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79-589: In the story, the Mechonoids are robots sent to the planet Mechanus to prepare for an Earth colony. The colonists never arrived, but the self-repairing robots built and maintained a city. When the First Doctor and his companions arrive on Mechanus, they struggle to communicate with the robots. A team of time-travelling Daleks appears, pursuing the Doctor and his friends, and the Mechonoids defend their city in

158-513: A Victorian , someone kind of stern and paterfamilias about him. Something kind but scary". One quirk of the First Doctor was his tendency to become occasionally tongue-tied and stumble over words. Sometimes this was a deliberate acting choice: William Russell recalls that it was Hartnell's idea for the Doctor to get Ian Chesterton's surname wrong, calling him "Chesserman", "Chatterton" and even "Charterhouse". This character choice also gave

237-474: A monocle , a carved wooden cane , an opera cape , a scarf , a hat in Astrakhan fur or, in warmer climes, a Panama hat . In " An Unearthly Child ", he was seen smoking a large bent tobacco pipe , making him the only incarnation of the Doctor to be seen smoking ; it is assumed that he gave up after that serial. In the original version of the first episode, Hartnell wore a contemporary (1960s) suit. Among

316-565: A Dalek invasion. The Mechonoids appear in the 2005 Big Finish Productions audio drama The Juggernauts by Scott Alan Woodard, which features the Sixth Doctor and Melanie Bush . In this story, Davros adds human nervous tissue to robotic Mechanoid shells to create the titular Juggernauts. The third issue of Doctor Who - Battles in Time magazine (2006) featured a two-page Dalek Wars image and accompanying text entitled The Battle for

395-470: A Time", writer Steven Moffat has the Doctor express to a variation of his future companion Bill Potts that he had left Gallifrey, among other reasons, to investigate why good prevails in a universe where evil would seem to have so many advantages. As Bill reflected that none of the First Doctor's future incarnations recognized this fact, the Twelfth Doctor surmised that he and his incarnations were

474-482: A change to the Mechons' backstory, as the current draft was too similar to an unproduced story, " The Masters of Luxor ", and may have presented copyright problems. She suggested that instead of the Mechons establishing a human zoo, "they could be programmed to imprison any new arrivals who lack knowledge of the decoding system used by the expected colonists." The robots' name was changed from Mechon to Mechonoid during

553-659: A comics story called "The World That Waits". In the story, the Daleks return to Mechanus for another battle. While the Mechanoids gain the upper hand, the Black Dalek deploys the powerful atom divider, which destroys the Mechanoid City. The "Mechanoids" also battled the Daleks in the pages of the comic TV Century 21 in 1965 and 1966. The publication featured a weekly one-page series, The Daleks , which depicted

632-449: A complex of antennae at the top. They have two long pincer arms that extend from the middle of the geodesic structure. They are equipped with gun discs, and one of the three props had a working flame-thrower, for their battle with the Daleks. Each Mechonoid was large enough to fit two people inside during filming: an operator and a special-effects technician. The operator could move the prop around with their feet, extend an aerial, and move

711-468: A different one (colourised footage taken from The Aztecs ). He is also seen for a brief second wandering around the Doctor's mind in the end of "The Name of the Doctor", although this time a double was used. He also makes a brief appearance (again using a double) during Missy 's exposition of the Twelfth Doctor 's battle with android assassins (" The Witch's Familiar "). In Dimensions in Time

790-409: A ferocious battle. Both the Daleks and the Mechonoids are destroyed in the fight, allowing the Doctor and his companions to escape. Intended as an enemy of the series' most popular monsters, the Daleks, it was hoped that the Mechonoids would prove equally crowd-pleasing, appearing in further stories and selling merchandise, as the Daleks had. Unfortunately, the bulky Mechonoid props proved burdensome in

