Exclusive First Look: Hartnell's perseverance - Doctor Who - The Three Doctors
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- Опубліковано 15 жов 2024
- William Hartnell's deteriorating health was to see The Three Doctors as his last outing as the travelling Timelord. It was uncertain whether he could commit to filming but with William's determination and some slight script amendments, he was able to take part in the tenth anniversary special. See more of this in the Revisitations 3 boxset, coming soon!
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God bless Mr Hartnell. He came back to the show even though he was practically on his death bed. THAT'S dedication. R.I.P.
+Thomas “Techno” Harries Chris has let the Whoniverse down at least Tom Came back for the 50th even if it was as someone else.
And he's doing Big Finish stories now as well. Chris just isn't all that interested in the show or coming back to it.
I can see where he's coming from from the perspective of an actor... but as a fan, I am extremely disappoints! lol
Knowing Chris he'd be star in one of theStar Wars then get bored and move onto K-9 the movie then get bored again XD
I think William's performance was great in The Three Doctors. Even though he was ill during it and his own tenure you have to give the man credit for doing 40 odd weeks filming for 3 years. If that's not dedication to a very taxing and stressful job I don't know what is.
He wasn't on his death bed, he was just very confused. He wouldn't die until two years later.
I'm actually watching "The Three Doctors" as I type this. What amazes me about Mr. Hartnell's performance is that here he is, sitting in a chair, reading his lines off of cue cards, confined to a television screen...and he absolutely commands every single scene he is in. You watch the story and this isn't some sick old man phoning in a performances - he is STILL the Doctor.
"The original you might say".
@@thecelticdruid.6681 yes
You gotta wonder if that was the role that supported his mind. Like the late Tony Bennett with his music or Mel Blanc with his Looney Tunes characters after his car accident.
"None of them could understand... Barbara, Chatter... Chesterton. Not even my own granddaughter. And now Steven. Perhaps I should go back, back to my home planet. But I can't. I can't."
One of the best forgotten Hartnell moments.
Lost, but never forgotten
I wouldnt call that forgotten, every Who fan knows Hartnell's fluffed lines
Is that from the end of "The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve?"
William Hartnell was MY Doctor, scary at first, but then as time passed he became a kind of substitute granddad. I was so upset when Patrick Troughton took over as the Doctor, but I still kept watching none the less. I will never forget you Mr Hartnell, you were fantastic, RIP.
Having only recently gotten into DOCTOR WHO, William Hartnell was a powerhouse, angry, gentle, charming, whimsical, he just clicked as the Doctor that started it all.
I'm glad they managed to get Hartnell to make small appearances in "The Three Doctors". I know he was already in ill health, but if he was interested in taking part in "The Three Doctors" before his wife phoned to say he couldn't do it, minimal appearances was better than none at all. Otherwise, they may have started the whole recasting the First Doctor thing here before he died years later. Plus we would never have seen actual colour footage of Hartnell as the First Doctor. "The Name of the Doctor" doesn't count as that was colourised B&W footage. Rest in peace, William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee and Barry Letts.
@Kevin McDougall It definitely existed independently at some point since it had to be prerecorded and played back on the TARDIS monitor. But that footage is almost certainly long gone now. In fact, the BBC's engineering department probably wiped the tapes for reuse shortly after filming wrapped way back in 1973. That was standard practice at the time to save money on videotape and I'm sure nobody thought to preserve it. There wasn't even an archiving requirement for completed programs after broadcast unless copies were made for overseas distribution.
And now also Terrance Dicks.
@@icemachine79 yes because you could re-do with special effects now and make it look better strangely it was only series 10 they used a tv again. i thought CSO was better in series 8-9. And on Gallifrey it was on B/W.
@@alexlazebat839 Quality isn't the problem. The footage is lost forever and we have no idea what else might have been recorded but not used in the show.
