First Doctor - Billy Fluffs

A compilation of Billy Fluffs from the First Doctor played by William Hartnell, as well as some mistakes by other characters and generally funny lines in the First Doctor era Doctor Who. Nothing against William Hartnell, the cast had a week to memorize lines and were basically recorded live. He wasn't the only actor to mess up, it's just that somehow his mess ups are more entertaining.

[@electrictroy2010]

I think the mistakes make it more realistic..... it's how people talk in actual conversation.

[@WeirdWonderful]

Plus during that one bit the Doctor had just hit his head if memory serves : P

[@AndrewChapman]

Yep, they made it part of the First Doctor's character.

[@TheWhovinerd-1963]

It’s also because Hartnel’s memory was beginning to get worse as they went on and he needed que cards to tell him his lines this is especially the case in the 3 Doctors xx

[@ryanhindley174]

@@TheWhovinerd-1963 cue cards*

[@TheWhovinerd-1963]

@@ryanhindley174 okay thank you for pointing out that tiny mistake which was unnecessary. You kind of wasted your time there no offence I mean thank you 😊 but still ahah. Xx

[@Soonars]

"Timelord Gibberish" Just old Gallifreyan swear words probably. :p

[@petrichorjournal8866]

It DOES kind of sound like he says "bullshit.."

[@sambrownbridge7917]

@@petrichorjournal8866 Tom Baker fluffed in Genesis of the Daleks and said Spack off instead of back off and it was used in a comic as a Galliffreyan swear phrase as an in joke

[@artpsych71]

Gallifreyan Cockney -ha!

[@minicle426]

Jon Pertwee always deliberately swore when he fluffed, so they couldn't use the take.

[@jenniferohrstrom9831]

I think it's cute somehow. Like the first doctor doesn't speak human properly.

[@scl1332]

U man English

[@EndsWiithZ]

"time lord gibberinsh" wonderful

[@alexisauld7781]

+Alexander Cox "Hrrmhrblrhmmerr UNCONSCIOUS!"

[@walleye364]

I always thought Bills mistakes made the character. He was an old man near his regeneration, and his mind was going. At the time they probably thought it lowered the quality, but I liked Bills development of the doctor.

[@christopheralthouse6378]

I personally wish that other actors who have portrayed his Doctor since (Richard Hurndall and David Bradley) would've been allowed to retain that in their portrayals...The BBC I don't think has ever quite realized just how much his flubbs made his elderly Doctor more believable as such...😊

[@suave-rider]

The guy was 55 looking 75

[@henrywilhelm6078]

This is why he's my third favorite after 9 and 10

[@tomnorton4277]

According to William Russell aka Ian Chesterton, Hartnell was doing it on purpose. My guess is that he was partially motivated by his desire to do something different after being typecast as "heavy" and "tough guy" characters for so long.

[@wnyduchess]

These are on purpose.

[@calicompis]

I love how he remembers the melting points for the metals but messes up the unit xD

[@magmivire]

The unit's right though.

[@calicompis]

Oh, sorry :3 English isn't my first language and I've never used that name for Celsius.

[@magmivire]

Yeah Centigrade's another name for Celsius that refers to the 0-100 scale for water's stages (because centi- means 100) that someone made up for some reason because they didn't like the name Celsius or something.

[@theremoteanater]

+Sauzels centagride came was invented by a guy name Celsius

[@magmivire]

kadarrius jones I know that?

[@oscarrichards3096]

"See that scanner? That's what I call the scanner!" -The First Doctor (William Hartnell) The Smugglers (1966)

[@artpsych71]

Ha ha! How 'Forrest Gump' of him 🙂

[@Gothamsgamer]

"The Tardis has taken your pen! Of course! Hahahaha!"

[@jagoandlitefoot]

"And you're both not, so you'll driggada boopsiga dadraiyadauwnh unconscious!"

