Reviews

There is little that can be said about An Unearthly Child that hasn't been said before. Nevertheless, I'll mention a few things - it's a great episode, atmospheric, intriguing and well acted. Ian and Barbara are immediately engaging, Ian cheerfully admitting that he's curious about Susan, Barbara claiming that she is genuinely worried about the girl. The Doctor is, from the start, a fascinating character whose rather patronizing and high-handed attitude towards his two stowaways is fascinating - I know of course how he mellows towards the two teachers over time, especially after Inside the Spaceship, but it will still be interesting to see it unfold in order, for the first time for me. Despite knowing what it looks like, the first shot inside the TARDIS still impressed me and it must have been amazing in 1963 - the direction is superb. The fact that Ian and Barbara pass out on take-off is weird though. The only weak point really, is Susan (more on that later), who provides the only embarrassing bit in the episode with her weird hand dancing to John Smith and the Common Men. 

Anyway, I could go on about An Unearthly Child, but I'd rather move on to The Cave of Skulls, The Forest of Fear, and The Firemaker. I haven't seen these episodes for ages and I'd decided that they are dull. Having watched them again however, I've had to reassess them. The Cavemen are basically dirtied actors in rugs, but they all act with such conviction that I found them thoroughly believable. Their desperate desire to survive and their brutality were superbly conveyed - Za and Kal in particular, both ultimately brutal and stupid no matter how cunning they try to be, are played well. Their final fight in the cave is particularly well done, actually resembling a violent, desperate fight to the death. Za's brutal slaying of Kal contrasts nicely with his struggle to understand the new ideas offered by Ian - friendship, and strength in the unity of the tribe. And the cave set looks brilliant.

The TARDIS crew continues to shine - Ian and Barbara's struggle to understand what has happened is well done, and their eventual success contrasts with Za's failure to rise above a savage despite Ian's best efforts. Barbara's hysteria in the forest is convincing and makes sense; Ian's strained pragmatism contrasts, but also works, as he tries to keep control as much for Barbara's sake as for his own. Their insistence on helping Za, however ultimately foolish, again shows the contrast between them and the savages. The Doctor is fascinating here, concerned primarily with his own survival and that of his granddaughter - his frustration at Ian and Barbara's helping of Za and brief attempt to kill the caveman suggest what he later states in The Dalek Invasion of Earth - he is prepared to kill in self-defense. But at the same time, he seems to be watching his companions intently, and is perhaps shamed by their compassion. Certainly, by the time Ian and Barbara leave him in The Chase, he is much mellowed. That said, he is not the anti-hero claimed by some - he offers Barbara comfort in the Cave, and admits that he is scared. It is this fear I think that fuels his desperation to return to the TARDIS. He is also quick-thinking and resourceful, swiftly assessing the situation on regaining consciousness and offering to make fire almost as soon as his eyes open; later, he easily manipulates (the admittedly stupid) Kal into confessing his part in Old Mother's death. 

The only thing that grated for me was Susan's reaction to the Doctor's wandering off - at this point, she had no idea that he had been kidnapped and no reason to. Yet immediately on seeing that he is out of view, she screams hysterically and falls apart. Panicking under stress is one thing, and given later hints of prior adventures I'd have thought she'd have learnt to control it to some extent anyway, but her hysteria in this case is ridiculous. 

So all-in-all, a much better start to the series than I remembered, and one worthy of re-assessment. And it even has an anti-smoking message.

As I write this review, I realize that there are perhaps many things that have already been said regarding the classic 4-part story that began the longest and greatest sci-fi phenomenon in television history. But so what?

With that out of the way, let's get down to business. I have always found this first adventure to be among my favorites, probably because it is the adventure that started it all. 

Anyway, let's start with Ian Chesterton & Barbara Wright, the two school teachers whose seemingly harmless curiosity regarding the enigmatic Susan Foreman, leads them to become unintentional travellers in time. Both are very likeable and prove a very down-to-earth sense of incredulity, at least upon first meeting Susan's grandfather (The Doctor) and stumbling into the TARDIS for the first time. They provide a link with the rest of us regular Earthlings, for we as observers feel what they feel (not just in this adventure, but int the stories to follow as well). Whether it's the general sense of awe and wonder at finding themselves in unfamiliar territory, or the sense of dread at the prospect of never being able to return home. 

The Doctor's behavior is shown to be very patronizing towards strangers, a natural distrust of strangers, selfish, authoritative when the need arises, pessimistic or realistic (especially regarding the natural ignorance humans display, when they are unable to rationalize things they could never hope to understand) But he also demonstrates a very keen mind, a sharp intellect, an enigmatic aloofness, and an almost malicious glee in his arrogant air of superiority. That is not to say he isn't likeable, we can see how much he loves Susan and wants to protect her and himself from danger, or simply from becoming a public spectacle. 

