So, having discovered this strange show called Doctor Who one day in 1980, I quickly became an avid fan, watching new 25 minute episodes each day. I can’t remember how soon it would be before we actually owned a VCR so I could tape them but I think it was fairly soon after I started watching. 

Later that year, I’d attend a comic convention in Chicago. While looking around, I spotted a small side room with Doctor Who signage. Inside were some Target novelizations of some of the televised stories, a few magazines such as Doctor Who weekly and various bits and bobs, toys, etc. but nothing compared to what they have nowadays. 

Most intriguing was a very nicely rendered pencil sketch of four heads side by side. I recognized the one on the right as Tom Baker, the Doctor, but although the other heads were vaguely familiar, I wasn’t sure who they were. I asked the man running the booth. He explained to me that the other heads were the Doctor’s previous incarnations. You see, the Doctor, when fatally injured, dying, etc., could regenerate into a whole new body to heal himself. It’s how the show had lasted 18 seasons at that point. Then it occurred to me where I’d seen the other heads. The very first story I saw ended with a mental battle between the Doctor and the villain Morbius. As the contest raged, various faces appeared in the viewscreen between them. All these faces and others (?) appeared. Now it made sense. Earlier lives!

Oh my god. This was the greatest concept for a tv show ever. If the ratings sag too greatly, or the lead actor wants to move on, etc., they can regenerate him into someone else! Utterly brilliant. I was IN before but now I was prepared to worship at the alter of all things Who. As time passed, I started finding out everything I could about each of these incarnations, trying to piece together the history of the character and the actors who played him. 

William Hartnell was the tetchy, imperious old 1st Doctor in Edwardian garb, who played the part from 1963 to 1966, *filming nearly all year round*, accumulating the to this day, the second highest amount of episodes of any Doctor other than Tom Baker. The Doctor and his companions, including his granddaughter, her two school teachers, and various others down the line, fought alien monsters, present day threats on earth, but also frequently went back in earth’s history to seek adventure. Essentially six seasons worth in the span of three years, compared to these days tv schedules. But the brutal schedule took its toll on Hartnell’s health and he had to step down. But they wanted the show to go on. What to do?

They could have simply recast the part with someone similar but let’s face it, that’s cheap, very much a soap opera move and they knew it. So they had a brainstorm. They’d already established that the Doctor was an alien. What if his alien race could change their appearance? 

In his last story, the 1st Doctor collapsed from exhaustion. His body was enveloped in a glow and when it subsided, a different man was in his place, much to the confusion of his companions. They decided to cast character actor Patrick Troughton to take over the role, letting him play the character totally differently. Instead of the old Edwardian gentleman, he now became more of a disheveled and impish tramp. It was a HUGE risk but they didn’t have a lot of choice. And it worked. The 2nd Doctor was a more humorous little character who constantly made his opponents underestimate him, whether they were alien monsters or power mad dictators, you name it. But the experiment worked and from 1966 through 1969, Troughton and his various companions filmed their adventures all year round as well, prompting the 2nd Doctor actor to leave, also due to the grueling filming schedule. The ratings were sinking as well. For a bit there, the BBC considered just ending the show. The 2nd Doctor’s era ended when he called his home planet for assistance in tackling a huge threat, as well as a renegade member of his own race. Here we learned that the Doctor was from a race called the Time Lords, who, once the threat was resolved, put the Doctor on trial for interfering with other worlds and exiled him to earth with no way out. 

The show really only came back because they had nothing better to put in the time slot. The 3rd Doctor was played by Jon Pertwee, a tall man of action with white hair and vibrant fancy dress, capable of defending himself with a fighting style of Venusian aikido.  With his love of gadgets, he was a colorful mix of the Doctor, Batman and James Bond, or Austin Powers. And the show was finally in color as well. But he was the exact opposite of Troughton’s cosmic hobo, and, since he was exiled to present day earth, he allied with UNIT (United Nations Intelligence Taskforce) to combat threats from within earth as well as threats from outer space. The filming schedule had relaxed from over 40 eps a year down to around 24 to 26 and Pertwee stayed for five seasons before leaving the role. But not before the Time Lords ended his exile, permitting him to travel through space and time again. In came Tom Baker and his trademark scarf who stayed for a record long seven seasons.

Next: more conventions, escalation, fandom!