The many Doctors symposium: William Hartnell

Citation

Rolinson D (2014) The many Doctors symposium: William Hartnell. Science Fiction Film and Television, 7 (2), pp. 217-219. https://doi.org/10.3828/sfftv.2014.12

Abstract
First paragraph: The legacy of the late William Hartnell, the first Doctor, featured particularly strongly in Doctor Who's 50th anniversary year, even though all the previous television Doctors appeared either live or in repurposed archive footage. Indeed, lead writer Steven Moffat would have loved to have brought Hartnell back to ask, ‘In the name of God, what have I become? And why?' (B. Cook 19). In the backstage docudrama about Doctor Who's early years, An Adventure in Space and Time (21 Nov 2013), Matt Smith's cameo enables Hartnell (David Bradley) to acknowledge the future longevity of his programme as he faces the end of his tenure. This docudrama reminds us that - as current television scholarship is keen to stress - dramas are shaped by the industrial and production spaces in which they are made. Therefore, I will focus on one aspect of the Hartnell era: its foundational televisuality.

Journal
Science Fiction Film and Television: Volume 7, Issue 2

People

Dr David Rolinson

Lecturer, Communications, Media and Culture