Revisiting Old Doctor Who: The Aztecs

[Broomstick]

The Aztecs
(set the Way Back machine for way, way back!)

The blurb on the back of the DVD said it was the oldest surviving intact Doctor Who story. I don't know if that was true at the time of the DVD issue, or if it's still true today, but it was something like the 6th storyline overall. Originally aired between May and June in 1964.

Things were different then.

It wasn't just the black and white format. It wasn't just the (deservedly) infamous BBC low budget effects that even for the time were weak. The sets clearly came out of a theater tradition, it looked like the film of a play and not what we think of as TV. The TARDIS miniature was obviously a miniature, the painted backdrops were likewise obvious... The spouse's reaction was "It was very Shakespearean back then, wasn't it?" by which he meant not only the theater-like sets but also the gestures, line delivery, and so forth which was, indeed, reminiscent of traditional Shakespearean theater and plays. You'd think the actors were recruited directly from The Globe. Not that that was a bad thing, just different. Actually, such things were common back in the 1950's and 1960's TV world.

I also got a definite vibe of "early Saturday morning children's TV" (though I have no idea if it was, in fact, in that time slot, it just reminded me of US shows in that time slot) such as Land of the Lost. I think it was the cheap special effects, though really, you have to admire what 1960's TV shows did on very limited budgets and none of the modern SFX.

Anyhow, the Doctor is an irascible old man, mysterious, scheming, sometimes charming, and occasionally getting engaged by accident (gee, not much has changed there, has it?). Granted this episode the accidental fiancee was Cameca and not Marilyn Monroe, but sadly Norma Jean was already passed on to the great stage in the sky by 1964. Barbara has the teacher role, a role largely absorbed by the Doctor later on, and Ian plays the action hero part (again, another role largely though not entirely absorbed by the Doctor in later regenerations) while Susan is the archetypal wandering companion that gets into trouble.

They land in an Aztec tomb, and much hilarity trouble ensues, with Barbara trying to re-write history, Ian engaged in fisticuffs, Susan attempting to behave as a 1960's teen in something like the 1400's, and the Doctor sipping cocoa in the park with a lovestruck matron. In the end we learn history can not be changed and tombs have secret passageways.

It wasn't a bad story, though not the most engaging. A few things kept kicking me out of the moment - I just wasn't convinced these English chaps wandering around in cheap blankets, lots of feathers, and the occasional stripe of face paint were ancient Mexicans. My own fault, really, I've probably met too many people of genuine Aztec ancestry, it was a bit like watching a troupe of white guys in black face for me. However, for the British audience of 1964 it might well have been convincing enough. I was, actually, a little surprised at how much they got right - the names, the wooden swords edged with obsidian or flint shards, a bunch of other little details. Clearly they were making an effort to get the history/culture at least somewhat right and I really liked that. It's not easy making people from a culture that viewed human sacrifice as a good thing sympathetic, but most of the Aztecs were.

I watched some of the DVD extras, and found the bit on restoring the old episodes interesting. They showed examples of the deteriorated film stock, bad copies, and so forth that had been used to restore the story, and discussed how the whole thing was examined frame-by-frame in an effort to re-create the 1964 viewing experience. The same had been done to the sound track. (The spouse was intrigued by the original opening and theme and spent some time trying to figure out how the sounds had been generated back in the early 1960's)

It was interesting to go back to the beginning (and I guess I have now officially watched my first Hartnell-era episode). The TARDIS is still around, the Doctor (somewhat changed) is still around, but so much else is different. (Also sad to think how many of the actors are no longer with us, just the youngest in the episode are still around and they're all old geezers now)

[Bedlam]

The Aztecs
(set the Way Back machine for way, way back!)

The blurb on the back of the DVD said it was the oldest surviving intact Doctor Who story. I don't know if that was true at the time of the DVD issue, or if it's still true today, but it was something like the 6th storyline overall. Originally aired between May and June in 1964.

I dont think it was ever correct, as far as I know the unearthly child has always been around and intact and that was story No 1.

