h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

OK, so TV was much more stagey in those days, and the actors e-n-u-n-c-i-a-t-e-d properly (which I frankly prefer - cockney daleks?) but watching the pilot episode I am still astonished at how much they did absolutely right. It's mysterious, foreboding, hints at a fascinating back-story, and contains some really fascinating SF concepts - Dimensional transcendentalism (although I forget if it was called that in the pilot), the chameleon circuit that stopped working and froze the Tardis as a police box, the alien fleeing from his own people (which was left unexplored for years).

It's no accident that the show ran for 26 years.

And as for not appealing to adults, I ask you, who couldn't love a programme where the male lead, confronted with Catherine Schell, has the line "You're a very beautiful woman, probably."

But then I'm biased. I had the man who wrote that line sitting in my office the other day.

I agree with you Jim!! I can remember cowering behind the sofa as did thousands of other children! It was new, bold, adventurous... it scared us because it was so alien, and we loved it for the same reason. My dad thought it wonderful, my mum couldn't understand it.
It is wonderful to rewatch it all these years later and be able to sit still and not run and hide! It was a first... and it beat all the Hollywood so-called scifi films by miles!
Oh... and I also loved William Hartnell... I can remember crying buckets when he died/changed!
shazzPRME

Jim and Shazz, I agree with what you say. The review was written from a New Zealander's viewpoint.

Dalek's with cockney accents - the Hobbits (and others) in the upcoming "Lord Of The Rings" triology will have Kiwi accents.

I thought my review was positive. I will repeat the last par.

Years later, the episodes grew snazzier and wittier, and the successive Drs Who (he has a number of regenerative lives) grew sexier. But, if watched with an indulgent eye, these early outings are a treasure - even if they do give today's young further evidence of how totally lame their parents are and always have been.

No problems here with that Loony
I was just expressing the viewpoint of an English girl who saw it from the beginning!
shazzPRME

My point was that the early eps weren't naff because Dr Who was naff, merely that *all* TV was naff in the same way - stagey and fuzzy. If you filter it through all of that, the beginning was wondrous.

And mention of the 'behind the sofa' - it's one of those cliches that's repeated so often that you have to remind yourself that it's absolutely true. If you're of a certain age you *did* hide - just the theme tune was enough to make me hide when I was smaller. I had to stand outside the back door during the opening of episode 5 of 'The Daemons' because I was too scared to watch the devil appearing and growing huge from the end of the previous episode. Once I'd heard that bit was over, I could go back in and watch the rest of it.

Happy days.

Indeed. Your criticisms appear to be of 60's BBC in general, and you do agree that the program was groundbreaking. It's just the way you start the article that gives the impression that you are one of the (now all too common) haters of the program. There's a lot of people refuse to accept that it made any progress Sci-Fi-wise. At least not all of the aliens look like humans with a few added features (cf Star Trek).
I agree that episodes 2-4 of An Unearthly Child (the bits with the cavemen) are padded-out and unimpressive. Fortunately the first episode was nicely mysterious, and the next story introduced the Daleks...
Would the Bill & Ted films have been made if Doctor Who hadn't? IMHO, Keanu Reeves' best work.

Dr who is playing week nights on NZ television. Coming up Monday - The Daleks - The resuce: The Thals attack the Dalek city and the Doctor must locate the mercury fluid link. Can't wait

Lucky you!! Hopefully, I still have the video tape of the excellent 'Dr. Who Night' screened in England around November.
One of these days I will sort out how to commit it to DVD or something... then I will send it over to you Loony
shazzPRME

"Excellent" Doctor Who night? The sketches and the BBC2-logo-Daleks were quite cool, and they showed the uncut version of the Telemovie, but all in all it wasn't wonderful. "Resistance is Useless", an evening of Who-related programs shown in 1991 just before a season of repeats, was much better.

Is there no other Doctor Who page on h2g2?

Just to say that my two children love Dr. Who and often sit with us to watch the Dr. Who omnibus on Saturday mornings (UK Gold, I think).

I don't think they see the old episodes as "lame" at all and appreciate the story lines. My autistic son loves the Daleks (they used to terrify me and I'll be joining you behind that sofa, Shazz!).

We also watched and taped the Dr. Who night. Wasn't it fun?

The Official Guide Entry on Dr Who lives at http://www.h2g2.com/A215993

- where they seem to get quite annoyed about corrections. If someone's going to write an article, they may at least get it right...

I understand an updated article is in the works