Wednesday 13 April 2016

ANALYTICAL: PROGRESSIVE DOCTORS 2: THE FIRST DOCTOR - PART 1

We return you, now, to our Progressive Doctors Series: an examination of incarnations of the Doctor that go through significant character growth.  Our first episode looked at the Doctor's most current body. Now, we go all the way back to the beginning. 

There are some basic "rules" as to what qualifies as a truly Progressive Doctor. Here's a link to the first part where those rules are contained therein.

http://robtymec.blogspot.ca/2016/02/analytical-progressive-doctors-part-1.html

I should also note that the First Doctor is, without a doubt, the most Progressive of them all. It's going to take two parts to cover everything properly. 


PROGRESSIVE DOCTORS: PART 2

THE ORIGINAL, YOU MIGHT SAY

As "clunky" and dated as those first few seasons of Doctor Who look, I treasure them (and, of course, seethe in anger over the number of episodes that were deleted). While there have been many tales of Bill Hartnell being not particularly easy to get along with, we can see that this role meant the world to him. After many years of being typecast in some very unchallenging material, he was finally given something with some real meat. And he took that bull by the horns as he portrayed this mysterious character who captured the imaginations of the British public. Every second that he is on the screen - he is giving it his all.

At the same time, though, a production team is offering their own one-hundred-and-ten percent effort to the project. It's like everyone knows they have something special on their hands. In truth, no one actually had the faintest glimmer that the show would last as long as it has . But they're making it as if, someday, it will have the legacy it currently possesses. And it's a beautiful thing to see.

One of the best ways in which we see these ideologies reflected is in the character of the Doctor, himself. While he is, now, commonly referred to as "The First Doctor" - back then, no one knew Hartnell would be turning into Pat Troughton after a few seasons. So, in his actual era, he was just The Doctor. A time traveler we knew little or nothing about. The actor and the various production teams that he worked with took it upon themselves' to put some serious concentration into the development of the character. As the Doctor traversed the Vortex, he went on an enormous personal journey, too. In fact, no other incarnation has gone through as much character growth as the original has.

It would be safe to say that no other Doctor is as Progressive as the First.

STREAMS

There is such a high abundance of that character growth in the Hartnell Era that it would be immensely difficult and convoluted to try to chart it all at once (I still seriously considered it - just to try to show off my "chops" as a writer). In order to make it easier to analyze, I've divided this essay into two specific "Streams". We'll follow two succinct character traits that develop the most prominently over the course of three-seasons-and-then-some period that the First Doctor exists in. It will just make the whole Progression easier to view and understand.

With both of these streams, I will try to illustrate key points where that trait underwent some serious expansion. As usual, there will be times when these turning points were influenced by external factors. While, on other occasions, these emotional growth spurts were the result of an internal decision made on the Doctor's behalf.

But before we get to the streams, let's look at the First Doctor's starting point:

STARTING POINT

At the very beginning, the Doctor was far from likeable. He was, in fact, a legitimate anti-hero. It seems almost odd that it's his name in the title sequence. Of the four main characters featured in An Unearthly Child, the Doctor is the least accessible. Perhaps, even, the least interesting. Certainly the least charming.

Of course, the sequence that best shows us just how rotten of a fellow the Doctor is occurs in Episode Three of his first adventure. Lumbered with the inconvenience of an injured caveman that he does not want to help because it will slow down his escape, the Doctor actually appears to be making a move to kill him. That's the sort of fellow he is back when we first meet him. It's hard to believe he would ever be this way - given how high-principled and genuinely good-hearted he is, these days. But that's how he started.

His callousness doesn't stop, there. In the next story, he campaigns to get a race of peace-loving people to fight on his behalf to recover his fluid link. In the story after that, he is ready to just fling Ian and Barbara out of the TARDIS into what appears to be a fairly hostile environment.

Basically, in his first few stories, he is just not a pleasant man .

Yes, there do seem to be hints of a better person somewhere beneath it all. In many ways, he seems to side with what is right. Given that he has a ship that can take him anywhere in Time and Space, he could be up to far more malicious things than just exploring. But this man who would, someday, champion the cause of good against the most oppressive of evils does not seem the slightest bit nice. It's hard to believe he will be any sort of hero at all. At least, not at this stage of the game.

