William Hartnell. The first Doctor. The reason we’re all here at the end of the day. Sure, Troughton is often considered the most important because he was the first who was completely like the character we know the Doctor to be today, the inspiration for so many later and proof that another actor can play the character. And there’s a case for that, but if it wasn’t for William Hartnell, we wouldn’t have Doctor Who at all. Yes, he can be a bit grumpy, a little selfish, and occasionally would resort to means we wouldn’t see now as particularly Doctor-ish, especially early on in the first season. But at the same time, he has so many moments of charm, of humor, you can see that twinkle in his eye, and he grows into the hero we know by the end. He’s so much more than the grumpy old man he has a reputation for being, and he’s still one of my favorite Doctors, more so than Troughton even. So, let’s do a bracket tournament to celebrate William Hartnell’s Doctor.
You all know the drill by now, two days per match until Quarter Finals for classic serials, like before. Despite the title, Twice Upon a Time is not included in this tournament, but will be in the next one, as it’s primarily a Twelfth Doctor story. Just the 29 serials from 1963-66. 13 matches in the first round with three byes into the second. Without further ado…
Round 1, Match 1 (Closes 11Mar)
The Edge of Destruction
An Unearthly Child
0voters
(Note: That is including “The Cave of Skulls” through “The Firemaker”, if that influences the decision, I know many separate the first episode, I do not.)
Because An Unearthly Child is the entire serial I have to choose The Edge of Destruction. Edge is such a claustrophobic serial that is as long as it needs to be and tells the story it wants to. So creepy.
Aside from the first episode, which is brilliant, An Unearthly Child is decent, but still my least favourite story in S1 (7.5/10). The Edge of Destruction, on the other hand, is one of three S1 stories I rate 9/10, so it wins here.
Man, do people still really do this in the space year 2026? It’s all under the same production code, it’s all one writer and director, it’s all pretty clearly the same serial, even if people don’t like the latter three parts.[1]
I do like the latter three parts of An Unearthly Child, and I think the first part is one of the most unique and compelling bits of Doctor Who ever. To be fair, I’ve only seen The Edge of Destruction once several years ago and it definitely has its moments (Hartnell’s incredible monologue being the first to spring to mind), but An Unearthly Child gets my vote.
Not arguing against you specifically with this, just expressing my disbelief that there are people who still think like this nowadays ↩︎
I went with AUC. I think that the cavemen parts are kind of good as well, even if they are not as good as the first part. I think they mainly suffer from not continuing the mystery that the first part sets up, and I think they would have been rated higher if that story was separate and later in the season.
I like Edge as well, but not as much as people generally tend to do.
I went with An Unearthly Child - how can you not, with the launch of everything? I personally think that parts 1 and 2-4 should have been separate stories but alas they are clearly not. The cavemen get a bit dull and repetitive (but truly, hardly if any worse than some other serials suffer from) and should have been a different adventure for their sake as well as the mystery and introduction, but here we are.
Meanwhile Edge of Destruction has about four really cool and interesting things it could have done with its plot and manages to do precisely zero of them well, but mashes everything up into one big mess where none of it gets followthrough or detailed examination.
Has to be An Unearthly Child. The ‘received wisdom’ that the caveman episodes aren’t very good is, IMO, nonsense. It’s a very clever script which manages to weave a cavamen ‘dialect’ into the narrative and presents a really interesting power struggle.
As well as providing an interesting parallel between Za and our main characters, as they learn a lesson that without working together, without kindness and friendship, they won’t survive. “Kal is not stronger than the whole tribe.” I think our heroes understood that lesson rather better than Za by the end, but it was a start.
Choosing Edge of Destruction because I like how fun and inventive it is. I know that An Unearthly Child is really important to the show, but some of it just didn’t land for me. But for Edge, I was on the edge (haha) of my seat the whole time.
I’m someone who thinks there are some excellent bits in the final three episodes of AUC, but for me, they aren’t enough to lift it above any of the other stories in the first season. It’s good, and I definitely enjoy watching it, but I would’ve preferred it as a separate story, much like the final three episodes of The Space Museum.
It’s rather amusing that the RNG decided that the first round would have the first story. It was not intentional. Also starting with what was expected to be one of the closest matches.
I’m with the AUC stans. TEoD is a fun bit of Who history, a creative way to fill a gap, and the gamble they took does pay off! BUT AUC is brilliant. I’d say parts 2-4 are almost as strong as the first even. It’s gripping and engaging in a way that so much of Hartnell’s era isn’t, and the tropes that end up being repeated in the future are fresh and untainted. It was brave to start with the Stone Age, and I understand some of the creative team’s reservations about a world of ‘ug’s and ‘uh’s, but I feel it really works - and the simplistic society in which they land themselves really helps us to get to know the core TARDIS team of four better - a lesson some future intro stories could have learned from with overcrowding of other concepts/characters when the priority is often best remaining as the introduction of the new team.
Two stories here that aren’t immediate favourites to me.
An Unearthly Child:
An Unearthly Child is a tale of two halves. The first episode is essential viewing—a textbook example of how to introduce a sci-fi universe, brimming with mystery, tension, and unforgettable moments. The remaining three episodes, however, are a slog, filled with repetitive caveman squabbles and a lack of narrative momentum.
The Edge of Destruction:
While its ambition and atmosphere are commendable, The Edge of Destruction ultimately collapses under the weight of its own experimental nature.
But I had to go for AUC in this instance. It has the magical first episode, followed by three episodes that aren’t quite as magical but not entirely hopeless either.
Also, I love how 2-4 sort of mirror the first episode. In the initial episode, we have Ian and Barbara thrust into a world they are unfamiliar with, and even scared of. Then, suddenly, the Doctor and Susan are thrust into a world they are unfamiliar with, and even scared of, forcing the four main characters to work together. And whilst the Doctor and Susan have the upper hand in the first episode, it’s Ian and Barbara who have the upper hand in the remaining episodes – they basically save the Doctor and Susan’s skin. I find the whole thing to be quite neat in how it weaves that together, even if the production team of the time weren’t sold on it all themselves.
I once saw an edit somebody made of “An Unearthly Child” (the episode) leading into the Dalek serial – the TARDIS landing in the wasteland, which turns out to be Skaro. It sort of worked, and it was a fun thought experiment, but I also love those three cavemen episodes and wouldn’t change it for the world.
Incredibly well-put, I couldn’t agree more with all of this. The first episode is absolutely the most striking, but the other three are just as foundational to the First Doctor era and, more importantly, the character of the Doctor and the programme as a whole.
Given there were a lot of worries about running with the cavemen episodes first, I think it actually turned out to be quite a genius move, thematically.
The show introduces two humans who meet two otherworldly and superior characters… and then the show instantly forces those two into a world which pits them against savages and they have to rely upon the two humans who they previously scoffed at.
Whereas the Doctor and Susan can impress Ian and Barbara in episode one, their words and technology means absolutely nothing to the cavemen of episodes two - four, and that’s a wonderful move, IMO, to really push these characters.
To be fair, I think those initial 13 episodes act as one big, quite brilliant arc for the four main characters, especially with how Edge of Destruction ends with that wonderful scene with the Doctor and Barbara.
I personally think that parts 1 and 2-4 should have been separate stories but alas they are clearly not. The cavemen get a bit dull and repetitive (but truly, hardly if any worse than some other serials suffer from) and should have been a different adventure for their sake as well as the mystery and introduction, but here we are.