You might remember the 9th doctor made kind of a reference to his granddaughter in Empty Child. CONSTANTINE: Before this war began, I was a father and a grandfather. Now I am neither. But I'm still a doctor. DOCTOR: Yeah. I know the feeling.
Ian and Barbara, especially Barbara imo, are so integral to the Doctor’s evolution. They managed to turn a cynical, paranoid man who was pretty indifferent and uncaring toward everything and everyone other than his granddaughter because he wanted to keep her safe into a person who puts his life on the line countless times to save others and help people out. I adore his character arc and how he slowly mellows out and becomes a lot kinder as time goes on. Genuinely, if it wasn’t for Ian and Barbara, the Doctor would not be the person we know them to be much later on in their life.
Indeed, I think one of the defining moments in these early serials is Ian basically shaming The Doctor out of a very petty decision, and that moment basically "flips on" several of the changes in the character to come. In a way, defining one of the doctor's core characteristics throughout classic and new who.
3:34 "Alive" was once commonly used to refer to machines in general and electric ones especially. The word got shortened to "live", which is how we describe electrical circuits today. (Watch out for an instance of the TARDIS controls being described as "alive" in a later episode, just before Ian gets an electric shock from touching them.) Oxford English Dictionary: "alive = charged with electric current; connected to a source of electricity... swarming with things in motion".
Edit: I actually mis-remembered the electric shock thing, as it happens in the very first episode, as we saw. However, in a few episodes' time we see Ian stop Barbara from touching the controls because "they're alive".
32:12 Back then they used real fire so what you’re seeing is simply the reflection on the camera and the bones was real bones to even real skeleton’s and skulls
I love the First Doctor because he is just so different from all other incarnations. It's a joy to see his growth from a genuinely unpleasant, selfish figure to a kind & heroic one. It's so cool that you like Ian and Barbara, they are my favourite Classic companions! The writing for Susan unfortunately always felt a bit lacking to me, and I much preferred when Vicki joined the crew.
I still love and miss Ian and Barbara. I was really sad to see them go. I was sad to see Susan go because I did care about her, but I was also very much ready for it to happen. She was just too much and they definitely didn't write her character in a consistent way. I did like Vicki.
@@thegentleartoffisticuffs6983 I didn't watch the Sensorites (Patrons voted on the stories I reacted to for the first few seasons and it didn't make the cut), but I did like her more when they eventually calmed her down and she wasn't screaming every two seconds. It's like they forgot all about the character they introduced in the first episode and just took her in a completely different direction. (I mean, even the actress thought so. lol)
I love seeing people's first reactions to this especially concerning the Doctor because he seems so out of character compared to how we know him in the new series, It just goes to show you how important not just Ian and Barbara were to help shaping him into a better person but also all of his companions and by the end of Hartnell's run you do start to see him becoming more of the classic hero archetype we know the Doctor to be
I love Ian so much because he’s the reason the doctor changed so much his heroism rubs on the doctor and teaches the doctor about humanity such a brilliant character. and also, Barbara her care for others and her determination all made the doctor, who he is today. New subscriber btw :)
I completely agree! I'm not sure who the Doctor would be today if it weren't Ian and Barbara first showing him the power of a good companion. :) I have stopped the Classic Who reactions here on TH-cam because they just weren't getting enough views/engagement to justify continuing to edit them, but I have continued with the show over on Patreon. We're actually wrapping season 10 this week. :)
William Russell, who plays Ian, has a son, Alfred Enoch, who’s also an actor and was in the Harry Potter movies. William and his wife are really lovely people, I once had the chance to dine with them.
@@BritanyBinges I created the first ever Doctor Who Convention in Germany in 2015 and it’s still running. I had the chance to work with a lot of Doctor Who and Torchwood actors and befriend some of them.
@@BritanyBinges it was. The first event was financed through crowdfunding and a huge success. I’ve left the company in 2019 though, after five successful events. Others are running it now. Back to more ghosthunting. ☺️
I always thought it would be cool to have the Doctor in the modern series meet up with his granddaughter. Bring in Susan for an episode, and have the Doctor meet her family.
Apparently all the bones in the story were real ones and would start to stink from the heat of the studio lights and the flames. there was an unaired version of p1, but the head of drama/the person who came up with the idea of the show, Syndey Newman hated it (the doors wouldn't close properly so had stage hands trying to shut them & keep them shut) and made the cast and crew do it again, being the version that finally aired on the 23rd November (and again on the 30th before p2). Beyond some production errors, think the only difference is that Susan says she was born the 49th Century (making home for the Doctor & Susan was 49th/50th century Gallifrey, like how for Ian & Barbra, home is 20th century Earth also meaning Captain Jack from new who is technically from the Doctors future, whereas usually its the Doctor is from the companions future) but the aired version keeps the Doctor & Susans own time secret.
There is a much more significant difference between the original pilot and the broadcast version - the Doctor was even less co-operative and more antagonistic in the original and it was felt they needed to soften his character, which was the main reason for the reshoot. There are other incidental differences, such as: - in the pilot, instead of reading the French Revolution book and noticing a mistake, Susan makes an ink blot pattern on a piece of paper and draws a hexagon around it before screwing up the paper and hiding it. - When the Doctor unlocks the TARDIS door the entire lock mechanism slides out with the key (this was an intended effect, not a dodgy prop). - The sound effect for the TARDIS taking off is made of up a cacophony of loud beeping noises and thunderclaps, mixed in with the 'vworp vworp' sound effect we would come to know and love.
The British pre-decimal penny was a denomination of sterling coinage worth 1⁄240 of one pound or 1⁄12 of one shilling. Its symbol was d, from the Roman denarius. It was a continuation of the earlier English penny, and in Scotland it had the same monetary value as one pre-1707 Scottish shilling. The penny was originally minted in silver, but from the late 18th century it was minted in copper, and then after 1860 in bronze. The plural of "penny" is "pence" when referring to an amount of money, and "pennies" when referring to a number of coins.[1] Thus 8d is eight pence, but "eight pennies" means specifically eight individual penny coins. Before Decimal Day in 1971, sterling used the Carolingian monetary system (£sd), under which the largest unit was a pound (£) divisible into 20 shillings (s), each of 12 pence (d). The penny was withdrawn in 1971 due to decimalisation, and replaced (in effect) by the decimal half new penny, with +1⁄2p being worth 1.2d. There you go! Of course, once Susan remembered that she made an error, she read up about it all - in two seconds flat!
As someone who grew up in the Classic Who era (Sylvester McCoy, 7, was my Doctor) I really appreciate seeing reactions to the Classic episodes. Also, this may have been mentioned before - these episodes aired in late 1963, and the UK converted to a decimal currency in 1971. So by saying "not yet", Susan was right, 8 years before it actually happened!
The original Doctor Who series was geared more towards children, hence the acting choices, but the stories were not shy about getting a bit intense for kids. The weird effect around the flames was caused by being too bright for the early studio cameras, which had tube based sensors instead of microchips as used today.
One thing to know that will probably make a lot of the production decisions early on make sense is that Doctor Who was originally conceived as an edutainment program. The whole thing was a framing device to teach science, history, whatever else they could think of.
Susan being the one to come up with TARDIS is definitely a wishywashy thing because other Time-Lords call them TARDIS too. Edit: Also the idea to keep it a Police Box was because they didn't have the budget to keep making the Tardis look different every time it moves.
According to the audio drama “the beginning,” Susan thought she came up with the acronym by herself. And her grandfather just didn’t have the heart to tell her otherwise
I know you're much further through now but yes this opening episode for the Doctor is amazingly different to what people expect and really it is Barbara and Ian that hook you in as the people that you can relate to. Fascinating to watch 60 years on.
In 1981, Dr Who producer John Nathan-Turner persuaded the BBC to put out re-runs of vintage episodes - partly to sustain interest in the show, but also to remind younger viewers (I was 8) that other Doctors had existed before the recently-departed Tom Baker - and the very first serial was luckily still in the archive. This repeat season - titled 'The Five Faces of Doctor Who' - was influential in actually capturing a whole generation of young fans at that time. And, for better and for worse, it's the reason I am still here today. William Hartnell was a veteran British actor who had parts in UK films dating back to the early 1930s and was initially unconvinced by the idea, but his ability (and actual intrinsic insecurity) turned the part into a minor phenomenon in the UK - probably the largest it would enjoy until it re-emerged in the mid 2000's.
