Doctor Who The Three Doctors, but only the scenes where First Doctor appears

[@josephmarrison4606]

He showed true dedication to the programme and its fanbase here. He knew he was ill, but he still insisted on returning and doing this story.

[@michaelinlofi]

According to the DVD commentary this wasn't even the original plan. 1 was a lot more involved but Hartnell's wife phoned Barry Letts and said "I know he agreed to do this but he's far too sick to do this much work", so Letts had the writers redraft to accommodate for this

[@KororaPenguin]

​@@michaelinlofi Like how the meta reason that the Time Destructor, the Toymaker's toying, Senta's machine, and Mondas' energy drain took such a cumulative toll on the Doctor in-universe was because of Hartnell's health.

[@robertmcelwaine7024]

You can clearly see how unwell Hartnell was at this point. Given his poor health, it's amazing he even managed to film the brief scenes he was in.

[@barnettiuk]

It took them most of a working day to film three minutes of usable material….that’s how ill he was…….but he gives it his all, and in what was in fact the very last line of his entire career- “….I shudder to think what you’ll do without me…”- his voice and his expression…..for one last moment he was THE DOCTOR…

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

i'm just so glad Hartnell was given the chance to play this important role a last time before his death. What a precious gift. It was absolutely important to have him back and i'm glad it happened.

[@blueknight07]

He looks frail, but he still manages to give an amazing performance. What a legend.

[@captmurdock]

Someone, around1983, asked the gathered Doctors which one was the best Doctor. Patrick Troughton with virtually no hesitation said, "Billy (Hartnell), because he created the role from nothing." Here he is, his illness reducing him to a shadow of his former self...and he's still magnificent. RIP, sir. Your legacy lives on.

[@timrob12]

Considering this video is three minutes long, they still gave Hartnell a lot to say and some nice screentime. And like Barry Letts said: "He did it, and he did it perfectly well."

[@johnrider5701]

I remember watching this as a ten year old. Its a tragedy that Bill Hartnell wasn't well enough too take part fully in the storyline.

[@BluDevil93]

Indeed, still… the quality of this performance considering 👍🏻

[@passionateerrors]

I'm so glad they got him back. This was the first and only time we got William Hartnell to be apart of the now canon lore of The Doctor being an alien rather than a really smart human from the future. He got to interact with his successors and build an entire show from his own life

[@daniellogue8079]

R.I.P. William Hartnell Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee.

[@benhughes3394]

And Nicholas Courtney.

[@IaMaPh1991]

1:47 "All THREE are needed!" Doctors 4 through 15+ be like: "hey, fuck me then, right?"

[@RetroGaming-gp2ef]

Even in his old age & failing heath Hartnell was still truly dedicated to his role. This was the last time we ever saw the original first Doctor before, well...

[@badwolf66]

*Me* was William Hartnell's last ever word on Doctor Who!

[@stephenhall6595]

Hartnell was dedicated to the show and the fans. So sad he was so ill by 1973.

[@ShaunakDesaiPiano]

I didn’t realise that the “contact” scene between Thirteen and the Spy Master was a classic who reference!

[@mechminx6053]

Hartnell had narrowed arteries/vascular dementia like my mother, not Alzheimer's. He had good and bad days but those with Alzheimer's have no good days at all.

[@davidcrazyrides]

not dementia but it was something else that was like it

[@mechminx6053]

narrowed arteries from years of heavy duty boozing as someone on rec.arts.drwho put it. As the arteries close up, the flow of blood is weakened not only to the limbs but to the brain as well. @@davidcrazyrides

[@geoffsclassiccars]

I love how there's 3 different ways of pronouncing omeega, ommegger and o'megger

[@smithpm81]

remember this 10th anniversary story like yesterday, amazing its now 61 years old

[@justice_productions_]

Pretty cool the Brigadier met the First Doctor kinda.

[@elliottwatt5297]

And most of the others too, basically all of them in big finish too.

[@benhughes3394]

Fun fact: Nicholas Courtney was also voiced his first appearance in The Daleks's Master Plan as Bret Vyon before he voiced Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge Stewart as The Colonel.

