How lovely to see Maureen happy and giggling! You can tell that she adored Bill and that whole time on the show. Vicki is probably my favourite companion of the First Doctor. I found it difficult to connect with The Doctor until The Rescue when I saw his cheekier and softer side come to the fore a little more.
But it's part of the method acting. His version of the Doctor is scatterbrained so he has to psyche himself up into being the same way while performing which leads to the fluffs. Listen to the audio of the Massacre. He didn't mess up any lines as the Abbot. He only does that as the Doctor. It was totally on purpose.
0:28 That was her way of saying "IDBI" like Steven once did. Maureen O'Brien and her companion character can absolutely light up a room, and good for her for sticking it out and refusing to be a rehash of Susan. It's great to see so many of the faces of Doctor Who from the 60s coming forward, and just as we longed for one last appearance from Ian, maybe we'll see a few more of them while they're still with us.
I think Bill did sometimes fluff a line on purpose, such as calling Ian Chesterton, Chaterton, or Chesterfield, but he did stumble over his lines, especially as his health worsened. It is worth mentioning, though, that an early character description of the Doctor refers to him as being senile but with flashes of brilliance, so it is possible that some of the other fluffs were intentional.
Bill Hartnell definitely fluffed Ian Chesterton's surname on purpose. He came up with so many different variations of a name that he had to say regularly that it couldn't have been accidental. That was a very smart acting choice because it made it harder for anybody who didn't know Bill personally to figure out which fluffs were intentional and which ones weren't. And it all plays into the First Doctor's "wearing a bit thin" persona.
Yes I remember years ago I looked it up and apparently the getting Ian's name wrong thing was very intentional. I just wish I could remember where I saw it.
Fascinating - and touching and very funny - insights into the Hartnell performance. Vicki is probably my favourite 60s Doctor Who companion. And Maureen O’Brien is certainly the finest actor to have filled the role. And a brilliant writer. And (I’d encourage anyone who hasn’t to watch her interview with Matthew Sweet) is revealed as a remarkably compassionate person. Nice one, as always, D and P - from the marvellous full interview of last year. 👌😁
There was no room for retakes. Dialogue heavy and probably little rehearsal time too. I don’t think he dropped them intentionallyx he was just nimble enough to get away with the flubs.
