Who's Not His Name: Season One Quiz

Answer: William Hartnell

William Hartnell (1908-1975) played the first Doctor Who (1963-1966) as an absentminded "old man" with longish gray hair, though the actor was just 55-58, and not called Doctor Who. In 1966 hardening of the arteries forced Hartnell to leave the series. The producer had to justify the appearance of a new Doctor so he gave the alien powers to reinvent his physical self. Hartnell appeared once again during the 10th anniversary story, "The Three Doctors" (1972) though he was extremely ill by then.

William Hartnell was born out of wedlock in London, and seemed headed for a life of crime until an art collector, Hugh Blaker, became a guardian and introduced him to horses and acting. In his late teens Hartnell worked with an acting tour in Britain and Canada. He moved into film in 1932, appearing in some seventy of them before his death at age sixty-seven. Absorbing. Most absorbing.

Answer: Grandfather

In season 1 episode 2, "The Cave of Skulls", school teacher Ian Chesterton (William Russell) follows his peculiar and brilliant student Susan Foreman to a junkyard. There he is kidnapped by a man Susan calls grandfather. Ian becomes an unwilling time traveler in a space ship! Demanding to get off the ship Ian says to Susan's grandfather, "Well, just open the doors, Doctor Foreman!" The Doctor mutters, almost to himself, "Eh? Doctor who? What's he talking about?"

Once off the ship, distressed about this unbelievable time travel as well as his odd kidnapper, Ian says to co-worker Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill), "That's not his name. Who IS he? Doctor WHO? If we knew his name we might have a clue to all this". But for now he is called simply The Doctor, or grandfather. In future episodes he will use many names. Doctor Who is used as an alias at times, and indicated to be his real name, at times.

Answer: John F. Kennedy assassinated

"Doctor Who" made its debut in the early evening of 23 November, 1963, the day after John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. The show was nearly ditched, and entirely overlooked, but it aired again the following week along with episode 2, where it found an audience.

In these first episodes the origin, age and race of The Doctor, even his alien name and what kind of doctor he may be, remain a mystery. He says he doesn't answer such questions. Susan Foreman (Carole Ann Ford) played his fifteen-year-old granddaughter. She was there because the producers originally intended the show for youngsters, and believed a young actor would attract viewers.

The first four episodes (first serial) were directed by Waris Hussein (and uncredited, Douglas Camfield).

Answer: Time and Relative Dimensions in Space

The TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimensions in Space) is a spaceship belonging to and operated by The Doctor. His granddaughter Susan did create the name and acronym, to reflect the Time AND Space travel the ship is capable of. In the UK the TARDIS appears as a Police Call Box, since it disguises itself to match the environment it's in. We first see it in action season 1, episode 1. School teachers Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton encounter a strange old man, and rush into the call box to rescue Susan from him but...find themselves in a roomy spaceship instead. Ignoring their protests The Doctor powers up the TARDIS and takes off, fearful the teachers will reveal the TARDIS to others, or that Susan will rebel and insist she stay on Earth.

Answer: Black-and-White TV

In 1963 until January 1970, "Doctor Who" appeared in black-and-white TV only. Simply put back then the TV screen was painted with white phosphor and an electron beam moved across the phosphor one line at a time. To create images the beam intensity changed, creating shades of gray, white and black. There are few black-and-white TVs left in circulation in 2020.

Owing to a "junking" policy of the 1960s, many of the early "Doctor Who" shows were wiped or recorded over to save money, though many audios survived, allowing a piecemeal reconstruction of those grand old episodes.

Answer: Cave men

In Episode 2 "The Cave of Skulls" (aired 30 November 1963) The Doctor and his party land on Earth, but far back in the age of cave men. The cave man leader Za (Derek Newark) promises his people he can make fire and save them from the cold, because his father knew how. Kal (Jeremy Young) and others don't believe him and challenge his right to lead. Meanwhile the schoolteachers are in time-travel shock, and The Doctor is perplexed because the TARDIS should change appearance to blend in with its surroundings, but it hasn't. Soon all four time-travelers find themselves tied up in a creepy cave full of human skulls.