[@brettjohnson536]

I love how they're all acting like he's the older and wiser one when he's the youngest. Imagine your ten year old self saying something like "common, think it through, young man" and you just go along with it 😂

[@Goodmans93]

in a way he is the oldest incarnation he lived out his entire lifespan

[@martinbennett8752]

For me Hartnell was and always will be THE Doctor

[@reoreborn]

Agreed. The Peter capaldi episode (Twice upon a time?) Really did him dirty. They amde him seem like a bigoted sexist old man.. He was NEVER that in the original.

[@charlierenwick3682]

The other incarnations might be doctors but he is THE doctor. The 'original', you might say.

[@stevensteviepryde5888]

​@@reorebornyeah, didn't he call Susan a "stupid woman"?

[@emersonschosenfew838]

I'm not a fan of NuWho for many reasons even though I persisted with it up until JW was cast so I've never watched the episode in question. But It would be no surprise to me to know that the BBC in general, and the so-called "showrunners" in particular, would take great delight in undermining and attacking the legacy of William Hartnells ORIGINAL 1st Doctor. Ticks all their little boxes doesn't it?

[@teeteringonthebrink.305]

Every Who fan has their favourite 'Doctor' depending, I'm guessing, on who was playing the part when their interest in the show was at its keenest. For me it was Patrick Troughton but I agree with your assertion about William Hartnell. Let's face it, When he was in the role, no comparisons could be made as there hadn't been anyone before him. He was at that time, as you say, THE Doctor. The ONE and ONLY doctor.

[@philward2538]

Shame while the 3 actors were photographed together that a short scene wasnt filmed..worse still the 16mm colour footage of Hartnell was junked in 1976

[@AndrewChapman]

The year after he died? Sacrilege!

[@azurerainbow4637]

Though the 1st Doctor was stuck in a time bubble, he did right to advice the 2nd & 3rd Doctor how to deal with Omega and his creatures.

[@YasonYou]

My favorite Doctor

[@originaluddite]

I wonder if I would be so swayed by the arguments of that version of me who is furthest back in my past.

[@markvanhelsing1630]

No matter what, the THREE DOCTORS will always be, my favorite Multi-Doctor adventure. All thanks to William Hartnell...

[@mspeter97]

What I love about this is how he plays him as midly annoyed by his future incarnations. He clearly is not a fan of them.

[@Steve-jc3ww]

"CROSS IT!!!" "OFF, I SAID!" Bill still had it. ❤

[@YasonYou]

"Oh use your intelligence!" "Well what do you want now??" They knew how to write for him.

[@jamesa.fitzpatrick1566]

Not enough thumbs up I can give this video!!

[@stuff31]

I heard somewhere that when the Who production team called the Hartnells' house to ask if Bill could return, he got to the phone and leapt at the opportunity despite being in absolutely no condition to perform by that point. Eventually they were able to arrange for him to record his scenes at home from cue cards, which allowed him to have this one last appearance as the Doctor. Dedicated right till the end. :)

[@Angelgreat]

@@stuff31 Yes, but his wife was the one who helped with the arrangements.

[@stuff31]

@@Angelgreat Of course, good old Heather.

[@azurerainbow4637]

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart was surprised to see what the Doctor originally looked like when he stole a TARDIS to explore the Universe after his previous selves taken out of their time zones to help fight against Omega and save the Universe from being destroyed.

[@thecelestialtoygazer7816]

Omg his chuckle at 2:09

[@Lover-of-Creative-Priorities]

I wonder what it would have looked like if Hartnell was well enough to stand in with Troughton and Pertwee

[@jamesmckean3221]

The geezer was just a television screen at this point....

[@Christopher-e9r]

It's a shame he was to ill to do a lot of scenes, but what we got worked great!

[@jamesmckean3221]

"I seem to be stuck up here!"

[@p.p3152]

3:09 considering this is the last time Hartnell played the doctor, it’s a rather fitting way to leave

[@ender7278]

You can really tell he's not all there.

[@barnettiuk]

He was all there, they couldn’t have involved him otherwise, but by this time he couldn’t remember lines or stand unsupported for any length of time