869-462: A further Mechonoid story. The effect was achieved by crossfading between a shot of the model to stock film of a volcanic eruption and explosions. The battle scene, cut in on telecine, now incorporated cross faded images, and several animated explosions superimposed on the action. Although shot silently, in addition to sound effects, new Mechonoid dialogue was overlayed whilst the bulk of the Dalek dialogue

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948-618: A future space pilot named Steven Taylor , who had been captured by the robot Mechanoids but escaped due to the Dalek attack. The Doctor met another member of his own race for the first time in the form of the Meddling Monk and had an adventure in Galaxy 4 . During the siege of Troy , Vicki decided to leave the TARDIS to stay with Troilus , adopting the name Cressida. The Doctor and Steven were next briefly joined by Trojan slave Katarina and

1027-428: A half for their extendable weapons, and they were difficult to move around. Only two of the three constructed were used in the taping at Riverside. In a 1986 interview, script editor Dennis Spooner recalled, "No one could have stood the problems if they had caught on. They were just physically impossible to move in and out of the studios." On 14 April, 1965, the production held a press call at Ealing Studios to show off

1106-456: A life for herself on 22nd century Earth ( The Dalek Invasion of Earth ), although he promised to return some day. The Doctor, Ian and Barbara were then joined by Vicki , whom they saved in The Rescue from the planet Dido. At the conclusion of a chase through time by Daleks, Ian and Barbara used the Dalek time machine to go home ( The Chase ), and their place in the TARDIS was taken by

1185-602: A number of flashing discs built into the surface of the Mechon... voice might be produced in the same way as the voice in the recording of Sparky's Magic Piano ." In Episode 6, "The Planet of Decision", Nation envisioned the Mechons keeping the travellers in a human zoo, along with a stranded astronaut who arrived five years earlier and was captured by the robots. The cell is described as being furnished as an Earth dwelling from four hundred years ago. After receiving Nation's draft, producer Verity Lambert wrote to Nation asking for

1264-547: A security agent from 4000 AD Sara Kingdom , but both were killed during the events of The Daleks' Master Plan , where the Daleks plotted to invade Earth's Solar System in 4000 AD, before being destroyed when the Doctor activated their weapon the Time Destructor. Due to this he was aged significantly; the effects on Sara were enough to reduce her to dust. After narrowly missing the Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve ,

1343-469: A servo-robot, is it? An impractically large and clumsy ball of metal that shuffles along very, very slowly and has no obvious functions except for building corridors that are flagrantly too small for it. Wouldn't something smaller / nippier / more versatile have been preferable?" Elizabeth Sandifer agreed in Tardis Eruditorum, volume 1 : "The thing is, in the sixth episode, it's quickly clear that

1422-490: Is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey who travels in time and space in the TARDIS , frequently with companions . At the end of life, the Doctor regenerates ; as a result, the physical appearance and personality of the Doctor changes. The concept of regeneration, initially referred to as a "renewal", was introduced when Hartnell left the series due to his increasingly bad health, consequently extending

1501-452: Is married to actress Suzanne Neve . After having acted in the 1958 television series Ivanhoe and the 1960 series Maigret , Martin was asked to join the production team working on yet to be broadcast series Doctor Who by caretaker producer Rex Tucker . He worked on Doctor Who during its first two seasons, from 1963 to 1965. Martin directed part of the second story of the inaugural season of Doctor Who , The Daleks , in which

1580-607: Is scheduled for February 2023, with Noonan starring once again. The First Doctor appeared as one of the “Guardians of the Edge” (played again by David Bradley), in an afterlife, inside the Doctor’s mind in the final Thirteenth Doctor episode, " The Power of the Doctor ". Images of the First Doctor appear in The Power of the Daleks , Day of the Daleks , The Brain of Morbius , Earthshock , Mawdryn Undead , Resurrection of