@@icemachine79 i thought it had but in the show the light reflects of the tv so you can see the studio. i suppose its gone like Planet of the giants 3-4
William Hartnell was a superb Doctor, who I strongly believe these days to be very underrated. This man was and is the original Doctor. It annoys me somewhat when some people mention his fluffed lines, as these were still the early years of television and TV had just come out of (or still transmitting drama as) live TV. Plus remember, those early shows were only meant to be seen once (like a Stage Play), and NOT seen and debated time and time again years later. Hartnell WAS a fine actor!
This is a perfect point that you're making. Also, if you look at most actors now, fluffing lines isn't an unusual thing that happens! However, actors nowadays are lucky enough to have the chance to re-shoot their lines again and again. This wasn't the case back in 1963. And the fact that William Hartnell managed to get almost every line out perfectly for three years of working on the show proves how superb of an actor that he was.
I totally agree. William Hartnell is so BADLY underrated. He was so dedicated to the programme. I guess if we were doing a show that had no time and not much money 48 weeks a year, we'd fluff our lines too. R.I.P William.
Good to have had something of Hartnell in colour - probably the only filming of anything he did in the 70s
Yes... His last job before that was in Crime of Passion (TV Series)
as "Henri Lindon" which was released in 1970
Well yeh cos he died....
@@Trek001 was the b/w or colour because there was a colour strike in the 1970
It really saddens me that Hartnell must've been so excited to have the chance to come back. Sounds like he was so joyous he couldn't stop talking about it. I truly do wonder what their original idea was for the First Doctors part in the episode.
I have a theory like how jamies lines we're give. To Benton I think that some of hartnells lines we're given to the brigadear
@@louiswindsor7334 I have a feeling that's true and that the more doctory stuff was given to Troughton
I’ve read his wife’s interview, dating back to 1989 or something. Back then, she said that when he were going back to do he were shining! Shining like 10 years of his sickness were over.
So yeah. When you told that “he was so joyous”, you are goddamn right.
That really is a shame. Mr. Hartnell loved the show so if he'd been in his right state of mind, I'm sure he would have jumped at it for real. And we owe the show to him anyway. God bless you, Bill. May you and Mr. Troughton and Mr. Pertwee RIP.
- "What have you done?"
- "Well, we've assessed the situation..."
- "Hrm. Just as I thought. Nothing."
Good old William. He did the show even though he was practically dying. He showed the fans he did care about them by doing that.
The final farewell that Hartnell absolutely deserved. And i am glad he could see the show moved on and kept going on that HE started and was sooo dedicated to. And so it would for 25 more years and then again in 2005 till today.
And I'm just glad "The Three Doctors" exists so we can not only see Hartnell's last ever shot in Doctor Who, but also his last ever performance before his death years later. And also cuz Part 4 of "The Tenth Planet" is sadly still missing (though the regeneration footage survives).
He did an amazing job... And everyone from my family supported him
You know, I worked in the TV industry herein the U.S. for many years. I KNOW "difficult to work with." William Hartnell was quite possibly the best pure actor among all of the Doctors.
That's really touching. Hartnell gets a lot of stick from people who talk about what he was like to work with and his fluffed lines etc, but the man created a legendary TV character and did so under great pressure of almost live recording. How marvellous that we can still see and celebrate his work today - and next year, 50 years! :-)
I love the fact that they got Hartnell. The only strike I have against this is that you only see the camera point to the screen; it would have been extra lovely to have seen him without the screen obscuring the image.
I’m just finally seeing the Hartnell episodes. He was brilliant as the Doctor. Always a solid performance. I do hope the find the rest of his episodes soon.
The lovely thing is, although he was quite ill and his work thus had to be limited, even the brief scenes we have of Bill in THE THREE DOCTORS, show him very much in character as the original Doctor Who, AND clearly enjoying himself, recreating the role!
And then ten years later in 1983, Richard Hurndall gave a very commendable alternate interpretation of the First Doctor, in just one story, THE FIVE DOCTORS. Both actors meshed very well, with their other TV incarnations! Here's to 50 years..
I am so glad the three doctors went ahead.
Good ole Bill. He would never let his show down, even when he was pretty poorly.
