An Unearthly Child (1963)

EPISODE 1 – AN UNEARTHLY CHILD
Originally Broadcast on BBC – Saturday 23 November 1963

Very atmospheric opening. Foggy with the eerie theme tune helping to create a wonderful effect. The camera in a seemingly following forcing its way into the Junkyard just like Barbara and Ian are about to, thought it was a nice metaphor. It feels weird that the story starts off in ‘contemporary’ London, Doctor Who would obviously return to Earth in the modern day but considering its mostly a non-earth series it has a different feel to the rest of the story. Ian and Barbara’s introduction seems like two natural teachers with a friendship. It’s very low key.

In their first scene it is Barbara who is the driving force into discovering the mystery about Susan. In the scene where Ian and Barbara are in the car it’s interesting how Barbara is the one that can sense there is something odd about the area. Susan’s introduction is really good. The way that she says that she likes walking through the fog as it’s mysterious. There is a moment when Susan is listening to John Smith and the Common Men. It’s odd how the John Smith gag seems to come from The Wheel in Space but this is the first mention of John Smith so this episode is the birth of the John Smith joke but it would be four years before it became part of the character. I thought the French Revolution reference was quite fortuitous as it would form the final story of this opening series.

The scenes where Ian and Barbara talk about their encounters with her are quite rare for the show as flashbacks don’t form part of the narrative until the new series and there good as we only see Susan but only hear Ian and Barbara so its as if we are the ones confronting Susan. Hartnell’s first appearance comes at the 11 minute mark which shows that this is really Ian and Barbara’s episode. Hartnell isn’t the warm and grandfather like figure that we know he becomes. In many respects he is the anti-grandfather figure. When they are in the TARDIS, he is very reluctant to explain himself to Ian and Barbara and won’t let them leave fearing that they will tell people.

Ian and Barbara’s first encounter in the TARDIS control room is our first encounter and it’s a superb introduction.  The console room might not have the grand scale that the new series console does but it still an impressive room. They are trying to use human logic to what they are experiencing and it’s a futile venture.  After Barbara leading the curiosity, its Ian who now leads the mission to try and understand where they are. Ian’s inability to try and understand what’s going on is fun to watch. Barbara still thinks its some sort of trick and she seems to be dealing with it a lot more than Ian.

After a superb start for Susan, she quickly resorts to being the child of the group. When she wants to leave the Doctor and live her life on earth. She seems to throw a mini-tantrum when they says this and its perhaps the only time (apart from Inside the Spaceship) that she shrugs off the child image and acts like an alien.  The cast do some fine wobbling acting when the TARDIS ‘takes off’. The panning out shot of London along with the ‘time vortex’ from the title sequence is as best an attempt to create the impression to the viewer that the TARDIS isn’t in a junkyard in November 1963.

The Cliffhanger is absolutely brilliant. A shadow appearing out of shot is one of my favourite cliffhangers in Doctor Who. This was an wonderful episode. It started off very well and continued to maintain my interest. Even though there are other people in the episode they don’t have an impact on the story and so its one of the rare occasions in Doctor Who where it’s just the main cast that are involved and it’s a clever move which helps establish that this isn’t your typical drama.

EPISODE 2 – THE CAVE OF SKULLS
Originally Broadcast on BBC – Saturday 30 November 1963

After the introduction episode we get to the main part of the story and our first introduction into a different world. We find out what the shadowy figure was from the cliffhanger. It’s a rather gormless looking individual. It’s a  case of the mind perhaps creating a more impressive answer than what we could possibly have expected. It would perhaps have been better to have a look in the TARDIS before we get to meet the clan. The first voices we hear in this episode are from the clan. It’s nearly 3 ½ minutes before we get back to the TARDIS and in that scene we get to basically understand what the next three episodes will be about. When we go back to the TARDIS there is a dramatic near four minute scene where Ian and the Doctor square up to discover the finer points of science. Despite what must have been a turbulent journey, Ian is still reluctant to accept what’s going on.