Now on to Susan. I know there are those that don't like the character, I'm not one of them. She's very caring, compassionate, openminded, kind, and sweet, and very bright as well. Although it's been hinted that she's traveled quite a bit with her grandfather prior to meeting Ian and Barbara, she's still quite young and has a great deal to learn and experience as well. Her reaction to the Doctor's disappearance, while a tad OTT, is still understandable. Her reaction is no different than how we would react if a beloved family member, especially an elderly family member, were no where to be found. 

Now, onto the cave dwellers. The main characters of any significance being Za, Kal, Hur, and the Old Woman. One can easily forgive the fact that these people have a spoken (if not written) language, even though it is through a limited Tarzanlike grasp of human speech. The writers have done this as a necessary plot device in order to understand the motives and thoughts expressed by these primitive people. 

The leader Za is interesting, you can see that he cares for the lives of his people, and will do anything to maintain his position as leader, desperately hoping to create fire to keep his tribe from freezing to death. In addition, although he is a primitive, he does hold a degree of honor and truth, when it comes to helping and providing for his people, as any great leader would. 

Kal is a scheming, deceitful individual, the sole survivor of a tribe who died out because they did not possess the ability to make fire. for that, he feels resentful for being in Za's tribe and displayed that he would do whatever was necessary to remove Za from power, and be leader. for even he has a primitive understanding of something that is true even now as it was thousands of years ago, that one who can provide something essential to the continuation of life, has power over people, and can become a leader. 

Hur is also a truly intriguing character, for she admires, respects, and loves Za a great deal, and although she may be a woman, she is not with a modicum of intelligence. she understands that being with Za has many rewards not just for herself, but for her family. it is a wonderful display of something that is always true, behind every great man is a woman.

The Old Woman represents one who has seen a great deal of hardship fall upon people because of something essential to their way of life. She represents the world weary, pessimistic demeanor many of us take when we know of the hardships and despair caused by those who desire power and are corrupt enough to use that essential commodity to keep others subjected. 

The differing character dynamics is very solid as the varying viewpoints clash on various occasions through the four parts. One immediate example that springs to mind is when the four of them have escaped into the forest, and Za is injured battling a ferocious beast, and the Doctor is ready and willing to finish him off while Ian and Barbara are willing to save his life. 

But, it is also in this adventure that they show that they are willing to work together for a common goal, that goal being to get back to the TARDIS and hopefully back to Earth in the 1960's. It demonstrates a great deal of resourcefulness on the parts of the TARDIS crew, especially on the part of Susan who develops the idea of creating a frightening illusion involving torches and skulls, scaring the tribe long enough for them to make their escape. 

This is definitely an excellent start to an extremely wonderful series, and its popularity would be solidified with the introduction of a menacingly disturb alien race that will come in the next adventure. But that, my friends, is another review for another time.

Most first episodes tend to be a let down. Who can forget the dismal freshman outing of Star Trek: The Next Generation. However, for Doctor Who the first 25 minutes are among the best of the series. Sadly, the remaining 75 minutes of the initial "story" are somewhat less gripping. The "Tribe of Gum" aside, "An Unearthly Child" soars. The mystery surrounding the TARDIS, and the origins of the Doctor himself, are more tangible in this episode than any in the 26 seasons that followed. Rather than introduce us to the eccentric title character directly, we meet him through the eyes of the two befuddled teachers. The indeed unearthly Susan is the perfect bait leading us into the story and finally to the hook. The hook of course is the Doctor. Unfortunately, William Hartnell's Doc is not the most likeable, and in many ways the least likeable of the first TARDIS crew. As we move into the last three episodes of the story, and meet the Tribe, the Doctor very nearly becomes villainous. The disagreeability of the Doctor is almost made up for when he argues his case with the bloody and not-so-bloody knife. Where I come from that's called fancy lawyerin'! Good practice for his Matlock-esque performance in "The Keys of Marinus."

There are a few problems with this classic. The Tribe of Gum is aptly named as the plot seems to get slower and stickier the further along we go. Okay, I am well aware of the TARDIS translator/Time Lord gift whachamacallit, and with a few exceptions it provides a charming solution to the age old enigma concerning why every alien race in the Universe speaks the Queen's English. This is one of those exceptions. Cavemen who can express themselves as eloquently as this group need less a quest for fire, and more a quest for literary agents. Isn't Horg writing for the New Yorker now? 

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking I'm making too big a deal about the caveman vocabulary. Here's a challenge. Go read the Target novelisation and tell me if the level of conversation is Neanderthal or more like something you'd over hear at the Grocer's in 1963 England? Also, I'm surprised that a Tribe that lives exclusively on the darkest soundstage in London would choose the Sun as their deity. Have they ever seen the sun? I guess you don't have to see something to worship it, after all I've never actually seen Louise Jameson.

