Top Five Stories: The First Doctor

Tonight we meet the latest Doctor, and I’ll geek out about it in tomorrow’s post, but today’s is about the man who started it all.  Although One isn’t my favorite – that initial crankiness and crotchetiness almost feels like cognitive dissonance now – I still enjoy his era.  It’s so cool to watch the show find its feet, and One has a dynamite trio of companions right out of the gate (it’s just possible that you’ll find them heavily represented below.)  Here are my favorites of his:
 

“The Aztecs” (Series 1, Episodes 28-31)

 

The early years of Who had some nice pure historicals, entertaining adventures in the past with no alien involvement whatsoever.  This is one of them, not to mention a rare occurrence of the TARDIS seeking an Earth locale outside of Western Europe and the U.S.  Barbara is mistaken for a goddess and tries to change history, Ian lays the smackdown on some Aztec warriors, and the Doctor accidentally gets engaged.  What else could you possibly want?

 

“The Dalek Invasion of Earth” (Series 2, Episodes 4-9)

 

This Dalek story has some great tension, as everyone’s favorite genocidal pepper pots take over the Earth of the future, and the Doctor, Susan, Ian, and Barbara aid the resistance movement.  Barbara executes one of the most badass Dalek take-outs ever performed, and the final scene between the Doctor and Susan is gorgeous.

 

“The Reign of Terror” (Series 1, Episodes 38-43)

 

Team TARDIS visits the French Revolution!  Perfect vacation spot, right?  Another pure historical, and a terrific one.  It’s sadly incomplete, but the DVD has animated reconstructions of the two missing episodes.  Anyway, we get a fabulous disguise by the Doctor, and everyone tries to make it out with their heads still attached.  Good, suspenseful drama, and 18^th century France put less of a strain on the show’s budget than certain other settings, so the episodes look pretty great too.

 

“The Space Museum” (Series 2, Episodes 26-29)

 

Susan had left the companion trio by this time, but Vicki is a nice addition to the group.  In this serial, the dynamic quartet gets a glimpse of their own future when the TARDIS jumps a time track and they see themselves in suspended animation as museum exhibits.  Their efforts to prevent the future from happening make for an interesting, creative story.

 

“The Romans” (Series 2, Episodes 12-15)

 

One more pure historical to finish things off – they really helped keep the format fresh.  Here, the gang gets into trouble in ancient Rome.  There are unspeakably cute scenes between Ian and Barbara (they so got together in the end, right?), companions getting thrown to the lions, cases of mistaken identity, and a fire that the Doctor had absolutely nothing to do with.  Simply wonderful.