Following on from Matt Farr, this is a brief discourse on my favourite episodes for each of the Doctors, together with a few thoughts on the Doctors themselves.
The First Doctor (William Hartnell)
The First Doctor is a fairly unique entity within the ranks of Doctors, in part of course because the concept was unformed when the episodes were being made. That he was intelligent and from a highly-advanced civilisation was there, but the Time Lords wouldn't get a mention until the very end of the Troughton period and of course regeneration only came in with Hartnell's departure. He displays some unusual attributes - a ruthlessness at odds with many later incarnations (although less so the Sixth, Seventh and Tenth), the most pronounced uncertainty in controlling the TARDIS, and a calculating disregard for his companions' safety if it gets in the way of his scientific curiosity (which would be replaced in later versions with a reckless disregard for his own safety and, by extension, his friends).
There are also some very strange episodes, with the likes of The Celestial Toymaker and Land of Giants introducing early some of the cosmic whackery that would always haunt the excessive edges of the series.
The Dalek Invasion of Earth
For me, the best of the First Doctor is The Dalek Invasion of Earth. The use of blasted London is excellent, the plot draws on classic 'la resistance' concepts, and in particular the desperation of the rebels - best exemplified in the way that they cling to their hopes for their new bombs - are done well, and the sacrifices made by various characters feel real and relevant (where some Who serials just seemed to throw minor characters at the bad guys until the screaming stopped). The three companions are well-used, there are a few good twists and only one very ropy monster, and the inclusion of Dalek collaborators and a shady black marketeer prevent the story being one-dimensional.
It also includes Susan's departure scene, which I adore.
The First Doctor (William Hartnell)
The First Doctor is a fairly unique entity within the ranks of Doctors, in part of course because the concept was unformed when the episodes were being made. That he was intelligent and from a highly-advanced civilisation was there, but the Time Lords wouldn't get a mention until the very end of the Troughton period and of course regeneration only came in with Hartnell's departure. He displays some unusual attributes - a ruthlessness at odds with many later incarnations (although less so the Sixth, Seventh and Tenth), the most pronounced uncertainty in controlling the TARDIS, and a calculating disregard for his companions' safety if it gets in the way of his scientific curiosity (which would be replaced in later versions with a reckless disregard for his own safety and, by extension, his friends).
There are also some very strange episodes, with the likes of The Celestial Toymaker and Land of Giants introducing early some of the cosmic whackery that would always haunt the excessive edges of the series.
The Dalek Invasion of Earth
For me, the best of the First Doctor is The Dalek Invasion of Earth. The use of blasted London is excellent, the plot draws on classic 'la resistance' concepts, and in particular the desperation of the rebels - best exemplified in the way that they cling to their hopes for their new bombs - are done well, and the sacrifices made by various characters feel real and relevant (where some Who serials just seemed to throw minor characters at the bad guys until the screaming stopped). The three companions are well-used, there are a few good twists and only one very ropy monster, and the inclusion of Dalek collaborators and a shady black marketeer prevent the story being one-dimensional.
It also includes Susan's departure scene, which I adore.
On the audio front, I have a particular fondness for the astonishingly brutal The Rocket Men and Return of the Rocket Men, with the titular villains looking like fifties pulp heroes and acting like actual, honest-to-badness pirates.
The Second Doctor - Patrick Troughton
The Second Doctor is, perhaps, the first 'proper' Doctor. Firmly established as an alien and inheriting companions from his predecessor, he also stepped from the rather stuffy and old-fashioned garb and mannerisms of the First Doctor into the high eccentric mode which would dominate for his next six incarnations, with his fur coat, baggy trousers and recorder. He also brought us one of the truly insane serials, with The Time Robber, which introduced the concept of the Land of Fiction (which for the 1960s was pretty goddamned meta).
The War Games
Due to the cull of stored episodes, I don't have much to choose from here in terms of personal experience. I go for The War Games over The Invasion for two reasons: firstly, because of its grandiose ambition, and secondly, because the Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to undo a screw.
Of course, it also introduces the Time Lords - for better or for worse, although here they are at their very best; aloof, uninvolved, superior and effortlessly powerful - and by doing so takes the first step towards the establishment of the coherent parachronic universe which would cause such problems for the continuity buffs in later days. As a final note, while Tomb of the Cybermen is sometimes criticised for its depiction of Toberman - a black character who is essentially a mute, idiot slave - The War Games features another character, a black soldier from the American Civil War, who is notably one of the few subjects of the titular games able to resist the conditioning of the War Lord and his agents.
I don't have any particular audios to note, although as has oft been noted, Fraser Hines provides a kick-ass Troughton impression.
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