1659-612: Is similarly reluctant to regenerate. The events they experience convince both Doctors to go through with their regenerations. After returning to his TARDIS and helping Polly and Ben back inside, the Doctor falls unconscious and regenerates. From the beginning, the Doctor was a mysterious figure. He appeared to be a frail old man and yet was possessed of unexpected reserves of strength and will. An early writers' guide by script editor David Whitaker describes "Doctor Who" as "frail-looking but wiry and tough as an old turkey". He obviously held tremendous knowledge of scientific matters, and yet

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1738-539: The BBC praised Martin's direction of The Edge of Destruction for how it "wrings every available ounce of suspense, horror and mystery" from a script that features only the show's four regular characters. They also praised his direction of certain scenes from The Dalek Invasion of Earth . Authors Tat Wood and Lawrence Miles credit Martin for "the most impressive effect" in The Daleks , that of "the wall blistering under

1817-839: The Fourth Doctor ( Tom Baker ) refers to the First as "the grumpy one". A sculpture of his head, along with that of the Second Doctor , appears as well. The First Doctor is seen as a sketch in John Smith 's book alongside other past Doctors in the episode " Human Nature ". In " Time Crash ", the Tenth Doctor says to the Fifth , "Back when I first started, at the very beginning, I was always trying to be old and grumpy and important, like you do when you're young." A brief clip of

1896-479: The Second Doctor . Due to failing health, however, Hartnell could not participate in any of the regular filming, so his scenes were shot separately at Ealing Studios (not his garden or garage at home, as long suggested by fan legend); in the context of the episode, this is explained as the First Doctor being trapped in a time eddy when he was being sent to assist his future selves, with the result that he can only communicate with his future selves for brief moments over

1975-506: The TARDIS , which is currently disguised as a police box (Susan notes that it used to be able to change to blend in with its surroundings), and is bigger on the inside. The Doctor describes himself and Susan as "exiles" without specifying why or even whether their exile is self-imposed. It would not be until the last adventure of the Doctor's second incarnation that the name of the Doctor's people (the Time Lords ) would be revealed, and

2054-531: The series 10 finale " The Doctor Falls ", David Bradley appeared as the First Doctor, confronting his twelfth incarnation as the latter resists his oncoming regeneration. This scene was followed up in the 2017 Christmas special, " Twice Upon a Time ". Bradley had previously portrayed William Hartnell in An Adventure in Space and Time , a 2013 docudrama depicting the creation of Doctor Who . He reprised

2133-446: The third incarnation before the name of his home planet ( Gallifrey ) was first spoken. The series' first episode opens with a pair of schoolteachers in contemporary (1963) London, Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright , investigating the mystery of Susan, a student who seems confused and even frustrated at how what she is learning in history and especially mathematics seems to be wrong. Following Susan to her supposed home, they discover

2212-399: The titular villains were first introduced. During the making of The Daleks , Martin persuaded producer Verity Lambert to approach the story in a less conservative manner. Martin also directed two additional stories featuring the Daleks for the second season of Doctor Who , The Dalek Invasion of Earth and The Chase . Martin directed two other Doctor Who stories. He directed

2291-399: The 1983 multi-doctor special " The Five Doctors ", and as portrayed by David Bradley in the 2017 Twelfth Doctor episodes " The Doctor Falls " and " Twice Upon a Time " and in the 2022 Thirteenth Doctor episode " The Power of the Doctor ", the latter previously having portrayed Hartnell himself in the 2013 biopic An Adventure in Space and Time . Within the series' narrative, the Doctor

2370-553: The Big Finish audio drama The Light at the End the First Doctor is portrayed by William Russell , who also played Ian Chesterton in both the show and the audio dramas. Russell and fellow co-star Peter Purves (who played Steven Taylor) have performed numerous other audio plays set during this era, usually narrating the stories and doing an impression (rather than an impersonation) of the Doctor's voice while reciting his lines. In