[@craftman780]

Hth did that maki it past the editors..?! Hahah!

[@me-dc8pj]

@@craftman780 wasn't enough money for editors or reshooting back in the 60s, it probably just got ignored for the budget

[@WeirdWonderful]

I actually love the hairdryer quip, it's as if he's mocking their tech for looking stupid and outdated.

[@AndrewChapman]

Either way, that part always cracks me up lol

[@Rangersstu74]

DW was filmed as live back then so actors didnt get the chance to refilm lines. It was not just Hartnell. Plus he suffered from poor health and often had trouble remembering lines. The man was and still is a legend and a fantastic Doctor. He deserves respect.

[@MALONEYCAMFIELD]

"It was not just Hartnell." It was not just Doctor Who either. I didn't realise how slick Doctor Who was until I watched episodes of Out of the Unknown, Doomwatch and Survivors. There are some really obvious dialogue fluffs in those shows. There seemed to me to be more fluffs in Survivors than in Doctor Who made at the same time (mid-70s).

[@ethanjones6516]

Doctor Who was never filmed live.

[@robertfitzpatrick8890]

IT was filmed in one take ! no chance of redoing things so it is sort of live!

[@peterward2275]

Ethan Jones if it was never filmed live we wouldn't be watching it now.It was certainly BROADCAST live, and recorded simultaneously. You can tell particularly by inexact episode end to next episode beginning continuity differences.

[@ethanjones6516]

Peter Ward It's simply just untrue, Peter. Dr Who has never broadcast live, they filmed episodes weeks in advance. In fact, the original recording of 100,000 BC had to be scrapped and re-recorded as Sydney Newman deemed the episode unsatisfactory.

[@azngf]

"Then there was a galaxy accident." LOL that line is so funny.

[@dennistheconstitutionalpea6174]

One of my personal favorites is not included here. It's from the Smugglers, in which Pike says, after asked to talk like gentlemen, "What makes you think I like gentlemen, eh?" If that's not unfortunate enough Hartnell replies, "It's quite obvious to the perceptive eye... Your dress, your manner, your taste."

[@MALONEYCAMFIELD]

It actually annoys me when people compare, say, David Tennant with the early Doctors like William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton. They had to act in real time and perform long scenes. Tennant's performances were edited to perfection in post-production. There's no fair comparison actually.

[@champdude17]

Tennant has theater experience, along with much of the cast, line flubs would be less common even if performed live.

[@MALONEYCAMFIELD]

Hartnell and Troughton also had extensive theatre background, probably a lot more than Tennant, because almost every actor of their era came through weekly rep. The fact remains that actors of today are made to look a lot better through the extensive editing that takes place after filming their (shorter) scenes.

[@alexhodgkinson6718]

Matt Maloney When Tennant is on stage I've never seen him make a mistake.

[@mrjacob0101]

@@MALONEYCAMFIELD But Troughton never bluffed on Doctor Who!

[@MALONEYCAMFIELD]

@@alexhodgkinson6718 "When Tennant is on stage I've never seen him make a mistake." I'm not saying he did make mistakes on Doctor Who, I'm saying that if he did they'd be cut out in post-production, that's the difference, and he wasn't expected to perform long continuous scenes of dialogue in Doctor Who like Hartnell and Troughton did back in the Sixties, so the pressure to get it right first time wasn't the same.

[@thedoctorand]

"How long has Doctor Who been around?" "50 years to be suppice."

[@Stuartdouglas19]

3:51 "nuts, I've forgotten my line" 4:14 "so.. are we going with that?!

[@theyellowlightsaber3193]

you could see Rusell was on the verge of laughing

[@autumnmatthews3179]

William Hartnell had so much dialogue every episode and the fact that there were 48 episodes in a year shows how quickly they had to churn them out. He fluffed a lot but he made us believe in the Doctor, and 56 years later we still do

[@Pingthescribe]

William Hartnell wasn't the only actor who forgot his lines - Barbara's actress has the occasional scene where she corrects herself, and mistakes were known even during Troughton's tenure. However, his fluffs became iconic!