The story that began the legend has a very interesting opening episode. The Doctor is seen from a distance, the audience sharing Ian and Barbara’s perspective. He is mysterious, intriguing, rather frightening and potentially dangerous. Hartnell captures the “magic” of the Doctor immediately – he is much more interesting and complicated than some future incarnations. I personally believe there were only two “great” Doctors – Hartnell and Tom Baker, always fascinating to watch. Hartnell here is charismatic and compelling – a very steely portrayal. The music adds to the “menacing mystery” of the puzzle Ian and Barbara wish to uncover.

The episode is almost a warning against curiosity, for this is what results in Ian and Barbara’s predicament. “Almost” for without it life would be a lot duller. Ian is very likeable and Barbara very caring – without Barbara’s concern about Susan nothing would have happened. Susan is also quite endearing – the necessary link between the teachers and the Doctor who is absolutely essential at the beginning. Without her the Doctor would probably abandon the teachers in some remote time – even with her it is hard to keep him content. It is an interesting relationship that develops well in season one as they all learn more about each other and adapt their behaviour and attitudes.

The cliffhanger is also effective – after a uniquely eerie and surreal journey through time (leaving the audience in no doubt as to the ship’s capabilities) we see the first sight (used again and again) of a police box incongruously standing in an environment it obviously doesn’t belong to. The shadow in the final moments hints of danger and the start of the real adventure.

This adventure is not about world domination, invading aliens or complex schemes. It is simply about survival – obviously the main characters, but also the tribe as well.. The tribe will die without fire – and the Doctor lighting a pipe plunges him into that fight for fire. The power struggle between Za and Kal also keeps the plot moving as alternately one asserts himself and the other tries to discredit him. The main characters are forced to rely on their wits to survive and this is interesting to watch. Despite their ideas it is the Old Mother who frees them – and it is Barbara’s compassion for Za that gets them dragged back again, for (as the Doctor knows) without that delay they could have made it. It is interesting to see the Doctor contemplate murder in direct contrast with Ian and Barbara’s attempts to help Za. For teatime viewing there are some strong and vivid images – split skulls (and the suggestion that the crew will have their heads smashed open), Za’s wounds, the fight between Kal and Za and the skulls looking macabre with fire inside them. The Doctor’s argument that the tribe cannot be reasoned with also gains substance – by the end they flee for their lives and do not turn back. It is a rather savage story (pun is unintentional) that makes Ian and Barbara’s predicament more shocking – from leaving their comfortable world they immediately are stripped down to the bare facts of survival. As other companions will discover, travelling with the Doctor is not a cosy experience…

As a debut story it is very strong. There is no trace of sentiment and the Doctor is a force to be reckoned with – though it is the teachers rather then his enemies who take the full brunt at the moment. There is also no trace of invulnerability – all are scared and Hartnell conveys fear very well. It is a bold approach to start the series like this, and I can’t imagine what a wonderful idea the TARDIS was at the time of transmission. But the programme would show that it was not just about escaping from cavemen…

The series' opening story is, in fact, very distinctly two stories. We have the episode 'An Unearthly Child', effectively the series pilot, serving to establish Ian, Barbara and Susan. Then we have a three-part caveman story.

The first episode itself is a thing of wonder. Generally, a lot is expected of first episodes of any show, and to be fair they tend to deliver within the science-fiction genre, especially compared to their immediate successors [The Prisoner's 'Arrival', Blake's 7's 'The Way Back' and Survivors' 'The Fourth Horseman' are all towards the business end of each series' quality ratio, and even something like Star Trek - The Next Generation's 'Encounter at Farpoint' compares favourably with much of the first series of TNG]. Doctor Who's bow fails to disappoint.

It's directed imaginatively by Waris Hussein, and the steady build-up is most effective, especially as Ian and Barbara attempt to justify their curiosity about Susan to each other and themselves. Susan herself is the only bum note in the opening episode. Carole Ann Ford tends towards over-earnest stagey performance more often than not, and she's not helped by being given some silly scenes. The flashback sequences are the big problem. The idea seems to be that she's so naive and intelligent she can't help letting slip with her huge knowledge. However, it makes her look stupid as she sits in a classroom arguing that the country will have a decimal system in the future. Meaning she knows it doesn't have one now. So why is she saying it? And can you imagine even the first Doctor, arguably the most bumbling of the lot, allowing his grand-daughter to enrol in a local secondary school without telling her she wasn't to tell people about the future and the secrets of time and space?

Now, can you imagine this first Doctor doing it? This isn't the giggling, "Hmm"-ing old duffer the first Doctor that would later come along. This is a sinister, sharp-witted man. Hartnell is really having to work at his performance, and the result is an edgier and arguably more interesting Doctor. His verbal sparing with Ian and Barbara in the junkyard is an electrifying scene, as is his arrogant behaviour once they're inside the TARDIS. The episode introduces the four main characters efficiently, establishing a healthy measure of mystery in both the Doctor and Susan. One of the unusual things about the first two seasons compared to all of Doctor Who up until the Christopher Ecclestone story is that the series very much has three leads - the Doctor, Ian and Barbara. The scripts are generally split up this way too, which leads to a pair of very well-rounded characters. It helps that William Russell is a fantastic actor, regularly outshining Hartnell. Jacqueline Hill does less well, mainly through Barbara being written rather weakly, especially as Ian pretty much takes being thrown back to the stone age in a police box in his stride.