2449-452: The Daleks , " The Next Doctor ", " The Eleventh Hour ", " The Vampires of Venice ", " Vincent and the Doctor ", " The Lodger ", " Nightmare in Silver ", " The Timeless Children ", " Rogue " and The Sarah Jane Adventures story Death of the Doctor . In the episode " The Name of the Doctor ", he is seen stealing a TARDIS along with Susan Foreman , before Clara Oswald tells him to steal

Mechonoid - Misplaced Pages Continue

2528-457: The Daleks break out in a rust rash." The Daily Express printed the photo of Lambert with the headline "Me? I'm a Mechanoid," and there was also mention in the Daily Mail and The Daily Telegraph . The two episodes in which the Mechonoids appear are episode 5, "The Death of Doctor Who" (broadcast 19 June 1965), and episode 6, "The Planet of Decision" (26 June 1965). It was hoped that

2607-543: The Daleks in " Into the Dalek ". A portrait of the First Doctor is hanging in a UNIT safe house in " The Zygon Invasion ". In " The Devil's Chord " the Fifteenth Doctor visits 1963 and points out the Totters Lane junkyard off in the distance from atop EMI Recording Studios , saying he lived there with his granddaughter Susan. In " Rogue ", the First Doctor's face is among the holograms the Doctor shows to

2686-645: The Daleks or the Zarbi (from the 1965 story The Web Planet ). Murphy Grumbar operated Mechonoids seen in episodes 5 and 6, joined by Jack Pitt and John Scott Martin in episode 6. The electronically-treated Mechonoid voice performed by David Graham was grating and difficult to understand. The robots' dialogue was written in a pastiche of computer code; for example, the Mechonoid's first line of dialogue in episode 5 is, "Eight hundred - Thirty - Mechonoid - English - Input - Enter". The Mechonoids' climactic battle with

2765-433: The Daleks was shot on film at Ealing Studios , on stage 3A/B on Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 April, 1965. Those days were also used to shoot film inserts of Shawcraft's model Mechonoid city, designed by Cusick. According to Doctor Who: The Complete History , "Although the script required the Mechonoid city to burn and collapse into the jungle below, it was decided to avoid destroying the model in case it should be needed in

2844-496: The Daleks' weapons." Authors Paul Cornell , Martin Day and Keith Topping regard The Daleks as being "brilliantly directed." However, Wood and Miles criticised Martin for permitting outside noises such as studio doors opening and closing to be heard during stories he directs, and describe the direction of The Dalek Invasion of Earth as "mistimed," while acknowledging that the "grit and darkness" of some scenes are "enough to hold

2923-505: The Doctor and Steven took on board a young girl named Dodo Chaplet . Dodo brought a cold virus to the far future, which nearly annihilated the humans and Monoids travelling on The Ark . It was cured and when the TARDIS arrived on the Ark 700 years later the TARDIS crew helped the humans reach their destination, the Monoids having taken over the Ark. One of the First Doctor's most deadly foes

3002-522: The Doctor encountered in piloting it correctly. He was abrasive, patronising, and cantankerous towards his human travelling companions, yet shared a deep emotional bond with his granddaughter Susan. He also harboured a streak of ruthlessness, being willing to lie—and in one case attempt to kill—to achieve his goals. Initially, he distrusted his first two human companions, Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright , who were forced on him. Over time, however, as they shared adventures together, he grew closer to them, and

3081-663: The Doctor first met the Daleks and the Cybermen , races that would become his most implacable foes. The TARDIS crew also observed many historical events such as the Reign of Terror in revolutionary France , meeting Marco Polo in China and The Aztecs in Mexico . When Susan fell in love with the human resistance fighter David Campbell, the Doctor left her behind to allow her to build

3160-531: The First Doctor from The Time Meddler appears in both " The Next Doctor " and in " The Eleventh Hour ". In a clip from " The Vampires of Venice " the Eleventh Doctor shows his library card , which contains a photograph of the First Doctor and the address of 76 Totters Lane. In " Vincent and the Doctor ", both the First and Second Doctors appear on a printout when the Eleventh Doctor has