I do remember watching the 1st series of Dr Who with Harnell on our valve black and white TV in Australia. It scared me as a kid. lol
And so, Hartnell joined the list of actors who's final role is their most famous/the franchise they're most known for, joining such alumni like Christopher Reeve who's final acting role involved a part in Smallville.
When you play the Doctor you do it for life. Actors shouldnt do it unless theyre aware of this and are prepared to step up.
@@RealRoknRollr3108 Well, so far, they've never cast it wrong, which is impressive.
Great to see Barry Letts again much missed
The quality of episodes that this pair churned out was insane . For me Jon Pertwee's tenure was one of the most consistent . Just look at his debut of Spearhead in Space filmed in 1969 it holds up incredibley well. The music the direction everything. I watched Delta and the Bannermen last week and was amazed how much its dated poorly . RIP Barry and thank you
Totally agree. Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks were the BEST show runners with Philip Hinchcliffe and Bob Holmes coming in second. Without Pertwee, Letts, and Dicks, Doctor Who wouldn't have survived without them.
It didn't suffer the problem Tom's did with three different producers with different approaches.
@@minicle426 and the last producer for Tom sadly damaged the show for many years . Albiet I don't hold it against him . The BBC should have realized but had lost interest in the show I feel. He still had a few stories of note he oversaw . But in general (with the exception of McCoys last 2 seasons ) it was very inconsistent
@@minicle426*Four. His first serial - Robot - was produced by Barry Letts.
William Hartnell is painfully underrated as The Doctor! I heard very little about him before I began investing my time and money in obtaining some of the Classic Who DVDs and always found that he was one of the least popular actors to be cast in the role. Having now watched his tenure in its entirity (aside from the missing stories ofcourse) I can say that the critcism and the fact that he is so overlooked is prepostrous! He is amazing as The Doctor, and so far is my faviourite incarnation :D
Mr Hartnell will always be the first Doctor.
they shouldnt have made it public before they'd even finished scripts and contracts
But then if they'd re-titled it "The Two Doctors", what would they have titled the Colin Baker serial of the same title over a decade later?
Andrew Chapman The Day of the Doctor.
Alternatively they could have stuck with The Three Doctors - two Time Lords and Dr Tyler.
@@paulbeardsley4095 Ah yes, that's true.
Thats TV land for you, jumping before they know there's somewhere to jump to
I'm glad they did because that meant they had to put Hartnell in no matter what
The reel of 16mm shot of him was junked in 1976..Pertwee and Hartnell were filming the same time at Ealing..They should of Had a shot of Pertwee chatting to Hartnell or better still shot a scene while photographing them for Radio Times
Pity they did junk it. They could have at least donated it to his wife Heather, as it will have had moments of him being himself, as it would have had goofs, mistakes etc!
I always though of the fluffed lines as part of his character as he was quite old so it would be understandable for the Doctor to stutter and forget things. The other characters even said that he was forgetful sometimes.
yes Bill worked fine in the 3 dr's even though he only had a short few scenes and had to read off auto cue cards. Ahhhh he would be proud that it has reached 50 years i think. he always believed it had the potential to go on and on.
and soon 60 yrs. Time flies (:
Its such a shame that Bill Hartnell was unable to play a bigger role in this story it would have been wonderful too see all three doctor's in the same place at the same time. But a least we he was there albeit briefly .
Would love to see a recreation of "The Three Doctors" based on the earlier scripts where Hartnell was gonna play a larger role with the Pertwee and Troughton before they had to rewrite it.
William Hartnell was a true professional, and a man who starred in a TV show that was the very crest of the wave of television experimentation in the early 1960s - when many families in the UK didn't even own a set.
"Ah There you are"
"Get off my lawn. Damn kids!"
Dear 'old' Billy. Wonderful chaps The Doctors, all of them, but he was THE Doctor, the Original, you might say and we wouldn't have it any other way.
