| Season Start: | 23 November 1963 | | Season End: | 12 September 1964 | | Season Length: | 43 Weeks | | Actual Weeks: | 42 Weeks | | Writers: | Anthony Coburn, CE Webber, David Whitaker, Dennis Spooner, John Lucarotti, Peter R Newman and Terry Nation | | Directors: | Christopher Barry, Frank Cox, Henric Hirsch, John Crockett, John Gorrie, Mervyn Pinfield, Richard Martin and Waris Hussein | | Producer: | Verity Lambert | | Associate Producer: | Mervyn Pinfield | | Story Editor: | David Whitaker | | Visual Effects: | The Visual Effects Department of the BBC | | Title Sequence: | Bernard Lodge | | Title Music: | Ron Grainer and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Arranged by Delia Derbyshire |
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Incarnation of the Doctor: |
The First Doctor
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| Number of
Companions: |
3 |
| The
Companions: |
Susan, Barbara Wright (Joins) and Ian Chesterton (Joins)
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| Number of
Stories: |
8
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| Number of
Incomplete/Missing Stories: |
2
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| Number of
Episodes: |
42
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| Number of
Incomplete/Missing Episodes: |
9
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| Percentages: |
| Full Stories Held | 75% | | Episodes Held | 79% |
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| Doctor Who Magazine Poll (1998) | | | Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2009) | | | Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2014) | |
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 'It all started out as a mild curiosity in the junkyard and now it's turned out to be quite a great spirit of adventure.'
The Doctor
(The Sensorites) |
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| The TARDIS Console Room |
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By the end of its first season, Doctor Who had proved itself a big success, due in no small part to the phenomenal impact made by the Daleks.
Despite adjustments made in the wake of the Daleks' unexpected popularity the stories of the first season had quite faithfully adhered to the format originally laid down for the series. There had been a few developments. The most notably of which was the character of The Doctor. He had mellowed considerably so that, by the end of the run, there was little doubt that he was a champion for good.
As a second season was definitely on it was decided that the last two stories made as part of the first production block were to be held back so that they could be used to launch Season Two which would be starting after only a gap of seven weeks.
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| Barbara meets a Dalek |
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When Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright first enter the TARDIS and find that they are not in an ordinary Police Telephone Box, but in a much larger room than is possible. Something which for Ian and Barbara was a complete shock. The same could be said for the viewers watching this first episode for the very first time in 1963 ("An Unearthly Child").
When Barbara meets a Dalek for the first time, while The Doctor and his companions are investigating an apparently deserted city. As they walk down the bare corridors eyestalks high up on the walls follow their every move. Later, separated from the others, and unknown to Barbara as she proceeds shutters are silently closing behind her. When she reaches a junction she turns only to realise that the path back to the exit is now blocked off. She panics and starts to run down the only remaining corridor. Eventually Barbara reaches a dead end and turns only to find that she is trapped by another shutter closing. As she fights for her breath and tries to calm herself a panel opens and a mechanical arm advances towards her ("The Daleks").
The Doctor and his friends fear for Susan's life when she is tempted by the Sensorites to join them in an airlock. As Susan tries to reassure her friends that she wants to go with them, so as to promote trust between them, The Doctor intervenes saying that the Sensorites must prove trust as well as demand it. The Doctor's words anger Susan and they have a fierce argument. She says she is tired of being treated like a child, but The Doctor commands her to leave the Sensorites and come to him. After a tense moment, she does so. ("The Sensorites").
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| Threatening Daleks |
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The highest point must be when the first ever monster appeared in the second story. Despite the decree that there was to be no 'bug eyed monsters' the Daleks changed the future of Doctor Who forever. They proved to be so popular that they not only returned for another 4 stories with the first Doctor but throughout every other incarnation of The Doctor. It is also reported that if it was not for the success of the Daleks then the show would not have continued beyond the initial 13 episodes that were planned.
The lowest point has to be the last three episodes of the very first story. After such a terrific start and introduction to the main characters and the main theme in the first episode the first trip in the TARDIS takes the viewer in the world of the prehistoric cave man with not even a dinosaur in sight. With only the animal grunts and instincts of the tribe and the time spent trying to escape from their incarceration in a dreary cave it seemed that the show had lost its way before it had even started. Thankfully the very next story changed all that.