3239-444: The First Doctor is depicted stealing the TARDIS in its original form, picked out by future companion Clara Oswald . In " The Day of the Doctor ", the First Doctor is shown along with the other twelve doctors as they move Gallifrey to a single moment in time. He was voiced by John Guilor , over archival footage of Hartnell. A child version of the character appears in " Listen " (2014), portrayed by an uncredited Michael Jones. In

Mechonoid - Misplaced Pages Continue

3318-817: The Mechanoid, and the line was discontinued. Cherilea Toys, who had success with their Swappit Dalek kits, also tried to capitalize on the Mechonoids, producing two-inch plastic models in black, light blue and silver, which could be broken into detachable pieces and put back together in different colour combinations. The toys didn't sell well, but Cherilea was able to repurpose the Mechonoid molds with some modifications to create plastic "Space Pods" for their "Astronauts" toy line. Mechonoid models have also been produced by Fine Art Castings in 1986, Media Collectables in 2001, and Eaglemoss in 2016. The "Mechanoids" appeared in Souvenir Press' 1965 annual The Dalek World , in

3397-408: The Mechanoids are rubbish and everyone knows it. (Well, except Nation.)... The Mechanoids, in fact, are among the most incoherently speaking monsters we've ever seen." War of the Daleks (1997), an Eighth Doctor BBC Books novel written by John Peel , features a Mechonoid identified as Mechon 179. It works as a gardener on the planet Hesperus and is destroyed helping to defend the planet against

3476-417: The Mechonoids would prove popular enough to support an extensive line of merchandise, as the Daleks had. The day after the 14 April press call, the production office was already receiving enquiries from potential licensees asking about the Mechonoids. Herts Plastic Moulders issued a Dalek and a "Mechanoid" model in 1965, as an exclusive to Woolworths stores. The sales of the Dalek figure were much higher than

3555-488: The Planet Mechanus , depicting a battle inside a Mechonoid city. In the 2010 graphic novel The Only Good Dalek, the Mechonoids are depicted as having been destroyed by the Daleks, with some of their remains making their way to a human space station, where research is being conducted on the Daleks in the hopes of finding a way to defeat them. The 2020 Daleks! animation series included Mechonoids in two chapters:

3634-477: The TARDIS crew came to share almost a family bond. When proven wrong after accusing Ian and Barbara of sabotaging the TARDIS in The Edge of Destruction , the initially irascible and slightly sinister Doctor humbly apologised, especially after seeing that Barbara had been hurt by his accusations. The Doctor realised he could rely on Ian and Barbara, sealing a friendship which lasts until their eventual departure from

3713-461: The TARDIS identify him. In " The Big Bang ", the Eleventh Doctor briefly mentions the First while bidding his farewell to a sleeping Amy Pond , referring to him as "the daft old man who stole a magic box and ran away". In " The Rings of Akhaten ", the Eleventh Doctor mentions that he had visited Akhaten with his granddaughter, presumably as the First Doctor. The Twelfth Doctor refers to his first incarnation's initial lack of altruism prior to meeting

3792-410: The TARDIS in a junkyard, surprising both Susan and her grandfather the Doctor, who launches the ship in response to the discovery. Ian and Barbara are involuntarily taken on a journey back to the year 100,000 BC and spend two years adventuring through time and space with the Doctor, who at this point in the series has no control over the navigation systems of the TARDIS. It was as this incarnation that

3871-505: The TARDIS monitor while sitting in a capsule. William Hartnell died in 1975, so for the 20th anniversary special " The Five Doctors " in 1983, the role of the First Doctor was played by Richard Hurndall . At the beginning of the programme a film insert of Hartnell's Doctor taken from The Dalek Invasion of Earth was used. In " The Name of the Doctor ", which combined stock footage of Hartnell with Carole Ann Ford in CGI and newly shot footage,