A nice scene in the TARDIS takes place concerning the name of the Doctor. Doctor Foreman is the name mistakenly given by Barbara as to the identity of Susan’s grandfather. With Ian being the first to question just what the Doctor’s real name is (a question still being asked 50 years on).When we leave the TARDIS we learn another thing about the show and that’s the TARDIS is suppose to change shape and blend in with its surroundings. It’s also rather odd to see the Doctor actually doing some scientific research into the surroundings. Normally the episode starts and the Doctor and crew are off and away so its nice to see the Doctor doing some research.

The central performances are noticeably different from the first episode. William Hartnell plays the Doctor really well in this episode as the Doctor is less frosty in this episode despite his stand-off with Ian. William Russell is putting a good performance. I like how confident Ian thinks he is that the Doctor is a charlatan. Even after stepping out of the TARDIS he can’t quite believe what he’s seeing. This continuous refusal to believe what’s in front of him would normally be quite annoying but with Russell its good. Carole Ann Ford does the best that she can but Susan’s still hysterical. She’s degraded quickly. Barbara is playing the mother figure, it’s quite surprising just how quickly these two characters have been bedded down but I still think that Jacqueline Hill is a very good actress and Barbara is the stronger written character out of the two. The TARDIS crew that we have now do the finest ‘pretending to be frozen in a baking hot studio’ acting I think I’ve ever seen

The problems with this story become evident in this episode. The cave storyline is rather pedestrian and dull compared to the more interesting storyline with the Doctor, Susan, Ian and Barbara. Essentially it’s a power struggle with the leader being the one who can make fire. The only character that is of any interest is Old Mother. Old Mother is clearly someone who revels from Za not being able to make fire. Eileen Way is clearly having fun despite looking haggard and grim.

The only time that the cave clan become interesting is when the Doctor gets bought in a then it leads to quite a dramatic rescue by Ian, Barbara and Susan with an even better moment where the Doctor tries to save Ian’s life. But it’s a futile attempt as it leads them to the first prison cell scene of Doctor Who.  Considering the episode is called ‘The Cave of Skulls’ it quite bizarre then that its 23 minutes before the story moves into the cave. The cliffhanger is quite good as at the time it must have been quite grim because the camera focuses on a skull with a hole in it and the idea that you would have to wait a whole week to see whether your new favourite characters would have a hole in their head after just three weeks is quite nice.

The Cave of Skulls isn’t quite as good as An Unearthly Child but there are still some elements that are entertaining.

EPISODE 3 – THE FOREST OF FEAR
Originally Broadcast on BBC – Saturday 7 December 1963

The Doctor opens the episode apologising for getting them trapped. It’s probably the nicest that the Doctor would be for a while. As he drastically changes throughout the episode. The story in this episode sees the TARDIS crew trying to desperately escape from the cave and get back to the TARDIS however as the power struggle in the tribe gets worse and worse it heightens up the tension for the Doctor and co. There is a wonderful quote in the early part of this episode “Fear makes companions of us all” is a wonderful quote from the Doctor.

It’s not been mentioned before but the set designs are quite good. It’s not really evident that it’s been filmed in a studio. The cave sets in particular are well designed and have a claustrophobic feel to them which is I know what you would want from a cave but it’s lit quite badly and that helps to create the right impression.

Ian’s role as the action man of the group is established in part three as he is the one who’s hopes of setting them free rely upon. He becomes the one who is quite resourceful and is always trying to come up with ways of helping someone. Russell has been a strong presence in these episodes whether its having the argument with the Doctor in the previous episode or being resourceful.  It’s Barbara’s turn to be the hysterical one. After two episodes of being the strong one taking things in her stride, she then becomes the one that just screams and cries during the course of the episode. Her decision to go and help Hur after Za has been attacked might seem like a stupid thing to do but it recovers Barbara from being the hysterical one and establishes the character as a caring person.

The Old Woman doesn’t want the Doctor to make fire. It’s a curious request considering how much everyone else wants it. It’s a shame when she dies cause I thought that she was a really good character and well played. Eileen Way has been one of the gems of this story but I think that her usefulness has run its course but its still a shame when a good character gets written out. Za and Hur are really good in this as Za’s desperation intensifies and Hur is doing everything she can to help him. Za does raise a good point about why Hur did nothing when Old Mother took Za’s rock. Apart from that she is really good and even Za is quite good.