My son had a hard time watching these old episodes. I told him to pretend he was watching a high school stage play. You'll see stiff performances (by today's standards) wobbly sets, cheesy costumes, little mistakes in dialogue, etc. Keep in mind, too, that the show was absolutely geared towards children. But the up-side of watching them is to see the world of the Doctor get built brick by brick. You will start to recognize call-backs in the modern Who that you didn't know were call-backs. It's really fun.
The "wobbly sets, cheesy costumes, little mistakes in dialogue, etc." are part of the charm of the show for me. :) I recorded these reactions when I was only just a few episodes into series 1 of the revival and I've already gotten some of the callbacks. :)
I mean it's a show made for 2300 pounds. Compare that very modest budget to something like Twilight Zone, or just a few years later with Star Trek where it was several factors more expensive, it's actually incredible that the production crew managed to do as much as they did with such a modest production budget. Even then, for a major science fiction show 2300 pounds is nothing.
The Doctor's personality changes each time he changes. He started as a mysterious, crotchety old man. In the beginning, the writers hadn't figured out everything about the Doctor. They don't name the planet immediately. A Tardis has the ability to camouflage itself into the environment. However, he "borrowed" this one from the repair shop! And that factory standard control room will begin to customize itself to the Doctor's personalities... The year 0 doesn't exist. 1 BC turned into 1 AD. Jesus' parents were born in BC. Their divine son was born in 1 AD. The Tardis, malfunctioning, lost track of where it was going...
I think every Doctor has something special about them. In my mind the first Doctor stands out for his growth. He's the Doctor when he was fresh, just left Gallifrey with his granddaughter, the reason changes every time we hear the story, so who knows what the truth is. In a stolen TARDIS. He's a grumpy hermit, who doesn't care for people. But through his travels with Susan, Ian, and Barbara, he comes to see the universe in a new light, and he becomes that hero we know.
How I view Classic Who is its more like theatre than the modern series, you're more aware that it's actors on a stage and have to embrace that difference.
Oh, that's a great way of looking at it! For me, "seeing the strings" so to speak and watching the actors flub their lines is all part of the charm. :)
In the original pilot the Doctor was even more aloof/impersonal, so much so that William Hartnell (the First Doctor) was very unhappy with the characterisation as he felt that the Doctor should be more of a kindly grandfather figure. As a result a second version of the pilot was filmed resulting in the episode everyone knows of An Unearthly Child. The Doctor is still slightly cold/impersonal/aloof but slowly starts to unbend leading to a much gentler characterisation (for the most part) in later stories.
The fire looks odd because early video cameras and videotape had a limited 'breadth' of sensitivity, much like early photographs sometimes showed the yellow or red parts of a scene as black (this can be seen on many photos of military uniforms from the late 19th century and early 20th century photos). Too bright a light on videotape would register as black on that videotape, and this can also be seen in video shot during recent wars, with bright lights at night appearing black with white around the edges.
The way shows were done back then was like theatre the actors would have to wait for their turn and the fx was done live in real time any mistakes done by the cast and crew would be left in so they had to improvise story’s would always be in short parts think of it like one Morden size episode in parts
What this story did was to establish the key concept; that the Tardis travels in time and not just in space. In dealing with the tribe, the writer avoided characterising them as simple but reflected the reality that tribal societies often have complex power structures and conflict. Given the tiny budget the show does remarkably well and the interior of the Tardis is still effective--to be honest I prefer the clean lines of the classic console room. Incidentally, the odd visual on the flames was caused by the cameras basically overloading--the bright spots exceeded the dynamic range of the sensors. You can see the same effect if you look back at music shows of the period when spotlights are caught in the camera's view. One thing that Who did rather differently than most serial dramas of the time was character development. At the time characters tended no to change within the run of a show. Here, however, we already see the character of the Doctor beginning to change. Whether this was planned, in response to feedback on the character or simply a result of having different writers for each story, the effect is that, over time, all the regular characters develop in believable ways. Remember that 'in universe' this is the first prolonged exposure the Doctor has to human companions and apparently the first time he has faced physical peril; "Fear makes companions of us all".
Famously, the UK switched to decimal currency in 1971, ahead of its accession to the European Economic Community. This was in the air much earlier, but there was still no actual guarantee Susan's prediction would come true!
Welcome to the very beginning of Doctor Who 😊. The first episode aired on the same night as the John F. Kennedy assasination no one was tuning in that night as the news really shook the world at the time so they had to re-broadcast this story a week later during the filming of the second episode of "The Daleks" the cast and crew were still in shock about the news but had to soldier on in character but you probaly notice abit of intense going on. The TARDIS disguising itself where ever it lands was also explained in "Boom Town" of NuWho where The Ninth Doctor explains to Mickey why his TARDIS looks like a Police Box that explanation is shown here. I love the original Doctor Who theme better than NuWho in my opinion because it's alot more creepier and scarier as a kid watching this this theme always use to scare me. The fire why it looks weird is because of the studio lighting and camera as this was filmed on videotape which was disposable. Re-takes were also very expensive in those days at the BBC so the actors had to perform like it was live and filming episodes had time limits so they had to get on with it very quickly which is very hard work and is why you'll notice abit of camera shakes and wobbly acting Hartnell struggled to remember his lines.
Classic Who a LONG and rewarding journey missing episodes (some have been animated) well worth the years it will take new who often references classic who and seeing both is so satisfying some reactors have completed the journey others are still on it ....enjoy the ride we will love your reactions
I'm glad to see that you enjoyed this, the original, story. I'll always remember the first time I watched it, circa 1990 on VHS, and I watch episode 1 most every WHO DAY, 23 November. It's fun to watch the actual first version of Unearthly 1, to see how different it was compared to the version that went to air. Also amazing that the episode still survives when so much has been lost.
I saw this when it first appeared on the television in the 60s. The scrapyard appears more than once in later series with later Doctors. I like to think that the name on the gate: "I.M. Foreman" as in: I'm For Man. Meaning that however crotchety the Doctor is, he really does have a desire to protect the human race.
Susan says she made up the TARDIS's name herself. British acronyms are capitalised in the 1960s like RADAR (Radio Direction and Ranging) LASER (Light Amplification through Stimulated Emission of Radiation, as are codenames, such as Operation OVERLORD from 1944. The Doctor calls 'the ship' as in any vehicle that doesn't roll along on wheels, a British English definition, then a 'Time Capsule' (like the space capsules of the 1960s), and even later it's called a 'TT travel machine'. Later it's called 'a type 40', then other variations. Basically, it's a Time Travel machine, and was already out of date and in for repairs when stolen. When the Daleks build one in the near future for the Doctor, they call it a 'Time Capsule' as well. Later we will be introduced to a SIDRAT or two. ;-)
Presumably the reason the knowledge was not passed down was because the possibilities were not yet fully understood by man. It wasn't until the tribe was *_without_* fire that they realized how dependent they had become on it. During the period this story is set, only one primitive human had "discovered" how to make fire, and it was probably entirely by accident. Also, life expectancy was very short back then, so it's likely that Za's father - the only one who made fire - died before he could pass the knowledge on to others. No reading or writing back then so the only way to record information was to show others how you did it and hope they understood.
They were concerned about their student who, as far as they knew, was a 15 year-old girl; especially when they found out her "home" was a literal junk yard. They were right to look into things.
@@BritanyBinges I see both as being in the right. While understandably the Doctor was angry at them barging in, they did it to make sure Susan was alright.
@@neptune04 I can see that. The Doctor nothing was wrong so, of course, he was upset about the intrusion. But, Ian and Barbara didn't know nothing was wrong so, of course, they had to look into it further.
Can't wait to finally see you watch Classic Who. This entire time I've just been checking patreon for your progress but can't wait to actually see the reactions! Though I'd be lying if i said i wasnt waiting even more to finally see your reactions to 12 since he is my favorite, but considering TH-cam is only on series 3, gonna be one heck of a wait. Too bad not every story can be watched but I'll watch the reactions to any episode I have seen to its not too bad. Cant wait to see more ^w^
Yeah, Patreon only just got to 12 a couple of weeks ago so it's going to be a bit of a wait to see him here on TH-cam. lol I appreciate you being here and being willing to wait it out (both for 12 and for Classic reactions)!
I agree. I wasn't that heavily invested in the characters at first (and I'm just ending the era of all the missing episodes so that's been making it difficult to be emotionally connected as well), but I found the lower quality, lower budget, line flubs, cheesy fight scenes, iffy practical effects, etc. to all be part of the charm of the show. I'm nearing the end of season six and it's still one of my favorite things when an actors stumbles over their lines. It always makes me smile. And, honestly, with the effects, I've been really impressed more times than not.
