Watched the second episode yesterday, "The Survivors", launching the DVD at a quarter past 5 PM, which I read was the time the first episode, "An Unearthly Child", was broadcast. (Did it habitually air at 5:15, or did the start time "float" a bit?)
Now, I've watched the serial a few times already, but it's not like I've memorized every line. So, seeing it last night "reminded" me of a few things I had forgotten.
The Geiger counter in the Dalek lab had English signage. Obviously, that was done as a convenience to the audience, but "retconning" we can now attribute that to the TARDIS telepathic circuits.
The "stun" blast used to immobilize Ian kinda' parallels the situation in 1977's Star Wars when Stormtroopers incapacitated Princess Leia. One of the few, if not the only time such a setting was used in either property.
Those first Dalek operators must have really practiced with the casings. Just after Russel hits the stage floor, one of the Daleks glides across the room and makes a tight turn, not quite a "pivot", to direct the plunger and gun straight at Russell's back, all in a single, fluid motion. From some accounts I've read, the first version of those "costumes" employed a tricycle type arrangement hidden by the "skirt". But the operators didn't "pedal" with their feet. Instead there was a chain drive mechanism, similar to that on a single speed bike with the pedals at arms' height and powered by the operator's hands. In later stories, that mechanism was dropped and the operators simply "walked" while sitting, the traction of their shoes pulling or pushing the casing. But that first design, while complicated, made for some graceful articulation that was later lost.
Fans "joke" about Hartnell flubbing a particular line, saying "gloves" instead of "drugs" and then correcting himself, all of which remained in the final cut and broadcast. This incident is noted in the recent docu-drama when we see David Bradley as Hartnell watching the episode with his granddaughter. It was probably an actual "blooper", but it actually works for the scene, adding another level of realism. The Doctor is horribly weakened by cumulative radiation sickness. He's barely conscious and in a state of near delirium. Who can blame a person running a fever for saying one word when he means another, especially if it sounds similar.
And speaking of radiation sickness, I particularly liked how William Russell handled the condition. Ian notices that the Dalek blast induced paralysis has finally waned. With a bit of renewed confidence he starts to walk the length of the cell. But then he doubles over, clutching his lower abdomen by the time he's reached the door. If what I've read is correct, one major symptom of radiation sickness is severe abdominal cramping, a condition I don't often see depicted in films or TV. It's a minor thing to some I'm sure, but again, it added that extra "something" to the scene.
Sincerely,
Bill
Now, I've watched the serial a few times already, but it's not like I've memorized every line. So, seeing it last night "reminded" me of a few things I had forgotten.
The Geiger counter in the Dalek lab had English signage. Obviously, that was done as a convenience to the audience, but "retconning" we can now attribute that to the TARDIS telepathic circuits.
The "stun" blast used to immobilize Ian kinda' parallels the situation in 1977's Star Wars when Stormtroopers incapacitated Princess Leia. One of the few, if not the only time such a setting was used in either property.
Those first Dalek operators must have really practiced with the casings. Just after Russel hits the stage floor, one of the Daleks glides across the room and makes a tight turn, not quite a "pivot", to direct the plunger and gun straight at Russell's back, all in a single, fluid motion. From some accounts I've read, the first version of those "costumes" employed a tricycle type arrangement hidden by the "skirt". But the operators didn't "pedal" with their feet. Instead there was a chain drive mechanism, similar to that on a single speed bike with the pedals at arms' height and powered by the operator's hands. In later stories, that mechanism was dropped and the operators simply "walked" while sitting, the traction of their shoes pulling or pushing the casing. But that first design, while complicated, made for some graceful articulation that was later lost.
Fans "joke" about Hartnell flubbing a particular line, saying "gloves" instead of "drugs" and then correcting himself, all of which remained in the final cut and broadcast. This incident is noted in the recent docu-drama when we see David Bradley as Hartnell watching the episode with his granddaughter. It was probably an actual "blooper", but it actually works for the scene, adding another level of realism. The Doctor is horribly weakened by cumulative radiation sickness. He's barely conscious and in a state of near delirium. Who can blame a person running a fever for saying one word when he means another, especially if it sounds similar.
And speaking of radiation sickness, I particularly liked how William Russell handled the condition. Ian notices that the Dalek blast induced paralysis has finally waned. With a bit of renewed confidence he starts to walk the length of the cell. But then he doubles over, clutching his lower abdomen by the time he's reached the door. If what I've read is correct, one major symptom of radiation sickness is severe abdominal cramping, a condition I don't often see depicted in films or TV. It's a minor thing to some I'm sure, but again, it added that extra "something" to the scene.
Sincerely,
Bill
