The Second Doctor Overview: Patrick Troughton (1966-1969)

With William Hartnell stepping down, Innes Lloyd brought in Patrick Troughton. Like his predecessor, Troughton continued to lay down the foundation of the show, and became the Doctor many successors attempt to emulate in some way.

“There are some corners of the universe which red the most terrible things. Things that act against everything we believe in. They must be fought.”–The Moonbase

About Patrick Troughton

Troughton was born in 1920, in Middlesex. He attended the Embassy School of Acting and later joined the Tonbridge Repertory Company.  One of Troughton’s most famous roles prior to the Second Doctor was in Robin Hood (he was the first the play the title character on television).

Troughton left the show in 1969, citing both a hectic schedule and concerns about being typecast in science fiction. He would return as the Second Doctor fortor stories before his death in 1986.

In a Nutshell

• Catch Phrases: “Oh, my giddy aunt!”, “When I say run, run!”
• Of the Doctors with missing episodes, Trougton is the hardest hit.
• Producer: Innes Lloyd
• First opening with Doctor’s face in opening credits: “The Macra Terror”
• First appearance of the Ice Warriors: “The Ice Warriors”
• First appearance of the sonic screwdriver: “Fury From the Deep”
• First appearance of the Great Intelligence: “The Abominable Snowman”
• First appearance of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart: “The Web of Fear”
• First appearance of UNIT: “The Invasion”
• First appearance of Time Lords and second regeneration: “The War Games”

The Companions

Ben Jackson and Polly (Michael Craze and Anneke Wills)

Ben Jackson and Polly were the first companions to transition from one Doctor to the next. Ben was a great companion who would immediately take charge of a situation and ask around, getting to know everyone and help the Doctor devise a plan. Polly was good at snooping around because people often underestimated her.

Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines)

First appearance: “The Highlanders

Last appearance: “The War Games”

Jamie McCrimmon is the longest-running male companion in Doctor Who’s history. I consider him the Don Quixote of Doctor Who. He’s chivalrous, courageous, and often charges into battle without thinking. Hines and Troughton became great friends. Big Finish has often hired Hines to play the Second Doctor in Lost Stories and Companion Chronicles. The Time Lords return him to his own time, but he has no memories of the Second Doctor.

Victoria Waterfield (Deborah Watling)

First appearance: “Evil of the Daleks”

Last appearance: “Fury From the Deep”

Victoria came from the 19th Century, and was the daughter of an inventor. She starts out courageous and curious, but that slowly becomes undone. She becomes frightened easily, and is often kidnapped. I didn’t like her at first, but I came to tolerate her more thanks to missing episodes. I think she and Jamie made a cute couple.

Brigadier Anthony Lethbridge-Stewart

First appearance: “The Web of Fear”

Last appearance: “Battlefield” (w/7th Doctor)

The Brigadier met the Doctor in the Himalayan Mountains, where they fought the Yeti and the Great Intelligence. The next time they met, in “The Invasion”, he had become the leader of UNIT. He became a more defined character in the Third Doctor’s era, so I’ll talk more about him there.

Zoe Heriot (Wendy Padbury)

First appearance: “The Wheel in Space”

Last appearance: “The War Games”

Zoe met the Doctor on board a space station being invaded by the Cybermen. Her intelligence became her greatest asset, often close to the Doctor’s own intellect. She was  a fun companion. At the end of The War Games, the Time Lords returned her to the futuristic space station, with no memory of the Second Doctor.

Cpl. John Benton (John Levine)

First appearance: “The Invasion”

Last appearance: “The Android Invasion” (w/4th Doctor)

Although not considered a companion in the traditional sense, John Benton is still an important ally. He met the Doctor while doing surveillance during the Cybermen’s invasion of Earth. He would become a more defined character during the Third Doctor’s era, so I’ll talk more about him there too.

My Opinion of the Second Doctor

Thanks to watching many of the missing episodes, my opinion of the Second Doctor has changed a lot. I’ve gained a better appreciation of his era. I love his comical methods of out smarting his foes. I think Jamie is one of my favorite companions of all time. Hartnell started it all, but many actors have looked more to Troughton for inspiration, and I can see why. Without Troughton, Doctor Who would never have survived. He’s moved up a lot from where he used to be on my Doctor rankings.

