He's about to turn 98 years old, so it's incredibly unlikely we'll ever see him on screen again, but making certain he had one last appearance in the series, even as a cameo, was a well-deserved tribute to both him and the show.
@@nicholasmaude6906 They feature in quite a bit of expanded media. The novel The Face of the Enemy has Ian and Barbara being called upon to help out by Unit in the 1970's. They have a pop star son called Ian Chess, obviously a pun on 'Chesterton'. The character is also involved in the Big Finish Susan's War audio story arc, though sadly not played by William. Even more sadly, Jacqueline Hill, the actress who played Barbara died in 1993, aged 63.
Despite the main show missing various opportunities to let him make a cameo, I thought it was fitting he had one in An Adventure in Time and Space. His line: "That's not how we do things at the BBC, sir," still cracks me up.
Mawdryn Undead was written for Ian, but William Russell wasn’t available so they just shoved the Brigadier in instead. Hence the UNIT dating controversy.
I'm happy to see William Russell looking so good! I really like him. Ian and Barbara added some much-needed dignity to some of the goofier episodes (such as The Web Planet), especially when the Doctor laughed through them. (Hoo-hoo! Hmm?)
Look it says 34 years later. Therefore, 1965+34= 1999. He did not look worse for wear, but now look at how he looked in 2013 in the 50th anniversay Docu Drama Adventures in Time and Space. as a BBC security guard.
So Ian,Barbara and Susan a school girl vanish in 1963,and then the two School teachers reappear in 1965 with their pupil still missing.Think the Old Bill would want a word! 😀
God bless this man - now 97 years young! I wish there was a way for all of Classic Who eps to be found/restored/uploaded into one streaming place. That's my ultimate pipe dream.
Would have been the perfect chance, shame they didn't do it. Actually he could have technically been a recurring character in the season that Clara taught at Coal Hill School, if they'd wanted to go that way. Such a shame. And they're running out of chances, he's not getting any younger. Same thing happened with the Brigadier, tons of opportunities and he never appeared in the main New series. Sad.
@@PauloLima-zq2pz Sure, the Brig appeared in The Sarah Jane adventures, but never in The New series of Doctor Who. At least we got him back in some capacity, but it still annoys me that he was never in the main series, post 2005. And a real missed opportunity with Ian too.
@@AubreySciFi Yeah and they could've brought back Susan in twice upon a time but brought by Bill instead and gave Clara a weak cameo even rusty the dalek was in it
Such a missed opportunity to not include him in that episode. It would have been nice if the Doctor made a slight remark knowing someone else who worked at Coal Hill School to Clara.
Ian and Barbera remain among my favourite companions. They are so totally believable as ordinary people, they really could be the teachers from your local school, their reactions and behavior in the first few stories are completely authentic and exactly as you'd expect and as any of us would likely behave as well. I think this was an enormous asset to the early show - the companions, of course, are there as proxies for the viewer. A million miles away from the modern versions who walk into the TARDIS, take it all in their stride and start quipping jokes about Queen Victoria. I had trouble believing in any of the modern companions as real, ordinary people at all. They just don't react that way. Great casting choices and wonderful acting from William Russell and the sadly no longer with us Jacqeline Hill.
Ian Chesterton ( Wiiiiam Russell ) one of two companions of the first doctor he was a teacher and kept his cool most of the time but at first he didn't believe in time travel and aliens, much later he'll see the wonders of time travel but he always wants to return home he and the doctor never see eye to eye but he see the doctor as a crazy old man but in time that changes well in a small way, I think Ian is the only one who really sees the doctor as old traveler of many paths and he also thinks the doctors hiding something? I often wonder did the first companions ever wonder where this old time travel was going and what his part would play in earth's future or would he visit them again someday it would be fantastic to think Ian Chesterton could somehow meet his old friend who turned two people into time travelers the very first few of many children of time......
Ian was my favourite, I loved him! William Russell was so good and very kindly sent me a signed photo. Happy memories! Great to see him here...and looking so good.
God I wish they'd bring him back in for an episode. What is this from? Makes me wanna cry, as Ian was one of my favorite companions (right behind Jamie, and right ahead of Steven)
this is from the dvd"lost in time" that had clips from the missing stories from 1st and 2nds run. The actual story he is relating is "the crusade" It has 2 parts missing. William himself is still alive, hes currently 97 years old!
In the Sarah Jane Adventures episode death of the doctor. Sarah Jane says "And this couple in Cambridge, both professors. Ian and Barbara Chesterton. Rumour has it, they've never aged. Not since the sixties. I wonder."
