Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start...
Day 141 Extra: The First Doctor Overview
Dear diary,
Well this feels strange. Posting two diary entries in one day. Am I not all written-out, yet? Those of you who've already read today's regular blog entry (which should be immediately below this post on the DWO news page) will have already seen me reach the end of the William Hartnell era of Doctor Who. I figured that it was fitting, at the end of this first stage, to take a look over the first 141 days of the marathon as a whole, and collate some of my thoughts, before I dust myself down tomorrow, and venture into the Troughton era.
In the sidebar to the right of this entry, you should see an image, with a little 'enlarge' button underneath it. If you click on there, you'll be able to properly ready a list of average scores for the First Doctor stories, listed from the lowest ranking (The Space Museum, in case you hadn't picked up on my natural lack of affinity for it) through to the highest (The War Machines, a fact which surprised even me, frankly).
Do note that on the list, I've omitted Farewell, Great Macedon and The Destroyers, because it wasn't ever actually broadcast, and I've lumped both The Destroyers and (controversially) Mission to the Unknown together as being part of a Dalek spin-off, so I've not counted either of those, either.
During the blog posts for the first season, I used to work out the story average and post it during the final episode of each tale. I stopped doing that from Planet of Giants, mostly because I didn't want to know. I liked the idea of reaching this stage, and seeing how the era rates as a whole. What surprises me is how much some stories I thought I'd really hated have actually averaged out with fairly respectable scores.
I think what's surprised me most is the way that the averages per season have worked out. At the time, it felt like Season Two was a real slog, and that I just didn't enjoy it. As it happens, though, it's come out with an average score of 6.4. That still places it in the last place of the first three seasons (I'm discounting Season Four, since we're only a few episodes in), but it's only barely behind Season One (6.5) and not all that far behind Season Three (6.8). When you throw The Smugglers and The Tenth Planet into the mix, the First Doctor's era averages out at a very respectable 6.5 - placing it smack-bang between 'Above Average' and 'Well Above Average' on the ratings chart I posted way back on Day Four.
Right from the start, the main thing that I wanted out of this marathon was a real connection to the classic series. Over the last ten years, I've found that while I really enjoy the early Doctors, I've never been able to develop any kind of meaningful relationship with either them or the companions of the era. The way I explained it to a friend recently is that when Catherine Tate returned to the series in Partners in Crime, and then remained with it for another twelve consecutive episodes, shown one a week, I built up a proper connection the the character.
When Donna leaves at the end of Journey's End, it's emotional because I'd grown to love the character over the course of that season. I really cared for her, and once she was gone, that was it. I'd seen all of her episodes. The classic series, though, possibly sue to the way that the DVD have been released over the years, has always felt a bit more… interchangeable for me. I know that Sarah Jane Smith joins in The Time Warrior and leaves in The Hand of Fear, and I can pick up any one of her adventures from between those two. But equally, I can watch Death to the Daleks, and then head off to watch Time and the Rani or something.
I wanted to see if watching the series at a set pace - a single episode each day - would help me to form the kind of connection to the old characters that I do with the current ones. Thankfully, the answer is that yes, it does.
It's not always in ways that I've expected, either. From dipping in and out of stories, I'd always regarded Ian and Barbara really highly. I thought the pair were fantastic, and rated them quite highly in my list of favourite companions. When it came to actually spending the time with them from their first episode to their last… I was sick of them! By the time The Chase rolled around, they couldn't leave quickly enough. Conversely, Steven Taylor - a companion I'd never really given much thought to - left before I wanted him to! I'd happily have had a few more episodes with him.
Perhaps the biggest success, though, has been William Hartnell as the Doctor. I'd seen enough of his era in the past to know that I liked the First Doctor, and that I enjoyed his era of stories. He was just one of the 'old' Doctors, though. I could dip in and out and mix his stories with any number of others. There wasn't time to form any kind of attachment. Having now spent 141 days with him, though, I don't really want him to go.
There's been a bit of a back-and-forth going on in my head this last week or so, as I alternate between excitement for Troughton's arrival (I've always thought of him as my favourite classic Doctor), and sadness for the departure of Hartnell. I think now, having reached the moment of the changeover, I'm back in the excited camp. The thing is, I never expected to find myself this attached to the First Doctor, and I'm thrilled, because I feel like I've gotten more from his era by experiencing it in this way.
On the whole, Doctor Who's first three seasons seem to be the most inventive, and wide-reaching ever produced. The budgets are tight, the studios are cramped, every episode tries to do something that they're just not quite capable of… but they pull it off. It's been a pleasure to watch through, and I've never thought higher of this era.
Now, though, it's time to pull out a recorder, don a large hat, and move forward into the Troughton era. I'm excited, for this stage of the blog, to see if he comes out as my favourite still, when I'm watching him in order like this. I don't doubt that it's going to be tricky - with this many missing episodes to wade through - but if it gives me anything like the appreciation for the era that the last 141 days have for Hartnell… I'm in for a real treat.
Now, though, it's time to pull out a recorder, don a large hat, and move forward into the Troughton era. I'm excited, for this stage of the blog, to see if he comes out as my favourite still, when I'm watching him in order like this. I don't doubt that it's going to be tricky - with this many missing episodes to wade through - but if it gives me anything like the appreciation for the era that the last 141 days have for Hartnell… I'm in for a real treat. 