The crew dynamic is excellent, with the Doctor vaguely sinister but seemingly out of his depth, Ian definitely out of his depth but resolute and decisive, Barbara trying to back up Ian despite her inadequacies, and Susan forming a bridge between Ian and the Doctor. This dynamic basically carries the last three episodes. The plot is tedious, and the tribe of cavemen are a dull bunch. While there's a commendable stab at giving them unusual speech patterns, most of them have rather civilised English accents, just depending on missing elaborate words out of their dialogue. There seems to be a lot of the travellers being thrown into the Cave of Skulls and bemoaning their fate going on, and the likes of Kal and Za are uninteresting. The viewer is left rapidly not caring for the fate of the tribe.

If it wasn't for the near-constant arguing between the leads, this would be very uninteresting. However, the Doctor swings from arrogant to self-pitying to callous [his attempt to kill the injured caveman is shocking viewed in retrospect], with Ian battling against him. The perfomances from the regulars are excellent, though Susan isn't left with a huge amount to do but whine "Grandfather!" as the plot meanders around.

Overall, it's a mixed, unbalanced story. Aside from the first episode, the main interest is the development of the leads, and if nothing else the slight plot gives the characters plenty of space to grow. It's worth seeing, though, for a startlingly different Doctor, largely concerned with his own survival. While the sixth Doctor in Season 22, or the seventh Doctor in Seasons 25-26 were both had a different set of morals to what had gone before them, this Doctor is another, quite different Time Lord.

"Everyone knows" that the four-part story known as An Unearthly Child is really two stories: a one-parter and a three-parter. Probably unsurprisingly, I disagree. There's a certain obvious truth to the statement, but I think they're less mismatched than people say. There's a change of setting from 1963 AD to 100,000 BC, but the Tribe of Gum extends and counterpoints the first episode's themes. In 1963, two humans stumble across the products of a civilisation so far in advance of their own that they can barely even comprehend it. They fight and go into denial, while the Doctor and Susan ignore them or treat them like children. The Doctor even explicitly likens them to primitives seeing their first steam engine.

Then back in the Stone Age, they find a world as far behind Ian and Barbara's developmental level as they were behind the Doctor and Susan. For these cavemen, fire is a technological miracle and social sciences aren't even in their infancy. "How can we explain this? She doesn't understand kindness, friendship." And then the Doctor: "These people have logic and reason, have they? Can't you see their minds change as rapidly as night and day?" They're staggeringly primitive, but they're still dangerous. You underestimate them at your peril.

The Cave of Skulls is arguably the first episode of a three-part historical (which might explain its slowness) but it's also very much part two of An Unearthly Child. It continues the story of the Doctor, Susan, Barbara and Ian, picking up where the first episode left off and extending its themes, arguments and character development.

The first episode is obviously fantastic, though a mere shadow of what it should have been. Having at last seen the pilot episode, I suspect I'll never watch the broadcast version again. From now on it's Scary Hartnell for me. Compared with that the remaining three-parter has a reputation for being a bit boring, which I can understand despite not finding entirely fair. There's a lot of good here. I like the aesthetic, for instance. These aren't glamorous "Raquel Welch in 1,000,000 Years BC" cavemen, but thoroughgoing savages that haven't been prettified for television in the slightest. It's uncompromising. There's a delicious brutality to part four's big fight, for instance. Any other story would have had the Doctor or one of his companions jumping in to save Kal's life when Za raises that rock. We've been programmed to expect it. We're waiting for it, but we wait in vain. Squish.

Unfortunately the problem is the performances. In comparison, think back to Carl Forgione as Nimrod in Ghost Light, who mostly lets the make-up sell him as a caveman and just gets on with playing the character and the situation. Admittedly the Tribe of Gum couldn't have gone that far, but visually they're so convincing that I think they could have afforded to pull back a little. Kal in particular needed to act more. He's the drag factor in episode two's lengthy confrontational scene, which is the only genuinely boring bit in the whole serial. It should have been compelling, but it drags. Derek Newark is putting in the effort as Za, but Jeremy Young's Kal is just grunting out his lines. Visually he's great, with that menacing face, but he's clearly the worst thing in the story and things improve considerably once he's dead. Until then it's basically Doctor Who's first example of Two Alien Factions and we know how badly they tend to turn out.

There are some startling accents ("Oi was a great leaderrrr of many men"), although this makes sense since this patchwork community is sheltering the last survivors of other now-dead tribes. However it's still disconcerting to get this huge range of speech, from the aforementioned Farmer Palmer or Kal's barely human grunting to Za's near-eloquence. It's appropriate for Za to be the articulate one, though. He thinks. He has ideas about what a leader should be and even if everything isn't clear in his head, at least you know he's making an effort to work it out. Interestingly though, in their own ways both Kal and Za are correct. Za's attempts at firemaking are indeed risible, about which he's a bit too fatalistic. If at first you don't succeed, plod on moronically with what you've already proved is ineffective. However on the other hand Kal would indeed be a terrible leader. At least Za has thought processes.

