The British Film Institute, BFI, is holding a series of events over the next several months to celebrate Doctor Who‘s roots. Accordingly, the debut panel focused on the first Doctor with the original director and companion among the presenters.
Last year, Waris Hussein delighted New York audiences at the Paley Center with tales of his time at the BBC. He was the original director of Doctor Who. He quite candidly let the audience know that part of why he landed the job was that no one more senior wanted it (he was in his early 20’s at the time) and no one really cared about it.
Carole Ann Ford played the very first companion of the Doctor, his granddaughter, Susan. In fact the title of the first episode references her, “An Unearthly Child”. Much of the original episode focuses in on Susan not blending on well on earth and her teachers, Barbara and Ian, becoming suspicious. After some investigation they come to realize Susan and her grandfather, played by the late William Hartnell, are from Gallifrey. In short order, Barbara and Ian become traveling companions as well and the adventures begin.
Ford was joined on stage by her co-companion William Russell, who played her teacher Ian Chesterton and Jeremy Young, who played a one-off character Kai. Hussein was joined by Mark Gatiss, frequent Doctor Who guest star, writer, and director. Gatiss is also the showrunner for the docudrama coming out later this year about the history of Doctor Who.
The videos of a Q & A following “An Unearthly Child” screening are below, and they are an absolute must watch for any Whovain.
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