Patrick Troughton

I must have already mentioned somewhere along the line that I have a very early memory of watching Daleks being manufactured on a production line, which can only have been from the end of episode 4 of The Power of the Daleks, or the start of episode 5. I would have been 2 and a half when they were broadcast, so how I remember it I don’t know, especially when my next clear memories of Patrick Troughton’s era come from his last series, two years later. Still, you never forget your first Doctor, and it is during these 21 stories that we’re going to move from stories I never experienced first time round, to stories I have very vague memories of, to stories that I have clear memories of, and which made a real impression on me at the time.

                                                                             

What do I expect from the Troughton era as a whole, then? Well, the second story, the Highlanders, is the last Historical – at least until the Davison two parter, Black Orchid. It’s a bit of shame considering the generally excellent standard of scripting in these particular shows, but the writing was on the wall, I suppose with The Smugglers, which clearly seemed to be taking the genre in another, more classic adventure story direction. As a consequence it’s not unreasonable to suggest that there will be less light and shade in a season than we’ve come to expect from the show during the Hartnell era – a far cry from the first season when 4 out of 8 stories were actually set in Earth’s past. There’s only two Dalek stories, the first and last of Troughton’s first season, and neither of these is scripted by Terry Nation, which is an interesting development I will be looking at as and when. The Cybermen, on the other hand, move into the void left by the Daleks, and feature in no fewer than four stories. They are backed up by the Ice Warriors, who appear in their first two stories, and the Yeti, who feature in two stories in the same season.

With regards to companions – well, if we accept that Sara Kingdom was a bona fide companion even though she only appeared in the one story, then Hartnell had no fewer than 10 companions – 9 if you don’t include Sara. Troughton only has 5, two of whom, Ben and Polly, are carryovers from Hartnell. There is bound to be a new dynamic between the Doctor and his companions, and even though Patrick Troughton wasn’t the most physically impressive specimen, there’s no way that he’ll get away with being the doddery old gent that Hartnell chose to play sometimes. Even allowing for that, though, I expect that we’ll still see Ben and Jamie taking on most of the physical stuff.

I was surprised how much I got to like Hartnell’s Doctor, especially considering how much he was sidelined in his last 7 or 8 stories. I already know that I liked Troughton’s Doctor – not just from the couple of stories I remember from his last season, but also from his performance in The Three Doctors. But that was from when I was a kid. I just hope, really hope that this Troughton total immersion over the next few weeks isn’t going to change my opinion. At which point it is probably appropriate to start our journey through this era of the show.

But that was from when I was a kid. I just hope, really hope that this Troughton total immersion over the next few weeks isn’t going to change my opinion. At which point it is probably appropriate to start our journey through this era of the show.