Doctor Who - Season 1 VERIFIED
The first season of British science fiction television programme Doctor Who was originally broadcast on BBC TV[N 1] between 1963 and 1964. The series began on 23 November 1963 with An Unearthly Child and ended with The Reign of Terror on 12 September 1964. The show was created by BBC Television head of drama Sydney Newman to fill the Saturday evening timeslot and appeal to both the younger and older audiences of the neighbouring programmes. Formatting of the programme was handled by Newman, head of serials Donald Wilson, writer C. E. Webber, and producer Rex Tucker. Production was overseen by the BBC's first female producer Verity Lambert and story editor David Whitaker, both of whom handled the scripts and stories.
Doctor Who - Season 1
The season introduces William Hartnell as the first incarnation of the Doctor, an alien who travels through time and space in his TARDIS, which appears to be a British police box on the outside. Carole Ann Ford is also introduced as the Doctor's granddaughter Susan Foreman, who acts as his companion alongside her schoolteachers Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright, portrayed by William Russell and Jacqueline Hill, respectively. Throughout the season, the Doctor and his companions travel throughout history and into the future. Historical stories were intended to educate viewers about significant events in history, such as the Aztec civilisation and the French Revolution; futuristic episodes took a more subtle approach to educating viewers, such as the theme of pacifism with the Daleks.
The first episode, overshadowed by the assassination of John F. Kennedy the previous day, was watched by 4.4 million viewers; the episode was repeated the following week, and the programme gained popularity with audiences, particularly with the introduction of the Daleks in the second serial, which peaked at 10.4 million viewers. The season received generally positive reviews, with praise particularly directed at the scripts and performances. However, many retrospective reviewers noted that Susan lacked character development and was generally portrayed as a damsel in distress, a criticism often echoed by Ford. Several episodes were erased by the BBC between 1967 and 1972, and only 33 of a total of 42 episodes survive; all seven episodes of Marco Polo and two episodes of The Reign of Terror remain missing. The existing serials received several VHS and DVD releases as well as tie-in novels.
Doctor Who's first season received generally positive responses. For An Unearthly Child, Variety felt that the script "suffered from a glibness of characterisations which didn't carry the burden of belief", but praised the "effective camerawork", noting that the show "will impress if it decides to establish a firm base in realism".[131] Mary Crozier of The Guardian was unimpressed by the first serial, stating that it "has fallen off badly soon after getting underway".[132] Conversely, Marjorie Norris of Television Today commented that if the show "keeps up the high standard of the first two episodes it will capture a much wider audience".[131] The following serial, The Daleks, was widely praised, described by the Daily Mirror's Richard Sear as "splendid children's stuff". The serial's villains, the Daleks, became a cultural phenomenon, and have been closely associated with the show since.[128] The Edge of Destruction was criticised at a BBC Programme Review Board Meeting in February 1964 by controller of television programmes Stuart Hood, who felt that the serial's sequences in which Susan uses scissors as a weapon "digressed from the code of violence in programmes"; Lambert apologised for the scenes.[83]
Retrospective reviews of the season were positive. Kimberley Piece of Geek Girl Authority felt that, while the season started slowly, it "managed to find its footing" and "developed quickly into a popular ratings favorite".[136] Simbasible found that most serials are memorable, though many feature repetitive and "silly" storytelling.[137] Richard Gray of The Reel Bits praised the imagination and perseverance of the show's producers.[138] Reviewing the first serial in 2008, Radio Times reviewer Patrick Mulkern praised the casting of Hartnell, the "moody" direction and the "thrilling" race back to the TARDIS.[139] For The Daleks, Mulkern praised the strength of Nation's scripts, particularly the first three cliffhangers, but felt that "the urgency and claustrophobia dissipate towards the end", describing the final battle as "a disappointingly limp affair".[140] Reviewing The Edge of Destruction, Mulkern described David Whitaker as "a master of dialogue, characterisation and atmosphere", but felt he struggled with plot logic, as evidenced by the fast return switch explanation.[141]
