DOCTOR WHO: SEASON-BY-SEASON - SEASON ONE

When you've been writing a Doctor Who Blog for nearly 8 years, it's important to keep doing things to keep it fresh. So, here is a new undertaking that I will be working on over the next little while. I will still be peppering the site with my usual entries, but I will also be posting these on a regular basis. 

Until, of course, I get through all the seasons!   

It is clear from all the massive hype that Doctor Who's 60th anniversary is on its way (personally, I would have been happier if they had concentrated harder on promoting Jodie's farewell but I get why the Beeb is doing things this way). No doubt, we are eagerly anticipating it. Many of us even do interesting things in preparation for it. I know I certainly do! 

When the show hit its 50th, I decided to watch every episode in existence. Oddly enough, though, I did it out of order. I started with the Doctor who had the least amount of stories and went all the way to the longest-running one. So I began with Paul McGann and finished with Tom Baker. With a bunch of "Three Season Doctors" in between (and a few who had a slightly different longevity)!  

This time round, I'm watching things in proper order. From Unearthly Child to Whatever Jodie's Last Story Will End up Being Called... And, quite possibly, beyond that. Since I am watching the show chronologically this time, I thought: "I should use this, somehow, in my blog!"  Really, anything I do that's Who-related, I try to incorporate into this silly little hobby of mine! 

So, every now and again, I will simply post my sentiments on the latest season I have completed. With a good 38 seasons, this venture will probably take some time. Hopefully, you'll enjoy the ride! 

SEASON ONE: 

"It's the Daleks!" most fans will tell you, "If they hadn't come in during the second story and captured the imagination of the British Public, the show would not have become what it is today." 

It's an argument that's difficult to contradict. Certainly, the Skarosian Meanies are responsible for a lot of the show's early success. They really did earn themselves a special place in the hearts of the 60s Viewing Public. Their resemblance to Nazi fascists certainly resonated with a society that was still quite fresh from the scars of World War II. And, of course, they were great fun for kids to imitate on the playground. These factors (and more) were key in creating the "Dalekmania" that TV historians and fans, alike, are so keen to reference in discussions about the show's most early days. And none can deny the huge influence the Daleks would have on Doctor Who's most formative years. 

But the Daleks only appear for a handful of episodes in Season One. There's a whole lot more going on that I think also contributes to the show doing as well as it has. 

Quite simply, Season One is rather magnificent. 

It does stumble in places - even in An Unearthly Child. That first episode is most engaging. But then the Cavemen Politics that ensue in the next three parts aren't exactly the most exciting content. There's still some interesting stuff that goes on - particularly the Doctor thinking about killing the wounded caveman - but it does feel quite flat, in places. 

The Daleks, themselves, add to this problem. The first four or five parts of their story are quite brilliant. The debate that ensues after the Doctor realizes he's left his fluid link behind is probably the high point of the season. It really is a gorgeous scene that is both well-acted and well-written. It's quite impressive that an ethical debate in a sci-fi adventure series can actually be so enjoyable. 

But once the debate is over, the tale tends to peter off into some rather bog-standard adventure-serial narration. Which only does so well on a low budget. Those caves that they must assail for quite some time, for instance, come across as looking cheap rather than dark and ominous.   

For the first little while, it's safe to say that Doctor Who is on some pretty shaky ground. The story-telling is rather hit-or-miss as the show takes its first few steps. 

But then we start getting to the Historicals. 

The BBC was already well-known for its ability to re-create the past convincingly. So the visuals improve dramatically. Great sets and costumes run abound. But TV can only succeed so well on good aesthetics, alone. There needs to be more. 

Fortunately, the show brought in John Lucarotti as well Terry Nation. 

To me, Lucarotti makes as valuable of a contribution to the first season of the show but doesn't get a tenth of the recognition he deserves. Nation tends to steal all the thunder! 

It's difficult to say much on Marco Polo. What I've seen from telesnaps and audio or even the novelisation does seem to indicate it was a very solid tale that may have dragged just a little bit in places. But it still maintains a steady quality throughout. We don't get the peaks and valleys we were getting earlier in the season. There's a lot more consistency, here. 

But then we get to The Aztecs. Now we really start to appreciate what Lucarotti delivers. 

The Aztecs, to me, is the first Doctor Who story that truly deserves the label of "Classic". It is a wonderful tale with near-lyrical dialogue and wonderful plot twists. There is a genuine Shakespearean quality to it. It really is so well-written that I'm willing to compare it to the works of the Bard! This is the jewel in the crown of Season One. I could fill up this whole entry by just talking about how much I love this Historical. Instead, though, I'll move on. 

