerates time within a certain radius. He, Steven, and Sara race back to the Tardis, but Sara doesn't make it, and dies. The Doctor and Steven escape.

It's a Dalek episode: of course it's essential. Unfortunately, only 3 episodes exist, though a complete audio is available.
During the Christmas episode, the Doctor wheeled in a trolley of campaign and toasted the audience at home. This was the first zany Christmas episode, a tradition that Big Finish would pick up about 35 years later, and NuWho would start making Christmas specials about 40 years later.
First Companion to Die
Shortest lived companion.
Thinking at the BBC was that Katrina, being a primitive priestess, would have no real role in Doctor Who, and end up being an essentially useless character. On the other hand, Erimem from BFP is an Egyptian Pharaoh from an even more primitive time, and has proved, along with Leela, that a primitive traveling with the Doctor would not be useless. Oh well, that's the difference 20-30 years can make.
Nicholas Courtney is the only actor to have worked with all of the first 8 Doctors.

NuWho? Well, this story was certainly padded, but a modern version would be some series-long arc, hopefully with less silliness and a better ultimate weapon. The aging effect would also be much better.