It wasn't just the black and white format. It wasn't just the (deservedly) infamous BBC low budget effects that even for the time were weak. The sets clearly came out of a theater tradition, it looked like the film of a play and not what we think of as TV. The TARDIS miniature was obviously a miniature, the painted backdrops were likewise obvious... The spouse's reaction was "It was very Shakespearean back then, wasn't it?" by which he meant not only the theater-like sets but also the gestures, line delivery, and so forth which was, indeed, reminiscent of traditional Shakespearean theater and plays. You'd think the actors were recruited directly from The Globe. Not that that was a bad thing, just different. Actually, such things were common back in the 1950's and 1960's TV world.

Yes, it always seems like the evil priest thinks hes playing Richard the Third he even seems to have a hump at times as hes asiding to the audience. Of course at that point the shows were recorded more or less live and in the same way as theatre in some cases filler scene's was added to allow an actor to change costume or run from one set to another rather than stop filming.

It wasn't a bad story, though not the most engaging. A few things kept kicking me out of the moment - I just wasn't convinced these English chaps wandering around in cheap blankets, lots of feathers, and the occasional stripe of face paint were ancient Mexicans. My own fault, really, I've probably met too many people of genuine Aztec ancestry, it was a bit like watching a troupe of white guys in black face for me. However, for the British audience of 1964 it might well have been convincing enough. I was, actually, a little surprised at how much they got right - the names, the wooden swords edged with obsidian or flint shards, a bunch of other little details. Clearly they were making an effort to get the history/culture at least somewhat right and I really liked that. It's not easy making people from a culture that viewed human sacrifice as a good thing sympathetic, but most of the Aztecs were.

For the time it was very cultuarally sensitive and I doubt there were very many aztec actors avalible in the UK. Of course at the time is was showing the black and white minstral show would have been appearing on Saturday night television probably just after Dr Who and a white man played a chinese character in the talons of Weng-Chiang in the late 70s. It also been comented in some reports that William Harnel was quite racist even for the time and had in previous productions refused to appear alongside non-white actors although other reports said he wasn't quite that extreem.

[Eternal_Freedom]

I haven't seen the episode, but I will say it isn't isn't the oldest intact story. The Daleks is available in it's complete form (and indeed is rather good).

[Parallax]

(Also sad to think how many of the actors are no longer with us, just the youngest in the episode are still around and they're all old geezers now)

If IIRC, Jaqueline Hill died of cancer.
The guy who played Ian is still around.
Carol Anne Ford, again IIRC, is still alive as well.
William Hartnell, of course, sadly died back in the 70's. He really was a kick-ass actor.

[Eternal_Freedom]

Ian is still around, he was part of the cast who did the extra bits on the "Lost in Time" collection, where they used the original actors to fill-in the missing story details, in-character (as if it were their memories).

They did a similar thing with the VHS release of "the Invasion", with NIcholas Courtney describing what happens. Sight, so many actors gone. But be glad we have so many episodes to remember them with.

[Hillary]

Back in the day, Doctor Who was partly educational (so that it got a bigger budget ) so it is not so surprising that the historical stories were well researched.

For the time it was very cultuarally sensitive and I doubt there were very many aztec actors avalible in the UK. Of course at the time is was showing the black and white minstral show would have been appearing on Saturday night television probably just after Dr Who and a white man played a chinese character in the talons of Weng-Chiang in the late 70s.

Quite so. Back in the 60s there probably weren't any actors of Aztec descent in the UK - and in those days it would not have been logistically or financially viable to bring them over. There is also the fact that it simply wasn't taboo to 'black up' back then (it is amazing how many people still don't actually get that point). The same is true for Talons - there simply weren't any Chinese actors in the UK at that time, certainly not ones good enough to play the main villain.

It also been comented in some reports that William Harnel was quite racist even for the time and had in previous productions refused to appear alongside non-white actors although other reports said he wasn't quite that extreem.

The first director of Doctor Who (for Unearthly Child) was Asian - which must have been quite unusual in 1963. Having seen an interview with the man in question, William Hartnell was not entirely comfortable with the idea. To be fair to him, he was a product of his time.