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The Firsts:
The very first Doctor Who story. The first episode was broadcast on 23rd November 1963. (An Unearthly Child)
The first words spoken in the show were by Barbara (to an oov Susan) "Wait in here please, Susan. I won't be long". (An Unearthly Child)
The first appearance of the Daleks. (The Daleks)
The first Doctor Who story to be written by Terry Nation. (The Daleks)
The first (and only) story to contain just the regular cast. (The Edge of Destruction)
The first Doctor Who story to be watched by more than 10 million viewers. (The Edge of Destruction)
The first truly historic Doctor Who story. (Marco Polo)
The first Doctor Who story to be completely missing from the BBC archives. (Marco Polo)
The first Doctor Who story where a companion attempts to change history. (The Aztecs)
The first time that The Doctor’s home planet of Gallifrey is mentioned (though not by name). (The Sensorites)
The first story that is only partially held. It is complete except for episodes four and five. (The Reign of Terror)
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| Doctor Who CMS Magazine (An Adventure in Space and Time) | Season 1 Special Release | | Doctor Who Magazine - Article | Issue 113 - (Released: June 1986) | | Doctor Who Magazine - Episode Guide | Issue 138 - (Released: July 1988) | | Doctor Who Magazine - Countdown to 50 | Issue 430 - (Released: February 2011) |
| Title | Release Date (UK) | Format | Source | Companions | | Doctor Who and the Daleks | 1965 | Film (Based on the TV story "The Daleks") | Aaru Production | The Doctor (Peter Cushing), Susan (Roberta Tovay), Barbara (Jennie Linden) and Ian (Roy Castle) | | The Masters of Luxor | August 1992 | Script | Titan Script Book | Susan, Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton | | The Sorcerer's Apprentice | July 1995 | Novel | The Missing Adventures | Susan, Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton | | The Witch Hunters | March 1998 | Novel | The Past Doctors Stories | Susan, Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton | | The Last Days | March 1998 | Short Story | Short Trips | Susan, Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton | | City at World's End | September 1999 | Novel | The Past Doctors Stories | Susan, Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton | | Nothing at the End of the Lane | March 2000 | Short Story | Short Trips and Side Steps | Susan, Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton | | Mire and Clay | June 2003 | Short Story | The Big Finish Short Trips 3: A Universe of Terrors | Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton | | The Thief of Sherwood | April 2004 | Short Story | The Big Finish Short Trips 6: Past Tense | Susan, Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton | | Sloth: The Duke’s Folly | March 2005 | Short Story | The Big Finish Short Trips 12: Seven Deadly Sins | Susan, Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton | | The Mother Road | March 2006 | Short Story | The Big Finish Short Trips 16: Farewells | Susan, Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton | | The Ruins of Time | September 2006 | Short Story | The Big Finish Short Trips 18: Time Signature | Susan, Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton | | Room for Improvement | June 2007 | Short Story | The Big Finish Short Trips 20: Destination Prague | Ian Chesterton | | Tell Me You Love Me | December 2007 | Short Story | The Big Finish Short Trips 22: The Ghosts of Christmas | Susan, Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton | | Here There be Monsters | July 2008 | Audio | The Big Finish Audio Stories (Companion Chronicles) | Susan, Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton | | Transit of Venus | January 2009 | Audio | The Big Finish Audio Stories (Companion Chronicles) | Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton | | Farewell Great Macedon | November 2010 | Audio | The Big Finish Audio Stories (The Lost Stories) | Susan, Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton | | Fragile Yellow Arc of Fragrance | November 2010 | Audio | The Big Finish Audio Stories (The Lost Stories) | Susan, Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton | | The Masters of Luxor | August 2012 | Audio | The Big Finish Audio Stories (The Lost Stories) | Susan, Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton |
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The Doctor and Companions| |  | | The First Doctor |
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 | | Susan |
|  | | Barbara Wright |
|  | | Ian Chesterton |
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Magazines | | Doctor Who CMS Magazine (An Adventure in Space and Time): Season 1 Special Release |
|  | | Doctor Who Magazine - Article: Issue 113 |
|  | | Doctor Who Magazine - Episode Guide: Issue 138 |
|  | | Doctor Who Magazine - Countdown to 50: Issue 430 |
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(Position = 15 out of 31)
(Position = 20 out of 36)