Agreed, I always get a headache thinking about the whole Doctor numbering these days. Particularly since the Timeless Child thing first came about. So I just overlook all that and still see Bill's Doctor as the 1st.
Just to add, that so what he fluffed his lines? As stated by quire a few of you, this was a different time where they didn't have the luxury of having weeks and weeks to film an episode, and I always felt that the improvisation of William and those around him more than compensated for the "fluffing" as it were. The very fact that despite being so gravely ill, he still wanted to be a part of the anniversary speaks alot about the man's integrity and bravery also. I massively appreciate his efforts
His appearance in the Three Doctors was Hartnall's final work as an actor..
Tick, Tock, goes the clock,
The First in time and space.
Tick Tock, goes the clock,
May Hartnell rest in peace.
My old man fought against anything 😊
My "Doctor" from Series 1 Eps.1, a trooper to the bitter end. Especially, as he did not want to go, but, did not realise about his illness. Greatly missed !!! R.I.P.
If you don`t mind, I will "Add To" my page.
What fluffed lines? I might have noticed a few times he messed up the script, but I always translated that in my head as the character himself fumbling to think of what to say. My only issues with some of the early episodes is poor writing occasionally - the actors were mostly all fine, ESPECIALLY the fantastic Hartnell. Got really attached to that fellow, even through the reconstructions. No clue why people dislike his character.
RIP William Hartnell and Barry Letts
I used to buy my ex husband lots of classic Doctor Who tapes then DVDs, books and memorabilia. He took them all when he left. : ( Serves me right.
It really doesn't look or sound like William Hartnell. His face was so different. I always thought they'd got another actor to play the part, and were trying to hide it with filming it this way.
Well, it had been 4 years or so since he was last on screen as the Doctor. And he was suffering from an illness. He's gonna look a bit different. It was The 5 Doctors where they began recasting for 1st Doctor appearances.
@TezlaCoils Plus the fluffed lines were not really his fault, because he was in the early stages of arteriosclerosis, which is what actually made him look so old in the first place (he was in his fifties when he did Doctor Who)...
Also, considering the Doctor was considerably aged at this point in time, then it can make sense that he messes up his speech - everyone does it, especially older people. The Doctor was 400 and in his original body.
Hartnell actually showed his talent on that production, because I have a parent with dementia and to pin them down to saying things in order is virtually impossible. At his stage (and he was about twenty years younger than my mum at that point) he was still able to access that performance. Which perhaps signals that it meant a lot to him - despite his later claims. The original, you might say...
William Hartnell is the best Doctor.
Sorry to disappoint - I want C.E. in it much as the next whovian, but many people knew his name before Who. We owe the debt to him, not the other way round. He was a big established actor who approached RTD about playing the part to relaunch the series - that was part of what drew all the positive attention. He did Who a favour by making a modern Doctor that the audience would love, and allowing DT to come through. Who did good things for his career as it would any actor, but he doesn't owe it.
I wonder how the original story would have gone if Hartnell was up to taking a more active role?
I wish he could have materialised in his glass chair just before the 2nd Doctor departs. A quick hi and bye.
The thing about Doctor Who is that ... they did it. They did this crazy thing where the actor was too ill to appear fully, by coming up with an extremely generous workaround that would never, ever, ever be accepted on American television. (Yes, I'm an American.)
Yet, out of love and sentiment, and a knowledge that the fans' affection would more than paper over the seams, they decided they'd do this generous thing. And here we are many decades later, loving every second of it. I adore the classic show so very much ...
My dad told me that I the 60s they had to keep renting a Television set or something like that
2:03. Pretty good remix.
But as for William Hartnell, RonMotta1972 summed his performance up. You can tell Hartnell put his heart and soul into it. You still buy he is able to lead the other Doctors.
Bless 'im. A great Doctor.
@pipesfranco I think you're doing a disservice to the level of restoration that goes into new releases. Although the original releases were restored fantastically, some of the DVDs are now twelve years old! Technology has moved on, interest in Doctor Who has been peaked again due to the new series, and much more can now be done.