My Top 10 Favorite Second Doctor Episodes

*=missing episodes. All of the stories with missing episodes have been restored with animation.

*10. “The Faceless Ones” (2, 4-6)

*9. “Power of the Daleks” (all)

8. “The Seeds of Death”

7. “Enemy of the World”

*6. “The Macra Terror” (all)

5. “The War Games”

*4. “Fury From the Deep” (all)

3. “Tomb of the Cybermen”

*2. “The Invasion” (1 and 4)

1. “The Mind Robber”

Second: The War Games

Writers: Terrance Dicks and Malcolm Julie

Director: David Maloney

Producer: Derrick Sherwin

Series: 6, episodes 35-44

Companions: Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines) and Zoe Heriot (Wendy Padbury)

Summary: The Doctor and his companions discover an experiment being conducted by his own people on soldiers from different battles to see how they fight. In order to stop the experiment, the Doctor must contact the Time Lords. This results in him being forced to regenerate and exiled on Earth.

Review: Last year, I made a resolution to watch the Missing Episodes of Doctor Who. This allowed me to finish the Troughton Era. This is actually my second time watching this story.

I like this story’s commentary on war. Humanity really is one of Earth’s most violent species, and this story attacks our thirst for warfare. I think it does a great job.

I love how the Doctor plays tricks on his enemies. He constantly plays along with the experiment’s rules, and it’s fun to watch. I love how he slowly realizes that he has to do the unthinkable: contact his people and take the fall for his companions.

I now have a greater appreciation for Patrick Troughton. I’m seriously rethinking my ranking of his era.

Grade: A

Trivia: The reason the regeneration at the end is incomplete is this was meant to end the show. The idea was that The Doctor being in exile would assure children watching that he was still on Earth protecting them. However, the Doctor Who comic strip kept going with the Second Doctor, having him on the run from the Time Lords. This resulted in what is known as “Season 6B”, which has been explored by later writers. Also, while this is the second time the Doctor has changed, it would not be called a regeneration until “Planet of the Spiders”. This was also the final story filmed in black and white

Second: The Space Pirates (partially missing episode)

Writer: Robert Holmes

Director: Michael Hart

Producer: Peter Bryant

Companions: Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines) and Zoe Heriot (Wendy Padbury)

Series: 6, ep. 6 (28-33, only 2nd episode remains)

Summary: The Doctor and companions arrive on a spaceship that is attacked by pirates searching for argonite.

Review: This is the final missing episode. It’s also the first episode that future executive producer John Nathan-Turner worked on, as floor assistant.

First of all, the good stuff: the spaceships look nice. That’s it.

This story barely involves the Doctor. You could take the Doctor out, and it would still be the same boring story. It’s believed that Robert Holmes wrote this as a series pitch, and was told to write in the Doctor and companions after that pitch failed.

The story moves too slowly, especially for six parts. The characters are just types, and I keep wondering why the Doctor is even here.

If the BBC wants to restore this one, they can take all the time they need. It’s not good, but I still would like to see it restored, if only so that it can be seen.

Grade: F

Second: The Seeds of Death

Writers: Brian Hayles (pts. 1 & 2) and Terrance Dicks (pts. 3-6, uncredited)

Director: Michael Ferguson

Producer: Peter Bryant

Companions: Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines) and Zoe Heriot (Wendy Padbury)

Series: 6, ep. 5 (23-28)

Summary: The Doctor must stop the Ice Warriors from making Earth’s inhospitable to humans but not for them, allowing them to invade.

Review: With The War Games on the horizon, It seemed like a good idea for one last encounter with the Ice Warriors before bringing the Troughton Era to a close. But is this story as good as the first?

I think one thing that really helps is that even though the story is similar to the first Ice Warriors story, it’s still got some differences. Zoe and Jamie are a great team, with Zoe proving to be a very brave and intelligent companion.

There’s also yet another encounter with one of the Second Doctor’s greatest foes: evil foam, last seen in “Fury From the Deep” . It’s amazing what you can do with soap bubbles. I’m not being cynical, I actually like seeing the foam again.

While the story does drag a bit, I enjoyed this story a lot. Only two more stories left!

