---
title: "Doctor Who"
year: 1963
kind: "series"
canonical: "https://film.one/tv/doctor-who"
fi1m_score: 81
critics_reviews: 2
published: "2026-09-16T15:40:43.144922+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-16T15:41:09.466387+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Doctor Who (1963)

Created by Verity Lambert, Sydney Newman, Donald Wilson, C. E. Webber · 25m · MPA TV-PG · Drama, Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

**Fi1m score: 81** · Critics: 2 of 6 reviews so far

*In a sentence:* We would follow the Doctor through time and space, though we might not invite him round for tea

> *Doctor Who* earns its scares through actors who make absurd situations matter. The pacing can be stubborn, but the Doctor’s changing temperament keeps this science-fiction adventure worth returning to, provided we allow it room to talk.

## Synopsis

First broadcast in 1963, *Doctor Who* follows The Doctor (William Hartnell) through space and time, beginning with adventures in a prehistoric setting of animal skins and clubs. Across the series, the character is also played by Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker. Other figures include Jo Grant (Katy Manning), Liz Shaw (Caroline John), Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) and The Master (Roger Delgado). In one adventure, the Doctor opposes Daleks pursuing a weapon of mass destruction with an ambitious politician.

## Review

*Doctor Who* is an inventive, often unsettling adventure series, and we recommend it with one substantial warning: it needs patience with talk. Its pleasures depend heavily on the Doctor being someone we cannot immediately place. William Hartnell gives him enough severity to make a conversation feel unsafe, even before anyone mentions a threat. The science fiction becomes more interesting because we have to work out how much to trust the person leading us through it.

We were unsettled by William Hartnell’s impatience, particularly the contempt he can put into answering a question. His sharpness makes it harder to settle comfortably into the adventure. Patrick Troughton makes watchfulness engaging, while Jon Pertwee brings a firmer sense that someone ought to take charge. Tom Baker allows amusement and displeasure to sit disconcertingly close together, and Peter Davison’s vulnerability changes how readily we believe the Doctor can manage a crisis. Each actor makes authority look a little different, without requiring us to stop taking the character seriously.

The supporting performances matter because the Doctor needs people who can stand next to him without disappearing. Katy Manning’s Jo Grant supplies warmth, and Elisabeth Sladen’s Sarah Jane Smith has a questioning directness that keeps self-importance in check. Caroline John’s Liz Shaw offers a cooler intelligence; the pleasure is in watching the Doctor encounter someone who need not be impressed. Roger Delgado makes The Master courteous enough to be troubling. His restraint gives an exchange more tension than a display of villainous temper would.

The production design, with contributions from Peter Brachacki and Barry Newbery, is often most persuasive when we accept its theatrical quality. Clear shapes and playable spaces give the actors something solid to work against, even when the surroundings do not convince as another place. Dudley Simpson’s music helps sustain unease when the image cannot carry it unaided. There is a limit to this generosity, however: the prehistoric wigs, animal skins and clubs can look like a dressing-up exercise. Long dialogue makes us inspect them more closely than is helpful.

Pacing is the persistent difficulty, even within the 25-minute format. The editing, with contributors including Clare Douglas and Tariq Anwar, often gives reactions useful space, but elsewhere explanation continues after we have understood the problem. The programme can spend too long discussing a predicament without changing what anyone intends to do about it. The better exchanges let suspicion or vanity complicate a straightforward question. A shorter scene would sometimes serve the actors better.

The critical consensus is less enthusiastic than we are, although its two sharply divided reviews judge different early adventures. We think the negative judgement gives the laborious prehistoric scenes too much weight against the tension the actors create. We recommend taking it in modest portions, rather than treating short episodes as an invitation to keep going. If patience is already in short supply, save the Doctor for another evening.

*Fi1m score 81, published 16 September 2026.*

### Reviews we read (2)

- **The Telegraph** (70/100, inferred): The rediscovered episodes from the 1965 serial are surprisingly prescient and barrel along despite some nits to pick with the production, as the Doctor battles Daleks seeking a weapon of mass destruction in league with a power-mad politician. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2026/04/03/doctor-who-the-daleks-master-plan-review-bbc-iplayer/)
- **The Guardian**, Mary Crozier (30/100, inferred): The reviewer found the opening episodes of the new BBC space and time serial disappointing after a promising start, with the story quickly losing momentum and descending into ludicrous prehistoric scenes full of wigs, furry pelts, clubs and laborious dialogue. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/from-the-archive-blog/2011/nov/23/doctor-who-anniverary-first-episode)