Please say they filmed Hartnell on Bannerman Rd. Please please please??
if only he was alive today the man started us on a great path
Not really, that was some old footage and another actor. Hartnell himself had died by the time they filmed The Five Doctors, so his scenes in The Three Doctors were the last time he played that role.
He must be. They let half his episodes go up in smoke. And the other half are almost impossible to find these days.
If Hartnell can make an appearance in an anniversary special even if his health is poor, then surely Eccleston could come back for the 50th. With a show that has so much loyalty, you have to give some of that back.
Difference I think is that Bill actually enjoyed his time on Doctor Who.
Only way it could be done would be with animation. Big Finish is doing an audio Doctors 4 through 8 so that is something to add to Smith/Tennant/Hurt on television.
Well, Davison DID claim that but it's also been assumed that the classic Doctors will be involved by appearing in the so-called "paintings" that Smith mentioned on Jonathon Ross...
Maybe in some other countries where Doctor Who is shown, it might have made him more famous there. But in terms of what work he gets in the UK, Doctor Who is a minor boost for him - for someone like Matt Smith, yest, it launched his career, and he has and will continue to get cast in much more prestigious things thanks to Doctor Who. It would be nice if C.E. showed a bit more courtesy to the fans that love his Doctor so much and put in a return appearance, but it doesn't seem so...
Why did they announce it before they had the scripts and contracts sorted? That seems like a rookie mistake to me.
Probably cuz everyone knew the 10th anniversary was coming and they wanted to assure fans they'd be making it memorable. Plus fans even then were hinting the idea of multi Doctors appearing together.
That version of the Doctor Who theme at the end.
Where can I find the full version?
Bill was fantastic
They must've done this way before Barry died.
It's a shame Bill wasn't in all of it. I wonder how different it was to the original?
@pipesfranco You're not forced to buy it if you don't want it. But obviously there is a market out there for special edition re-releases, I'm a fan of them, buy them and I support the reissues. In fact I'd like to see a Revisitations 4 Boxset! A Boxset to contain special editions of maybe 'Vengeance on Varos', 'The Ark in Space' and 'The Aztecs'.
"..I was happy to novelise the first one[SJA] INVASION OF THE BANE, which I thought was a cracking good script. Lis was very good in that series, and was clearly playing a mature, stronger version of the same character from ROBOT. In fact, SJA was more like the DW I used to do than than many of the new episodes of DW." Terrance Dicks, DWM #440, page 30.
LegoDaleks, you are clueless as to what is good writing, & you have a narrow mind, making it impossible to exit the cesspool you dwell in.
It's a completely different 50th Anniversary Special.... That's the docu-drama written by Mark Gatiss you're having it confused with!
@TheCyberking3 good look with that I've been collecting the classics for nearly 4 years now n still haven't got them all I've got a lot but not all of em
@MJJBeliever It's the bbc classic Doctor Who youtube channel theme
"Slight' script amendments - a pretty major rewrite all told...
Poor old Hartnell T__T
Your comment "SJA = K9 & Company", simply proves you haven't seen many or even any, SJA episodes. No one familiar with both programs could make such an inaccurate statement. Such an inaccurate statement makes it doubtful any of your reviews could be trusted.
A reviewer must acutally watch the program to give an accurate review.
While one can voice an opinion on a program they have never seen, but have heard opinions on, such a review quickly exposes the reviewer & his prejudices.
Eccleston owes "the fans" nothing - he is not your bitch. At the time of the relaunch I should have thought that playing the Doctor was a risk for him because of the danger of derailing his career into typecasting.
It was a damn shame.
On the other hand, I was really glad because I knew that Moffat was more concerned with making a good story as opposed to a fangasm. The Five Doctors was a fangasm. While enjoyable, it wasn't exactly the best story and was less interesting for casual viewers.
Also, how do you expect to balance one episode with 11 leads? It would be a nightmare!
It's too early to assume the old doctors haven't been involved in SOME WAY (even if it's a cameo). Didn't Davison admit he has a copy of the script?
