Change for the Good
Man, has it been 50 years since the first change takes place on Doctor Who. I know that is a rhetorical question but why not ask it. While searching for something to write about today I ran across this article. The writer tells of the day that Doctor Who changes the face of television and the main character of the show.
What did this mean for the show and its fans. I know as a fan I always wonder what the face change means for the Doctor. Is he going to be funny, serious, egotistical, mean and whatever other emotion you can think of. Here lately, I am trying to watch a few of the clips from the Second Doctor, just to get a better idea of his character and how well he plays the role. The First and Second Doctors are the ones I am less familiar with and really want to get to know them better.
At the time of the first regeneration the Doctor’s background is truly a mystery. The audience does not have a clue about his home planet or race. They have some idea about the TARDIS and that he travels through time and space. But that is about all. The show has not come that far at this point in the life of the show. Therefore at this time they do not have a clue the show will last 50 years and have 13 different actors to portray the Doctor.
Change for Doctor Who is a good thing though. What seems to be the one thing that change does is keep the audience coming back year after year. There are millions of fans across the world and if they are like me they can’t wait for new episodes, companions, enemies, and Doctors. But it is sad to see one Doctor leave so that a new one can take over.
As a fan, I watch television and there are shows which lose their popularity and there does not seem to be a way to revive that popularity. At the time that the show runner chooses to change actors, the ratings are falling William Hartnell’s health is failing. According to the article Hartnell’s attitude also plays a part in the decision.(1) I read somewhere else that Hartnell’s health was a big reason for him not being able to continue the role.
The move to make a change in the lead for the show is a stroke of genius. Even though I am not very familiar with either of these two Doctors, I can say it was a great idea. This move has allowed millions of new fans to see the show for fifty years now. In the newspaper below, you even see where this change is announced. I am guessing for 1966 this is big news.
“Interviewed in 1986 for Fantasy Empire by John Peel, Troughton said: “I didn’t think it was a particularly good idea of the BBC to replace Billy. I thought it was pretty silly, really. I thought that the difficulties of selling it to the audience were enormous … almost insurmountable. However, in the end, I was persuaded over a week of negotiations, and I thought, ‘What the heck, let’s do this for a while and see what happens’.”(2)
Yeah, Patrick Troughton has a big job after the change. He is the first to have to fill the shoes of a man who plays the same character as he does. Therefore, he must play the role at his best. Hartnell may have never saw this coming. He also never knew he will be replaced, but the change was what the show needed.