[@causticsoda2877]

Very true, many actors fluffed their lines on the show. In this period it was filmed in two or three chunks without breaks, so it was almost as if it was live television. Many people fluff in theatre too. The sign of a good acting troupe is that your fellows cover for the goof and everyone moves on with the audience none the wiser. Most of the time you do not even notice the fluffs on Doctor Who, which indicates the level of professionalism from all involved. I think the reason why WIlliam Hartnell's fluffs were so memorable is twofold. 1: He had the lion's share of the dialogue. 2: He was a consummate professional who wanted to get his lines right among other things. When you add the heart condition messing with his concentration, you can see why he becomes so iconic as you put it in some of his fluffs. It is the sheer energy of his performance combined with the frantic reaching for the correct line.

[@tomerfeiner2950]

4:12 The look on Ian's face...priceless.

[@Usagi1992]

Indeed, as if he's thinking "...what just happened?" lol

[@stobbi38]

Tomer Feiner i wonder how he could keep a straight face! but it seemed as if he was having a lot of fun there XD

[@causticsoda2877]

William Russell is just as lost as we are. William Hartnell COMPLETELY forgot his lines and there are only the two of them in the scene. To make matters worse, Russell NEEDS Hartnell to say some of the line to even cover for him with ad-lib. Russell's line of "Ah, how do we open the door? We have no power" is him improvising to prompt Hartnell to get back on script when Hartnell earlier forgot his lines and just shut down. Hartnell is doing all of the blustering hoping that Russell will pick up his lines for him, but again, Russell needs the character of the Doctor to say the right thing so Russell (as Ian) can cover the remainder of the Doctor's lines. Russell does save Hartnell by picking up the Doctor's lines later in the same scene (not featured in this video), but we are left with this wonderful moment where Russell's intense confusion is on camera and it is NOT ACTING. The best part of this, is that these are consummate actors who NEVER broke character despite this temporary brain fart from William Hartnell. They even completed the scene in character with slight modifications... even if there is this odd exchange of dialogue in it. Without knowing what the script was, you (as a viewer) would just think it was the Doctor being eccentric.

[@alexisauld7781]

"Once, we had a form just like you. And then there was a galaxy accident!"

[@Fluffycthulhu]

Best. Line. Ever!

[@alexhetherington8028]

What was it meant to say ?

[@davidbull7210]

I had a Galaxy accident once. Never put a chocolate bar in your back pocket then sit down.

[@the1doctorwhat]

This actually added to the charm of the first doctor in my opinion.

[@brinley9629]

Couldn't agree more. He personalised his character through these slip-ups

[@vultan2000]

‘Burnt cinders flying around in Spain’, is possibly my favourite quote ever! 😃

[@Durwood71]

03:55 "This is, uh, not merely a decorative object. Heh heh heh...!" And Ian's face says, "What the hell is he talking about?"

[@andrewf1145]

"All full of Arabs!" Hahahahaha! That one made me fall out of my chair!

[@HovisSteve]

+Andrew Ford Bit like Europe really.

[@theremoteanater]

+Hovis Steve yea recently

[@stobbi38]

Andrew Ford i remember wondering if this was an actual saying when i first watched the episode XD

[@SuperWolsey]

I think 1st met Rudolph Valentino

[@koscheiwho3091]

I swear half of these are perfectly fine........

[@alexhetherington8028]

"See that scanner that is what I call the scanner"ha ha haaa love it.

[@tomimpala]

Quite sad after seeing An Adventure in Space and Time.

[@zoewells3160]

That film highly exaggerated his condition and isn’t really accurate. Other actors also fluffed lines quite a bit and the only reason they’re in the finished project is that retake were hard to do then.

[@AndrewChapman]

Poor Pill-- Bill.