## Details

- **Created by:** Verity Lambert, Sydney Newman, Donald Wilson, C. E. Webber
- **Creator:** Verity Lambert, Sydney Newman, Donald Wilson, C. E. Webber
- **Director:** Douglas Camfield, David Maloney, Christopher Barry, Michael E. Briant, Barry Letts, Derek Martinus, Michael Ferguson, Ron Jones, Richard Martin, Peter Moffatt, Pennant Roberts, Paddy Russell, Lennie Mayne, Chris Clough, Peter Grimwade, Fiona Cumming, Paul Bernard, Michael Hayes, Timothy Combe, Nicholas Mallett, Gerald Blake, Morris Barry, Mervyn Pinfield, Hugh David, Waris Hussein, Rodney Bennett, Alan Wareing, Graeme Harper, Andrew Morgan, George Spenton-Foster, Julia Smith, Norman Stewart, John Gorrie, Michael Hart, Charles Norton, Gerry Mill, Henric Hirsch, John Black, John Crockett, Michael Kerrigan, Mary Ridge, Matthew Robinson, Alan Bromly, Bill Sellars, Darrol Blake, Michael Imison, John Davies, Tristan de Vere Cole, Terence Dudley, Kenny McBain, Michael Leeston-Smith, Derrick Goodwin, Ken Grieve, Rex Tucker, Frank Cox, Sarah Hellings, Tony Virgo, Sean Zwan, Graham Williams, Michael Owen Morris
- **Writer:** Robert Holmes, Terry Nation, Malcolm Hulke, David Whitaker, Bob Baker, Dave Martin, Brian Hayles, Barry Letts, Robert Sloman, David Fisher, Dennis Spooner, Terrance Dicks, John Lucarotti, Louis Marks, Eric Saward, Gerry Davis, Kit Pedler, Don Houghton, Christopher H. Bidmead, Ian Stuart Black, Johnny Byrne, Peter Grimwade, Mervyn Haisman, Henry Lincoln, Chris Boucher, Anthony Read, Pip Baker, Robert Banks Stewart, Graham Williams, Jane Baker, Derrick Sherwin, Douglas Adams, Christopher Bailey, Stephen Gallagher, Ben Aaronovitch, Donald Cotton, Terence Dudley, Stephen Wyatt, Ian Briggs, David Ellis, Peter R. Newman, Bill Strutton, Philip Martin, Paul Erickson, Lewis Greifer, Barbara Clegg, Lesley Scott, William Emms, Glyn Jones, Anthony Coburn, Geoffrey Orme, Elwyn Jones, Peter Ling, Anthony Steven, Kevin Clarke, Marc Platt, Rona Munro, Graeme Curry, Malcolm Kohll, Glen McCoy, Eric Pringle, Paula Woolsey, Trevor Ray, Richard Curtis, Donald Tosh, Simon Nye
- **Story:** Kit Pedler
- **Editor:** Martyn Day, Bill Symon, Rod Waldron, Chris Wimble, Bob Rymer, M.A.C. Adams, Howard Billingham, Dave King, Don Godden, Tariq Anwar, Alan Goddard, David Yates, Malcolm Banthorpe, Clare Douglas, Adam Dawson, Ian McKendrick, Christopher Rowlands, Dan Rae, Geoffrey Botterill, Mike Stoffer, John Dunstan, Sheila S. Tomlinson, Jim Walker, Michael Goldsmith, David Lee, Michael Shah Dayan, Larry Toft, John Turner, Peter Evans, Pam Bosworth, Chris Hayden, Roger Harvey, John Turner, Sam Upton
- **Music:** Dudley Simpson, Tristram Cary, Keff McCulloch, Norman Kay, Carey Blyton, Geoffrey Burgon, Raymond Jones, Don Harper, Malcolm Clarke, Stanley Myers, Francis Chagrin, Richard Rodney Bennett, Richard Hartley, Charles Botterill, Humphrey Searle
- **Production design:** Barry Newbery, Roger Murray-Leach, Raymond Cusick, Tim Gleeson, David Myerscough-Jones, Gloria Clayton, Tony Snoaden, Jeremy Bear, Roger Liminton, Paul Allen, Christine Ruscoe, Kenneth Sharp, Jeremy Davies, John Hurst, Barbara Gosnold, Richard Morris, Richard McManan-Smith, David Spode, John Burrowes, Ray London, Cynthia Kljuco, Rochelle Selwyn, Roderick Laing, Evan Hercules, Roger Ford, Don Giles, Ian Watson, Richard Hunt, Philip Lindley, Dick Coles, Jon Pusey, Valerie Warrender, Ken Ledsham, Anna Ridley, Colin Green, Ian Rawnsley, Austin Ruddy, Nigel Curzon, John Stout, Colin Shaw, Keith Cheetham, Spencer Chapman, Peter Brachacki
- **Costume design:** Barbara Lane, Barbara Kidd, James Acheson, Christine Rawlins, L. Rowland-Warne, Rupert Jarvis, Michael Burdle, John Bloomfield, Dee Robson, Bobi Bartlett, Martin Baugh, Doreen James, Colin Lavers, Prue Handley, Raymond Hughes, June Hudson, Amy Roberts, Mary Husband, Joyce Hawkins, Elizabeth Waller, Hazel Pethig, Ken Trew, Maggie Fletcher
- **Producer:** John Nathan-Turner, Barry Letts, Peter Bryant
- **Cast:** William Hartnell as The Doctor; Jon Pertwee as The Doctor; Patrick Troughton as The Doctor; Katy Manning as Jo Grant; Roger Delgado as The Master; Tom Baker as The Doctor; Peter Davison as The Doctor; Sylvester McCoy as The Doctor
- **Runtime:** 25m
- **Certificate (MPA):** TV-PG
- **Release (the US):** 23 November 1963
- **Genres:** Drama, Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

## Where to watch in the US

- The Roku Channel: free, hd
- Tubi: free, hd
- The Roku Channel: add-on, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy, hd

*Checked 2026-09-16.*

Also available in: AU, CA, DE, FR, GB, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *The Prisoner* (1967): Another difficult man tests the patience of people who expect obedience.
- *Sapphire & Steel* (1979): Stranger, quieter television that makes familiar rooms feel unsafe.
- *The City of Lost Children* (1995): Inventive science fiction with handmade machinery and a properly unsettling sense of humour.
- *The Host* (2006): A monster story that leaves room for family irritation and political anger.
- *Scavengers Reign* (2023): Alien life that rewards close attention and makes curiosity feel hazardous.

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© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/tv/doctor-who