STREAM 1: THE MORAL COMPASS

As a fan of the show who was not there at the very beginning, it was quite the shock to go back and watch the first few stories. The Doctor I'd first met (if you read an earlier post - you'd know it was Tom Baker) was a high-principled being who always fought for what's right. But this is not the Doctor we're seeing at the opening of the Hartnell Era. However, by the time his reign comes to an end, the morals we see him upholding for the rest of the show are firmly in place. So let's see where those turning points occur.

While we don't see the Doctor partaking in anything particularly malicious in his fourth adventure - he also doesn't seem to be portraying any firm moral backbone, either. He just wants to get his TARDIS back from Marco Polo and move on. Any decisions he makes that may have an influence on the cause and effect of the situation come from a largely selfish motive. Essentially, the Doctor is not doing anything particularly "bad" in this story - but he isn't doing anything particularly good, either.
The Keys Of Marinus, to all intents and purposes, is the first occasion where we see any real development in the moral code of the Doctor. At first, he still seems pretty ambiguous in his ethics. The Conscience of Marinus is usually the type of computer that he would express considerable outrage against. But, in his initial appraisal, he seems almost impressed with a device that is capable of controlling the minds of others. He also only offers his help to Arbitan because, like Marco Polo, he has cut him off from his TARDIS. So there's still no real sense of a Doctor who wants to do good.

It is only as he re-joins the party at Millenius that we first see a real sense of that heart of gold shining through. Ian has been accused of a crime he hasn't committed and will be sentenced to death if he's found guilty. Who comes forward to represent him pro bono? The Doctor, himself! If we look at the way he was during An Unearthly Child, he should not care one bit about Ian's problem. It's his own predicament. Perhaps, after Susan argued on the schoolteacher's behalf, her grandfather might decide to help him. But that's not what we see. The Doctor is more than willing to represent Ian at his trial. He not only wants to help his friend - he needs to see that justice is properly served. This is the first real sense of right or wrong that the Time Lord seems to be exhibiting. It's further re-enforced as he makes a pronouncement at the end of the story that the Conscience of Marinus is wrong. That people should be allowed to think for themselves'.

That trial at Millenius will also be discussed in our Second Stream. We will see some external influence having a bearing on how his attitude changes. But, for the most part, this first sign of the Doctor's morals seems to be more of an internal choice. He's just decided that it's time to start taking sides. To start standing up for certain principles.

STAYING UNINVOLVED

While he is starting to develop a moral compass, there is still a strong impulse that stops the Doctor from acting too much on anything he believes in. As a time traveler, the Early Days First Doctor emphasizes most heavily the importance to never damage the Web of Time by getting too involved in things. In his eleventh body, he delivers a speech to Amy at the beginning of The Beast Below that delves into this philosophy quite heavily. He very quickly shows, however, that he doesn't truly follow this ideology. All it takes is a crying girl for him to leap in and start trying to influence things for the better. But back in his first incarnation, it's a concept he adheres to with an almost white-knuckled conviction.

He presents this argument most strongly in his next story. There is much about Aztec culture that a modern day Doctor would deeply object to. Even the First Doctor seems to find this culture's love of torture, war and religiously-justified murder repugnant. But he insists to Barbara that they must allow these people to conduct themselves' in the ways they see fit. His famous "You can't re-write history - not one line!" speech is delivered, here. And it seems to almost be a mantra that he continues to follow for several more stories. Even in The Sensorites, the help he offers to the telepathic aliens is much like the involvement he has with Marinus and Marco Polo - he's doing it only to get his TARDIS back. In stories like The Reign of Terror, Planet of Giants and even Dalek Invasion of Earth, the plot is more about a TARDIS crew that's caught in a nasty situation and is just trying to get out - rather than a group of people that have arrived at a place where an evil is at work that they feel they must fight it.