Mind you, I admire Kal's way of getting out of a pinch in part four. "Yes, I killed the old woman." You can't beat honesty.

The TARDIS crew are all fantastic, obviously. Note that Ian takes the bull-headed sceptic role that could have made him look like an idiot, but William Russell avoids that trap. He seems practical, not stupid. Once he's seen prehistoric Earth with his own eyes, he accepts the evidence and quietly adjusts to his changed situation. Barbara is the group's heart. "Your flat must be littered with stray cats and dogs." "These are human beings, Ian." Hartnell of course is a god, especially if you watched the pilot episode, although I was surprised by how understated is the famous moment where he's about to murder Za. I particularly love his big scene in part four, manipulating the tribe and basically condemning Kal to death. "I have never seen a better knife." "This knife shows what it has done." You get him, you old bastard! It makes the character far more interesting that in his early days the Doctor wasn't a straightforward hero but a selfish old goat willing to do just about anything to ensure his own safety.

He's obviously still unfamiliar with the TARDIS. He's unusually cautious, taking his Geiger counter outside even after Susan's checked the radiation levels. It's also startling to see how disturbed he is by the failure of the chameleon circuit. Oh, and that's a fantastic final cliffhanger. The TARDIS lands on some strange world, with a scanner image that's freakier than anything in both Cushing movies put together. Our heroes talk about going out to investigate this place from which any sane person would run in horror, then the radiation meter creeps up into the danger zone and we see the next episode caption: "The Dead Planet". I shivered.

As an aside, this story makes a perfect companion piece with Survival, together bookending the classic series. Both stories put the Doctor with another Time Lord with whom he has a long-standing relationship and some ordinary humans in two settings: (a) contemporary London, portrayed with a realistic mundanity that's almost without parallel throughout the rest of the series, and (b) a Stone Age world with nothing to offer but fighting for survival. If you really wanted to stretch the comparison, you could glue the TVM to the end of Survival and turn it into a Stone Age three-parter and a mostly (but not entirely) unrelated one-off pilot set on modern Earth in which the Doctor picks up a couple of humans but has as his only travelling companion that aforementioned Time Lord.

This story is fascinating. Its reputation for boredom is actually the fault of episode two and specifically one long-winded scene. Once you're past that, you're flying. There are some dodgy 1960s production values if you're feeling uncharitable, but personally I thought the visuals were surprisingly effective. The cavemen are almost too convincing, the TARDIS hardly ever looked better and we even get to see out through the doors! That's something we rarely got. Between Hartnell and Eccleston I can only think offhand of Pyramids of Mars. Returning to An Unearthly Child, the only silly-looking bit is the regulars running on the spot in part four. Otherwise I like the way this looks. In particular there's something primal about skulls and fire. The script has interesting themes, its TARDIS crew are vividly realised and the whole thing has electricity. It's lightning in a bottle, captured at a time when Doctor Who's formulae hadn't yet been invented. One of the best pilots I've ever seen, for anything.

100 000 B. C. (aka An Unearthly Child) is consistently excellent throughout, but analysis of it tends to be somewhat top-heavy. I don’t need to go into too much detail, as it’s hardly a groundbreaking statement to say how the first episode overshadows the other three. To be honest, An Unearthly Child gets listed as the best single episode ever that I’ve deliberately cast about trying to find a better one. While a few obvious candidates come to mind (The War Games part ten, Inferno part six, The Deadly Assassin part three), ultimately I just have to concede on this one; An Unearthly Child is the best single episode of Doctor Who.

This being the first of the first, it seems like an opportune moment to say something about the original title sequence. It might be reactionary of me, but this is my favourite: the psychedelic spangles of later years are all very well but this is a real mood piece, in special effects terms a triumph of serendipity, and no title sequence has ever meshed with the theme music so brilliantly. Later sequences are slicker, but they’re just CGI, and the ubiquity of that sets a limit to how impressive it can be. This on the other hand, simple and elegant, is completely unique, and nothing has been seen like it since. The music too is darker, throbbing, pulsing, and spine-tingling in a way that none of the others were.

Early Doctor Who, up to the end of Inside The Spaceship, is seriously dark. This isn't the last time I’ll mention that, but it strikes me here in this relatively domestic first episode because the initial imagery of dark, foggy streets with a funereal tolling bell are far closer to horror than to science fiction. This sets an unusual, unsettling tone for the episode and for the programme in general, given its contrast to much of the show’s future content.

