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{{Infobox Story SMW
{{Infobox Novel|
|novelisation of = An Unearthly Child (TV story)
name= Doctor Who and An Unearthly Child |
|image          = <gallery>
image= 001a.jpg |
Doctor Who and an Unearthly Child.jpg|1981 edition
series=[[Target novelisation]]s |
Doctor Who An Unearthly Child novel 1990.jpg|1990 edition
number= 68 (given to later editions) |
</gallery>
doctor=First Doctor |
|number         = 68 (given to later editions)  
companions= [[Susan Foreman]], [[Barbara Wright]], [[Ian Chesterton]] |
|doctor         = First Doctor  
enemy= [[Kal]] |
|companions     = [[Susan Foreman|Susan]], [[Barbara Wright|Barbara]], [[Ian Chesterton|Ian]]  
year= [[Earth]], [[BC#Prehistory|100,000 BC]] |
|enemy           = [[Kal]]  
writer= [[Terrance Dicks]] |
|setting        = [[Shoreditch]], [[1963]]<br />[[Earth]], [[BC#Prehistory|circa 100,000 BC]]  
publisher= [[Target Books]], [[W.H. Allen & Co]] |
|writer          = Terrance Dicks
release date= [[October]] [[1981]] |
|cover          = [[Andrew Skilleter]]
format= Hardcover and paperback editions, 128 Pages |
|publisher       = Target Books
isbn= ISBN 0-426-20144-2|
|publisher2      = W.H. Allen  
prev= none  |
|release date   = 15 October 1981  
next=Doctor Who in an Exciting Adventure with the Daleks}}
|format         = Hardcover and paperback editions; 12 Chapters, 128 Pages  
|isbn           = ISBN 0-426-20144-2
|prev           = Doctor Who and the Enemy of the World (novelisation)
|series          = [[Target novelisation]]s
|next           = Doctor Who and the State of Decay (novelisation)
|prev2          = Doctor Who and the Underworld (novelisation)
|series2        = [[Target novelisation]] numbering
|next2          = Doctor Who and the Visitation (novelisation)
|series3        = [[List of Doctor Who television stories|TV series order]]
|next3          = Doctor Who in an Exciting Adventure with the Daleks (novelisation)
}}{{you may|Doctor Who and an Unearthly Child (in-universe)|n1=the novelisation as it exists within the DWU}}
'''''{{StoryTitle}}''''' was a novelisation based on the television serial ''[[An Unearthly Child (TV story)|An Unearthly Child]]''. This novelisation was written some eighteen years after the publication of the novelisation of ''[[The Daleks (TV story)|The Daleks]]'', published as ''[[Doctor Who in an Exciting Adventure with the Daleks (novelisation)|Doctor Who in an Exciting Adventure with the Daleks]]''. The two books, if read chronologically, do not maintain continuity.
 
== Publisher's summary ==
=== 1981 Target Books edition ===
FIRST PUBLICATION OF THE VERY FIRST [[Doctor Who (TV series)|DOCTOR WHO]] STORY
 
[[Susan Foreman|A strange girl]] who knows far more than she should about the past – and the future...
 
Two worried teachers whose curiosity leads them to a deserted junk yard, an [[the Doctor's TARDIS|extraordinary police box]] and a mysterious traveller known only as [[First Doctor|the Doctor]]...
 
A fantastic journey through Space and Time ending in a terrifying adventure at the dawn of history...


== Novelisation ==
''DOCTOR WHO AND AN UNEARTHLY CHILD''
* This novelisation is based on the original television serial generally referred to as [[TV]]: ''[[An Unearthly Child (TV story)|An Unearthly Child]]'', which included individual episode titles, was written by [[Anthony Coburn]] and shown from [[23 November]] [[1963]].
* The cover and information on the right are for the original Target edition. It features the artwork of [[Andrew Skilleter]]. (See below for information on editions with different covers).
* The book was written some eighteen years after the publication of the novelisation of the second story, published as ''[[Doctor Who in an Exciting Adventure with the Daleks]]'' (aka ''Doctor Who and the Daleks''). The two books, if read chronologically, do not maintain continuity.


