Category: Doctor Who

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Doctor Who Television

The changing face of Doctor Who

  • August 2, 1966

Patrick TroughtonWith the series’ two most recent producers reporting that actor William Hartnell has become nearly impossible to work with, the first steps are taken to regenerate Doctor Who by hiring a new actor to play the part: Patrick Troughton. In closed-door meetings at the BBC, producer Innes Lloyd and BBC Head of Drama Sydney Newman (who also happens to be Doctor Who’s creator) offer Hartnell the chance to leave, and – having already taken the liberty of contacting him to gauge his interest in the part – contract actor Patrick Troughton to replace Hartnell as the Doctor. Hartnell, suffering from arteriosclerosis, accepts the escape hatch and agrees to leave the series. Lloyd and Newman begin brainstorming ideas to explain the radical change in the Doctor’s look, agreeing that the time has finally come to firmly establish that the Doctor is not human at all. Lloyd envisions a tough “pirate captain” persona for the new Doctor, a notion ultimately rejected by Newman, who instead proposes that the character be played as a “cosmic hobo,” an idea which Troughton likes much better. None of this activity is revealed to the press or the public for some time.

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Doctor Who Television

The Doctor’s fate revealed

  • August 6, 1966

Doctor WhoThe BBC informs the press that major changes are afoot for the popular science fiction series Doctor Who – namely, that the last remaining original cast member, William Hartnell, will be leaving the show, and that producers are already searching for a new actor to take on the role (though, in reality, they have already hired Hartnell’s replacement and are scrambling to reformat the series to allow for the unprecedented swap of its main star). When contacted by British newspapers for a reaction, Hartnell confirms the news.

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Doctor Who Television

Doctor Who v2.0

  • September 2, 1966

Patrick TroughtonThe BBC announces, for the first time in the show’s history, that Doctor Who will have a new Doctor, in the form of actor Patrick Troughton. There are hints that the new Doctor will have a “new personality” and be “tougher,” though this concept is not elaborated upon any further. (Indeed, the BBC remains tight-lipped on how two actors with such different appearances could play the same part.) Studio taping of the swan song story for the first Doctor, William Hartnell, begins mere days later.

Hear about it on the Sci-Fi 5 podcast

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Doctor Who Television

Doctor Who: The Tenth Planet, Part 4

  • October 29, 1966

Doctor WhoThe 134th episode of Doctor Who airs on the BBC. This concludes the first story to feature the Cybermen, and is the first episode in the show’s history in which the Doctor regenerates. The new Doctor, Patrick Troughton, is glimpsed briefly at the end of the episode.

In perhaps the most painful example of episode wiping in the show’s history, this episode is now missing from the BBC’s archives, though the scene of the Doctor’s first regeneration has since been recovered.

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Doctor Who Television

Doctor Who: Power Of The Daleks, Part 1

  • November 5, 1966

Doctor WhoThe 135th episode of Doctor Who airs on the BBC. This is the first episode of the series to introduce a new incarnation of the Doctor, played by Patrick Troughton. To ensure that audiences don’t defect from the series due to the change of lead actor, producer Innes Lloyd brings back the Daleks for the second Doctor’s first outing. This episode is now missing from the BBC’s archives.

More about Doctor Who in the LogBook
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