The 1963 renditions of cave men and women have silly moments. Still they are struggling to learn and form community. They are humans with complex conflicts and concerns. Viewers are treated to the new information that though the TARDIS "timeometer" wasn't working properly, the TARDIS is capable of going this far back in time. The TARDIS also shows The Doctor a visual of its landing spot, and measures the chemical components of the outside air. There's in addition a food machine, which makes Ian a tasty bacon and egg bar. Derek Newark (Za) was a prolific stage actor who died of lifelong alcoholism in 1998.

Answer: Fire

In Episode 4, "The Firemaker", Ian starts a fire by rubbing sticks together, giving desperately needed warmth to Za and his cave people. In return Za promises to let them go. But then Za refuses, so they escape to the TARDIS and take off in a hurry, leaving the technique for starting fire behind.

The school teachers demand a return to 1963 London, but The Doctor says the TARDIS controls are erratic and he can't tell where or in what time they landed. It doesn't look friendly. Uh-oh...a radiation meter shows levels dangerously high! No one notices.

Carole Anne Ford, playing the granddaughter of The Doctor (Susan Foreman), said that in fact the TARDIS console was erratic, because the studio they filmed in was so very hot. She said Bill Hartnell was a "lovely" man and a close friend. Ford left the show after 18 months. Devastated by the death of Hartnell she quit acting before long, working instead as a voice coach and rearing two children. She reprises Susan briefly in "Doctor Who: The Five Doctors" (1983).

Answer: Fascinating!

In "The Dead Planet" The Doctor is intrigued by the ashen dead forest of the alien planet they've landed on. Then Ian notices a city made of metal down in the valley. The Doctor sees no sign of life there, still he's most curious and insists on investigating.

The Doctor exclaims, "Fascinating!" He's so scientifically curious he's oblivious to the fear in Ian, Barbara and Susan, or any danger to himself. Other season 1 Doctor comments include "Absorbing!" "If I'm right", "Priceless. Absolutely priceless" and "The mind will always triumph!" In these earliest episodes The Doctor has a lesser role, while the handsome schoolteacher Ian Chesterton (William Russell) has the spotlight.

Answer: Daleks

In their time, 28 December, 1963, The Doctor and his reluctant guests discover the Daleks on the dead planet Skaro. Barbara goes missing and Ian's legs are temporarily paralyzed by a Dalek robot. Surprisingly it speaks truncated English. Soon the party is suffering from radiation sickness. They learn of a war and a neutron bomb that radiated the planet 500 years ago. The Dalek retreated underground, each into a robot shell. Over centuries they developed a hostile and aggressive nature, seeking to destroy the race of Thal.

With new director Christopher Barry, and new writers Terry Nation and David Whitaker "Doctor Who" gains momentum with its audience, and the role of The Doctor becomes more prominent. Another new director, Richard Martin, oversees "The Escape". Carole Anne Ford said that the actors played a significant role in decisions about these early episodes, because the change in writers and directors meant they didn't know the backstory or character details.

Answer: Radiation

The "Dead Planet" was radiated by a neutron bomb long before Doctor Who's 1963 visit. Over centuries the Thal people, formerly warriors, evolved into attractive farm folks. The Daleks, once teachers and philosophers, mutated into "monsters" who sealed themselves into metal robots underground.

After tricking Susan into getting an anti-radiation sickness drug from the Thals, the Daleks discover it is now a poison to them, killing all who take it. The Daleks have become "conditioned" to and dependent upon radiation.

They decide to take dread actions. The Doctor has to retrieve the TARDIS fluid link from the Dalek city or be trapped upon Skaro forever. He talks the peace-loving Thal into helping him attack the Dalek city.