@@BritanyBinges The line flubs do reduce quite a lot around Season 4 I think because it stopped being filmed 'live' in the way that the first 2-3 seasons were.
@@BritanyBingesif you can track down the animated reconstructions, those would help a lot. There are reconstructions from telesnaps of all the non-animated episodes, but those can be really rough, and are basically watching slideshows.
I don't know if anyone else has commented this but there are actually two versions of this pilot. Originally the first wasn't transmitted, but it is available and both versions are available on the same dvd. If the version you watched had Susan say she was born in the 49th century that was the untransmitted version.
You are going to like this era of classic Dr who because you will see the daleks and the cybermen and the middling munc and you will enjoy it because I will be following you on your journey to watch all of classic Dr who and new who
The reason the first Episode wasn't watched much was because the day it was Broadcast was the same day as JFK's Assassination. It was all over the TV News and other Programmes. When it was re-Broadcast everybody loved it. Don't forget it was actually a Children's Programme. That was the reason for the overacting. It is the only Programme in TV History that was not only allowed to break the Watershed Rules, it was expected. It was Broadcast at 5:15pm
A lot of the actors had classic theatre training as well, which encouraged overacting so audiences even from a distance could pick up the emotion they were trying to convey. The show was essentially theatre with a camera, so that thought process continued somewhat.
It's probably been mentioned already by now, but back then, things were filmed the day before they went out in near-live conditions, to the point that doing another take was unheard of. So each episode was recorded in one day, the day before it aired, and quite often, any small mistakes had to be left in the episode
I knew they couldn't do multiple takes, but I didn't realize the episodes weren't filmed until the day before they were aired. That had to have been so stressful! I love all the little mistakes and I'll honestly be a little sad when I reach the point where they were able to start doing multiple takes and we don't have them anymore.
@@BritanyBinges If you're on season 6 (I think you said you were), then I'm pretty sure you're at that point. I think they stopped the practice pretty early into the show's run, same as them wiping the tapes, which is why only the first 6 seasons are grossly affected by the missing episodes
OH HOLY SHIT I HAD NO IDEA YOU WOULD BE REACTING TO THE CLASSIC SERIES- I'm hoping you're watching all of 'em in order, bc most reactos don't do that (and ik, it's a LOT and not all are particuarly plot important but still...) even if you do skip the missing eps, but i'm a completionist and watched the still-shot reconstructions anyway.... i personally am at the beginning of season 7! excited to continue this journey with you :)
So glad you're excited about it! :) I am going in order (with the exception of Genesis of the Daleks and Terror of the Zygons because my Patrons requested that I watch those before recording the reaction to the 50th Anniversary special last month). Until the missing episodes, I had Patrons vote on which stories I should watch from each season. I believe they still had me watch most of them, though. Once we got to the missing episodes, I watched every story that was complete on the US version of Britbox. Now that I'm officially out of the missing episodes era (I believe), I'll be reacting to every story from here on out.
@@BritanyBinges One of the problems of tripping the light fantastic over those event containment dams. And with her grandfather at the helm - and being so forgetful! - you can end up anywhere and any time!
Like admittedly being born 30 years after decimalisation doesn't help but like, the old system is just confusing, like grandparents have tried to explain it and I understand to a point; 2 farthings in a half pence -> 2 half pence in a penny -> 12 pence in a shilling-> 20 shillings in a pound But after that Id always get a headache with Guineas, Half Crowns, Threepenny, Sixpences and Florins etc.
@@elliottnoad1270 Thing is, I was taught Pounds, Shillings and Pence at Primary, got used to that, then right on the cusp of going to Secondary Modern High School THEY CHANGED TO DECIMAL! I mean, how aggravating can you get?
@@elliottnoad1270 We all got little hardback books called 'Sums With The New Money' and slotted into little compartments at the back of the book were samples of the new coins. Of course we spent them!
Most of the stories are two episodes too long 😆 it's a completely different pace than what we're used to now, so need to have a lot of patience when watching these first seasons. Barbara and Ian are the perfect first companions, the first doctor will grow on you, I absolutely fell for him. Some stories are ridiculouse, but some really stand the test of time! Hope you'll enjoy the ride!
Yeah, I feel like I say, "This was a good story but it couldn't been an episode or two shorter," after pretty much every story. lol But, it's all part of the charm of the early days of the show. :) I definitely did grow to care about the first Doctor and was sad to see him leave (especially knowing the real-life reason behind it), but I still love Ian and Barbara. I'm starting the final story of season six next and they're still my favorite Classic companions so far (although I do love Jamie as well).
This story also panned when it came out. Very few watched the premiere cause they were watching the news about JFK in Dallas that had happened the day before. The show was almost cancelled. The story that comes next was what ultimately saved the show, and catapulted it into sensationalism
Great to see your reaction to this classic era of UK tv from the 60s... It was amazing they pulled it off at all, for such a low budget TV channel at the time. Great stuff for kids at the time though - going back to caveman days on their FIRST trip in the TARDIS! And it was early days for the Doctor, he was grumpy when he was young 🥰🤣(The Tenth Doctor says this much later on!)
Love the reactions. I've always found the moment where the doctor hefts the flint and checks it's striking potential as quite shocking. I think only the first episode has anything to do with An Unearthly Child so I view that as a standalone. The following 3 I consider to be The Tribe of Gum. The chronometer is faulty and hence we don't know the year, so I speculate that it could just as easily be the very distant future, where all resources are depleted. They knew about fire and maybe they had just used up their last match or disposable lighter (for instance) a few weeks before we join these people here?? Interesting to think that way I reckon. Finally, not being a patreon (sorry) I would like to ask you how you dealt with the many sadly missing episodes of the 60's run? Recon, animation or did you just skip them? Thanks for binging. 🙂
Britany reacted to the animations Patreon members thought were important for her to see (which was not all of them), and she basically read summaries of the story for the recons.
So glad you loved the reactions! Malcom is correct. I watched a few animated episodes/stories, but not too many. I did, however, read the plot summary for each one so that I can at least know when companions came and went.
I don't know how far through New Who you were at this point, but the Doctor has said many times that the TARDIS is meant to disguise itself, in Boom Town for example.
I was only a few episodes into series one of the revival at this point. I actually reference watching this story/learning this bit of information in the Boom Town reaction. :)
I've just started watching Classic Who as well. Though I enjoyed The Unearthly Child, I'm not sure these episodes would have been enough for me to keep watching had I been around to watch it when it first aired. I'm willing to watch more now as it is the classics and history of the show. Maybe a few episodes per season. I don't think I'll watch all of them as there are so many. There is a certain charm with these earlier episodes.
Yeah, I can confidently say I wouldn't have stuck with it if I wasn't reacting to it. But, now that I'm in season 7, I am enjoying it a lot more and have come to truly love some of the characters that have been in it so far.
To be honest, I much prefer the outside of the TARDIS in the Unaired Version. You should watch the Unaired Version and see if you can get ALL of the differences between the two. There are many.
Just curious since I know you've gotten past Series 8 now (I think you're on 11 if I remember right), did you pick up on the reference to the Doctor's line here "Fear makes companions of all of us" in Listen?
It's been almost five months since I watched Listen so I can't exactly remember if it rang any bells or not, but there was over a year between when I watched this story and when I watched Listen so I doubt it.
The first episode is great, but the Tribe of Gum story is one which I don't like that much. But the show early on shows its greatness, especially with the first episode, and of course, the next story.
Yeah, the difference between the first story and the second in night and day (which makes complete sense). I can definitely see why people didn't really start getting into it until The Daleks.
@@BritanyBinges Yes, the Daleks was a big surprise and really had the show take off. It also went against the original notion of the series not to have Bug-Eyed-Monsters (or similar) but once they decided to allow it just once, the show truly got to know itself that much more.
I have a soft spot for the humble beginnings of the show. Absolutely none of this would fly today, but there is something to be said for the smaller scale of things. It's one of the elements of modern who that I find tiresome is that everything is extra-super-duper galactic end of the world stuff. When in reality if you actually pull back and look at all of NuWho the strongest episodes are actually much smaller scale, dealing with only a few really well written characters... but the climax always seems to be "The ultraverse is going to get inverted and every single atom disintegrated if we don't pull this super-duper macguffin out of my pocket." Here it's... "We need to get away from these cave people before they kill us."
As others have said, the UK didn't use the decimal system of currency until 1971, so Susan was only 8 or so years out. Also, I believe the correct term for the original inhabitants of America is Native American Indians rather than Red Indians. I could be wrong though. The caveman episodes, while not the strongest, are an interesting look at political power struggles. Not the most interesting subject, admittedly, but I do like it, especially Eileen Way's Old Mother. She looks like she's carved out of cave walls themselves.