[@theremoteanater]

i see what you did

[@TheSkully343]

At least he corrected himself. I think that's solved that little bit of solution.

[@christopheralthouse6378]

@@TheSkully343 Yes, yes...I do seem to, um, see--see the problem at hand... 😂😂😂😂😍😍😍😍

[@SuperWolsey]

How dare you, Crapman!... Er...Chapman!

[@AndrewChapman]

@@SuperWolsey Good one😅😅😅😅

[@azarothshadowsoul]

He calls it the scanner

[@theremoteanater]

you see the scanner over there I call it the scanner

[@adamweishaupt2846]

See this comment? That is what I call a comment.

[@SofiaFox]

See this reply? That is what I call a reply.

[@theremoteanater]

A year later still hilarious

[@theremoteanater]

2 years later and my wife chuckled

[@AlaskaRS]

4:00 after this I just want a supercut of Ian and the doctor conversations. Bill is so cute here.

[@stobbi38]

Alaska RS ...which one?:D

[@richardhewlett5603]

He's fluffs just seem part of the character he plays.

[@Hyman74Roth]

+Richard Hewlett I was going to say, it feels SO part of his character he was portraying.

[@somecynicalanimator6114]

+Hyman74Roth Apparently, he occasionally went out of his way to stutter; he also intentionally mispronounced Ian Chesterton's name, calling him "Chatterton" or whatever. It was part of the First Doctor's character.

[@CamilleonProductions]

I never found these funny when watching the episodes, but when complied like this they're hilarious! Fun fact: the fubbed line at 1:46 wasn't a Billy fluff at all - the script actually said "I can't improve at this very moment."

[@Dermot2927]

Complied? How nice to meet you, Mr Hartnell!

[@57305northernprincess]

William Hartnell had Cerebrovascular disease then which brought on strokes and he died of Heart failure in 1975 aged 67.

[@nintendiumarmour879]

Full of arabs.... i almost choked

[@KidThomsonMediaProductions]

interesting to see but a shame when you know why he was doing it

[@drxshock6957]

I think in-universe it could have been old age? but yeah sad :(

[@samuelbarber6177]

I always found line flubs in Classic Who (along with many other mistakes) to be somewhat endearing. It’s that small moment, small mistake, that reminds me that I’m actually watching something and it gives me a form of joy to notice little details, especially ones that contemporary audiences will never have done. I dislike certain “perfect” movies for that reason, they just feel inhuman. Also, I heard Troughton and Frazer Hines would flub lines and make mistakes deliberately because they knew that nine times out of ten that take would wind up in the final cut.

[@tomnorton4277]

I read that Hartnell was doing it on purpose, presumably to differentiate the Doctor from all of his other roles.

[@alicec1533]

@@tomnorton4277 I think it's most likely a bit of both. Having seen some of his other roles (including in Dr Who itself, the Abbot in 'The Massacre'), it's clear of lot of the doddery aspects of the First doctor are intentional choices on the part of Hartnell as an actor, but it is well-known he also had problems remembering lines.

[@mr.sand7899]

The one about ending up in Spain is hilarious.

[@seane6599]

As others have said, in some ways it makes his character more real. I actually think it really works in The Edge of Destruction - he's just been unconscious and is seething with rage towards Ian and Barbara, most people would struggle to speak properly in this situation.

[@martinwood744]

In modern Who you still get this sort of thing, just on blooper reels instead.

[@farmbrough]

Plus, he had a huge number of lines, with not long to learn them. don't forget he had arteriosclerosis which hampers your ability to speak. Most aren't forgotten lines, but mispronounced. In any stage play they'd be forgotten.

[@sambrea]

You know, I've always felt that these flubs made Hartnell more endearing and more real!

