"I'd like to see a butterfly fit into a chrysalis case after it's spread its wings."
TECHNICAL SPECS: Aside from a few brief clips, the episode (indeed, the entire serial) is missing from the archives. I have used a reconstruction. First aired Nov.5 1966.
IN THIS ONE... The second Doctor's first appearance, but the colony on Vulcan think he's the Examiner come to inspect the Dalek capsule they've found.
REVIEW: The first regeneration is complete. Patrick Troughton is now the Doctor. And he's immediately wonderful, even without the full video. Wish we had it though. The pictures taken of this episode give him an impish look, and he does seem to tease his companions a lot, but in the short clips we have, you can tell there's a dark side bubbling underneath, whenever the Doctor goes quiet. Somehow, he's brought back mystery to the Doctor, the same kind of mystery present in An Unearthly Child. We know this new man is the Doctor, not just by virtue of hindsight, but because he sees the old Doctor in the mirror, and he remembers old adventures. But Ben and Polly don't share his point of view in the mirror, and weren't in those adventures, so it's far more ambiguous for them. And the Doctor isn't making it easy on them either, talking about himself in the third person and answering question with sharp flute sounds. They may well believe him to be some kind of impostor. Ben's questions (he's more a doubting Thomas than Polly is) have a function - it's not taken for granted that we'll accept this new character as the Doctor, so we're brought along on Ben and Polly's journey to accept him. Brilliant!
The Doctor, too, is discovering who he is, and it's a concept that will be repeated through all the post-regeneration episodes. He gives up the emblems of his old self, like the ring, and forages for new ones, a recorder, a diary and an outrageous hat. His impishness is disarming, but the fact that he's an unknown quantity makes him dangerous. He's also got an acid wit and a way with a turn of phrase. This was Hartnell's weakness, I think, especially in science fiction scenarios where the bafflegab never sat well with him. Troughton is more of an improviser, and finds a way to make even the scientific dialog work for him.
And of course he IS an impostor. He may be the Doctor, but he isn't the Examiner everyone on the Vulcan colony thinks him to be (or as Ben reminds us, all but the Examiner's murderer does). Vulcan is an interesting looking planet, with strange rock formations, mercury swamps and gas geysers putting our heroes in danger. I'm almost sorry to see them go inside where blank walls are the norm. The colony comes ready-made with a full cast of guest-stars who are obviously hiding something, or several somethings. And the Dalek capsule isn't even it. Like the Doctor, they've got secrets and are being evasive. And guess what, the Daleks will be the same. Writer David Whitaker ties everything into that theme. One of the Daleks' secrets is revealed however as we get our first shot of a naked Dalek mutant. In The Daleks, we saw a claw. Here, they are the tentacular blobs we still know. If this is all set-up, I can't wait to see what's next.
THEORIES: For regeneration trackers, the 2nd Doctor definitely thanks the TARDIS for his ability to "rejuvenate" himself (he's using Ben and Polly's words) and says he couldn't survive without it.
VERSIONS: There is animated version of this now out on DVD, in both black and white and color (the latter makes Polly and Ben look like they're wearing Star Trek uniforms, on the planet Vulcan no less). These are relatively stiff and I wish awkward silences were just cut instead of showing useless reaction shots. It includes a pre-credits sequence of the TARDIS in the Antarctic, and the first Doctor's regeneration.
REWATCHABILITY: High - It's a crying shame Troughton's first story was wiped from the archives because even without the original video, it's a great start. The best post-regen stories are the ones where you immediately accept the new Doctor, and Troughton did it first.
TECHNICAL SPECS: Aside from a few brief clips, the episode (indeed, the entire serial) is missing from the archives. I have used a reconstruction. First aired Nov.5 1966.IN THIS ONE... The second Doctor's first appearance, but the colony on Vulcan think he's the Examiner come to inspect the Dalek capsule they've found.
REVIEW: The first regeneration is complete. Patrick Troughton is now the Doctor. And he's immediately wonderful, even without the full video. Wish we had it though. The pictures taken of this episode give him an impish look, and he does seem to tease his companions a lot, but in the short clips we have, you can tell there's a dark side bubbling underneath, whenever the Doctor goes quiet. Somehow, he's brought back mystery to the Doctor, the same kind of mystery present in An Unearthly Child. We know this new man is the Doctor, not just by virtue of hindsight, but because he sees the old Doctor in the mirror, and he remembers old adventures. But Ben and Polly don't share his point of view in the mirror, and weren't in those adventures, so it's far more ambiguous for them. And the Doctor isn't making it easy on them either, talking about himself in the third person and answering question with sharp flute sounds. They may well believe him to be some kind of impostor. Ben's questions (he's more a doubting Thomas than Polly is) have a function - it's not taken for granted that we'll accept this new character as the Doctor, so we're brought along on Ben and Polly's journey to accept him. Brilliant!
The Doctor, too, is discovering who he is, and it's a concept that will be repeated through all the post-regeneration episodes. He gives up the emblems of his old self, like the ring, and forages for new ones, a recorder, a diary and an outrageous hat. His impishness is disarming, but the fact that he's an unknown quantity makes him dangerous. He's also got an acid wit and a way with a turn of phrase. This was Hartnell's weakness, I think, especially in science fiction scenarios where the bafflegab never sat well with him. Troughton is more of an improviser, and finds a way to make even the scientific dialog work for him.
And of course he IS an impostor. He may be the Doctor, but he isn't the Examiner everyone on the Vulcan colony thinks him to be (or as Ben reminds us, all but the Examiner's murderer does). Vulcan is an interesting looking planet, with strange rock formations, mercury swamps and gas geysers putting our heroes in danger. I'm almost sorry to see them go inside where blank walls are the norm. The colony comes ready-made with a full cast of guest-stars who are obviously hiding something, or several somethings. And the Dalek capsule isn't even it. Like the Doctor, they've got secrets and are being evasive. And guess what, the Daleks will be the same. Writer David Whitaker ties everything into that theme. One of the Daleks' secrets is revealed however as we get our first shot of a naked Dalek mutant. In The Daleks, we saw a claw. Here, they are the tentacular blobs we still know. If this is all set-up, I can't wait to see what's next.
THEORIES: For regeneration trackers, the 2nd Doctor definitely thanks the TARDIS for his ability to "rejuvenate" himself (he's using Ben and Polly's words) and says he couldn't survive without it.
VERSIONS: There is animated version of this now out on DVD, in both black and white and color (the latter makes Polly and Ben look like they're wearing Star Trek uniforms, on the planet Vulcan no less). These are relatively stiff and I wish awkward silences were just cut instead of showing useless reaction shots. It includes a pre-credits sequence of the TARDIS in the Antarctic, and the first Doctor's regeneration.
REWATCHABILITY: High - It's a crying shame Troughton's first story was wiped from the archives because even without the original video, it's a great start. The best post-regen stories are the ones where you immediately accept the new Doctor, and Troughton did it first.
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