Even Native American is an outdated term now. It's been replaced with Indigenous Peoples (yes, with an "s" at the end). I did like the idea of the story in the general, and the beginning of humankind is a perfect place to start the show, but it did end up getting incredibly repetitive and drawn out. But, again, it makes sense given the time. Things weren't nearly as fast-paced then.
@@BritanyBinges I've just looked on the Smithsonian website. It turns out that the majority of the original inhabitants of America would prefer to be referred to as their specific tribes. In more general terms, American Indian or Indigenous American are more than acceptable terms, although most of them aren't bothered one way or the other as long as they're treated with respect. I do think it's the 'red' part of the name that causes the most offence. Obviously, as a non-American of any kind, I'm not qualified to pass judgement, but I hope my two penn'orth will be taken in the spirit in which it's intended. I also meant to mention that the imperial system was somewhat complicated: 12 pence = 1 shilling and 20 shillings = 1 pound (that's 240 pennies to the pound). The modern equivalent of the shilling is the 5 pence piece. Certainly in the 60s a pound could go a long way.
It's also worth pointing out that,back in 1963, the only exposure that most British writers would have had with Indigenous Americans would have been through watching Hollywood Westerns - which were decidedly biased against the Indigenous population. Hollywood (regrettably) called them 'Red Indians'; so we would therefore have done the same.
@@andrewbowman4611 I can't speak to the majority. I can only speak for myself (being part Cherokee on my grandfather's side, albeit a very small part) and the people I personally know. In those instances, the preference is Indigenous Peoples when referring to all tribes as one group. So, yes, the "red" part is especially offensive, but the association with or classification of "American" is also an issue for some given how our government has treated (and continues to treat) them. I mean, it's A LOT more nuanced than all that that, but that's not really a discussion for random comments on a TH-cam video. lol
@@iansmith4023 Right. I totally get why they used that term back then. Of course they would. It's just not the most comfortable or pleasant thing to hear. But, honestly, it's a term still used in the US. I mean one of our professional sports teams was called The Washington Redskins until 2020. Soooo, we don't even have the excuse of it being another time. 😕
Give it a few stories for DW to hit it's stride -- around "The Aztecs" or "The Keys of Marinus." At the time, there was no precedent so producer Verity Lambert and director Waris Hussein were treading totally uncharted waters. TRUST ME. The entire original 26 seasons are an absolute MUST SEE for any Doctor Who fan.
OMG classic who reaction, love it!! The seeds of death is a good one, but the next story 'the space pirates' is an episode you can completely skip if you want. 6 episodes but only episode 2 exists, and its regarded as the worst and most boring troughton episode. Remember in 'boom town' the 9th doctor explained that the outside of the tardis is meant to change as a disguise wherever it lands, but it landed in 60s london changed into a police box to blend in and the circuit got stuck, that's why its always a police box.
I actually recorded this before I had seen Boom Town. So, I didn't know that it was supposed to change when I watched this story. The US version of BritBox (where I watch Classic Who) doesn't have stories that have missing episodes. So, I'm going from The Seeds of Death to The War Games.
@@BritanyBinges ok that makes sense. The uk britbox has all the seasons in order of course but also 'extra episodes' which are surviving episodes from missing 60s stories. The war games is a big 10 episode long story, but don't worry...its epic
@@bananasaregood8655 Yeah, when I saw it had 10 episodes, I was a little worried. lol But the people on the Patreon Zoom call last month assured me it was good and worth watching. lol
@@BritanyBinges 'The War Games' is still my favourite Doctor Who story & in case you haven't finished it, I'll be circumspect in what I say. I was very lucky in that my best friend bought the video & then suggested watching it one friday evening - he'd already watched it through. We saw episodes 1 & 2 - 2 brilliant cliff hangers, the second a real 'what the hell' moment - then no further. He gave me the double box set with strict instructions NOT to look at the back, so I had no idea what was coming. As for 'An Unearthly Child', I first saw this aged 11 when BBC repeated it in 1981. I was enthralled by it, because I've always been thrilled by seeing old footage of anything from politics to sports events (to see recordings of Don Bradman or Gary Sobers play cricket) and I've always adored history. I was entranced by Hartnell's initial 'anti-hero' performance also. I'll make this point, Barbara and Ian are written sympathetic characters we instinctively trust as, obviously, they represent 'us', the audience. But imagine a grandfather faced with losing his grandchild, the last living link with his family, because of 'meddling' teachers, who knows that he can't let his TARDIS fall into the ignorant clutches of Terrans - 'the knowledge we stole but could not use' (W B Yeats). In 1963 it was destroying ourselves by nuclear war, in 2023, it's destroying our planet because we won't make sacrifices to stop climate change. Faced with the likelihood of losing our child or grandchild, what wouldn't WE do to prevent it?
Episode one is the pilot, not the broadcast version. Have the streamers replaced the broadcast version with this lately? Second reaction in a week I’ve seen that starts with the pilot and skips the proper first episode.
Wtf, you are on Season 6 already? Then, I guess we can discuss some 1st Doctor era spoilers. I really like the 1st Doctor, he starts grumpy and is having issues trusting people but he grows so much during his tenure and by the end he really becomes the Doctor. Have you watched all surviving episodes or have you been skipping some?
Yeah, by the end of Hartnell's time on the show, I really did come to care for the 1st Doctor and was sad to see him go (especially given the real-life circumstances behind the departure). During the first and second seasons, Patrons voted on the stories I reacted to. I ended up doing: An Unearthly Child (obviously, lol) The Daleks The Edge of Destruction The Aztecs Planet of Giants The Dalek Invasion of Earth The Rescue The Chase The Time Meddler Once we got into season three and fully entered the era of missing episodes, I reacted to all the ones that were complete on the US version of BritBox. I'm starting The War Games next week and, now that I'm finally past the missing episodes, I'm not sure yet if I'll go back to have Patrons vote on the stories or if I'm going to just do all of them. I'm leaning toward doing all of them.
@@BritanyBinges The quality keeps improving, at least for a while. It might be easier to just do all of them, and just skip the ones Patreons mention are not so good. The series length will eventually be half what it is now, so you will still be making good progress even if none are skipped.
You might remember the 9th doctor made kind of a reference to his granddaughter in Empty Child.
CONSTANTINE: Before this war began, I was a father and a grandfather. Now I am neither. But I'm still a doctor.
DOCTOR: Yeah. I know the feeling.
Ian and Barbara, especially Barbara imo, are so integral to the Doctor’s evolution. They managed to turn a cynical, paranoid man who was pretty indifferent and uncaring toward everything and everyone other than his granddaughter because he wanted to keep her safe into a person who puts his life on the line countless times to save others and help people out. I adore his character arc and how he slowly mellows out and becomes a lot kinder as time goes on. Genuinely, if it wasn’t for Ian and Barbara, the Doctor would not be the person we know them to be much later on in their life.
Indeed, I think one of the defining moments in these early serials is Ian basically shaming The Doctor out of a very petty decision, and that moment basically "flips on" several of the changes in the character to come. In a way, defining one of the doctor's core characteristics throughout classic and new who.
3:34 "Alive" was once commonly used to refer to machines in general and electric ones especially. The word got shortened to "live", which is how we describe electrical circuits today. (Watch out for an instance of the TARDIS controls being described as "alive" in a later episode, just before Ian gets an electric shock from touching them.)
Oxford English Dictionary: "alive = charged with electric current; connected to a source of electricity... swarming with things in motion".
Edit: I actually mis-remembered the electric shock thing, as it happens in the very first episode, as we saw. However, in a few episodes' time we see Ian stop Barbara from touching the controls because "they're alive".
32:12 Back then they used real fire so what you’re seeing is simply the reflection on the camera and the bones was real bones to even real skeleton’s and skulls
I love the First Doctor because he is just so different from all other incarnations. It's a joy to see his growth from a genuinely unpleasant, selfish figure to a kind & heroic one.
It's so cool that you like Ian and Barbara, they are my favourite Classic companions! The writing for Susan unfortunately always felt a bit lacking to me, and I much preferred when Vicki joined the crew.
I still love and miss Ian and Barbara. I was really sad to see them go.
I was sad to see Susan go because I did care about her, but I was also very much ready for it to happen. She was just too much and they definitely didn't write her character in a consistent way. I did like Vicki.
@@BritanyBinges There is definitely a version of Susan we should have seen more of. I think she's perfect in The Sensorites, for example.