== Publisher's summary ==
=== 1981 edition ===
FIRST PUBLICATION OF THE VERY FIRST [[Doctor Who|DOCTOR WHO]] STORY <br />
[[Susan Foreman|A strange girl]] who knows far more than she should about the past – and the future.<br />
Two worried teachers whose curiosity leads them to a deserted junk yard, an [[the Doctor's TARDIS|extraordinary police box]] and a mysterious traveller known only as the [[First Doctor]].<br />
A fantastic journey through Space and Time ending in a terrifying adventure at the dawn of history.<br />
DOCTOR WHO AND AN UNEARTHLY CHILD <br />
THE BEGINNING OF A LEGEND
THE BEGINNING OF A LEGEND


=== 1990 edition ===
=== 1990 Target Books edition ===
[[23 November]] [[1963]]: The Birth of a phenomenon.
[[23 November (releases)|23 NOVEMBER]] [[1963 (releases)|1963]]: THE BIRTH OF A PHENOMENON.


[[Ian Chesterton]] and [[Barbara Wright]] are teachers at [[Coal Hill School]] in [[London]]. One of their pupils, a girl named [[Susan Foreman]], intrigues them: she displays strange knowledge and an uncanny intelligence. They follow her to her home-- and she leads them to a [[the Doctor's TARDIS|police telephone box]], incongruously parked in a junk yard, where they meet a tetchy, white-haired old man. Susan calls him grandfather, but he says he is known as the [[First Doctor]]...
[[Ian Chesterton]] and [[Barbara Wright]] are teachers at [[Coal Hill School]] in [[London]]. One of their pupils, a girl named [[Susan Foreman]], intrigues them: she displays strange knowledge and an uncanny intelligence. They follow her to her home-- and she leads them to a [[the Doctor's TARDIS|police telephone box]], incongruously parked in a junk yard, where they meet a tetchy, white-haired old man. Susan calls him grandfather, but he says he is known as [[First Doctor|the Doctor]]...


This was the public's first glimpse of the dimension-hopping [[Time Lord]], and the beginning of a television legend. More than a hundred and fifty adventures and a quarter of a century later, the Doctor and his Tardis are still travelling through time and space.
This was the public's first glimpse of the dimension-hopping [[Time Lord]], and the beginning of a television legend. More than a hundred and fifty adventures and a quarter of a century later, the Doctor and his Tardis are still travelling through time and space.


[[Terrance Dicks]], who was the Doctor Who script editor for five years, has written more than sixty [[Target Novelisation|novelisations]] of Doctor Who television stories. This is a new edition of his novel based on the first Doctor Who story ever shown on television.
[[Terrance Dicks]], who was the Doctor Who [[script editor]] for five years, has written more than sixty [[Target Books|novelisations]] of Doctor Who television stories. This is a new edition of his novel based on the first Doctor Who story ever shown on television.


Doctor Who - An Unearthly Child is available as a [[BBC Video]], and will be broadcast on BSB television during [[1990]].
Doctor Who - An Unearthly Child is available as a [[BBC Worldwide|BBC Video]], and will be broadcast on BSB television during [[1990]].


== Chapter Titles ==
== Chapter titles ==
1. The Girl Who Was Different<br />
# The Girl Who Was Different
2. Enter the Doctor<br />
# Enter the Doctor
3. The TARDIS<br />
# The TARDIS
4. The Dawn of Time<br />
# The Dawn of Time
5. The Disappearance<br />
# The Disappearance
6. The Cave of Skulls<br />
# The Cave of Skulls
7. The Knife<br />
# The Knife
8. The Forest of Fear<br />
# The Forest of Fear
9. Ambush<br />
# Ambush
10. Captured<br />
# Captured
11. The Firemaker<br />
# The Firemaker
12. Escape into Danger
# Escape into Danger
 
== Illustrations ==
None


== Deviations from televised story ==
== Deviations from televised story ==
* The policeman who appears at the start of the story has an expanded role. He stops by Totters Lane, sees the TARDIS and finds it curious that such a thing should be in a junkyard, reasoning to himself that the box was there because it had worn out and had been sold for scrap. He had heard a rumour that police boxes were eventually going to be phased out altogether in favour of every constable having a personal walkie-talkie radio, but personally didn't believe such a thing would ever happen. He returns to the junkyard the next night to find the TARDIS gone, thinking that he must have imagined it.
* The Doctor specifically states that his name is not "Doctor Foreman" rather than just implying it.
* The Doctor specifically states that his name is not "Doctor Foreman" rather than just implying it.
* The [[Old Mother]] is said to be the mother of [[Za]]. The father of Za is named Gor.
* The novel ends by mentioning the war between the [[Kaled]]s and the [[Thal]]s, and the fact that the Doctor was about to meet the [[Dalek]]s for the first time.


