Serial A, in 4 parts
Written by: Anthony Coburn
Produced by: Verity Lambert
Directed by: Waris Hussein
"An Unearthly Child ...is a remarkable piece of film making. I saw it for the first time in Los Angeles a few months ago. I thought it was marvellous; black and white, with tremendous atmosphere, and I thought, 'Who the hell needs color?' In black and white it was spookier and more exciting, I think." - Jon Pertwee, quoted in Doctor Who Magazine #170
"That was okay." - Greg Sherman, my university housemate.
Eerie theme music, a swirling space vortex, a humming Police Box standing in a junkyard: the opening moments of Doctor Who establish the series as something strange and unprecedented. These bizarre sights and sounds quickly give way to the everyday environment of a school full of kids and gossipy teachers, setting up a perfect contrast between the ordinary and the extraordinary.
The "ordinary" world is represented by Ian and Barbara, a couple of bored teachers who have nothing better to do than swap stories about one of their stranger students. Susan, their pupil, is brilliant in some regards. She has a sweeping knowledge of history, and her scientific skills easily surpass those of her teachers. But's she a complete idiot in other respects; she doesn't even know what currency system Britain is using.
The seasoned science-fiction viewer will soon guess that Susan is an alien. Nevertheless, An Unearthly Child takes its time to gradually reveal her origins. Ian and Barbara represent the audience, and as they discover more about Susan and her "unearthly" world, so too does the viewer. Writer Anthony Coburn was wise to tell the story from the perspective of an "everyman" and "everywoman," allowing casual viewers to become involved in the events as well as sci-fi aficionadoes.
Ian and Barbara follow Susan into an abandoned junkyard and discover the TARDIS and its aging owner, Doctor I.M. Foreman. The First Doctor is unique among the eight TV incarnations of the character; he is cynical, xenophobic, and sexist (note how, whenever Barbara asks the Doctor a question, the old man addresses his response to Ian). William Hartnell emphasizes the hostile, contemptuous aspects of the character. The Doctor ridicules Ian and Barbara at length before finally succumbing to a paranoid fit and abducting them. This is not the curly-haired, grinning, friendly Doctor that most of us know and love...
The Doctor actives the TARDIS controls, taking the ship and all aboard into the space-time vortex. The special effects sequence of the TARDIS taking off was groundbreaking in its time, and the images of the smoky, wheezing vortex superimposed on Susan and the Doctor's faces remain striking. The TARDIS interior has also aged gracefully, and still looks suitably alien and futuristic (moreso than the red plastic chairs and blinky consoles on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise).
The TARDIS arrives during prehistoric times, on an icy plain where a tribe of primitive humans is gradually freezing to death. Two of the tribe's leaders, Za and Kal, are feverishly attempting to rediscover the lost secret of fire. Many hilarious scenes of hairy men rubbing sticks together ensue. At this point, most Who fans lose interest in the story. The cavemen are, admittedly, a hammy lot of guys, but Anthony Coburn's script remains strong throughout and the prehistoric segments contain a lot of great ideas.
The Doctor's "dark side" stays constant during the serial (despite what you may have read to the contrary in The Discontinuity Guide). At one point, the Doctor and his companions flee from the tribe, pursued by Za. A bear attacks Za and mauls him badly; Ian, Barbara and Susan stop to help their fallen enemy. The Doctor thinks that helping Za is a waste of time, and he's eager to reach the TARDIS and escape. So, he picks up a big rock when nobody is looking and prepares to bash Za's head in. Ian, the group's moral compass, arrives just in time to stop the old man from committing murder. Pretty grim stuff, huh?
In another dark plot twist, Za quickly betrays the people who saved his life, and hunts the time travellers through the forest. Barbara, overwhelmed by the insanity of her situation, has an emotional breakdown. The serial ends on a tense, exciting note as the Doctor and his companions escape just in time, taking off as the tribesmen hurl spears at the vanishing TARDIS.
An Unearthly Child is Doctor Who at its most realistic and effective. Sure, the production is cheap, but Waris Hussein's strong direction lends the episode enormous atmosphere and impact. Hartnell gives the best performance in the history of the series, oozing an otherworldly arrogance right from his first line. Susan is a touch too whiny for my taste, but she has the necessary alien aura. William Russell and Jackie Hill do a good job playing ordinary people, which is no mean feat in such a fantastic story. Perhaps the acting gets a little too...enthusiastic on occasion, but I'd rather watch emotionally charged performances than be put to sleep by David Duchovny or Patrick Stewart droning!
An Unearthly Child is science fiction literature, a perfectly constructed mystery with a satisfying payoff. It may be the best Doctor Who episode of all time; it is, at the very least, a great start to one hell of an epic journey.
Mini-Reviews and Quotes:
"The first episode of Doctor Who is still the best introductory story for a Doctor ever. Even after 35 years, it still impresses. Going through the TARDIS doors is as awe-inspiring now as it ever was. Hartnell's Doctor arguably never improved on this chilling first appearance, and the mystery of his origins is superbly evoked. Pity about the three episodes of dental-flossed, Home Counties-accented cavemen running around cardboard sets which followed, though." - SFX magazine #46
The Brian Review:
OVERALL RATING: A
THE DALEKS
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