@@thegentleartoffisticuffs6983 I didn't watch the Sensorites (Patrons voted on the stories I reacted to for the first few seasons and it didn't make the cut), but I did like her more when they eventually calmed her down and she wasn't screaming every two seconds. It's like they forgot all about the character they introduced in the first episode and just took her in a completely different direction. (I mean, even the actress thought so. lol)
I love seeing people's first reactions to this especially concerning the Doctor because he seems so out of character compared to how we know him in the new series, It just goes to show you how important not just Ian and Barbara were to help shaping him into a better person but also all of his companions and by the end of Hartnell's run you do start to see him becoming more of the classic hero archetype we know the Doctor to be
I completely agree! He went from being a creepy kidnapper to someone I was sad to see go. lol
Hartnell is awesome
Of course he’s barely more than a time lord child here :)
I love Ian so much because he’s the reason the doctor changed so much his heroism rubs on the doctor and teaches the doctor about humanity such a brilliant character. and also, Barbara her care for others and her determination all made the doctor, who he is today. New subscriber btw :)
I completely agree! I'm not sure who the Doctor would be today if it weren't Ian and Barbara first showing him the power of a good companion. :)
I have stopped the Classic Who reactions here on TH-cam because they just weren't getting enough views/engagement to justify continuing to edit them, but I have continued with the show over on Patreon. We're actually wrapping season 10 this week. :)
William Russell, who plays Ian, has a son, Alfred Enoch, who’s also an actor and was in the Harry Potter movies. William and his wife are really lovely people, I once had the chance to dine with them.
When I learned that he was William's son, it completely blew my mind. lol That's so cool that you got to have a meal with them! How did that happen?
@@BritanyBinges I created the first ever Doctor Who Convention in Germany in 2015 and it’s still running. I had the chance to work with a lot of Doctor Who and Torchwood actors and befriend some of them.
@@pascal-Z That's incredible! Good for you for doing that. I can't imagine how much work that must have been (and probably still is).
@@BritanyBinges it was. The first event was financed through crowdfunding and a huge success. I’ve left the company in 2019 though, after five successful events. Others are running it now. Back to more ghosthunting. ☺️
I know him from Broadchurch (with David Tennant)
Fun fact: the actor who plays Ian is still alive!
An especially fun fact for the actor who plays Ian.
And Susan as well
I always thought it would be cool to have the Doctor in the modern series meet up with his granddaughter. Bring in Susan for an episode, and have the Doctor meet her family.
RIP
Apparently all the bones in the story were real ones and would start to stink from the heat of the studio lights and the flames.
there was an unaired version of p1, but the head of drama/the person who came up with the idea of the show, Syndey Newman hated it (the doors wouldn't close properly so had stage hands trying to shut them & keep them shut) and made the cast and crew do it again, being the version that finally aired on the 23rd November (and again on the 30th before p2).
Beyond some production errors, think the only difference is that Susan says she was born the 49th Century (making home for the Doctor & Susan was 49th/50th century Gallifrey, like how for Ian & Barbra, home is 20th century Earth also meaning Captain Jack from new who is technically from the Doctors future, whereas usually its the Doctor is from the companions future) but the aired version keeps the Doctor & Susans own time secret.
I knew they filmed two versions, but I didn't know all these details. Thanks for sharing! :)
There is a much more significant difference between the original pilot and the broadcast version - the Doctor was even less co-operative and more antagonistic in the original and it was felt they needed to soften his character, which was the main reason for the reshoot.
There are other incidental differences, such as:
- in the pilot, instead of reading the French Revolution book and noticing a mistake, Susan makes an ink blot pattern on a piece of paper and draws a hexagon around it before screwing up the paper and hiding it.
- When the Doctor unlocks the TARDIS door the entire lock mechanism slides out with the key (this was an intended effect, not a dodgy prop).
- The sound effect for the TARDIS taking off is made of up a cacophony of loud beeping noises and thunderclaps, mixed in with the 'vworp vworp' sound effect we would come to know and love.
The British pre-decimal penny was a denomination of sterling coinage worth 1⁄240 of one pound or 1⁄12 of one shilling. Its symbol was d, from the Roman denarius. It was a continuation of the earlier English penny, and in Scotland it had the same monetary value as one pre-1707 Scottish shilling. The penny was originally minted in silver, but from the late 18th century it was minted in copper, and then after 1860 in bronze.
The plural of "penny" is "pence" when referring to an amount of money, and "pennies" when referring to a number of coins.[1] Thus 8d is eight pence, but "eight pennies" means specifically eight individual penny coins.
Before Decimal Day in 1971, sterling used the Carolingian monetary system (£sd), under which the largest unit was a pound (£) divisible into 20 shillings (s), each of 12 pence (d).
The penny was withdrawn in 1971 due to decimalisation, and replaced (in effect) by the decimal half new penny, with +1⁄2p being worth 1.2d.
There you go! Of course, once Susan remembered that she made an error, she read up about it all - in two seconds flat!
As someone who grew up in the Classic Who era (Sylvester McCoy, 7, was my Doctor) I really appreciate seeing reactions to the Classic episodes. Also, this may have been mentioned before - these episodes aired in late 1963, and the UK converted to a decimal currency in 1971. So by saying "not yet", Susan was right, 8 years before it actually happened!
The original Doctor Who series was geared more towards children, hence the acting choices, but the stories were not shy about getting a bit intense for kids. The weird effect around the flames was caused by being too bright for the early studio cameras, which had tube based sensors instead of microchips as used today.
It was really meant to be a family show rather than a kids show and was produced by the BBC Drama department rather than the Children's TV department.
12:28 Lore-wise, the Tardis is suppose to change to something appropriate for the time/setting. The chameleon circuit is broken.
One thing to know that will probably make a lot of the production decisions early on make sense is that Doctor Who was originally conceived as an edutainment program. The whole thing was a framing device to teach science, history, whatever else they could think of.
Susan being the one to come up with TARDIS is definitely a wishywashy thing because other Time-Lords call them TARDIS too.
Edit: Also the idea to keep it a Police Box was because they didn't have the budget to keep making the Tardis look different every time it moves.
According to the audio drama “the beginning,” Susan thought she came up with the acronym by herself. And her grandfather just didn’t have the heart to tell her otherwise
There weren't any Time Lords yet! The show hadn't invented them!
The Susan story is later retconned, like so much in this series!
She probably won a competition to name them...like a Gallifreyan Blue Peter.
I know you're much further through now but yes this opening episode for the Doctor is amazingly different to what people expect and really it is Barbara and Ian that hook you in as the people that you can relate to. Fascinating to watch 60 years on.
Yeah, Barbara and Ian were definitely my favorite part of all of the 1st Doctor's era. :)
"The oldest question":
"Eh, Doctor Who?"
"If not Doctor Foreman, Doctor Who?"
In 1981, Dr Who producer John Nathan-Turner persuaded the BBC to put out re-runs of vintage episodes - partly to sustain interest in the show, but also to remind younger viewers (I was 8) that other Doctors had existed before the recently-departed Tom Baker - and the very first serial was luckily still in the archive. This repeat season - titled 'The Five Faces of Doctor Who' - was influential in actually capturing a whole generation of young fans at that time. And, for better and for worse, it's the reason I am still here today. William Hartnell was a veteran British actor who had parts in UK films dating back to the early 1930s and was initially unconvinced by the idea, but his ability (and actual intrinsic insecurity) turned the part into a minor phenomenon in the UK - probably the largest it would enjoy until it re-emerged in the mid 2000's.
My son had a hard time watching these old episodes. I told him to pretend he was watching a high school stage play. You'll see stiff performances (by today's standards) wobbly sets, cheesy costumes, little mistakes in dialogue, etc. Keep in mind, too, that the show was absolutely geared towards children. But the up-side of watching them is to see the world of the Doctor get built brick by brick. You will start to recognize call-backs in the modern Who that you didn't know were call-backs. It's really fun.
The "wobbly sets, cheesy costumes, little mistakes in dialogue, etc." are part of the charm of the show for me. :)
I recorded these reactions when I was only just a few episodes into series 1 of the revival and I've already gotten some of the callbacks. :)
I mean it's a show made for 2300 pounds. Compare that very modest budget to something like Twilight Zone, or just a few years later with Star Trek where it was several factors more expensive, it's actually incredible that the production crew managed to do as much as they did with such a modest production budget. Even then, for a major science fiction show 2300 pounds is nothing.
The Doctor's personality changes each time he changes. He started as a mysterious, crotchety old man.