[@horaciosi]

Top 10 favorite mistakes: #10: "Drop this hairdrier, or whatever it is" #9: "This is a madhouse! It's all full of Arabs" #8: "I can't improve at this very moment--I can't proof at this very moment...." #7: "Take them away to the security kitchen" #6: "Whatever power's got a hold of the TARDIS taken your pen!" #5: "I think that might be just some flores-flor-florescent substance in the walls" #4: "You'll end up as a couple of burnt cinders flying around in Spain!--in space!" #3: "The Daleks will stop at anything to prevent us!" #2: "And you're both not so you'll * Timelord gibberish * unconcious!" #1: The Zarbi hitting the camera

[@GnCFilms]

Most of these seemed like you just misheard things. Hartnell did make fluffs, for sure, but some of these weren't fluffs.

[@raydarable]

And then there was a galaxy accident.

[@macsnafu]

"...hairdryer, or whatever it is..."

[@stephenmorrish]

Live recordings with no retakes...

[@thethirddoctor6491]

XD "Chests on those" Susan's face doe XD

[@glpilpi6209]

Nice compilation , I always liked Bill Hartnell even fluffing his lines on Dr Who . He had been in TV and some of the best British films for decades , ( the sinister Cartley in the 1957 film Hell Drivers is one of my favourites ). The poor chap had health problems and probably found the schedule demanding .

[@jackolas2007]

2:34 "That's racist!"

[@hammataz]

5:29 laughed so hard

[@Andy-ur1pz]

Mr Hartnell, the guv'na, we all make mistakes, just like putting black subtitles on dark backgrounds. just a thought.

[@Joleyn-Joy]

3:10 as many said, it just makes the conversation more real

[@MrClassicDoctorWho]

Then there was a galaxy accident 😂

[@Qwertyuiopaa319]

this was during the time, where it was noticeable his health started to deteriorate, and when Doctor Who was slowly making a name for its self

[@XanderWhovian]

I hope they include at least one intentional Billy fluff in twice upon a time.

[@Leinad0001]

"This is a madhouse! It's all full of Arabs" I can't stop laughing

[@flingymingy]

I genuinely thought some of these were character choices, It's sad but I feel like they helped make the Doctor more human!

[@user-su9hq8gy9y]

He said "You knocked both Susan and I unconscious.

[@mr.sand7899]

Timelord jibberish. More like the Doctor cursing them out in ancient Gallifreien.

[@RassilonsArmy]

I got sent to the Security Kitchen once.

[@rayvenkman2087]

RassilonsArmy Not a pleasant place to be in.

[@michaelallan7510]

I'm sure shockeye would agree with you. You'll either get that reference or you wont.

[@simonowpeel]

A lot of these aren't mistakes....the pen one and the hair dryer one isn't

[@fakirwumbo2741]

We loved him with his billy fluffs

[@kas28999]

Poor guy

[@JBexplores]

It was pretty much filmed live so there was only 1 take. If you were to get any other actor and only gave them 1 chance to get their lines right they would have the same amount of blunders if not more.

[@clemstevenson]

Now that's what I call an unanswerable answer!

[@tomerfeiner2950]

ofthebaltic There was also the one from "The Tenth Planet" where Ben spoonerises one of his lines: "We save their grotty plonet, Mandos" (instead of "Planet Mondas").

[@CacoQueen]

Am I the only one who finds hartnell's doctor adorable? Especially when he gets cross!

[@josephlee8910]

We are on the brink of distrust... Actually described what happened in the episode really

[@iceoriental123]

ANTI RADIATION GLOVES

[@christopheralthouse6378]

--Drugs

[@TheEleventhWheatley]

'Take them away to the security kitchen' had me in stitches laughing.

[@anthonywilliams1909]

Worked perfectly cos the doc was getting on a bit anyway . Masterful acting by mr hartnell

[@stobbi38]

Anthony Williams "Now, my boy, there are two things you can't do. One: Sit there until you get your breath back, and two: *don't call me Doc!* -#1

[@eshbena]

According to something I read, he used to place his lines on the walls, or ceiling, or on the TARDIS console so he could just read it out. That's why he's always looking around when he's talking.