However, we do observe the Doctor showing some desire to see justice served. While Planet of Giants is still mainly about the TARDIS crew trying to restore themselves' to normal size, the Doctor does want to report to the proper authorities that a man has been murdered. We see this need for justice grow even stronger in the next story. The return of the Daleks would probably represent the first real external influence in propelling the Doctor's moral impetus. He knows these creatures are nothing but evil and he takes a very strong stance against them. Particularly at the beginning of Episode Two. Strongly disputing the Daleks' claim of being "the Masters of Earth" is not the smartest thing one should do against such a hot-tempered species, but the Doctor's sense of right and wrong has become too pronounced. He must vocalize his contrary stance. In so doing, he is also showing his first real sense of moral backbone. He's going to get involved and try to change things for the better. It's a fairly pivotal moment for him that is prompted purely by the fact that these creatures are evil and must be stopped. For once, it's not an internal force compelling him - but circumstances outside of him.

We see one more key element of the Doctor's integrity shine through in this tale. As the Doctor and Susan take to the sewers with David Campbell, they run back into Tyler. A short while later, they also run into two Robomen. One is killed, the other disabled. As Tyler aims his pistol to dispatch the unconscious Dalek servant, the Doctor stops him. "I only take life when it directly threatens mine", he declares. That wasn't the case at the beginning of the show. He has most definitely grown in his attitude. He has also developed one of the most important elements in his core philosophy: the need to preserve life at all costs. It's almost a throwaway moment in Dalek Invasion of Earth, but it's a sequence that displays a key point in the Doctor's moral growth.

Ultimately, though, we could argue that a lot of what the Doctor does in this story is still just a course of action that will enable him to eventually unearth his buried TARDIS. There is still some selfish intent, there - it's not purely an act of good. As we move on to The Rescue there's little opportunity for him to really act out of a moral motivation. Koquillon/Bennet is a nasty fellow - but the fight he takes up against him is more a struggle for self-preservation than it is an attempt to see justice served. Still, the confrontation in the council chamber of Dido shows a Doctor who is standing up to a villain and calling him out on the carpet. It's a step in the right direction...

THE ROMANS - FAR MORE PIVOTAL THAN YOU WOULD EXPECT

Who would've thought that such a goofy little farce would be such a vital turning point for the Doctor's ethics? But as he and Vicky are on the road to Rome, they find the body of Maximus Pettulian. When the Doctor is mistaken for him, he decides to assume the role. He and Vicki become embroiled in politics at Nero's royal court.

And why does he do this? Well, there may be several reasons. But the one he explicitly states to Vicki is a desire to see justice served over the murder of Maximus Pettulian's death. There is probably also a bit of an interest in being able to get so close to a famous historical figure. But still, this is the first time we see the Doctor want to do something good without any real personal reward at stake. This isn't like The Keys of Marinus or The Sensorites, where he's lending a hand to regain access to his TARDIS. Or Dalek Invasion of Earth where he's fighting an evil monster who is, at the same time, posing a threat to his own personal safety. He's really quite selfless, here.

While his companions have, no doubt, been influencing him to become more and more humane - this still seems to be a decision drawn mainly by internal motives and not external influences. The Doctor has just decided to become a better person. To do good wherever he goes.

He also revokes his credo to never get involved in a pretty big way. In stories like The Aztecs and The Reign of Terror he is doing his damnedest to stay out of history's path. Here, he becomes partially responsible for one of the most famous disasters in human history.

It is in The Romans that we see the first seeds truly planted that will eventually grow into the Doctor we see nowadays: a man who always gets involved and tries to bring about positive change wherever he goes.


THE NEXT TURNING POINT

Perhaps the burning of Rome set a bit of a scare into the Doctor and he relapses for a bit. In Historicals like The Crusade, he reverts back to just being a man who is merely trying to survive during a turbulent time in the past. He does not attempt to influence things for the better. In stories like The Web Planet, The Space Museum and The Chase, any good he does is for the sake of looking after his own needs and/or safety.

It is only as we reach the end of Season 2 that we see him acting, once more, from a non-selfish standpoint. Another wrong must be righted and he doesn't care what good it might do for him. It just needs to be fought.

This time, it seems like an external influence that's motivating him. But it's not the guidance of a good friend. But, rather, the machinations of one of his own people. The latest evil that the Doctor feels he must stamp out is a plot by the Monk to change history. More than likely, the Doctor's own sense of obligation to see that the Web of Time isn't damaged is what gets him to start getting involved, again. But, after several stories of remaining on the sidelines and only effecting change if it benefits him, he needed something major to break the habit.