In the beginning, the writers hadn't figured out everything about the Doctor. They don't name the planet immediately.
A Tardis has the ability to camouflage itself into the environment. However, he "borrowed" this one from the repair shop! And that factory standard control room will begin to customize itself to the Doctor's personalities...
The year 0 doesn't exist. 1 BC turned into 1 AD. Jesus' parents were born in BC. Their divine son was born in 1 AD.
The Tardis, malfunctioning, lost track of where it was going...
I think every Doctor has something special about them. In my mind the first Doctor stands out for his growth. He's the Doctor when he was fresh, just left Gallifrey with his granddaughter, the reason changes every time we hear the story, so who knows what the truth is. In a stolen TARDIS. He's a grumpy hermit, who doesn't care for people. But through his travels with Susan, Ian, and Barbara, he comes to see the universe in a new light, and he becomes that hero we know.
How I view Classic Who is its more like theatre than the modern series, you're more aware that it's actors on a stage and have to embrace that difference.
Oh, that's a great way of looking at it! For me, "seeing the strings" so to speak and watching the actors flub their lines is all part of the charm. :)
In the original pilot the Doctor was even more aloof/impersonal, so much so that William Hartnell (the First Doctor) was very unhappy with the characterisation as he felt that the Doctor should be more of a kindly grandfather figure. As a result a second version of the pilot was filmed resulting in the episode everyone knows of An Unearthly Child. The Doctor is still slightly cold/impersonal/aloof but slowly starts to unbend leading to a much gentler characterisation (for the most part) in later stories.
The fire looks odd because early video cameras and videotape had a limited 'breadth' of sensitivity, much like early photographs sometimes showed the yellow or red parts of a scene as black (this can be seen on many photos of military uniforms from the late 19th century and early 20th century photos).
Too bright a light on videotape would register as black on that videotape, and this can also be seen in video shot during recent wars, with bright lights at night appearing black with white around the edges.
Interesting! Thanks for this explanation! :)
The way shows were done back then was like theatre the actors would have to wait for their turn and the fx was done live in real time any mistakes done by the cast and crew would be left in so they had to improvise story’s would always be in short parts think of it like one Morden size episode in parts
Its so slow but ive grown to really like this series by near the end. I can't wait to progress through all the doctors
What this story did was to establish the key concept; that the Tardis travels in time and not just in space. In dealing with the tribe, the writer avoided characterising them as simple but reflected the reality that tribal societies often have complex power structures and conflict.
Given the tiny budget the show does remarkably well and the interior of the Tardis is still effective--to be honest I prefer the clean lines of the classic console room.
Incidentally, the odd visual on the flames was caused by the cameras basically overloading--the bright spots exceeded the dynamic range of the sensors. You can see the same effect if you look back at music shows of the period when spotlights are caught in the camera's view.
One thing that Who did rather differently than most serial dramas of the time was character development. At the time characters tended no to change within the run of a show. Here, however, we already see the character of the Doctor beginning to change. Whether this was planned, in response to feedback on the character or simply a result of having different writers for each story, the effect is that, over time, all the regular characters develop in believable ways. Remember that 'in universe' this is the first prolonged exposure the Doctor has to human companions and apparently the first time he has faced physical peril; "Fear makes companions of us all".
Famously, the UK switched to decimal currency in 1971, ahead of its accession to the European Economic Community. This was in the air much earlier, but there was still no actual guarantee Susan's prediction would come true!
Welcome to the very beginning of Doctor Who 😊.
The first episode aired on the same night as the John F. Kennedy assasination no one was tuning in that night as the news really shook the world at the time so they had to re-broadcast this story a week later during the filming of the second episode of "The Daleks" the cast and crew were still in shock about the news but had to soldier on in character but you probaly notice abit of intense going on.
The TARDIS disguising itself where ever it lands was also explained in "Boom Town" of NuWho where The Ninth Doctor explains to Mickey why his TARDIS looks like a Police Box that explanation is shown here.
I love the original Doctor Who theme better than NuWho in my opinion because it's alot more creepier and scarier as a kid watching this this theme always use to scare me.
The fire why it looks weird is because of the studio lighting and camera as this was filmed on videotape which was disposable.
Re-takes were also very expensive in those days at the BBC so the actors had to perform like it was live and filming episodes had time limits so they had to get on with it very quickly which is very hard work and is why you'll notice abit of camera shakes and wobbly acting Hartnell struggled to remember his lines.
Classic Who a LONG and rewarding journey missing episodes (some have been animated) well worth the years it will take new who often references classic who and seeing both is so satisfying some reactors have completed the journey others are still on it ....enjoy the ride we will love your reactions
Is it just me, @ 4:40 the Doctor says “Oh, am I” sounds just like Tom Baker
Or Tom sounds like Hartnell
As a physics teacher myself, I naturally consider Ian to be perhaps the greatest companion the Doctor ever had. ;)
I'm glad to see that you enjoyed this, the original, story. I'll always remember the first time I watched it, circa 1990 on VHS, and I watch episode 1 most every WHO DAY, 23 November.
It's fun to watch the actual first version of Unearthly 1, to see how different it was compared to the version that went to air. Also amazing that the episode still survives when so much has been lost.
32:17 That look with the fire is from the limitations of technology at the time. This was pretty common for video at the time.
The Tardis is supposed to change its appearance. It's mentioned in modern Who that it's broken.
I recorded this reaction soon after starting the revival. So, this was actually the first time I got this information. :)
I saw this when it first appeared on the television in the 60s. The scrapyard appears more than once in later series with later Doctors. I like to think that the name on the gate: "I.M. Foreman" as in: I'm For Man. Meaning that however crotchety the Doctor is, he really does have a desire to protect the human race.
Welcome to the Whoniverse! You picked the PERFECT time to check out the fantastical adventures of The Doctor as this year is the 60th Anniversary!!!!
Susan says she made up the TARDIS's name herself.
British acronyms are capitalised in the 1960s like RADAR (Radio Direction and Ranging) LASER (Light Amplification through Stimulated Emission of Radiation, as are codenames, such as Operation OVERLORD from 1944.
The Doctor calls 'the ship' as in any vehicle that doesn't roll along on wheels, a British English definition, then a 'Time Capsule' (like the space capsules of the 1960s), and even later it's called a 'TT travel machine'.
Later it's called 'a type 40', then other variations.
Basically, it's a Time Travel machine, and was already out of date and in for repairs when stolen.
When the Daleks build one in the near future for the Doctor, they call it a 'Time Capsule' as well.
Later we will be introduced to a SIDRAT or two. ;-)
I always think Susan is explaining the concept of an acronym, as Barbra says she doesn't understand, rather than saying she named the TARDIS.
It was an instant success. It was a children's show remember.
Presumably the reason the knowledge was not passed down was because the possibilities were not yet fully understood by man. It wasn't until the tribe was *_without_* fire that they realized how dependent they had become on it. During the period this story is set, only one primitive human had "discovered" how to make fire, and it was probably entirely by accident. Also, life expectancy was very short back then, so it's likely that Za's father - the only one who made fire - died before he could pass the knowledge on to others. No reading or writing back then so the only way to record information was to show others how you did it and hope they understood.
Ian and Barbara were being intrusive. The Doctor was right to be defensive.
They were concerned about their student who, as far as they knew, was a 15 year-old girl; especially when they found out her "home" was a literal junk yard. They were right to look into things.
@@BritanyBinges I see both as being in the right. While understandably the Doctor was angry at them barging in, they did it to make sure Susan was alright.
@@neptune04 I can see that. The Doctor nothing was wrong so, of course, he was upset about the intrusion. But, Ian and Barbara didn't know nothing was wrong so, of course, they had to look into it further.
Can't wait to finally see you watch Classic Who. This entire time I've just been checking patreon for your progress but can't wait to actually see the reactions! Though I'd be lying if i said i wasnt waiting even more to finally see your reactions to 12 since he is my favorite, but considering TH-cam is only on series 3, gonna be one heck of a wait. Too bad not every story can be watched but I'll watch the reactions to any episode I have seen to its not too bad. Cant wait to see more ^w^
Yeah, Patreon only just got to 12 a couple of weeks ago so it's going to be a bit of a wait to see him here on TH-cam. lol I appreciate you being here and being willing to wait it out (both for 12 and for Classic reactions)!
OMG You're doing classic too?! I can't wait to watch this!
