Doctor Who: The First Doctor

I am annoyed because you are looking at me!

So, William Hartnell played the First Doctor who was originally intended to be the only Doctor. He was a grandfather, a lover of history and science, and generally convinced that he knew better than everyone else.

In short, he was the quintessential Wise Old Man Mentor Type.

This Doctor is unique compared to the Doctors I've met (much later Doctors) in that he generally travels with a female and a male. The male companion usually acts like the action hero while the Doctor acts like the smart guy. The girl is usually a damsel in distress with either a bit of brains to her (Susan Foreman, Barbara Wright, Vicki, and Polly) or an action-girl type (Sara Kingdom). However, the Doctor and the Male companion spend their time as Dumbasses in Distress too.

In fact, when I first met this Doctor I was surprised by the number of times he was knocked unconscious, kidnapped, negatively affected by the environment, or variations there-of.  This Doctor just wasn't physically strong.

More than that, this Doctor spent a lot of Season One without the benefit of the moral high ground. In fact, he often did things that placed his companions in danger. Worse, he usually did it out of pure curiosity.

Now, I loved this Doctor for that reason. I immediately wanted him to be my grandfather (I only ever had one, this would be a great second grandfather) and I wanted to travel with him through time and see history.

I loved the First Doctor in the historical episodes. William Hartnell just managed to make the Doctor be so much in his element in those episodes even when he did something stupid that got him working on roads or had to pretend to play the lyre for Nero.

To me, he was awesome! I loved the historical episodes!

If I net this Doctor, I'd want to go see as much of history as possible! I'd want to meet Eleanor of Acquitaine and hang out with Nicola Tesla and Mark Twain and Louis Pasteur. I'd want to go drinking with Ben Franklin and John Adams. I'd want to go explore the world with Erik the Red or Magellan.

I'd have a blast!

On the other hand, this Doctor was an old man and he was grumpy, gruff, and sometimes down right mean to people who really didn't deserve it. In fact, you mostly saw his sentimental side when he was alone or completely by accident in the presence of others.

I would have hated to be a hormonal teen-aged girl around the Doctor like Susan Foreman.  I have enough self-image problems without my grandfather constantly doubting me and treating me like a child. I can sort of understand her whininess. However, she knew him. She grew up with him. She should've known how to handle him better.

Meanwhile, Vicki had never met the Doctor, yet she and he clicked almost immediately.

I'm going to miss this Doctor, but I'll take comfort in the fact that I can always go back and watch his serials or maybe even find some Doctor Who literature featuring the First Doctor. If I do, I'll review the books on this blog. Make no mistake!