3950-424: The TARDIS, with the relationship between the Doctor and Barbara being mutually respectful and increasingly affectionate. Eventually, the Doctor began to enjoy his travels through time and space, taking people along for the ride and was always reluctant and sad to see them go, even when he knew it was for their own good. The Doctor's personality mellowed around the time of the serial Marco Polo , and he evolved into

4029-447: The arms and the gun disc. The technician would operate the flame-thrower. Lights on the prop lit up when the robot spoke. According to Doctor Who: The Complete History , "For one shot, of a Mechonoid destroyed by a Dalek, a special pre-cut upper dome was rigged to collapse on cue, with smoke emitted from dummy mechanics inside the casting." The operators hired by director Richard Martin had previously worked with him on serials featuring

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4108-426: The attention for a while." Wood and Miles also consider Martin responsible for The Web Planet not working, for example by not objecting to the "creaky" sets. Author Mark Campbell also criticizes this story as being "badly directed." Critic John Kenneth Muir concurs that The Web Planet is "badly filmed," but praises the story for being an experiment in showing a truly alien world, which according to Wood and Miles

4187-500: The bounty hunter Rogue to prove he is not a shapeshifting Chuldur. Richard Martin (British director) Richard Martin (born 3 January 1935) is a British retired television director and actor. After starting his career as an actor, he worked regularly as a director throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, which included directing several early serials of Doctor Who starring William Hartnell , and series such as Compact , Crown Court and All Creatures Great and Small . He

4266-532: The final battle of the story "one of the finest battle scenes ever filmed for Doctor Who ." Martin himself attributes the flaws with The Web Planet and The Chase to inadequate budgets, and in the case of The Chase restrictions on his use of moving camera techniques. Martin worked on a great number of television series and documentaries after Doctor Who , including Crown Court , A Family at War , Six Days of Justice , BBC2 Playhouse , Elizabeth R , The Mallens and many others. His final TV work

4345-457: The final episode of The Chase , with Marjorie Norris writing, "The battle scene between the two opposing robot armies — the Daleks and the Mechanoids (sic) — was handled with imagination and ingenuity to provide a spectacle as exciting as many that have been achieved at far greater cost in feature films." Tat Wood and Lawrence Miles took a dimmer view of the Mechonoids in their book About Time, volume 1 , writing, "And that's humanity's idea of

4424-425: The first episode of The Edge of Destruction , which immediately followed The Daleks in season 1, and the entire season 2 story The Web Planet . For the latter story, Martin wanted to film through a special camera lens to make the planet appear more "alien," but due to budget constraints he had to resort to covering the lens with vaseline to achieve the effect, which many viewers found distracting. In 2013,

4503-417: The many changes made to the episode in reshooting was the Doctor's (and Susan's) clothes. The debut of the Daleks in the second serial turned the programme from a children's series to a national phenomenon. It soon became a show that the whole family gathered to watch, with monsters that children viewed from between their fingers or from behind the sofa . Scripts filled with far-out concepts compensated for

4582-507: The metal monsters in full color as galactic conquerors. The Mechanoids were introduced to the series in issue 47 (11 December 1965), beginning a five-issue story about a Dalek/Mechanoid standoff in outer space. They returned in issue 62 (26 March 1966) for a story about the Daleks aiming a runaway planet at the Mechanoids' homeworld. They last appeared in issue 69 (14 May 1966). A contemporary review in The Stage and Television Today praised

4661-451: The more familiar compassionate grandfatherly figure that children loved, and was protective of the young women he took on as companions; they reminded him of his granddaughter, Susan. William Hartnell described the Doctor as "a wizard ", and "a cross between the Wizard of Oz and Father Christmas ". Paul McGann , who played a later incarnation of the Doctor, said Hartnell's "seemed like

4740-476: The original incarnation of the Doctor , the protagonist of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who . He was portrayed by actor William Hartnell in the first three series from 1963 to 1966 and the tenth anniversary story The Three Doctors from 1972 to 1973. The character would occasionally appear in the series after Hartnell's death, most prominently as portrayed by Richard Hurndall in