Turned out the best anniversary special was the one where everyone played themselves.
Frankly I thought Day of the Doctor wasn't all that much cop. The Zygon stuff in the middle just felt like padding for one.
The Five-ish Doctors was more entertaining.
I've seen K9 & COMPANY multiple times, and do not like it, because Sarah Jane is not written correctly by writers who were clueless as to the character's traits and capabilities in Seasons 11-14.
The SJA "Sarah Jane" is very much the "Sarah Jane" character-wise, of Classic WHO, updated to the modern Internet communication age. Elisabeth Sladen saw to that. Her autobiography explains it very well, as well as her dissatisfaction with K9 & CO, and the reasons it was so poorly written.
shame about the glare on the tardis tv
@LegoDaleks, you do have a point.
While the New Series does have some excellent stories (School Reunion, Blink, etc), it is a small percentage, as most stories are mediocre at best, and some are very bad.
Viewed in that way, while the Classic Series Seasons 15-26, had far fewer "Masterpiece" stories, than Seasons 1-14, at least most stories are decent, and only a few are actually bad.
Modern CGI can look cartoonish at times, and the New Series does often let SFX replace an actual story!
Teenagers, listen to your grandfathers! They know best!
"The Eleven Doctors!" That's what the 50th Anniversary SHOULD be!
As Moffat said at a convention.. "How do you know who is in the 50th Anniversary Show"?
Best rumour I've read is that that actor they got to play Hartnell in "An Adventure in Time and Space" is supposed to make an appearance as the First Doctor. That will be badass.
But sadly it's called "The Day of the Doctor" NOT "The Eleven Doctors" ..... Just David and a "forgotten" doctor played by Hurt are appearing in it.... DAMN YOU, MOFFAT!!
Moffat is overated frankly.
Here we go again forking out again for new featurd on already released DVD's. I am a huge fan of 2entertain and the great job they have done with the Doctor Who DVD's I just get annoyed having to pay out again to see some more special features.
Yay! I've never been called a troll before :-) I stand by my comment. CE did the show a favour, not vice versa
They could have used a wax works statue and clips like they did for Tom Baker in the Five Doctors.
All the Hartnell episodes were in black & white. I don't think colorization was possible at the time of the Three Doctors.
Frank Cabanski They did not need a wax dummy, they brought in Richard Hundall, to take over the part. Richard does not look too bad. There is a scene before the opening theme, and that is William Hartnell. The speech is from Dalek Invasion Of Earth, and is given to Susan when he locks her out of the TARDIS. Quite a few copies of the speech are on UA-cam.
+Shawn Adam I think that you confusing "The Three Doctors" with the episode Richard Hundall was in, which was "The Five Doctors".
Steve17010
I was commenting on Franks comment about using a wax statue like they used in the promo pictures for 'The Five Doctors'.
ah their you are i seem to be stuck up here so your my replacments a dandy and a clown1 bil pulled it off excelently1
George Carlin's father?
Barry Letts, smartass
It was worth putting up with Tennant in SCHOOL REUNION to see Elisabeth Sladen again!
New Series stories do seem to be aimed too often at 13 year old girls, based on the "drama" and continual emotional angst.
I think the best stories of SARAH JANE ADVENTURES were more like CLASSIC WHO in quality than the New Series. For example, the SJA story THE TEMPTATION OF SARAH JANE SMITH I feel was as good or better than any story the New Series has put out to date.
Well, as far as we know it's not happening. The multi-doctor story made by Big Finish and the actual 50th special are two separate anniversary stories. I was SO disapointed that the Eleven Doctors story wouldn't happen. It was dream to see new series and classic series doctors TOGETHER! They could cast other actors to play the first three that are now dead (Have David Bradley, David Troughton and Sean Pertwee in the roles!) Paul McGann should be the Time War Doctor instead of Hurt!
It's sad that Christopher Eccleston is going to let himself get upstaged by a sick, dying old man over his stupid "never swim in the same pond twice" policy.
William Hartnell is still my favorite.