Admittedly the quality is a lot lower but its interesting to see what TV used to be like back in the 60s
I agree. I wasn't that heavily invested in the characters at first (and I'm just ending the era of all the missing episodes so that's been making it difficult to be emotionally connected as well), but I found the lower quality, lower budget, line flubs, cheesy fight scenes, iffy practical effects, etc. to all be part of the charm of the show. I'm nearing the end of season six and it's still one of my favorite things when an actors stumbles over their lines. It always makes me smile. And, honestly, with the effects, I've been really impressed more times than not.
@@BritanyBinges The line flubs do reduce quite a lot around Season 4 I think because it stopped being filmed 'live' in the way that the first 2-3 seasons were.
@@BritanyBingesif you can track down the animated reconstructions, those would help a lot. There are reconstructions from telesnaps of all the non-animated episodes, but those can be really rough, and are basically watching slideshows.
I don't know if anyone else has commented this but there are actually two versions of this pilot. Originally the first wasn't transmitted, but it is available and both versions are available on the same dvd. If the version you watched had Susan say she was born in the 49th century that was the untransmitted version.
You are going to like this era of classic Dr who because you will see the daleks and the cybermen and the middling munc and you will enjoy it because I will be following you on your journey to watch all of classic Dr who and new who
The reason the first Episode wasn't watched much was because the day it was Broadcast was the same day as JFK's Assassination. It was all over the TV News and other Programmes. When it was re-Broadcast everybody loved it. Don't forget it was actually a Children's Programme. That was the reason for the overacting. It is the only Programme in TV History that was not only allowed to break the Watershed Rules, it was expected. It was Broadcast at 5:15pm
A lot of the actors had classic theatre training as well, which encouraged overacting so audiences even from a distance could pick up the emotion they were trying to convey. The show was essentially theatre with a camera, so that thought process continued somewhat.
It's probably been mentioned already by now, but back then, things were filmed the day before they went out in near-live conditions, to the point that doing another take was unheard of. So each episode was recorded in one day, the day before it aired, and quite often, any small mistakes had to be left in the episode
I knew they couldn't do multiple takes, but I didn't realize the episodes weren't filmed until the day before they were aired. That had to have been so stressful! I love all the little mistakes and I'll honestly be a little sad when I reach the point where they were able to start doing multiple takes and we don't have them anymore.
@@BritanyBinges If you're on season 6 (I think you said you were), then I'm pretty sure you're at that point. I think they stopped the practice pretty early into the show's run, same as them wiping the tapes, which is why only the first 6 seasons are grossly affected by the missing episodes
He DOES eventually become loveable
Agreed. :)
The journey starts here…a journey which was only going to shown for six weeks. Thank you
OH HOLY SHIT I HAD NO IDEA YOU WOULD BE REACTING TO THE CLASSIC SERIES- I'm hoping you're watching all of 'em in order, bc most reactos don't do that (and ik, it's a LOT and not all are particuarly plot important but still...) even if you do skip the missing eps, but i'm a completionist and watched the still-shot reconstructions anyway.... i personally am at the beginning of season 7! excited to continue this journey with you :)
So glad you're excited about it! :)
I am going in order (with the exception of Genesis of the Daleks and Terror of the Zygons because my Patrons requested that I watch those before recording the reaction to the 50th Anniversary special last month).
Until the missing episodes, I had Patrons vote on which stories I should watch from each season. I believe they still had me watch most of them, though. Once we got to the missing episodes, I watched every story that was complete on the US version of Britbox.
Now that I'm officially out of the missing episodes era (I believe), I'll be reacting to every story from here on out.
Susan was a few years out. The UK's monetary system changed to Decimal in February 1971. In 1963 we were Pounds, Shillings and Pence. Oops!
Yeaaahhhh, Susan wasn't the greatest at blending in. lol But, she was young.
@@BritanyBinges One of the problems of tripping the light fantastic over those event containment dams. And with her grandfather at the helm - and being so forgetful! - you can end up anywhere and any time!
Like admittedly being born 30 years after decimalisation doesn't help but like, the old system is just confusing, like grandparents have tried to explain it and I understand to a point; 2 farthings in a half pence -> 2 half pence in a penny -> 12 pence in a shilling-> 20 shillings in a pound
But after that Id always get a headache with Guineas, Half Crowns, Threepenny, Sixpences and Florins etc.
@@elliottnoad1270 Thing is, I was taught Pounds, Shillings and Pence at Primary, got used to that, then right on the cusp of going to Secondary Modern High School THEY CHANGED TO DECIMAL! I mean, how aggravating can you get?
@@elliottnoad1270 We all got little hardback books called 'Sums With The New Money' and slotted into little compartments at the back of the book were samples of the new coins. Of course we spent them!
Most of the stories are two episodes too long 😆 it's a completely different pace than what we're used to now, so need to have a lot of patience when watching these first seasons.
Barbara and Ian are the perfect first companions, the first doctor will grow on you, I absolutely fell for him.
Some stories are ridiculouse, but some really stand the test of time!
Hope you'll enjoy the ride!
Yeah, I feel like I say, "This was a good story but it couldn't been an episode or two shorter," after pretty much every story. lol But, it's all part of the charm of the early days of the show. :)
I definitely did grow to care about the first Doctor and was sad to see him leave (especially knowing the real-life reason behind it), but I still love Ian and Barbara. I'm starting the final story of season six next and they're still my favorite Classic companions so far (although I do love Jamie as well).
Jamie is awesome. Him and Two have such perfect chemistry on screen together
This story also panned when it came out. Very few watched the premiere cause they were watching the news about JFK in Dallas that had happened the day before. The show was almost cancelled. The story that comes next was what ultimately saved the show, and catapulted it into sensationalism
Great to see your reaction to this classic era of UK tv from the 60s...
It was amazing they pulled it off at all, for such a low budget TV channel at the time.
Great stuff for kids at the time though - going back to caveman days on their FIRST trip in the TARDIS!
And it was early days for the Doctor, he was grumpy when he was young 🥰🤣(The Tenth Doctor says this much later on!)
This would've been mind-blowing as a kid when it first came out, I'm sure.
Love the reactions. I've always found the moment where the doctor hefts the flint and checks it's striking potential as quite shocking. I think only the first episode has anything to do with An Unearthly Child so I view that as a standalone. The following 3 I consider to be The Tribe of Gum. The chronometer is faulty and hence we don't know the year, so I speculate that it could just as easily be the very distant future, where all resources are depleted. They knew about fire and maybe they had just used up their last match or disposable lighter (for instance) a few weeks before we join these people here?? Interesting to think that way I reckon. Finally, not being a patreon (sorry) I would like to ask you how you dealt with the many sadly missing episodes of the 60's run? Recon, animation or did you just skip them? Thanks for binging. 🙂
Britany reacted to the animations Patreon members thought were important for her to see (which was not all of them), and she basically read summaries of the story for the recons.
@@MalcolmWolf Thanks
So glad you loved the reactions! Malcom is correct. I watched a few animated episodes/stories, but not too many. I did, however, read the plot summary for each one so that I can at least know when companions came and went.
"...two episodes too long" A common issue with classic Doctor Who lmao
Yeah, I end up saying, "I feel like this could have been an episode or two shorter," fairly regularly with Classic Who. lol
But you have to remember this wasn't made to be binged watched these episodes came out week to week.
The tardis changein is what the ninth doctor said in boom town the cameloncercuit
The Great Styrofoam Rock. Very difficult to move.
He was more like a figure like Captain Nemo.
I don't know how far through New Who you were at this point, but the Doctor has said many times that the TARDIS is meant to disguise itself, in Boom Town for example.
I was only a few episodes into series one of the revival at this point. I actually reference watching this story/learning this bit of information in the Boom Town reaction. :)
@@BritanyBinges Cool. It's a while since I watched that one.
I've just started watching Classic Who as well. Though I enjoyed The Unearthly Child, I'm not sure these episodes would have been enough for me to keep watching had I been around to watch it when it first aired. I'm willing to watch more now as it is the classics and history of the show. Maybe a few episodes per season. I don't think I'll watch all of them as there are so many. There is a certain charm with these earlier episodes.
Yeah, I can confidently say I wouldn't have stuck with it if I wasn't reacting to it. But, now that I'm in season 7, I am enjoying it a lot more and have come to truly love some of the characters that have been in it so far.
Oh i m so happy you react to Classic too
For me Classic is more hard to follow because 1 storie is multiple episode 😅
It takes abit of patience.
To be honest, I much prefer the outside of the TARDIS in the Unaired Version. You should watch the Unaired Version and see if you can get ALL of the differences between the two. There are many.
fantastic reaction
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it! :)
Just curious since I know you've gotten past Series 8 now (I think you're on 11 if I remember right), did you pick up on the reference to the Doctor's line here "Fear makes companions of all of us" in Listen?
