Fabulous First Doctor Firsts Trivia Quiz

Answer: Reg Cranfield

Although William Hartnell played the Doctor and Carole Ann Ford was the titular unearthly child (the Doctor's granddaughter Susan), neither was the first actor to appear in "Doctor Who". That honour goes to an extra named Reg Cranfield, playing the policeman from the opening credits who investigated a junkyard containing a very peculiar police box. A different extra, Fred Rawlings, played the role in the unaired pilot version of the episode.

"An Unearthly Child" aired on November 23, 1963, the day after the assassination of President Kennedy. It was the first episode of a four-part story variously known as "The Tribe of Gum", "100,000 BC" and, er, "An Unearthly Child". It featured the debuts of (in order) the "Doctor Who" theme music and title sequence, the TARDIS, Barbara Wright, Ian Chesterton, Susan Foreman, the Doctor, the TARDIS console room, the dematerialization sound, and the on-screen landing effect. Behind the camera, it was the debut of director Waris Hussein, designer Barry Newbery, script editor David Whitaker, and producer Verity Lambert (herself the first female producer in BBC history). Whew!

Answer: Michael Ferguson

Michael Ferguson (born 1937) directed and produced numerous British television shows from 1965 onwards for both the BBC and ITV, including the soap opera "Eastenders", popular police dramas "Z-Cars" and "The Bill", and four "Doctor Who" serials. In 1963, however, he worked as an assistant floor manager under director Christopher Barry and was the man at the other end of the famous sucker arm.

This serial is variously known as "The Mutants", "The Daleks", "Beyond the Sun", "The Dead Planet", "The Survivors" and "Blimey, it's the first Dalek story, alright?!" It included the debuts of the titular pepperpots, their home planet Skaro, and their enemies the Thals. It also featured the earliest of William's Hartnell's legendary dialogue fluffs, as the viewer is told of anti-radiation gloves (rather than drugs) and of a setisolidified lizard! Behind the scenes, it was the first outing for scriptwriter Terry Nation and designer Raymond Cusick.

Answer: Kublai Khan

The climax of "Marco Polo" saw the Doctor and his companions arrive as part of Marco's caravan at the court of the mighty Kublai Khan, the Venetian's patron. Wonderfully, the great emperor proved to be a whimsical, rheumatic old man with whom the similarly afflicted Doctor formed an immediate bond! The televisual Kublai was rather more Czech than might have been expected, being played by immigrant character actor Martin Miller (1899-1969).

"Marco Polo" may not have strictly been the first historical story (The last three episodes of "An Unearthly Child" were likely set on Paleolithic Earth, though this was never stated on screen), but it was the first story set in a familiar period and featuring recognizable historical characters and locations. It was the first of three popular historical adventures penned by John Lucarotti, perhaps the most lauded of "Doctor Who's" historical writers. Sadly, it is also notable as the first serial to be entirely missing from the BBC archives.

Answer: Planet of Giants

Poor Ian and Barbara! The schoolteachers actually returned to then-contemporary London within a year of their departure... alas, due to a TARDIS mishap, they were around an inch tall at the time! All the options were partially or entirely set on then-contemporary Earth, but "Planet of Giants" went there first.

It was the first story of the series' second season, albeit filmed at the end of the first. Due to its very concept, it was also the first (and only) story in which the main characters did not interact with any of the supporting cast. Behind the camera, it was the debut of writer Louis Marks and composer Dudley Simpson, and the first story (partly) directed by Douglas Camfield.

It was also loosely based on the very first story idea ever conceived for the series: creator Sydney Newman suggested during its formative months that the opening episodes could see the travellers miniaturized and having to brave the uncertain wilds of their own school laboratory!

Answer: First introduction of a new companion

The first "Doctor Who" sequel, "The Dalek Invasion of Earth" was indeed the first rematch against an old enemy and the first alien invasion of Earth. Most famously, it was also the first story to feature a companion's departure, as the Doctor's granddaughter Susan stayed on liberated Earth with Scottish freedom fighter David Campbell.

In addition, the story was the first to be filmed at BBC's Riverside Studios rather than the cramped studios at Lime Grove that played host to the series' first season.

It was also the first story to allow the time travellers (and Daleks) to play tourist in London, thanks to extensive location filming. Perhaps most auspiciously, it saw the first ever use of a quarry as a filming location, though it sadly played the role of an actual quarry rather than an alien planet.

While the introduction of a new companion to the TARDIS crew was indeed planned in early drafts, it would in the end happen only in the next story, "The Rescue".

Answer: Peter Butterworth

"It's a TARDIS! The Monk's got a TARDIS!" After nearly fifty years, countless renegade Time-Lords and oodles of continuity, it's difficult to imagine how much of a shock this must have been back in July 1965! "The Time Meddler" concerned the attempts of a time traveller clad as a medieval monk to rewrite the course of human history by letting King Harold Godwinson win the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

The Monk, a childish, bumbling rogue more mischievous than malicious, was played with great comic aplomb by "Carry On" star Peter Butterworth (1919-1979).