[@AubreySciFi]

I always figured the hairdryer line was a Hartnell Adlib, rather than a mistake.

[@Pahjx]

3:24 When I saw that scene in that episode I didn't know that was a mistake, I thought that was just the doctor being funny.

[@paulharries9558]

I remember when I had a Galaxy Accident. Chocolate everywhere.

[@yell50]

The funny thing was when William hartnel forgot his lines during the live broadcast the viewers just thought it was part of the character of the doctor so it all worked in his favor it gave the character more realism.

[@sirpsychosussy]

"This is a madhouse! It's all full of Arabs." oh

[@luminousbanjo]

I never get tired of this.

[@grant24678]

I would Also like to say that he recovers (Most of the time) Fantastically

[@TheSevenofMine]

lol, didn't notice most of it when watching the episodes^^

[@ThomasSpychalski]

Oooooo.... stabilize us matron!

[@Nigellusdarkchild]

He gave an amazing performance under the circunstances. Not only did the cast only have a week to learn their lines but he was an ill man. He had arterosclerosis which eventually killed him.

[@tomerfeiner2950]

1:24 I swear to Rassilon he said "Bullsh**".

[@Joleyn-Joy]

Tomer Feiner he sayed : " both , susan and i"

[@coolsweetgroovy]

Hillarious RIP William

[@DoctorpooandtheTURDIS]

Obi-Wan: "It's over, Doctor! I have the high ground!" The Doctor: "You underesti-weight- underestimate my power!"

[@jakeperkins153]

"Space Security Service - Licence to Kill" how is that a fluff at all? That's literally one of Marc Cory's rights as a SSS agent, the second is being able to conscript civilians to help him take down the Daleks

[@crazybananagurl1999]

All this proves to me is that no matter which incarnation, the Doctor is crazy.

[@apsaify]

i always see those "fluffs" as part of characterisation of the first doctor, him being funny wether he intended or not

[@AbrasiousProductions]

"drop this hairdryer or whatever it is" this is hilarious🤣

[@kaledmasterme]

"you knocked both Susan and I unconscious"

[@Tulf42]

Bill almost makes a mistake when explaining how he defeated the Toymaker. "When the Toymaker wanted to move the pieces, he had to croo- to command them in a certain tone of voice. To make them move at all."

[@ofthebaltic]

I'm so so sorry about the Potato Famine.

[@michaelallan7510]

I've always wanted to be a burnt cinder flying around in Spain.

[@MirlitronOne]

They made him more believable. Never spoiled the story.

[@josephclark5711]

Im just saying they need to include the slip ups in the autio dramas where they have someone voicing the first doctor

[@jardon8636]

if you have seen the recent "an adventure in space and time, then william hartnell fluffed and messed up regularly not on purpouse or deliberatily,. because he probably had the start of dementia, it was not just fluffing up some lines, and in the classic era, it was not until tom baker time, that they did have limited** time too retake scenes -with the advent of early video... but even comparing the classic era too the recent doctors is unfair, as there is more time- and also technology too help...

[@greendalek303]

Thing is, I can easily picture Jodie or Capaldi or Smith saying equally nonsensical things and drawing the same confused looks. It's just so quintessentially Doctor-ey.

[@CeruleanFilms]

1:38 - if that isn't an Ed Wood movie quote, I don't know what is.

[@ofthebaltic]

I'm sorry that I called "The Sensorites" and 'episode' as opposed to a 'story'. I am well aware that this is an unforgivable crime, the punishment of which is to be called a moron. However, jumping to such drastic resentment is moronic in and of itself. Sometimes, when referencing Classic doctor who, there are seasons or serials, episodes or stories, and parts or episodes, the latter being the smallest part making up the whole. Be careful in the future to consider the fact that synonyms exist.