An Unearthly Child

"Have you ever thought what it's like to be wanderers in the fourth dimension? Have you? To be exiles? Susan and I are cut off from our own planet, without friends or protection. But one day we shall get back. Yes, one day. One day" 

Writer: Anthony Coburn
Format: TV
Broadcast: 23rd November 1963- 14th December 1963
Season: 1.01

Featuring: First Doctor, Susan, Ian, Barbara


Synopsis

Susan Foreman is a mystery to teachers Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright, seemingly knowing more than she should about the past... and the future. Their curiosity leads them to follow her home one night, only to find that her 'home' appears to be a deserted junkyard. In the junkyard, they discover a police telephone box and a strange old man, who claims to be Susan's grandfather, and calls himself the Doctor. The journey of a lifetime is about to begin...


Verdict

An Unearthly Child really is a joy to behold. For the first ever serial of Doctor Who, now fifty years old, it is quite a journey. I really envy those people who watched this on first broadcast as everything that was to come was unexpected and unknown. I can't imagine my reaction to Ian and Barbara barging into the TARDIS if I didn't know from beforehand that the ship itself was of course bigger on the inside. The mysterious old junkyard of 76 Totter's Lane is brilliant in the first part and the Doctor's attempts to rid away of Ian and Barbara are quite comical. The mystery of Susan is immediately intriguing and she's clearly out of her own time and too intelligent for Earth in 1963. Once the TARDIS dematerialises for the first time, the journey of a lifetime begins. The TARDIS lands in ancient Earth and to the confusion of the Doctor it remains stuck as a police box, the chameleon circuit is broken for the first time, and the viewer is immediately hooked. Not just because a police telephone box has travelled back in time 101.963 years, but because a strange figure lurks by the TARDIS. The eeriness is soon enhanced as the Doctor is missing and the encounter with the Tribe of Gum ensues. Fire is all this primitive tribe wish to create but even that isn't achievable to them. The tribe members provide brilliant characters. The battle for leadership of the tribe between Za and Kal is outstanding and a fantastic representation of what I imagine ancient primitive life was like. The enigma of the Old Mother is extremely fascinating and I was never sure what to make of her throughout. The Cave of Skulls was a big factor in the story and ultimately gives the TARDIS crew their route to escape. But the ultimate brilliance of this story lies not with the plot, although it is caused from it, but in the four travellers, during their first adventure together. Za is injured, on the brink of death and what we would consider uncharacteristic of the Doctor nowadays, he just wanted to leave and go back to the TARDIS. But his granddaughter sided with Ian, who excellently was thought of as 'Friend', Barbara, immediately showing her desire to aid and human instinct, to help. The Doctor seemed to be a selfish man at the start of this story but with the introduction of his first companions, he starts to change into the Doctor we all know and love today, and that will be seen further as the season continues. It's brilliant to watch the change now, but I imagine it would have been even more so if I was watching on first viewing, with no foreknowledge, on broadcast date. Ian and Barbara were letting the Doctor see another view of life, that ultimately he would be needed. In An Unearthly Child, Za's life was saved. How many more would be as a result of this encounter? I believe this was the starting point of the Doctor. And it is marvellous. The serial ends cleverly with the travellers using the skulls of the dead on sticks of fire, ultimately scaring the tribe long enough to allow their escape and flea back to the TARDIS. Doctor Who's first four part story was a long venture, from school in 1963 to cavemen in 100.00BC but it was a brilliant and brave beginning.

Rating: 9/10