Hey, everyone! In an earlier episode, Matt suggested that I should do a write-up of the individual Doctors Who. I have since made a decision. Instead of reviewing each Doctor individually, I’m going to do a compare and contrast of the Doctors. Obviously, one Doctor does not a comparison make, so I have had to wait until I finished the Second Doctor before I could continue with my plans. As you may have guessed, I have finished the Second Doctor. On to the review…
The First Doctor was played by William Hartnell. From the beginning, Hartnell was meant to be a grandfather figure. In fact, the first companion was his granddaughter. It is made clear from the beginning that he is not of this planet, and he spends a great deal of time being smug about it. Though he is quite old, he has superior intellect, and that drives his performance. No matter how difficult the situation gets, he never shows fear. Even when he is being threatened by an alien race, he doesn’t get afraid, he gets impotently enraged. There are numerous occasions when his reaction to a situation was to draw himself up to his full height, grasp his coat lapels, and fume. He has a bit of a sense of humor, but mostly he reminded me of a grumpy old man.
The Second Doctor was played by Peter Troughton, and even before he opened his mouth, the difference was obvious. He was not a young man, but he was much younger than Hartnell, and his performance was much more active. He wore an oversized coat that, rather than making him look slovenly, instead looked more comfortable and lived-in than the buttoned-up First Doctor. In my mind, though, the biggest difference was that this Doctor showed fear. Whereas the First Doctor went from angry to smug, the Second Doctor would run the gamut of emotion, from fear to panic to delight to confusion to curiosity, and many more. He was still more intelligent, but he was also aware that his brain could not stop a bullet.
All in all, I liked the Second Doctor a lot more. He was much easier to relate to than the first one, and his stories were a lot more action-packed, owing to having an actor young enough to run around. It is clear that this was the first step in the evolution of Dr. Who, as the show wanted to focus more on sci/fi, and move away from the historic fiction flavor that the First Doctor had. The final episode of the Second Doctor sheds some light on the Doctor’s background and the Time Lords. It is noteworthy that the sonic screwdriver makes it’s debut here. Up until these events, the Doctor has been little different from the rest of us, just with a time machine. After this, however, the door is opened for the Doctor to become… something else.
Obviously it was never intended this way, but the swapping out of actors – and the necessary traumatic/ apocolyptic events that lead up to a swap over, are great for adding depth to the character, rather than detracting from it. James Bond swaps out actors, and has the same length of time beign in the public conscious, but there are only so many aspects to play upon. Really, many films have kept him shallow, thus allowing depth to only be slowly revealed. And they’ve even now rebooted to get some extra character in there.
In contrast, Doctor Who has kept up a valid continuity through all the change overs, and you can very easily retcon why it makes sense that the Doctor changes personality while still being the same. The First Doctor is a one with a grand-daughter, and I don’t think it’s spoilery to say that so far he has never made references wife or children. He only hints at being married many centruies in the future, and never directly speaks about his children. This is certainly a Doctor who has been connected to life and then disconnected, especially when his grand daughter leaves (that’s during the first doctor’s run, isn’t it?). THerefore, the older, disconnected, angry old man.
Although it’s just a factor of a younger actor and a changing tone of the show, it’s great that the way this production necessity is embraced means you can retcon logic too it without it seeming forces. This new incarnation of the doctor, psychologically, now has a physical disconnect from his old life. He still has all the old memories, but he has enough physiological changes to make everything old as new again, and a new lease on life. And hence, perhaps the weariness that meant he showed no fear, or the collected rage, gives way when his life is now a little brighter and freer once more.
This continuing of the same character, who if through no other method has a long running character arc than through his shifting production staff and actor, is and hopefully will be faciniating. Especially when you get to the last doctors around now, when these are fans of the original show – used to this sort of retconning, I believe- who seem to subconsciously ensure that emotional beats from one actor have played out and echo in the next. The 9th doctor had an implicit cloud over him due to offshreen events at the start of the new ‘show’. While Christopher Eccelstone can bring the fun, he also brigns the gravitas of that,. When it shifts to David Tennant, who can brood when brooding is called for, but is a far bouncier doctor, there is a narrative justification already in place for the shift in the doctor’s tone. And that aspect is not completely forgotten, the 10th doctor cna experience thigns where it’s through the filter of distance, but you still see the echo of the 9th’s doctors fresh feeligns in the 10th doctor’s reactions. Matt Smith as the new doctor is very good as playing echos of old doctors too. Surprising for someone who did not really watch the new series until he got the part. Again, the traumatic 10th doctor’s end (they’re all traumatic, no spoilers) makes it logical for the 11th doctor’s shift in personality. And yet Matt smith and the stories still keep you feelign this is the same doctor just able to psychologically distance himself from events, not that this is a new production staff and actor ignoring all that comes before. This is still your Doctor, magically despite eleven actors playing him, still evolving and reacting to a longer and longer life.
Anyway, it will be interesting to see if that rose-tinted recollertion of the transitions holds up to your analysis of the differences between doctors!