The character was a sufficient success to be brought back for a brief rematch during several episodes of the following year's twelve-part epic, "The Daleks' Master Plan". He was but the first in a long, glorious tradition of Time-Lord baddies.

The introduction of a rival time traveller into the historical setting of medieval England made this the first of what "Doctor Who" fans have dubbed 'pseudo-historicals', stories combining historical settings with science fiction elements.

Although the previous story, "The Chase", had briefly dropped time-travelling Daleks onto the Mary Celeste, "The Time Meddler" was the first full-fledged example of the sub-genre.

Answer: Mission to the Unknown

Aired in October 1965, "Mission to the Unknown" (alternatively referred to in production documents as "Dalek Cutaway") was also the first "Doctor Who" story to consist of a single episode. At a mere twenty-five minutes, it remains the shortest ever "Doctor Who" story. Sadly, it is also the shortest missing "Doctor Who" story, as it no longer exists in the BBC archives.

In an important 'last', it was also the final story overseen by original series producer Verity Lambert. Unsurprisingly one of the most unusual tales in the series, it served as a teaser for an epic twelve-part Dalek adventure that started, oddly, five weeks later (it was preceded by a side-trip to the siege of Troy).

It told the tale of Special Security Service agent Marc Cory, whose journey to the jungle planet Kembel allowed him to learn that the deadly Daleks and a menagerie of strange alien delegates were plotting a terrible war against Earth...

Answer: Katarina

Played by Adrienne Hill (1937-1997), Katarina was a naive handmaiden from ancient Troy, only just introduced in the final episode of the preceding story, "The Myth Makers". Feeling that the archaic character would be too much of a challenge to write for, given her lack of understanding of even the most rudimentary technology, producer John Wiles decided to have her heroically sacrifice herself in the fourth episode of "Master Plan". She was the first of the Doctor's companions to die. Shortly thereafter, the travellers' new friend Bret Vyon was cut down by his sister (!) Sara Kingdom, who soon saw the error of her ways and joined the Doctor, only to be aged to death at the story's climax.

One of the grimmest of "Doctor Who" stories, "The Daleks' Master Plan" was the first (and only) twelve-episode story, and the first of only four to exceed seven episodes. It was also the first 'super-villain team-up', with the Monk from "The Time Meddler" seeking a rematch just in time to be forced to collaborate with the Daleks. The serial's evil quisling, the Fu Manchu-alike Mavic Chen, was the first of two great villainous turns from actor Kevin Stoney. "Master Plan" was also the first work in the series of future regular Nicholas Courtney, later cast as 1970s UNIT leader Brigadier Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, but here playing almost-companion Bret Vyon. Sadly, most of the serial is missing. Only episodes 2, 5 and 10 exist.

Answer: The Savages

Every story from "An Unearthly Child" to "The Gunfighters" had individual titles for each episode but no official umbrella title. Even later production teams were unsure of the 'proper' titles of the serials, thus fortunately allowing generations of fans to argue at length about what to call the first Dalek story.

These halcyon days ended with "The Savages", and have sadly failed to return despite the 2005 revival of the series again having no official titles for multiple-part stories. Sadly missing from the BBC archives, "The Savages" was a bit of an odd duck: a rare science-fiction story with no monsters or aliens.

The antagonists of the piece were the Elders, humans living in a peaceful, prosperous society built on sucking out the life-force of their primitive neighbours.

It is perhaps most notable for the departure of companion Steven Taylor (to the surprise of everyone, including actor Peter Purves). It was also the debut of writer Ian Stuart Black and three-time guest star Frederick Jaeger, here playing the Elders' seemingly benign leader.

But most significantly, let's have a round of applause for the series' very first use of a quarry as an alien planet!

Answer: "Keep Warm."

"This old body of mine is wearing a bit thin" is probably the most memorable and oft quoted bit of dialogue from the Doctor's first regeneration, but it actually came quite early in the sadly missing fourth episode of "The Tenth Planet". In the final moments of the story, companion Ben Jackson handed the shivering, delirious Doctor a scarf to protect against the Antarctic chill (they were at the South Pole). The Doctor replied, "Ah, yes! Thank you. It's good. Keep warm." He then stumbled into the TARDIS, collapsed... and suddenly, unexpectedly changed into a total stranger. In these days where new Doctors are announced months in advance, one can only imagine the shock this must have been for viewers!

In addition to being the first regeneration story, "The Tenth Planet" is near equally famous as the debut of everyone's second favourite "Doctor Who" monsters, the Cybermen, here unusually provisioned with noses, human hands and names. More prosaically, it is the first 'Base under Siege' story in which a small group of humans in an isolated location is under attack from invading alien hordes. Entire future seasons of the series would be built around this idea. As an inevitable accompaniment, this is also the first story in which the Doctor butts heads with an unstable, obstreperous leadership figure who refuses to heed his (invariably correct) warnings. These commanders and their besieged bases would dominate the Second Doctor's era...