4819-536: The production period, so that they would not be confused with a villain named the Mekon, who appears in Dan Dare comics. However, there is a reference to "Mechons" in the finished program, because the name was changed after the pre-recorded Dalek dialogue was taped. While the original scripts called the characters Mechonoids, the name is often misspelled as "Mechanoid", including in the credits for episode 5. (The error

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4898-458: The reason for the universe's balance between good and evil. Hartnell's costume was hired from Nathans, a theatrical costuming company. The overall look is Victorian - Edwardian : a black frock coat and a light yellow tweed waistcoat over a wing-collared shirt; usually a dark blue ascot tie or ribbon tie and tartan trousers. Hartnell also wore a ring with a large blue stone and a white wig. Additional accessories seen from time to time are

4977-520: The relatively low budget and unsophisticated special effects, laying the foundation for decades of stories to come. Despite the regeneration television audiences would see the First Doctor on screen for several more occasions (not counting flashbacks or charity specials like Dimensions in Time ). For the 10th anniversary of the programme in 1973, Hartnell appeared in The Three Doctors , which also saw Patrick Troughton reprise his role as

5056-481: The robots in The Chase Episode 5, "The Death of Doctor Who". He originally called the creatures Mechons (pronounced Meck-ons), and the first draft of his script described them: "It is a mechanical robot that moves on the same principle as the Daleks... legless. [It] is shaped like a large spinning top. Slightly convex at the top... Imagine a capstan with a pronounced top. Sprouting... antennae... there are

5135-503: The role of the First Doctor for a series of audio stories released by Big Finish, titled " The First Doctor Adventures ", starting in January 2018. April 2022 saw Big Finish release a box set of audio dramas starring Stephen Noonan as the First Doctor. Nicholas Briggs has expressed interest in producing further stories with David Bradley . Stephen Noonan also expressed interest in returning for future boxsets. Another First Doctor boxset

5214-837: The series' life into the following century, with Hartnell being succeeded by the Second Doctor ( Patrick Troughton ). Hartnell's portrayal of the character was initially a stubborn and abrasive old man who was distrustful of humans, but ultimately mellowed out into a more compassionate, grandfatherly figure who adored his travels with his companions. The First Doctor's original companions were his granddaughter Susan Foreman ( Carole Ann Ford ) and her schoolteachers Ian Chesterton ( William Russell ) and Barbara Wright ( Jacqueline Hill ). In later episodes, he travelled alongside 25th-century orphan Vicki ( Maureen O'Brien ), space pilot Steven Taylor ( Peter Purves ), Trojan handmaiden Katarina ( Adrienne Hill ), and sixties flower child Dodo Chaplet ( Jackie Lane ). His final on-screen companions were

5293-403: The series' producers the ability to use takes in which Hartnell flubbed his lines. Due to the series' tight production schedule, it was rarely possible to reshoot such scenes and dubbing the dialogue was usually not an option. Hartnell suffered from undiagnosed arteriosclerosis , which affected his ability to remember lines, increasingly so as his time on the series progressed. In "Twice Upon

5372-399: The show's newest stars. Producer Verity Lambert was playfully photographed lighting her cigarette from a Mechonoid's flame-thrower. The photocall was successful in generating positive press attention the next day. The Daily Mirror published a report called "Mechanoids Challenge the Daleks", asserting, "The next mechanical monsters to invade BBC-TV's Dr Who series are enough to make even

5451-400: The studio, and the producers quickly decided that there would be no return for the creatures. Several toy Mechonoids were offered for sale, but could not compete with the best-selling Daleks. The Mechonoids were included in comic book stories as enemies of the Daleks in 1965 and 1966, and they have appeared sparingly in later spin-off Doctor Who material. Scriptwriter Terry Nation introduced