@@carealoo744 Yes, finally! I loved that. It got spoiled for me ahead of time, but I think I'd have shouted or something if I had no clue about it ahead of time LOL
@@g00gleminus96 To me, Class wasn't perfect, but it fulfilled it's role: Having something from the Doctor Who universe while the main show is off the air. Still, they left it with an open ending and if someone someday wants to bring it back (and hopefully make it better) I'm wishing them the best of luck.
@@timrob12 I think there's a large part of the Doctor Who audience for whom Class is wholly unsuitable. I found it really inappropriate that they actually featured the Doctor in ep1 - even Torchwood kept itself separated. I liked it as a non-Doctor Who related intense sci-fi series. Oh, and Sophie Hopkins is a total doll!
Wonderful actor. What a marvellous legacy the two Bills, Carole Ann Ford and Jacqueline Hill have left for future generations with the birthing of Classic Who. The adventures of those four characters are still stimulating the imaginations of countless children and adults alike and long may they continue to do so.
This is AWESOME!!!! 👍 It was a real treat and a delight to see the wonderful William Russell back as an elder Ian Chesterton! I love how he delivers his lines, such a great actor! 👋👋👋👋 Now that Russell T. Davies is in control again of Doctor Who, here's hoping that he will bring William Russell as Ian! 🤞 Anyway, I look forward to seeing more of your videos! You just earned a new subscriber! 🙂
Former companions get together to talk about their adventures with the Doctor. For obvious reasons, very little alcohol is consumed, yet things get wild. And that's before the space-nasty crashes the party.
William Russell's video is only now showing in my video selection on youtube. However the rankings go, his character and Jacqueline Hill's set the bar for companions for years to come.
This is how I think of Ian... even though this was 20 years ago. Posted even on here such a long time ago, back when William might have been capable of much more... :( So So So Amazing to see him in Power of the Doctor last year, but So So So Sad to hear that he very much struggled to be able to deliver the one line that he did. I'm glad that they did it... as he holds a very important place in my Whodom heart...
"He was old when I was young"... That line gets me every time. Damn, if only they'd bought him on a reunion and adventure with Matt Smith's 11 (or any of the new ones*) for an (apparent) age reversal and for respect for the actor and character. *Not in any "Chibittaker" era episodes, though.
I feel like the whole the doctor was old when I was young I feel like I missed opportunity would’ve been Continuing with now, it seems like the doctor is young while I’m am now old but that’s the funny thing about Time travel when you think you know everything there is to know about the doctor about where we come from You come to realize that it’s only a matter of time before you finally can realize how very little we actually know about the universe and who we are as people
I hope that these segments get included on the newly announced Season 2 Collection boxset. I know they’ve announced recons with off air photos, but these would be nice to see too.
DarthRushy Special was pretty packed and didn't really have a plot meant for that kind of fan service. Both the companions of 11 now work at Coal High, where we know Ian is a board member. I can see him popping up for a scene or so.
How Time ages us all but was only Young l think I seen the last EPISODE of the 2nd doctor Patrick throuton mostly I watched Jon Pertwee EPISODES Right up to 2022still waiting to see WHO will play the next DOCTER
Ian and Barbara the first two who discovered the tardis along with Susan who it was later to be revealed was the grand daughter of an old man with a smile that held so many secrets and unbelievable tales yet he spoke very little at first and had a issue with these to people who turned out to be teacher at Susan's school and very intelligent for the old man this was annoying and yet he went along with it. The companions Barbara and Ian had discovered that Suans grandsd wasn't the man they thought he was or perhaps from earth or their time a mystery that both were to find out as their times on the so called ship at the time would develoop into something considerably so unbelievably and yet he the old himself sometimes couldn't tell if he know, and it was only Suans who knows what the ship was really, and that was even odder and definitely puzzling? A Tardis she started to tell them but they seemed to think this unbelievable and they were shocked to discovered the truth and so they story of adventures began for them time onboard this amazing time machine was both fantastic and unique the saw things that could chill the blood or fry it, and fought alongside heroes in history and found ancient cultures on worlds that were so advanced and possibly terrifying and some so odd? Ian and Barbara sailed through time and space but eventually really wanted to go home to their time period of course their stories did end at home but they don't truly forget about their adventures totally it was if they had dreamt them a memory that is at the back of your mind a missing clue to solve or not, but sometimes a shadow or reflection in a window or mirror, and a face in a room of people? Doctor Who reunites with his old friends by accident or something draws them back to that moment of when and where they saw that figure inside the shadow of the Tardis " Hello!" a voice rings out bang old memories return?
Me : Ian well my grandfather william Hartnell is dead William Russell: you have got to be kidding me you are the doctor now Finn and William Hartnell was your ancestor and you are his grandson
If they brought him back now it would be an episode where the female Dr and companions berate him for not being PC and referring to the Dr as 'my dear'.
