# Starting Doctor Who from the very beginning (1963). First time watcher here. Talk with me about it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 5, 2015, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starting-doctor-who-from-the-very-beginning-1963-first-time-watcher-here-talk-with-me-about-it/736691 "2015-11-05T08:38:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starting-doctor-who-from-the-very-beginning-1963-first-time-watcher-here-talk-with-me-about-it/736691/21 "2015-11-05T22:39:40Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Further, the Doctor was never meant to be the main character - Ian and Barbara were to be the protagonists and audience stand-ins. Which is why the producers cast young and attractive William Russell and Jacqueline Hill for those roles, while the Doctor was an elderly character actor. William Hartnell was not that eld. I was amazed when I found out he was 55 when Doctor Who started. I thought David Bradley wasn’t old enough to play him then I found out he is almost 20 years older. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starting-doctor-who-from-the-very-beginning-1963-first-time-watcher-here-talk-with-me-about-it/736691/22 "2015-11-05T22:45:48Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > William Hartnell was not that eld. I was amazed when I found out he was 55 when Doctor Who started. I thought David Bradley wasn’t old enough to play him then I found out he is almost 20 years older. He was younger than Capaldi, but he was a heavy smoker and drinker with a lot of health issues that eventually ended his tenure on the show. And if anyone hasn’t seen Adventures in Time and Space, watch it immediately, it gives all the context for the gestation of the show aand how the classic elements came about, and it’s funny and happy and sad and moving and just wonderfully done. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starting-doctor-who-from-the-very-beginning-1963-first-time-watcher-here-talk-with-me-about-it/736691/23 "2015-11-05T23:25:06Z")
Hartnell was made to look a lot older than he really was with makeup and a wig. Here’s what he really looked like. [![](https://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b14/dacar92/Hartnell/d1-023_zps91b0e128.gif) ](https://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b14/dacar92/Hartnell/d1-023_zps91b0e128.gif) [![](https://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b14/dacar92/Hartnell/d1-025_zps65c6bf04.jpg) ](https://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b14/dacar92/Hartnell/d1-025_zps65c6bf04.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Malden\_Capell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malden_capell/32/5274_2.png) [@Malden\_Capell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malden_Capell)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starting-doctor-who-from-the-very-beginning-1963-first-time-watcher-here-talk-with-me-about-it/736691/24 "2015-11-05T23:40:23Z")
Also, this is relevant and hilarious…[- YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQFS4S6Ze_I) ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starting-doctor-who-from-the-very-beginning-1963-first-time-watcher-here-talk-with-me-about-it/736691/25 "2015-11-05T23:43:43Z")
The Tom Baker era is grand good fun! ---
**Author:** ![Malden\_Capell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malden_capell/32/5274_2.png) [@Malden\_Capell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malden_Capell)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starting-doctor-who-from-the-very-beginning-1963-first-time-watcher-here-talk-with-me-about-it/736691/26 "2015-11-05T23:47:25Z")
It’s all about Patrick Troughton for me. ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starting-doctor-who-from-the-very-beginning-1963-first-time-watcher-here-talk-with-me-about-it/736691/27 "2015-11-06T00:09:18Z")
Just you wait 'till you get to Tom Baker. Or John Pertwee, for that matter. If you’re enjoying the classics, you might like Rowan Atkinson’s (aka Mr. Bean’s/Blackadder’s) [glorious spoof](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do-wDPoC6GM). ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starting-doctor-who-from-the-very-beginning-1963-first-time-watcher-here-talk-with-me-about-it/736691/28 "2015-11-06T01:07:13Z")
Are you watching the reconstructions of the lost episodes? If I were doing what you are doing, there’s no way I wouldn’t. Everything slotted in exactly where it goes. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starting-doctor-who-from-the-very-beginning-1963-first-time-watcher-here-talk-with-me-about-it/736691/29 "2015-11-06T01:20:07Z")