After an innovative piece of direction (in the sense that blur-cuts are rarely seen in this era) we meet the first regulars. There’s a real sense that William Russell and Jacqueline Hill are feeling round their roles, but nevertheless they exude charisma and even at this early stage have a wonderful presence on screen together. In writing terms the episode is pitched perfectly, with the dialogue eloquent without being florid; it is structurally perfect, since by having the mystery described to us before we get to see it ourselves adds to the mystique further by distancing the viewer an extra step from the answers. This is done three times in one episode: first with Susan, then with the Doctor, and then with the TARDIS. And each time, it’s wonderful. However, Ian and Barbara’s plan to follow a student home seems dodgier and dodgier the older the story gets, as the subtext of (unintentional and misunderstood) child abuse becomes harder to avoid.

Susan’s entrance is a little bit stiff (although I do like the song she’s listening to) as she’s the weakest of the four regulars in this era, but the quality of her characterisation means that she acquits herself well here, being a sweet likable girl but without losing the mysterious quality of the pilot, particularly where she casually tells Barbara that she’ll have finished an enormous book on the French Revolution by the next morning. 

The flashback scenes in the car are well handled (a narrative complexity very rarely seen, not just in this era but in the show in general), with the decimal system debate being a particular highpoint (although those “laughing” extras hold it back) mainly because of the fact that it came true eight years later. It is effectively juxtaposed with some fascinatingly psychological dialogue in the car, although Ian’s dismissive “I suppose she couldn’t be a foreigner” is a comment that hasn’t warn well. It’s not racist as he’s not negative towards Susan, but it's a spurious explanation for her oddities. Then there’s Barbara saying that she might be meeting a boy – who says there’s no sex in Doctor Who?

The episode cranks up a gear as they enter the junkyard – helped immensely by the low lighting – and while the crushed dummies and Barbara’s comment that “I feel like we’re interfering in something best left alone” lack subtlety and undermine the illusion a bit, they are effective. It’s impossible not to shiver at the first sight of the TARDIS, although it's viewed in a very different context now as a visual icon of science fiction; to understand the scene you have to appreciate that Barbara and Ian are looking at something that’s incongruous through its very ordinariness.

Hartnell has possibly the best entrance of any Doctor, walking through the mist to the TARDIS – made a frightening character by the sinister subtext that the episode has built up around him so far. This is another case of contextual effect though, since his anti-hero stance seems strikingly odd to someone so familiar with the rest of the show. His acting is superb (it’s difficult to believe he was only 54), and his looking straight into the camera adds to the surrealism of the set up. His faux-scepticism is more brilliant characterisation since theoretically he is making the reasonable argument, adding to the extraordinary effect of what’s about to happen.

It’s hard to put into words the effect of seeing the TARDIS interior for the first time. The sudden cut from dingy junkyard to gleaming spacecraft is startling, and the bigger-on-the-inside set up is one of the elements of the original series that still feels original and unique decades later, even if it began as a narrative device allowing the production team to have a small ship that nevertheless allowed the actors plenty of room to work. The set is superb, which you’d expect considering it cost half the season’s budget. The scene itself is outstanding, one of the best pieces of television ever recorded, both in terms of the complexity of the effect the TARDIS has on Ian and Barbara and the language used to express them. That’s aside from the idea of the TARDIS itself – this has a conceptual richness that the new series, rather than being unable to achieve, just doesn’t allow itself the time for. There is, I should say, a great sense of psychological realism throughout season one. It takes Hartnell thirteen episodes to soften, while in the new series Sarah Jane Smith switches opinions in the space of a scene. Susan’s desperation works well in contrast with Hartnell’s sternness, while Ian and Barbara stay in the middle trying to make sense of everything.

The take off showcases the famous sound effect for the first time – it’s taken for granted so much now that I almost stop noticing it, but it’s hard not to be impressed with it here as it blends so perfectly with the images (cleverly culled from unseen footage of the title sequence). The cliffhanger, with the ordinary police box now standing on a barren landscape, is extraordinary.

Where I perhaps differ from some fans is that I happen to think that the next three episodes maintain the quality of the first, as the atmosphere they create of squalor and the desperate fight for survival is lovingly crafted and is always solid throughout. Za rubbing his bone (!) shows the kind of attention to detail given to these cavemen, in their attempts to impose a meaning on what they cannot understand. I always liked to think that this is Earth – in fact, I like to read in the interpretation that the TARDIS hasn’t moved in space at all; the tribe are terrified about the oncoming winter, and the episode was transmitted in early winter 1963 – I like to think that suggests to the viewer a fairly exact, linear movement back in time. Their dialogue is so lyrical and complex and certainly unrealistic, but the scenes featuring them are eminently watchable.