Grade: B

Second: The Underwater Menace

Writer: Geoffrey Orme

Director: Julia Smith

Producer: Innes Lloyd

Companions: Ben Jackson (Michael Craze), Polly (Anneke Wills), Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines)

Series: 4, ep.5 (19-22) Note: parts 1 and 4 are missing

Summary: The Doctor and companions arrive in the lost city of Atlantis. The high priest Lolem wishes to sacrifice them to their god Amdo. They also meet the mad scientist Professor Zaroff, who claims that he can raise Atlantis.

Review: From what I’ve researched, this story was a mess. The script was unpopular, but rushed because it was the best out of the bad batch. The production was rushed. All of the regulars, including producer Innes Lloyd, didn’t like the episode. In fact, the story has been infamously dubbed “Plan 9 From Doctor Who“, referencing the classically “bad movie” Plan 9 From Outer Space. (I’m using quotes because I actually like Plan 9.) So is it that awful?

While the costumes for the Atlanteans don’t look great, I’ve seen worse. For me, Joseph Furst’s performance as Zaroff is the best thing about this story. He’s delightfully hammy, especially in the infamous scene where he has people killed and shouts “Nothing in the world can stop me now!”

One problem I do have with the story is how Jamie is written. This story was written before Frazer Hines joined the cast, and some of the scenes that were intended for Ben were rewritten for him. This causes the story to clash with how Jamie is written later, especially how he treats women. It doesn’t seem right for him to slap Polly, given how he treats women later on.

I still recommend this story because it can be entertaining in spite of its flaws. Classic Who can often take even the worst circumstances and make an enjoyable 2 hours. If you’re that type, you can enjoy seeing everyone make the best of things. I’m not saying this is the best story from Troughton’s era, but I enjoyed it.

Grade: C+

Second: The Web of Fear

Writers: Mervyn Haisman & Henry Lincoln

Director: Douglas Camfield

Producer: Peter Bryant

Companions: Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines), Victoria Waterfield (Deborah Watling), and Col. Alastair Gordon Lethbridge -Stewart (Nicholas Courtney)

Series: 5, ep 5 (22-27, part 3 restored with animation)

Summary: The TARDIS avoids a web-like area of space and lands in the London Underground. There, they once again encounter the Great Intelligence and the Yeti and meet Colonel Alistair Lethbridge -Stewart before he joined UNIT.

Review: This episode is important for two reasons. One, it brought back the Great Intelligence and the Yeti, and two it introduces Lethbridge -Stewart. (UNIT wouldn’t be introduced until “The Invasion”, btw) And for the longest time, we only had the first part. Then in 2013, all but part 3 were discovered. The DVD was re-released in 2021 with animation for part 3.

Before I watched both “The Abominable Snowman” and this, I thought the Yeti were silly monsters. I don’t really consider them scary, but I think they’re among the best monsters in Classic Who.

It was great to see Professor Travers again. Even though he never became a companion, I still like him. Jamie is just awesome in this story. And it’s great to see the beginnings of the Doctor’s friendship with Alastair. As for Victoria, she’s fine in this actually.

This is one of the best Second Doctor episodes. Don’t be surprised if I really push Troughton’s Doctor up a little now that I’ve seen more of his stories.

Grade: A+

Second: Fury From the Deep

Writer: Victor Pemberton

Director: Hugh David

Producer: Peter Bryant

Companions: Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines) and Victoria Waterfield (Deborah Watling)

Series: 5, ep. 6 (28-33), all missing. The serial has been animated.

Summary: The Doctor and companions arrive at a base on the North Sea. They discover it has been overrun by strange monsters that can control human minds.

Review: I’d been interested in this story for years. It’s the first story to feature the sonic screwdriver, which has been part of the Doctor’s arsenal for the better part of the show’s run, although it’s now able to do far more than act like a futuristic screwdriver (yes, that’s what it does in this story. Kinda lame, huh?).

The animation does an excellent job of capturing the spirit of the story. The tentacles and “evil foam” (which the serial is very famous for) are well captured, and it surprisingly works.

I actually felt sorry for Victoria in this story. She never seemed cut out for being a companion, and seemed to exist only to be the distressed damsel. She doesn’t fare much better in this story, so I wasn’t sad to see her go.

I’d say this is an excellent retelling of the story. It’s a true classic!