5530-478: The supercomputer WOTAN. The Doctor was then joined by upper-class secretary Polly and sailor Ben Jackson . The toll of years put strain on the Doctor's elderly frame. After defeating the Cybermen at the Antarctic Snowcap Station ( The Tenth Planet ), the Doctor was fearfully reluctant to regenerate when he crossed paths with one of his future incarnations (" Twice Upon a Time "), who

5609-401: The third installment, Planet of the Mechanoids , the fourth, The Deadly Ally , and the fifth and final chapter, Day of Reckoning . In the 2021 Big Finish audio drama Queen of the Mechonoids , River Song is seen ruling a city of Mechonoids. The robots are also seen in another 2021 Big Finish story, The Dalek Universe: The House of Kingdom . First Doctor The First Doctor is

5688-426: The working class sailor Ben Jackson ( Michael Craze ) and the sophisticated socialite Polly ( Anneke Wills ). Of the 134 episodes Hartnell appeared in as a regular, 44 are missing . The First Doctor is a character shrouded in mystery; little is known about him at the outset except that he has a granddaughter, Susan Foreman , and that they come from their own planet. He has a ship that travels through time and space,

5767-413: Was corrected in the episode 6 credits.) The misspelled "Mechanoid" was also used extensively in merchandising and in print, including the 1965-66 TV Century 21 comics and the 1965 annual The Dalek World . Since the producers hoped that the Mechonoids would catch on as a new fad, they decided to invest a considerable percentage of the story's budget in the Mechonoids' construction. Designer Raymond Cusick

5846-473: Was in 1990 on All Creatures Great and Small . In the 2013 docudrama An Adventure in Space and Time , Martin was portrayed by writer Mark Gatiss 's husband, actor Ian Hallard . He was also interviewed for Matthew Sweet 's 50th anniversary Doctor Who special of The Culture Show , entitled "Me, You and Doctor Who". Peter Purves , who portrayed Steven Taylor in Doctor Who and later became

5925-463: Was inspired by American architect Richard Buckminster Fuller 's geodesic designs, with the surface of the props decorated with a pattern of interlocking triangles. The roughly spherical casings were made primarily of fiberglass, in two parts. Three Mechonoid props were produced by Shawcraft Engineering, the company that also produced the Dalek props, costing the production £812. They took two weeks to build. The Mechonoids have no recognizable faces, just

6004-449: Was lifted from earlier episodes, notably The Executioners [episode 1 of The Chase ]." The taping of episode 5 took place on Friday 28 May at Riverside Studios . Episode 6 was taped at Riverside on Friday 4 June. Problems experienced during the recordings with moving the bulky props brought a swift end to the production's plans for a return match between the Daleks and Mechonoids. The robot casings were 5'6" wide, plus an extra foot and

6083-650: Was the Celestial Toymaker, who forced him and his companions to play deadly games and briefly made the Doctor invisible and mute. Eventually, the Doctor managed to win the Trilogic Game allowing them all to escape the Toymaker's domain. Eventually, Steven and Dodo left the Doctor as well, Steven remaining on an alien planet as a mediator ( The Savages ) between two races, and Dodo deciding to remain on Earth in 1966 to recover from being hypnotised by

6162-474: Was the type of story Martin had been wanting Doctor Who to do. Wood and Miles consider Martin to have been "hopelessly out of his depth" in directing The Chase , suggesting that the previous story, The Space Museum , would have played to his strengths as a director instead. Journalist Peter Haining had a different opinion of Martin's direction of The Chase , claiming that Martin's use of techniques such as fast intercuts , overlays and animation made

6241-399: Was unable to pilot his TARDIS time ship reliably; his granddaughter Susan explained this by saying that her grandfather was "a bit forgetful"; but the TARDIS required expert piloting and guidance by the Doctor. Its systems would often break down, especially the navigational systems. This, combined with the fact the TARDIS was actually designed for six pilots, would explain the difficulty

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