Watching Classic Doctor Who: The First Two Doctors

If I keep my hair long, I know who I will cosplay when it turns grey!

As a lifelong science fiction fan, I took a surprisingly long time to start watching Doctor Who. I finally started in August 2017, in part because most of the classic episodes are airing on our local RetroTV affiliate, and I can record them on my home-built PVR. I want to share how I am watching the classic part of the series. This post will just address the First and Second Doctors. 

The classic series aired from 1963 to 1989, consisting of multi-episode “serials,” before being revived by a TV move in 1996 and a full-fledged continuation of the series in 2005 that is still running.

I started with the very first episode, “An Unearthly Child,” which is the first episode in a serial sometimes known as 100,000 BC, and am now partway through the Second Doctor’s tenure, currently watching The Wheel in Space. Most of the classic series  airs on RetroTV, but several stories do not for one of two reasons. I discuss them below and how I have or will see them anyway.

1. The serial is a partial or complete victim of BBC wiping.
   
   • [LC] Ten serials have no complete episodes and are reconstructed by a group called Loose Cannon, using audio recordings (which exist for all serials) and any existing photographs or clips. I only discovered these reconstructions after I had started watching the series, so I have not yet gone back and watched the first two. You can find the reconstructions at the links below.
     • Marco Polo
     • Mission to the Unknown; an animated reconstruction is also available online
     • The Myth Makers
     • The Massacre
     • The Savages
     • The Smugglers
     • The Power of the Daleks; an animated reconstruction is also available on DVD.
     • The Highlanders
     • The Macra Terror
     • Fury from the Deep
   • [BBC] Five serials are partially missing (some episodes survive) and have an official reconstruction from the BBC, sometimes including animated reconstructions of the missing episodes. I rent these through Netflix DVD. Yes, Netflix still rents DVDs! Note that some of these also have Loose Cannon reconstructions. I only discovered these reconstructions after I had started watching the series, so I have not yet gone back and watched the first one.
     
     • The Reign of Terror (Netflix DVD)
     • The Tenth Planet is one of the few DVDs not available from Netflix; however, my local library accepted my purchase request for it!
     • The Underwater Menace, like The Tenth Planet is not available from Netflix, but my local library accepted my purchase request for it!
     • The Web of Fear (Netflix DVD)
     • The Invasion (Netflix DVD)
   • 11 serials are partially missing and do not have official reconstructions. The the surviving episodes are available on three Lost in Time DVDs; I am watching the surviving episodes on the DVDs and the missing episodes via the Loose Cannon reconstructions. 
     • Lost in Time: The William Hartnell Years (Netflix DVD) [LIT:H]
       • The Crusade
       • Galaxy 4
       • The Daleks Master Plan
       • The Celestial Toymaker
     • Lost in Time: The Patrick Troughton Years, Disc 1 (Netflix DVD) [LIT:T1]
       • The Moonbase 
       • The Faceless Ones
       • The Evil of the Daleks
     • Lost in Time: The Patrick Troughton Years, Disc 2 (Netflix DVD) [LIT:T2]
       • The Abominable Snowmen
       • The Ice Warriors
       • The Wheel in Space
       • The Space Pirates
2. [NL] Three serials from the first two Doctors are for some reason not licensed for Retro TV. Most of these are also available on Netflix DVD. I think that all of these plus the episodes airing on RetroTV are available online through Britbox or the Britbox Amazon channel. 
   • The Dalek Invasion of Earth (Netflix DVD)
   • The Space Museum (Netflix DVD)
   • The Enemy of the World (Netflix DVD)

I am currently partway through the Second Doctor’s tenure; he has suffered the most from the BBC wiping. I am currently watching The Wheel in Space.

The table below lists all the serials featuring the First and Second Doctors.  If you are trying to watch all of Classic Doctor Who yourself, you can follow this list. The entries in the “How” column correspond to the codes in square brackets above.

In acse you doing receive Retro TV, I think Britbox has all of the episodes listed below as PVR and NL.