> [@Malden\_Capell](#): > > Also, this is relevant and hilarious…[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQFS4S6Ze\_I](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQFS4S6Ze_I) It’s the Brigadier! ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starting-doctor-who-from-the-very-beginning-1963-first-time-watcher-here-talk-with-me-about-it/736691/30 "2015-11-06T02:34:48Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Some useless extra info: the 2nd Doctor Jon Pertwee’s son Sean Pertwee is a successful actor who is currently playing Alfred on Gotham. You can definitely see a resemblance. Nobody’s pounced on this one yet? Jon Pertwee was the Third Doctor. The Second was Patrick Troughton. You’re right about Sean’s successful career. Other trivia: the kid who played Dudley Dursley in the _Harry Potter_ movies is Patrick Troughton’s grandson. Troughton’s sons, David and Michael, are also distinguished actors. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starting-doctor-who-from-the-very-beginning-1963-first-time-watcher-here-talk-with-me-about-it/736691/31 "2015-11-06T02:55:08Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > William Hartnell was not that eld. I was amazed when I found out he was 55 when Doctor Who started. I thought David Bradley wasn’t old enough to play him then I found out he is almost 20 years older. Jeez, really? I guess fifty-five was a whole lot older in 1963 than it is now… ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2015, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starting-doctor-who-from-the-very-beginning-1963-first-time-watcher-here-talk-with-me-about-it/736691/32 "2015-11-15T10:15:27Z")
Season one done. Season two (of the classic one) being started now. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2015, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starting-doctor-who-from-the-very-beginning-1963-first-time-watcher-here-talk-with-me-about-it/736691/33 "2015-11-15T12:11:41Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > Season one done. > > Season two (of the classic one) being started now. Well, give us a little rundown or mini review of what you thought, then. What fun are threads like this without a bit of vicariousness? ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2015, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starting-doctor-who-from-the-very-beginning-1963-first-time-watcher-here-talk-with-me-about-it/736691/34 "2015-11-17T04:47:02Z")
[quote=“glee, post:5, topic:736691”] William Hartnell (first Doctor) thought it was a risk playing the part - he was an established actor in ‘hard man’ roles. See, I’ve heard the opposite: he had been typecast as tough guy/drill sergeant/grim detective-type for twenty years (since his biggest role in _The Way Ahead_ (1943) and he longed to do something else. Even when he had a role in the TV comedy _The Army Game_, his character, a sergeant-major, wasn’t allowed to be funny. So when Verity Lambert offered him the role, he was intrigued, even if he wasn’t immediately convinced. > [@Meurglys](#): > > Don’t forget the 2 movies made in the 60s. > Or maybe you should! The movies should be enjoyed as a lark, but are not considered in any way part of the milieau. Mindless fluff at best. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2015, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starting-doctor-who-from-the-very-beginning-1963-first-time-watcher-here-talk-with-me-about-it/736691/35 "2015-11-17T04:57:53Z")
Drinking game - take a shot every time one of the companions says: “Doctor, what is it?” or “What is it, Doctor?” ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2015, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starting-doctor-who-from-the-very-beginning-1963-first-time-watcher-here-talk-with-me-about-it/736691/36 "2015-11-17T12:24:13Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > Nobody’s pounced on this one yet? > > Jon Pertwee was the Third Doctor. The Second was Patrick Troughton. You’re right about Sean’s successful career. > > Other trivia: the kid who played Dudley Dursley in the _Harry Potter_ movies is Patrick Troughton’s grandson. Troughton’s sons, David and Michael, are also distinguished actors. I knew that don’t know why I put 2nd. David Troughton is one of a couple of people who had roles in the original run and the recent series. He had a minor role with his father. He had a much larger role in a Pertwee story line. Then he was in a David Tennant episode. I remember him mostly as Wellington in the various Sharpe series. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starting-doctor-who-from-the-very-beginning-1963-first-time-watcher-here-talk-with-me-about-it/736691.md?page=1)