Saturday 29 December 2012

Doctor Who - The First Doctor.

Here we have the First Doctor. No companions yet (apart from Polly) and boy are there a lot to choose from!

Susan Foreman
Barbara Wright
Ian Chesterton
Vicki
Steven Taylor
Katarina (no miniature...)
Sara Kingdom
Dodo Chaplet
Polly
Ben Jackson

For now, here is the Doctor and a couple of old adversaries...

The First Doctor.
A Chumbley was a type of robot encountered by the First Doctor, Vicki and Steven on a doomed planet where the Rills and Drahvins had crashed. They were created by and under the control of the Rills. Their true, Rill name was unknown. "Chumbley" was what Vicki called them, based upon the "wobbly" sound they made when moving. When she told the Rills she had named the robots "Chumblies", they did not object. Indeed, they used the term themselves.

The Doctor and assorted robots. A 'Chumbley', plus Krotons and Quarks (that actually  appeared opposite the Second Doctor)

The Doctor deduced they were blind because they seemed to feel their way around the exterior of the TARDIS. Later, he determined they had the ability to detect sound waves and heat. They were powered by a form of magnetism and could be immobilised by ensnaring them in a metal mesh. They resisted gunfire by voluntary deactivation. When they switched themselves off, their bodies telescoped down, reducing their height by roughly half. The concentric rings of metal that comprised their bodies folded into each other, thereby protecting the interior of the robot.

Their primary task was to act as a translator between the Rills and other beings. They could analyse the speech patterns of other beings and allow the thoughts of the Rills to be "spoken" through their onboard speakers in the language of the listener. They continued to appear around the Drahvins' ship because the Rills were merely trying to communicate.

The Chumblies assisted the Rills in other ways. Because the Rills could not metabolise oxygen, the Chumblies were the only way the Rills could experience oxygen-rich planets, such as the one on which they had crashed. They were thus a kind of probe, sending data back to their masters.

Although principally tools of exploration and communication, the Chumblies ways of attacking. They were equipped with weapons. They had flame-throwers and could also fire projectiles akin to bullets and ammonia bombs.

Drahvins and a Chumbley.

The Zarbi appeared in the 1965 First Doctor story The Web Planet and are an ant-like insectoid species, with some characteristics associated with beetles, from the planet Vortis, which were controlled by the power of the Animus. They are roughly eight feet long, and the Menoptra claim that they are "little more than cattle".

The Doctor is not impressed by the Zarbi.
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They possess little intelligence but were not at all aggressive until the Animus arrived. They were enslaved to the alien consciousness and considered the butterfly-like Menoptra their mortal enemies. Only they could control the woodlouse-like venom grubs, also known as larvae guns.

They returned to their normal ways after the Animus was defeated by the First Doctor, Ian Chesterton, Barbara Wright and Vicki. It is presumed that the various species on Vortis are now living peacefully together.

The Doctor looks on as the Celestial Toymaker pontificates on his dastardly plans...

The Toymaker is immortal, having already lived for millions of years. Having been cast out from an alternative universe, he obeys a different set of physical laws. The years of isolation have driven him mad, and he seeks distraction in the playing of games.

If the Toymaker loses a game, his world is destroyed (although he is powerful enough to rebuild it). If a contestant loses, he is added to the game as a toy, and if he wins, he is destroyed with the world. Either way, the contestant cannot win; the reward for both failure and success is the same: eternal existence at the Toymaker's side. The Toymaker is manipulative and can turn people, as the First Doctor comments, "into his playthings". As he demonstrates, he is a being of great power, judging from how he effortlessly makes the Doctor invisible and, for a while, mute.

He uses his enormous power for self-satisfaction and bullying. Kind of the Doctor Who version of 'Q'.


Figures are Black Tree Design / Harlequin.

1 comment:

Thantsants said...

Great work as always!

I have a particular fondness for these stories - just a shame there's episodes missing from Galaxy 5 in particular.

Cheers for the Liebster award by the way! :)