Getting Dennis Spooner to compose the last Historical of the season was a very good move. He not only delivers a good plot but also writes in a very different style. The Reign of Terror is dark and gritty and has an emphasis that is unique from the other Historicals of the season. This really is about the TARDIS crew needing desperately to get out of the time period they're stuck in. 

Which brings us neatly to what I think is the strongest quality of Season One: Diversity. The show is trying desperately to find its formula in this season. In doing so, it goes in all sorts of different directions. It explores a wide range of themes and ideas. Some of which we will rarely see again (the Doctor having a love life, for instance!). Others will become critical elements of the core premise. But giving us such a variety of styles really makes the whole thing feel very well-rounded. I do believe that if Doctor Who had tried to streamline itself too much at this stage, it might not have lasted as long as it did. 

The Daleks did certainly help with its success. No doubt, there. But making the adventures so diverse and giving us some pretty high-caliber story-telling contribute just as strongly to its success.   

THE NOT-SO-POPULAR STUFF

Clearly, there are some stories to this season that I haven't mentioned. I don't, necessarily, intend to talk about every single tale in a season when I do these reviews, but this whole entry would feel a bit skewed if I don't bring these other adventures up a bit. 

Keys Of Marinus is probably the first time 60s Who participates in a phenomenon that I simply label: Biting Off More Than It Can Chew. The scope of the plot is just a bit too big for the budget to handle and there are some moments where it feels more like we're watching Plan 9 From Outer Space than Doctor Who. There will be far worse examples of this in the next season, but it does happen a bit, here, too. 

But I also think Marinus is great fun. Some very imaginative ideas are at work in the adventure. They're not always executed so well - but, overall, it's an enjoyable romp. 

Fans don't seem to speak so favorably of The Sensorites. I'm not sure why. The most common complaint is that it seems to move too slowly. To which I respond: "Which story in Season One doesn't move a bit too slowly?!" It might have been better if Verity Lambert had either hired more writers to create shorter stories or just taken on less episodes, in general. Even four-parters seem to struggle a bit in places to provide enough plot to fill the run-time. A lot of this, I think, had to do with financial restraints. You can only make your stories so exciting when working on a shoe-string budget. Inevitably, you have to create scenes with characters just standing around and talking a lot! Padding, at this stage of the show, seemed a bit unavoidable. And, apparently, that padding is much more noticeable in The Sensorites than it is in the other stories this season. 

To some extent, I agree with this sentiment. There are moments where the tale really does drag. However, for the most part, The Sensorites is actually impressing me. 

We will talk endlessly of the brilliance of Malcolm Hulke in days to come. How he created these beautiful aliens who were three-dimensional characters. Like humans, some leaned towards peaceful intentions while others were more malevolent. And the humans, themselves, weren't always such good guys in Malcolm's plots. 

As great of a job as Hulke did at accomplishing this sort of characterization, it all happened in The Sensorites, first. Peter R. Newman, essentially, gives us Silurians long before they're even a twinkle in Hulke's eye! While there are some problems with pacing, Sensorites frequently comes across as maturely-written sci fi that was probably even a bit ahead of its time. 

In my opinion, at least. I don't know. Maybe it is slow and I'm just too patient with it!

And then, finally, there's that hastily-written two-part filler we like to call The Edge of Destruction (or is it Brink of Disaster?!  I can never remember!). Here is where I think we really see evidence of the quality of work that went into making this first season. This story had every right to fall flat on its face. It was thrown together in a last-ditch attempt to fill two more episodes. The TARDIS was the only set available. The four leads were the only characters the writer could work with. 

And yet, most of it stands up pretty good! It does still drag hideously a bit here and there (which is extra impressive for a two part story!) - but it's also quite intriguing during other moments. It's even a bit creepy and disturbing, in places. The coda that's added with the Doctor apologizing to Barbara is a particularly poignant moment. For the first time, the Doctor is moving from anti-hero into something softer...

FINAL VERDICT

I will be the first to say: Season One is far from being perfect. In several different ways, it's off to a fairly shaky start (not just because it was dwarfed by the news of Kennedy's assassination). The Historicals seem to shine the most brightly but the low budget imposes some difficult limitations on every episode. Which interferes quite a bit with the overall narrative process. 

But even the weaker offerings of the season still have quite a bit of charm to them.  The production team is still clearly trying to make the best possible program that they can - even with all the obstacles that get thrown at them. And, for the most part, they succeed. There is a lot to love, here. Not just the Daleks. 

There would be better seasons to come, of course. But this one is still quite solid. In fact, it's the best for quite some time. And that really is one of the greatest sources of the show's longevity: Season One is an extremely sturdy foundation upon which the rest of the show could build itself.  

First Season reviewed. I'll work on some other stuff for a bit while I get through Season Two. Making my way through The Web Planet even as I write this!