It cant be said enough: If it werent for Patrick Troughton, we probably wouldnt be watching Doctor Who today. By the time William Hartnell left the show, Doctor Who had become a nationwide hit anchored by a much-loved character he helped create. Replacing him as the Doctor was a huge risk that could have resulted in the programs cancellation had audiences refused to accept a new actor in the role. Fortunately, it didnt take long for Troughtons impish, Chaplinesque Second Doctor to win viewers hearts, and he still ranks very highly among the Doctors in popularity polls today. More approachable than Hartnells often prickly curmudgeon, Troughton imbued his Doctor with an innocent warmth and vulnerability, often seeming like an overgrown child with his tousled black hair, oversized coat and askew bowtie. But throughout his tenure, there were also frequent indications that, beneath the surface, this new Doctors rumpled, affable style concealed an alien remove and an icy, almost ruthless, analytical brilliance. Often photographed lurking watchfully in the background as the action plays out around him, this Doctor almost never seized control of events, but instead seemed to quietly manipulate them towards his desired outcome, begging the question: was his easily flustered, clownish persona just a ruse to keep his opponents (and even, sometimes, his companions) underestimating him? Unfortunately, almost two-thirds of Troughtons serials were purged by the BBC (standard practice in the 1960s to conserve storage space) and exist today only in incomplete form, with multiple episodes viewable only as telesnaps. Only his third and final season remains largely intact. Thankfully, some of his most important stories survive
The Essentials
The Invasion (Season 6, Episode 3)
It wont take long for fans of the current series to recognize The Invasion, with its story of an amoral industrialist instigating a Cyber-takeover, as the clear inspiration for the 2006 Tenth Doctor two-parter, Age of Steel/Rise of the Cybermen. One of the most exciting serials of the Troughton era, The Invasion also marks the first appearance of UNIT (the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce), and the second appearance of Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney): UNITs commanding officer, father to Kate Stewart (UNITs scientific advisor in the current series), and one of the Doctors longest serving, if least consistent, companions. As they did with Hartnells Dalek Invasion of Earth, location shoots once again contribute to an overall cinematic feel, and add a level of realism to the threat of a Cyber-invasion. Smart, suspenseful and surprisingly modern (for 1969 classic Doctor Who, anyway), The Invasion would provide the blueprint for what Doctor Who would become in its next few seasons. (Episodes 1 and 4 are, technically, missing, but the DVD release features animated reconstructions, courtesy of Cosgrove Hall.)
The War Games (Season 6, Episode 7)
Arguably the most important classic Doctor Who serial of them all - at least when it comes to the question of who the Doctor is and where he comes from - it is also one of the very best. What, at first, appears to be a historical serial set on the front lines of World War I quickly evolves into something else entirely... And never really stops evolving until the end of its final episode. Though quite long (at ten episodes, perhaps a bit TOO long), The War Games deliberate pace allows each of its numerous narrative reversals to genuinely take viewers by surprise, twisting and turning its way towards an unforeseen, but ultimately unavoidable, denouement. Though anyone who has done even the lightest research on Doctor Who already knows how this one ends, youll find no spoilers here. Suffice it to say, much of what we know about the Doctor today came to light in this serial, and the revelations and resolutions of the final episode change the Doctor, and the series, forever.