The TARDIS scene has a sense of inevitability as Ian and Barbara finally begin to realise the truth of their situation. The “Dr. Who?” line actually works here, once as a serious question and once as a quotation from Ian. Russell T. Davies and Steven Moffat might want to take note that this was the first and last time it worked. The “yearometer” is an unusually crude, almost Nation-esque device, but the “cry of strange birds” line is one of my all time favourite quotations from the show. The exploration of the new environment is atmospheric, helped by the sound effects (although admittedly this is for the nostalgia value rather than their quality). There is a real sense of wonder and excitement about early Doctor Who, and a sense of possibilities waiting to be tapped. Not for this show the endless trips back to London council estates; they have a universe to explore. It’s this sense of magic that makes these early episodes so effective. The screeching children attacking the skin made me jump out of my skin – I’d forgotten how scary the episode is.

Jeremy Young is a bit of a ham-ster (geddit?), but Derek Newark and Alethea Charlton are both excellent; the inflections in Za’s dialogue (“he lay down to sleep” rather than “I belted him out cold”) add to the sense of not understanding how the human body works, saying so much in such an economical way. The battle of wits between Za and Kal is so dynamic throughout the whole serial; the important roles of the manipulative Hur and the wise old Horg show how tightly structured the story is, but if anything the characters are too strongly defined to the extent that they are unable to break out of the single roles they play in the narrative. The cliffhanger is extraordinary – “look at those mangled human remains” – but the darkness and scariness of the episode is never gratuitous as it helps the themes of the story. This, like many early episodes, is a story of concepts and themes. And very good it is too.

“Fear makes companions of all of us” is a brilliant line, but let down by an overstated explanation of hope. The forest set is good, as they often are in black and white, and may not have actually been better than any other in production terms. However, Waris Hussein’s direction (he focuses on close ups a lot of the time, obscuring background detail) helps the sense of claustrophobia. Even freedom is terrifying, as the characters are exhausted, lost and in danger of recapture. There is no optimism at all; this is a world away from the new series, which in comparison has been significantly toned down. I’m comparing the old and new series a lot, but there’s just such an extraordinary contrast.

The superiority of Ian and Barbara over the cavemen carries an important message of relativity; they found themselves transplanted into a scenario where they were the weak unenlightened ones, unable to do anything but gaze in wonder. Now, however, they are the strong ones again by being transplanted into a new situation where they are facing savages. This really keys into the concept of the show, that nothing you know is constant and everything can change with the flick of a switch. This makes it a very effective first serial, regardless of whatever Verity Lambert might say.

And then Barbara falls onto a severed warthog head. Just like that. Always in my top five scary moments, this is an absolutely extraordinary set piece that would never be repeated again throughout the series; it’s simply left to stand alone in one of the show’s most disturbing episodes. Move over Genesis Of The Daleks: this is my candidate for the darkest story of all time, ironically the first one ever – I suppose you have to get these things out of your system. The beast attack on Za is also scary, possibly due to the gusto with which Hur reacts – and there’s blood, too! All over the place! In the context I’m writing this (series two of the new series is currently showing) this is deeply shocking, both for the visuals and for its psychological effectiveness. The Doctor is mean and merciless, but actually has a point with regards to the reactions of the tribe. However, his plan to kill Za in cold blood is different. It’s something you just have to let go as the show finding its feet in its early stages; in any other episode it would be indefensible. Fortunately, nothing like it happened in any other episode. The cliffhanger to part three is dynamic and well shot.

Hartnell swings into life in the fourth episode, his plans and schemes pointing forward to the hero he would become, but without actually softening. Za, meanwhile is also changing, explaining to Hur these new ideas the strangers have brought him – at this early stage there is a subtle sense of the characters affecting those they meet. Is there a better-crafted story than this one?

The fight scene between Za and Kal is one of the most brutal, visceral and realistic in the show’s history, helped immensely by being recorded on film. Using this, it’s possible to infer that the sword-fight at the end of Marco Polo might have been superb. Kal’s shriek as Za strangles him is horrifying even today, as is Za stoving his head in with a rock; the story’s mortality rate is 40%, as only two characters die, but each one is incredibly vicious. 

Ah, Susan’s plan…just add burning skulls to the list of dismembered corpses, beast attacks, decapitated animals and smashed-in heads. There’s so much of this I’m beginning to feel like I’m repeating myself. However, “peg it back to the ship” is hardly the most dramatic finale. Then again, what other option is there? After all, this is a story about intellectual drama, not about set pieces. Maybe Lambert was right to say that something bolder and brighter would have made a more appropriate first serial at the time, but in retrospect this holds up exceptionally well. Ian’s line of “come on Doctor, get us off, get us off” scores high on the double entendre register (ahem, for those who like that sort of thing *cough*), and the cliffhanger is silly and contrived, with the needle pointing to danger only after Susan looks away. It’s a sure sign that we’re about to enter the wonderful world of Terry Nation! That’s a slightly disingenuous comment perhaps as I really like The Daleks, but its nowhere near as sophisticated as this.

100 000 B. C. is extraordinary television, dark, frightening, brutal, and deeply satisfying to watch. Just talking about it now makes me want to harpoon a newbie and force them to watch it – you can keep Rose, for this is as fine an introduction as any programme could possibly hope for.