Grade: A-

Second: The Faceless Ones

Writers: David Ellis and Malcolm Hulke

Director: Gerry Mill

Producer: Innes Lloyd and Peter Bryant (episodes 1-3)

Companions: Ben Jackson (Michael Craze), Polly (Anneke Wills), and Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines)

Season: 4, ep. 8 (parts 2, 4, 5, and 6 are missing and restored with animation. Parts 1 and 3 are also animated on the DVD as well)

Summary: The Doctor and companions investigate disappearances at an airport. The disappearances are tied to Chameleon Airlines, a front for an alien invasion. After the threat is defeated, both Ben and Polly make their exit, but Jamie stays with the Doctor from this point on.

Review: When Patrick Troughton became the Second Doctor, Ben and Polly were the only “remnants” from the previous era. This story was written to give Ben and Polly their exit, giving the Troughton era its proper start. The previous episode, “The Macra Terror”, even introduced the first new opening credits sequence.

My main problem with the story is after episode 2, Ben and Polly are all but gone from the story. Of course, this is by design. The scenes at the end of part 6 were filmed ahead of the rest of the story, that way they got rid of them. But it just seemed strange that nothing more was seen after they got captured by the aliens.

The Doctor and Jamie are great in this. Jamie is out of his element, but he rolls with it. This is one of my favorite things about Jamie.

I’m so glad this story was animated. One neat Easter egg is that in one scene, we see a bulletin board that has Wanted Posters of Roger Delgado and Sasha Dawan’s versions of the Master. I loved this because it confirms my theory that the Master was always around, but the Time Lords kept him a secret from The Doctor until they learned he’d become more of a threat during the Pertwee Era.

I liked the animation of this. It’s improved a great deal from when this started. You can even watch it in color, but I prefer the black and white version.

Grade: A-

Second: The Abominable Snowmen

Writers: Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln

Director: Gerald Blake

Producer: Innes Lloyd

Companions: Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines) and Victoria Waterfield (Deborah Watling)

Season: 5, episode 2 (eps 5-10).

Note: Only the 2nd part of this serial remains. At present, it has not been officially restored.

Summary: The Doctor and his companions travel to a Buddhist temple in Tibet. It is being terrorized by a group of Yetis, who are under the control of the Great Intelligence. This story marks the first appearances for the Yeti and the Great Intelligence.

Review: This story is well done. I love the set design for this story. The construction of the temple and the Yeti costumes are great. There is a great sense of dread throughout this story.

What I love best about this story is that for most of the story, we never see the Great Intelligence. It is only heard. Yet its influence is all around the temple. Our heroes can’t escape. They can’t trust anyone, because the Great Intelligence isn’t only using the Yeti. Even Victoria becomes enthralled at one point.

The story has two flaws. First, it is very slow. I feel like it could have been told in the standard 4 parts. Second, Victoria is once again dead weight. She just keeps getting captured or becomes a pawn.

Other than the flaws, I liked this story a lot. I’d love to see it animated.

Grade: B-

Second: Evil of the Daleks

Writer: David Whitaker

Director: Derek Martinus

Producer: Innes Lloyd

Companions: Jamie McCrimmon (Frazier Hines) and Victoria Wakefield (Deborah Watling)

Series: 4, ep.9 (37-43) (note: only part 2 isn’t missing)

Summary: After the events of “The Faceless Ones”, a Victorian scientist steals the TARDIS and takes it back to his time to make a bargain with the Daleks. While attempting to retrieve it, The Doctor and Jamie meet his daughter Victoria, who becomes a new companion. The Doctor attempts to instill “the human factor” into Daleks, hoping to infect the Dalek with human emotions to defeat them once and for all.

Review: The best way to describe this story is “Daleks in Manhattan” / “Evolution of the Daleks” , but better. This was the first story to suggest that Daleks weren’t all evil beings, which has become a plot element in several stories in New Who.

This is Victoria’s best story. Yes, she’s captured for a good part of the story, but she has more personality than she has in any other story.

Jamie is a lot of fun in this story. I love how he fights the Daleks.

The Doctor’s plan is the best part of the story. I love how child-like the reformed Daleks sound.

Trivia: This was supposed to be the final Dalek story so that Terry Nation could pitch a spin-off starring them. Big Finish has a Second Doctor boxed set that includes the unaired pilot for the series as part of their Lost Stories range.

Rating: B-