The middle section of the episode is the highlight of the episode because it’s a good chase sequence with Za and Hur chasing Ian, Barbara, Susan and the Doctor. It’s halted when Hur gets attacked by something which we don’t see (presumably a tiger or a lion). The moment when the Doctor picks up a rock and is clearly going to kill Hur is something that you wouldn’t associate with the character. It shows the darker side of the character and its quite a surprising thing because he of course would play the grand father figure quite well in the rest of his time on the show and he continues to be the anti-grandfather. Hartnell’s performance is very good  and is the best out of the regular characters.

The cliffhanger was quite good. Just when we think that the Doctor and the rest have made it back to the TARDIS then they encounter some of the tribe who come out of the darkness its quite well done and then when Ian tells the other to go back they face more trouble in the form of Kal. The look on his face is very serious as his power in the tribe grows. I thought that this was a much improved episode on Cave of Skulls. For one, the title actually has some meaning here as most of the story takes place in the forest and there is a certain amount of fear. The final episode is set up nicely by what goes on in this episode.

EPISODE 4 – THE FIREMAKER
Originally Broadcast on BBC – Saturday 14 December 1963

The final part of this introduction to Doctor Who after nearly getting into the TARDIS, the crew are captured and taken back to the cave. When they do get back to the cave there is a nice bit of teamwork between the Doctor and Ian, it’s made even nice when Ian makes sure Za knows that the Doctor is the leader. The first eight or nine minutes bumble along and there is nothing really exciting that grabs the attention but then at nine minute mark the power struggle takes centre stage. It’s been bubbling along for the previous two episodes but here it intensifies when fire has been made. We have our first big action sequence and it doesn’t involve any of the regular crew. It’s between Za and Kal It’s quite a violent  encounter  buts its well worked out.  The reactions from the regulars help make that scene even more graphic.

There is a last minute plot device to crank up the tension when after Ian has made fire for Za, he refuses to let them go and the TARDIS crew are still trapped. However it’s a short lived imprisonment because they discover a way to get out. Susan is the one that works out how make the cavemen scared. It might have been Ian that worked out the finer details but its still Susan who starts the ball rolling. Considering how for the last two episodes she has been whining and acting like a kid but here that has all disappeared. The cavemen are pretty easy to scare and so it’s a plan that works well. It’s a wonderful image of the skulls being on fire, it’s quite a well realised image that is helped because its black and white television.

The central performances are all consistently good for the first time since the first episode. The Doctor is less grumpy and frosty than he has been and William Hartnell performs very well. It’s quite good how he has become more dishevelled as the story has progressed and has mellowed since the first episode. Carole Ann Ford has had a good episode, not only does she come up with the idea but she doesn’t go hysterical and is good to watch. Jacqueline Hill puts in a good performance after her brief moment of hysterics she is the strong figure that we know she can be and Hill can play that well. William Russell’s most significant contribution to the story is when Ian makes fire. It’s not to say that he wasn’t very good but I don’t it was his finest episode. In the supporting cast Alethea Charlton has become the star of the story with her stunning performance in the past three episodes. She started off quietly but soon became an important member of the story and she was strong until the very end.

Visually the story has been very good and continues here. The cave scenes have been the heart of the story and it was made very well. The scene where the Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan are running back to the TARDIS and being chased is done in a rather odd way. Just static shots of each of the regulars with branches hitting them in the faces. I know that it was a means to an end because they probably didn’t have the space to do a running scene but it just doesn’t sit as well as the rest of the story.

It’s good how when the TARDIS takes off, Barbara and Ian think/hope that the Doctor will take them back to 1963 but it’s not going to be that simple. The sense of desperation from Ian and Barbara shows that a trip back in time isn’t going to make them want to go travelling with the Doctor which is what happens pretty much every time that someone new joins the show. When they do land the world that they have landed on doesn’t look like Earth and the cliffhanger ends with the radiation detector hitting danger just after Susan has checked it when it was normal.

As an episode it’s half a good episode but spends an awful long time to get into gear. When it does though its really good and the second half is what saves this episode. As a story, I had always thought that it was one quarter very good and three quarters ok. However having watched them over four days I must say that its half a good story and half ok.  The first and third episodes are enjoyable and the second and final episode sort of let the side down but it definelty a good start to the journey of the Doctor.