As Season Two wraps up, the Doctor's morals are becoming a major part of who he is.


IN PRAISE OF THE DALEKS

Galaxy Four sees a Doctor who is acting mainly under threat, but we still see him take great personal risk to ensure that Rills can launch their ship before the planet is destroyed. Mythmakers doesn't give much opportunity for him to show off his ethics, but he does become involved in another pivotal historical moment -  he comes up with the idea for the Trojan Horse.

Dalek Masterplan, however, really puts the Doctor's moral streak to the forefront. Just as they did on Earth in the 22nd Century, the Daleks' plans for conquest galvanize the Doctor's ethics. But, whereas he merely told off the Daleks in Dalek Invasion of Earth, this time he openly fights them. In Episode Two, he willingly disguises himself as Zephron and becomes embroiled in a protracted counterplot against the Daleks' Time Destructor Project. He could've looked for a way out and left things to Bret Vyon. That might have been something he would've done back at the beginning of Season 1. But that's not the Doctor, anymore. Now, he's a man who steps in and gets involved. When Bret praises him for his courage - he even shrugs it off.

The Doctor's desire to always do what's right has become so deeply ingrained that he's, now, willing to sacrifice himself to accomplish it. In the final episode of Dalek Masterplan, he's ready to die as he activates the Time Destructor and carries it off. We see the Doctor's morality come to full bloom, here. He is now willing to die for his beliefs.

Onwards from this 12-part Dalek Epic, he is the Doctor we currently know and love. His courage and moral fortitude are the very core of who he is. And if he needs to become involved to make a difference - he will do so. Oddly enough, he should be thankful to the Daleks. They are the ones chiefly responsible to turning him into the man he is.

THE ROAD TO REGENERATION

Aside from a bit of caution that he reluctantly shows in The Massacre, the Doctor continues to seek justice wherever he goes. He fights the oppression of the Monoids, the Elders and WOTAN. He even interferes in history a bit during The Gunfighters. He does actually try to plead for peace among the participants of the gunfight at the OK Corral. It's an event that he knows must happen but he still tries to apply his morals to the situation. If only Barbara had been around to see it!

After a quick little runaround of little consequence on the 17th Century Cornish Coast, we arrive at The Tenth Planet. Many fans complain of the Doctor not being more involved in the story. That he should've had a greater role to play in the defeat of the Cybermen. But from the point of tracking his moral compass, this is an excellent final story for Doctor One.

While he may not have done much to make a difference, the Doctor's ethics are proudly on display in this story. Understanding that Mondas has returned to Earth, he very quickly asserts himself into a position of influence to help with the battle.  There is no hesitancy to become involved - he must help Earth in its time of need. As the Cybermen arrive in Episode Two, the Doctor stands up to them and berates them constantly for their deplorable behavior. It's the best he can do under the circumstances - but it's beautiful to watch. He is a man who can no longer ignore his conscience and must always speak out in the name of righteousness. Even when surrounded by enemies that could easily kill him, he's not afraid to stand up and be heard.

It is true, he doesn't do much to tip the scales in The Tenth Planet. But he's won a much bigger fight in this story. He's defeated his own sense of indifference.

He has truly become the Doctor.



So, that's Stream 1 clearly charted. When we re-join the Progressive Doctors Series, we'll look at the development of a character trait that we also watched grow in Doctor Twelve. The "softening" of the character. Moments where the First Doctor became less and less abrasive and learnt to actually bond with the people around him. It was quite the process for Capaldi's Doctor - it's an even bigger journey for Hartnell. 

Stay tuned... 


(Just in case you want to read the Twelfth Doctor Essay and are too lazy to scroll up to the top of the page, here's that link again):

http://robtymec.blogspot.ca/2016/02/analytical-progressive-doctors-part-1.html










2 comments:

  1. You bring up some very good points here. I will be looking forward to seeing what you come up with for Troughton and the others.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sadly, according to my definition, Troughton doesn't qualify as a Progressive Doctor. Sorry!

      Delete

Thanks for the comment! It will be posted shortly...