Unlike the classic era of the series that ended in 1989, the plan with the new series was to have each episode as a standalone story, with no serials.[1] Of the thirteen episodes in the series, seven of them followed this format; the remaining six were grouped together into three two-part stories.[2] Also, for the first time since The Gunfighters in the third season, each episode was given an individual title, which was the case with the standalone and two-part stories.[3]
The first series was Christopher Eccleston's only series in the role of the Doctor. Eccleston's contract was for a single year because at the time it was uncertain whether the show would continue beyond a single revival series.[16] Eccleston's intent to leave was revealed on 30 March 2005, shortly after the broadcast of the first episode. The BBC released a statement, attributed to Eccleston, saying that he had decided to leave because he feared becoming typecast. On 4 April, the BBC revealed that Eccleston's "statement" was falsely attributed and released without his consent. The BBC admitted that they had broken an agreement made in January not to disclose publicly that he only intended to do one season.[17] In a 2010 interview, Eccleston revealed that he left the show because he "didn't enjoy the environment and the culture that [they], the cast and crew, had to work in", but that he was proud of having played the role.[18][19]
Under producer Davies, the new series had a faster pace than those of the classic series. Rather than four to six-part serials of 25-minute episodes, most of the Ninth Doctor's stories consisted of individual 45-minute episodes, with only three stories out of ten being two-parters. The thirteen episodes were, however, loosely connected in a series-long story arc which brought their disparate threads together in the series finale. Davies took cues from American fantasy television series such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Smallville, most notably Buffy's concepts of series-long story arcs and the "Big Bad".[49] Also, like the original series, stories often flowed directly into one another or were linked together in some way. Notably, in common only with the seventh and twenty-sixth seasons of the original series, every story of the season takes place on or near Earth.[50][51] This fact is directly addressed in the original novel The Monsters Inside, in which Rose and the Doctor joke about the fact that all their adventures to date have taken place on Earth or on neighbouring space stations.[52][53]
Season 1 of Doctor Who ran from 23 November 1963 to 12 September 1964. It starred William Hartnell as the First Doctor, Carole Ann Ford as Susan Foreman, the Doctor's granddaughter, and William Russell and Jacqueline Hill as companions Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright. The season opened with An Unearthly Child and concluded with The Reign of Terror.
The season consisted of eight serials comprised of forty-two episodes, as well as a pilot episode which was never aired on television until 1991. More accurately, the production team made several versions of the pilot episode. The inaugural season established many of the concepts that continue to the present day and also introduced the hugely popular Daleks. Two of the three historical stories of this season are presently considered lost, in total (as is the case of Marco Polo) or partially (The Reign of Terror), although audio recordings of all episodes remain.
Series 1 also provided the first major information about the Last Great Time War. The Parting of the Ways featured the revived series' first regeneration. The season also introduced Jack Harkness, planting the seed for the spin-off Torchwood.
Their pitch was successful, with RTD's desires to have the series be a continuation, rather than a reboot, of the original being successful. As such, series 1 saw many of the classic era's elements remain, notably the Doctor's history as a Time Lord, his use of the sonic screwdriver, his TARDIS, and the return of his original nemesis the Daleks. The series also brought the return of individual episode titles for the first time since The Gunfighters in season 3.
Series 1 was unusually well-received. It won the National Television Award and BAFTA for "Best Drama Series", confirming its popular and critical success. Its BAFTA nomination was the first for the series since season 15 and the first ever for the programme in an "adult" category. Perhaps more importantly, it was the first time that a series of Doctor Who had actually won a BAFTA. Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper both won National Television Awards for "Favourite Actor" and "Favourite Actress". Writer Steven Moffat also began a three-year domination of the Hugo Award "Short Form Presentation" category by winning one for his The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances two-parter. John Barrowman's Jack Harkness, who was introduced in this story, would go on to have a profound impact on the shape and scope of the Doctor Who universe. 041b061a72
