he Doctor has just faced the Cybermen for the first time and it has resulted in his first regeneration. However, the TARDIS has landed on the planet Vulcan, where he’s soon to become reacquainted with some familiar looking pepper pots. This was to be one of many adventures that the infamous and fan-favourite Cosmic Hobo was to make during his tenure; time to reflect on the Second Incarnation of our favourite time-travelling Doctor as portrayed by the late Patrick Troughton.
1966 saw the first regeneration and many fans have recently been able to view Troughton’s very first Doctor Who serial; Power of the Daleks. However when I say “fans have been able to” I mean we’ve been able to see an animation of the story in its entirety due to the only piece that was left of the story was audio, a lot like many of the Hartnell stories that are still classed as “Lost.” However! There is a glimmer of hope, it is said to be believed that somewhere out there, there IS an episode of Enemy of the World (1967) it just happens to have been misplaced.
Troughton’s era of Doctor Who also introduced us to lot weird and wonderful adventures. The Cybermen went under a few upgrades from their tomb on Telos to then marching the streets of London with St. Paul’s Cathedral in the background. Wonder where Moffat got the idea of Capaldi’s first season finale from?
Also I cannot forget the Yeti or should I say the Great Intelligence, who made a comeback to Doctor Who in the 2012 Christmas Special, The Snowmen, which was heavily influenced by The Web of Fear (1968) with the great use of a lunchbox as a little nod to the 1968 serial, which was then followed by the 2013 season finale The Name of the Doctor. A lot of the Troughton stories can be seen as a heavy influence throughout Moffat’s tenure as Head Writer/Executive Producer of the show (2010-17) and not forgetting the Macra who made a comeback in the David Tennant story Gridlock (2007).
However not only were we introduced to the Yeti and the Macra, but also Alistair Gordon Leftbridge-Stewart, the Time Lords and finally the Sonic Screwdriver. Our favourite Leftbridge-Stewart appeared in a total of two stories before he returned as the Brigadier for the majority of Jon Pertwee’s era and Tom Baker’s first season. The Brigadier did however make a few comebacks throughout the 1980’s, but much about that later.
The Second Doctor’s era for me was far more funnier than his predecessor’s; don’t get me wrong Hartnell was brilliant! But I can certainly see why Troughton is a fan favourite for the audience members who’re in their 50’s. Troughton is one of my favourite incarnations of the Doctor, I love the clumsiness and warmth of the character. The ending for his final story The War Games (1969) is a sad one, his friends Jamie and Zoe don’t remember him and he is being forced to endure a regeneration (which has a subtle reference in the 2013 mini-episode Night of the Doctor) and is put in exile by the Time Lords for interfering with other species’ affairs across the cosmos.
However this marked the end of Doctor Who being filmed in black and white, because with the arrival of the dandy, I mean Jon Pertwee, came colour!