It's been almost five months since I watched Listen so I can't exactly remember if it rang any bells or not, but there was over a year between when I watched this story and when I watched Listen so I doubt it.
@@BritanyBinges fair enough 😅
The first episode is great, but the Tribe of Gum story is one which I don't like that much. But the show early on shows its greatness, especially with the first episode, and of course, the next story.
Yeah, the difference between the first story and the second in night and day (which makes complete sense). I can definitely see why people didn't really start getting into it until The Daleks.
@@BritanyBinges Yes, the Daleks was a big surprise and really had the show take off. It also went against the original notion of the series not to have Bug-Eyed-Monsters (or similar) but once they decided to allow it just once, the show truly got to know itself that much more.
@@hornorsilk2901 Yeah, I can't imagine what Classic Who (or even the revival) would be without all the "bug-eyed-monsters". lol
I have a soft spot for the humble beginnings of the show. Absolutely none of this would fly today, but there is something to be said for the smaller scale of things. It's one of the elements of modern who that I find tiresome is that everything is extra-super-duper galactic end of the world stuff. When in reality if you actually pull back and look at all of NuWho the strongest episodes are actually much smaller scale, dealing with only a few really well written characters... but the climax always seems to be "The ultraverse is going to get inverted and every single atom disintegrated if we don't pull this super-duper macguffin out of my pocket." Here it's... "We need to get away from these cave people before they kill us."
As others have said, the UK didn't use the decimal system of currency until 1971, so Susan was only 8 or so years out. Also, I believe the correct term for the original inhabitants of America is Native American Indians rather than Red Indians. I could be wrong though.
The caveman episodes, while not the strongest, are an interesting look at political power struggles. Not the most interesting subject, admittedly, but I do like it, especially Eileen Way's Old Mother. She looks like she's carved out of cave walls themselves.
Even Native American is an outdated term now. It's been replaced with Indigenous Peoples (yes, with an "s" at the end).
I did like the idea of the story in the general, and the beginning of humankind is a perfect place to start the show, but it did end up getting incredibly repetitive and drawn out. But, again, it makes sense given the time. Things weren't nearly as fast-paced then.
@@BritanyBinges I've just looked on the Smithsonian website. It turns out that the majority of the original inhabitants of America would prefer to be referred to as their specific tribes. In more general terms, American Indian or Indigenous American are more than acceptable terms, although most of them aren't bothered one way or the other as long as they're treated with respect. I do think it's the 'red' part of the name that causes the most offence. Obviously, as a non-American of any kind, I'm not qualified to pass judgement, but I hope my two penn'orth will be taken in the spirit in which it's intended.
I also meant to mention that the imperial system was somewhat complicated: 12 pence = 1 shilling and 20 shillings = 1 pound (that's 240 pennies to the pound). The modern equivalent of the shilling is the 5 pence piece. Certainly in the 60s a pound could go a long way.
It's also worth pointing out that,back in 1963, the only exposure that most British writers would have had with Indigenous Americans would have been through watching Hollywood Westerns - which were decidedly biased against the Indigenous population. Hollywood (regrettably) called them 'Red Indians'; so we would therefore have done the same.
@@andrewbowman4611 I can't speak to the majority. I can only speak for myself (being part Cherokee on my grandfather's side, albeit a very small part) and the people I personally know. In those instances, the preference is Indigenous Peoples when referring to all tribes as one group. So, yes, the "red" part is especially offensive, but the association with or classification of "American" is also an issue for some given how our government has treated (and continues to treat) them. I mean, it's A LOT more nuanced than all that that, but that's not really a discussion for random comments on a TH-cam video. lol
@@iansmith4023 Right. I totally get why they used that term back then. Of course they would. It's just not the most comfortable or pleasant thing to hear. But, honestly, it's a term still used in the US. I mean one of our professional sports teams was called The Washington Redskins until 2020. Soooo, we don't even have the excuse of it being another time. 😕
Give it a few stories for DW to hit it's stride -- around "The Aztecs" or "The Keys of Marinus."
At the time, there was no precedent so producer Verity Lambert and director Waris Hussein were treading totally uncharted waters.
TRUST ME. The entire original 26 seasons are an absolute MUST SEE for any Doctor Who fan.
Thanks for this! I actually just started season 7 over on Patreon earlier this week. :)
Episode 1 is great. Caveman parts drag a little but arent bad just abit weak.
OMG classic who reaction, love it!! The seeds of death is a good one, but the next story 'the space pirates' is an episode you can completely skip if you want. 6 episodes but only episode 2 exists, and its regarded as the worst and most boring troughton episode. Remember in 'boom town' the 9th doctor explained that the outside of the tardis is meant to change as a disguise wherever it lands, but it landed in 60s london changed into a police box to blend in and the circuit got stuck, that's why its always a police box.
I actually recorded this before I had seen Boom Town. So, I didn't know that it was supposed to change when I watched this story.
The US version of BritBox (where I watch Classic Who) doesn't have stories that have missing episodes. So, I'm going from The Seeds of Death to The War Games.
@@BritanyBinges ok that makes sense. The uk britbox has all the seasons in order of course but also 'extra episodes' which are surviving episodes from missing 60s stories. The war games is a big 10 episode long story, but don't worry...its epic
@@bananasaregood8655 Yeah, when I saw it had 10 episodes, I was a little worried. lol But the people on the Patreon Zoom call last month assured me it was good and worth watching. lol
@@BritanyBinges parts 2 and 3 might be a little slow, but it gets sooo interesting!! Nothing is what it seems
@@BritanyBinges 'The War Games' is still my favourite Doctor Who story & in case you haven't finished it, I'll be circumspect in what I say. I was very lucky in that my best friend bought the video & then suggested watching it one friday evening - he'd already watched it through. We saw episodes 1 & 2 - 2 brilliant cliff hangers, the second a real 'what the hell' moment - then no further. He gave me the double box set with strict instructions NOT to look at the back, so I had no idea what was coming.
As for 'An Unearthly Child', I first saw this aged 11 when BBC repeated it in 1981. I was enthralled by it, because I've always been thrilled by seeing old footage of anything from politics to sports events (to see recordings of Don Bradman or Gary Sobers play cricket) and I've always adored history. I was entranced by Hartnell's initial 'anti-hero' performance also. I'll make this point, Barbara and Ian are written sympathetic characters we instinctively trust as, obviously, they represent 'us', the audience. But imagine a grandfather faced with losing his grandchild, the last living link with his family, because of 'meddling' teachers, who knows that he can't let his TARDIS fall into the ignorant clutches of Terrans - 'the knowledge we stole but could not use' (W B Yeats). In 1963 it was destroying ourselves by nuclear war, in 2023, it's destroying our planet because we won't make sacrifices to stop climate change. Faced with the likelihood of losing our child or grandchild, what wouldn't WE do to prevent it?
Episode one is the pilot, not the broadcast version. Have the streamers replaced the broadcast version with this lately? Second reaction in a week I’ve seen that starts with the pilot and skips the proper first episode.
Yes, they have. US streaming services start with this version, not the original one.
Decimal currency not in uk till 1971🎩
Wtf, you are on Season 6 already? Then, I guess we can discuss some 1st Doctor era spoilers.
I really like the 1st Doctor, he starts grumpy and is having issues trusting people but he grows so much during his tenure and by the end he really becomes the Doctor.
Have you watched all surviving episodes or have you been skipping some?
Yeah, by the end of Hartnell's time on the show, I really did come to care for the 1st Doctor and was sad to see him go (especially given the real-life circumstances behind the departure).
During the first and second seasons, Patrons voted on the stories I reacted to. I ended up doing:
An Unearthly Child (obviously, lol)
The Daleks
The Edge of Destruction
The Aztecs
Planet of Giants
The Dalek Invasion of Earth
The Rescue
The Chase
The Time Meddler
Once we got into season three and fully entered the era of missing episodes, I reacted to all the ones that were complete on the US version of BritBox.
I'm starting The War Games next week and, now that I'm finally past the missing episodes, I'm not sure yet if I'll go back to have Patrons vote on the stories or if I'm going to just do all of them. I'm leaning toward doing all of them.
@@BritanyBinges The quality keeps improving, at least for a while. It might be easier to just do all of them, and just skip the ones Patreons mention are not so good. The series length will eventually be half what it is now, so you will still be making good progress even if none are skipped.
"Different time"?????? Wow you maybe from a different time from reality.
It's fascinating how Delia Derbyshire created the theme music. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who_theme_music