I first recall seeing “An Unearthly Child” back in 1985 on my local PBS station. I still have my off-air VHS copy from that broadcast, which is still watchable after 20 years. In between the obligatory pledge breaks are four really good episodes, proof positive that Doctor Who hit the ground running with a good solid concept, good drama and four very good characters. No wonder I still like it so much! 

Episode one, the only one actually titled “An Unearthly Child”, is the best of the four, and honestly ranks pretty high in the series as a whole with its level of storytelling. It’s a strong beginning, and sets up the mystery of who Susan is with her strange mix of knowledge and ignorance. William Russell and Jacqueline Hill are never less than warm and believable as the two schoolteachers who are curious and concerned about their student. Carole Ann Ford is always likeable as Susan (at least until she starts getting hysterical later) and her love of the 20th century is rather endearing, especially with the knowledge that she feels like she doesn't belong anywhere, and is looking for a home. She is of course the hook to draw Ian and Barbara into the scrapyard and into a meeting with the Doctor.

I can’t say enough good things about William Hartnell’s performance. He is instantly intriguing, and when he’s on the screen, I’m always interested in what he’s doing or saying. Like Tom Baker or Patrick Troughton, Hartnell is always worth watching, always entertaining, even if the story itself isn't as strong as it could be. Here in the junkyard he tries to deal with the sudden intrusion of Ian and Barbara into his life with less than successful results. That and his patronizing explanations to Ian about the nature of the TARDIS are clues that he doesn’t really relate to others well, including his granddaughter Susan. And while he may be arrogant, short-tempered and patronizing, he’s also protective of Susan, which softens his character just enough for me to like him, despite his flaws. 

Hartnell really sells the character by taking the part dead seriously, as do the other actors. There’s not a hint of whimsy, and indeed precious little humor in this story. Contrast this with later episodes, or indeed Christopher Eccleston’s first episode, and it becomes very refreshing to see actors taking what is really an absurd set of ideas and circumstances and making them convincing. The idea of time travel, or the ship that’s larger inside than out, or even the cavemen later on could all be cringe-inducing if played over-earnestly, or in self-referentially humorous fashion, but everyone involved in “An Unearthly Child” plays the script and ideas and characters dead straight, with just the right tone of seriousness, and that translates into a top-notch production. The acting and characters transcend the budgetary and production limitations, as is often the case with Doctor Who.

Since this story contains the first appearance of the TARDIS, let me take a moment to comment. It’s a fantastic concept in more ways than one. A ship that can travel anywhere in time, or anywhere in space, that disguises itself wherever it goes, and trancends dimensionally restraints... that’s a big idea, and pretty original. We can be thankful for budget limitations that forced the writers to come up with the idea of it being stuck in one form, because the Police Box exterior has been the only constant in an ever-changing series, even if it has varied in appearance from time to time. It’s the equivalent of the wardrobe in C.S. Lewis’ first Narnia story. It’s the seemingly ordinary object that opens up onto a whole new world that we can explore. And has the console room ever been more expansive, until Paul McGann’s version appears on screen? As the vehicle for all the adventures that follow, the TARDIS has to capture the imagination, and it does just that.

I used to be of the opinion that the first episode was the good one, and the other three were rather dull. I’ve since changed my mind about that. While the first episode is undoubtedly the best, the other three really do contain some compelling drama. Being plunged from a safe school-teaching job into a very literal struggle to survive is a sound premise from which to wring some drama, and it instantly demonstrates the dangers of time travel. The unreasoning and fickle cavemen are as dangerous a foe as any alien menace that the Doctor faces on his travels. They help one minute, and turn on him the next. It’s fascinating to watch Ian try to convey new ideas and concepts to the primitive mind of Za, such as working together to achieve a goal, or sharing the firemaking skills among the whole tribe, ideas that Za clearly struggles to grasp. We also get a picture here of the difficulty the Doctor has in relating to Ian, since Ian is as far behind him in knowledge as Za is behind Ian. Kudos to the writer for the ‘show not tell’ approach. It’s something that went over my head when I first saw the story at 14 years old, but appreciate now, and is a fine example of a multi-layered approach to storytelling. 

The story, being studio-bound, has the feel of a stage play. It’s a script that contains lots of dialogue punctuated by the occasional action sequence. It’s slow by modern standards, but if you have the patience to stick with it, you’ll enjoy some good performances and good dialogue. There’s no quick-cutting soundbite storytelling here. 

To sum it up, there’s very little to find fault with in Doctor Who’s first serial. Only the production values seem lacking in 2006, but that’s a limitation of budget and technology, and as such can’t really be counted as a fault. Other productions have failed miserably to suspend disbelief with far more time and money to work with. “An Unearthly Child” generally transcends its limitations, has a strong concept behind it, contains a good setup episode that gets the basic concepts of the series across very well, and gives us a good survival story with four strong characters. No production is ever perfect, but this comes close. 9 out of 10.