Hartnell. Hurndall feels like he's playing a caricature of the First Doctor.
Hurndall or Hartnell
- Thread starter Mr Pointy Ears
- Start date
Hartnell, without question. He originated the role and played it for 3 seasons and a bit (plus a return in 1972). Hurndall, to be fair, made only one appearance and died a few months later, so it's not really fair to compare the two. Hurndall wasn't intended to be a Hartnell impersonator, and the producers acknowledged the actor change by including the clip of Hartnell at the start. I thought he did a fine job, but he was never intended to be any sort of replacement (any more so than David Troughton and Peter Purves should be seen as replacements for Troughton Sr. and Hartnell in the audio dramas).
Alex
Alex
I think Hurndall did a great job.
-but, Hartnell's not just the original, he had a certain grand old-school theater vibe that was fantastic, and unique.
-but, Hartnell's not just the original, he had a certain grand old-school theater vibe that was fantastic, and unique.
Really? You're asking us to compare an actor who played the role for four years and basically defined the character of the Doctor, to an actor who played the role for one episode and was basically just trying to copy the first actor? That's like asking if Val Kilmer made a better Jim Morrison than Jim Morrison himself did
You mean Val Kilmer wasn't a better Jim Morrison?
^ He's not even a better Val Kilmer.
Hartnell.
Hartnel's doctor is probably one of my favorite doctors because of the range. Hurndall just seemed to portray the latter days of the doctor if anything. Although he did a decent job. Had some decent insights.
As far Pertwee looking older in Five Doctors. Probably true but I think Troughton looked even older. Pertwee didn't look that much different outside of the hair being whiter. But the worst thing about it was the timeline of when they took Troughton confused me in the ep. How could he have known what happened to his companions since they were sent back right before he was forced to regenerate?
As far Pertwee looking older in Five Doctors. Probably true but I think Troughton looked even older. Pertwee didn't look that much different outside of the hair being whiter. But the worst thing about it was the timeline of when they took Troughton confused me in the ep. How could he have known what happened to his companions since they were sent back right before he was forced to regenerate?
Season 6b, where he travelled offscreen after losing Jamie and Zoe, but, before being regenerated (IE: There was a gap, that wasn't shown at the end of War Games)
As far as the aging goes, as long as they are recognizable, I have no problem with previous Doctors appearing after their Regeneration and looking older, I simply dismiss it, and think of it as an alternate timeline where the Regenerated Doctor continued living in an alternate timeline after his regeneration
I always vaguely figured that maybe in "The Five Doctors," the Second Doctor was able to tap into his successors' memories telepathically and thus be aware of Jamie and Zoe's fate, or something. Although mainly I just thought of it as a continuity error. But "Season 6B" is a fairly good explanation for that and for "The Two Doctors."
The main thing that always bugged me about the "The N Doctors" crossovers was, how come the later Doctor doesn't already know what's going to happen based on his memories from the first time(s) he experienced the same events? (Something which actually did happen in the "Time Crash" short a few years back.)
The main thing that always bugged me about the "The N Doctors" crossovers was, how come the later Doctor doesn't already know what's going to happen based on his memories from the first time(s) he experienced the same events? (Something which actually did happen in the "Time Crash" short a few years back.)
Exactly. And, while the performance wasn't awful, it wasn't the best impersonation. It works better if you aren't familiar with the Hartnell Era or haven't seen it in a while.
Couldn't have said it better. No matter how good/bad the performance was, it wasn't the original. Hurndall could've done a fantastic job as the First Doctor and it still couldn't have been better than the man who created the role.Really? You're asking us to compare an actor who played the role for four years and basically defined the character of the Doctor, to an actor who played the role for one episode and was basically just trying to copy the first actor? That's like asking if Val Kilmer made a better Jim Morrison than Jim Morrison himself did
This topic comes up now and then and I have to say that I would welcome recasting the earlier Doctors to appear in a special or flashback or whatever. They should surely cast someone that can pull off recreating someone else's role without becoming a caricature, but I have no doubt that it can be done. And I'd love to see the First Doctor see some more of his future selves.
That's always bothered me, too. It's not exactly the kind of thing that you could just forget. I wouldn't be surprised if, should Moffat write another multi-Doctor story, it transpired that the TARDIS can edit its crew's memories or thought processes to avoid problems.
I've thought that those memories must go when they regenerate. They clearly do have them for a bit-- in The Five Doctors, the first and second do remember The Three Doctors.
^ I don't really like that explanation. It means that for the remainder of each incarnation he know's he's destined to survive. But it would explain surprise at his new appearance.
I was wondering the same thing.
From the new show, it seems that Sarah Jane Smith has no recollection of encountering any of the Doctors during "The Five Doctors," and from various single-Doctor stories, it seems that the Doctor often very much believes his life is in peril.
Perhaps when a Time Lord crosses his own time stream at points which are far enough apart -- such as when one of the Doctor's incarnations encounters another -- memories of such experiences are accessible only during that and subsequent experiences. During other times the memories become suppressed for some reason -- possibly to prevent paradoxes or something.
Similarly perhaps non-Time Lords have similar memory issues -- either for the same reason as for Time Lords, or perhaps only when in the presence of Time Lords or something.
It's a stretch, but after all, we are talking about wibbly wobbly timey wimey.
Not really. Lazenby was just another incarnation of James Bond (albeit not a popular one who only appeared in one film), whereas Hurndall was portraying the same incarnation.
I dunno, I think he was the same incarnation. Imagine Connery saying Bond's lines in OHMSS.