== Writing and publishing notes ==
== Writing and publishing notes ==
* Suggested by producer [[John Nathan-Turner]] as a tie-in to the broadcast of the serial on TV as part of a series of repeats ([[The Five Faces of Doctor Who]]), author [[Terrance Dicks]] was given only a fortnight to complete the book. There were delays incurred in securing the writer’s permission, given by his widow.
* Suggested by producer [[John Nathan-Turner]] as a tie-in to the broadcast of the serial on TV as part of a series of repeats,<ref>[[The Five Faces of Doctor Who]]</ref> author [[Terrance Dicks]] was given only a fortnight to complete the book. There were delays incurred in securing the necessary permission to novelise the story, as the original author [[Anthony Coburn]] had passed away by 1981; the go-ahead was eventually given by Coburn's widow Joan Moon.
* A guaranteed success because of the TV broadcast, this title had an increased cover price and the first edition featured a red foil logo.
* A guaranteed success because of the TV broadcast, this title had an increased cover price and the first edition featured a red foil logo.
* Cover artist [[Andrew Skilleter]] starts an unbroken run of twenty-one covers of artwork with this title, whose artwork he completed over a weekend without being requested to provide any roughs, describing this cover as "a weekends work" in his book [[Blacklight]].
* Cover artist [[Andrew Skilleter]] starts an unbroken run of twenty-one covers of artwork with this title, whose artwork he completed over a weekend without being requested to provide any roughs, describing this cover as "a weekends work" in his book [[Blacklight]].
* It was the first book published in the [[Target Books]] Doctor Who novelisation schedules after a six month gap caused by a Writer's Guild strike.
* It was the first book published in the [[Target Books]] Doctor Who novelisation schedules after a six month gap caused by a Writer's Guild strike.
* It was also the first book to use the new 'neon logo' the TV series introduced for [[Season 18 (Doctor Who 1963)|Season 18]].


== Additional cover images ==
== Additional cover images ==
<gallery hideaddbutton="true" >
<gallery position=center captionalign=center hideaddbutton="true" >
file:3UnearthlyChild.jpg|1990 edition<br />Cover by [[Alister Pearson]]  
File:HardbackAnUnearthlyChild.jpg|1981 Hardback edition
File:Doctor Who An Unearthly Child novel 1990.jpg|1990 edition<br />Cover by [[Alister Pearson]]
</gallery>
</gallery>


== British publication history ==
== British publication history ==
''To be added''
First publication:
 
* Hardback
'''First Publication: '''
: W.H.Allen & Co. Ltd. UK
* Hardback  
: W.H.Allen & Co. Ltd. UK  
* Paperback
* Paperback
: Target  
: Target
'''Re-issues:'''
Re-issues:
* Paperback
* Paperback
: Target / Virgin Publishing Ltd. UK February 1980 Cover by Alistair Pearson (£2.50 UK)
: Target / Virgin Publishing Ltd. UK February 1980 Cover by Alistair Pearson (£2.50 UK)


== Editions published outside Britain ==
== Editions published outside Britain ==
This novelisation was published in France as ''Docteur Who Entre en Scene'' (Doctor Who enters the scene) in a collection created by Igor and Grichka Bogdanoff, and Germany as ''Doctor Who und das Kind von den Sternen'' (Doctor Who and the child from the stars).
* Published in France by Editions Garanciere in 1987 as a paperback edition, translated by Jean-Daniel Breque and published as ''Docteur Who Entre en Scène'', it was one of eight French novelisations; each book is given the strapline ‘Igor et Grichka Bogdanoff presentent’ they presented a French science programme called Temps X, the broadcaster had bought and dubbed a selection of [[Fourth Doctor]] stories in 1986 but didn’t show them until 1989. The novelisation features an image of the [[First Doctor]] with the Fourth Doctor’s scarf.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wonderfulbook.co.uk/basedon/|title=Based on the Popular BBC Television Serial 3rd Edition}}</ref>
 
* Published again in Germany by Goldmann Verlag in 1989 as a paperback edition, translator unknown and published as ''Dr. Who und der Kind von den Sternen'', it was one of six German novelisations published in the late 1980’s. Unusually the artwork was swapped with ''Doctor Who and the Keys of Marinus''.
<gallery hideaddbutton="true" >
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true">
France An Unearthly Child cover.jpg|Docteur Who Entre en Scene
France An Unearthly Child cover.jpg|French edition.<br />Cover by Jean-François Pénichoux
Doctor Who und das Kind von den Sternen.jpg|German edition
</gallery>
</gallery>


== See also ==
* '''[[The Target Book]]''' by [[David J Howe]] ([[Telos Publishing]] 2007)
== External links ==
== External links ==
* {{On target|1981/unearthl/81uneart.htm|Doctor Who and An Unearthly Child}}
''to be added''
 
== Footnotes ==
{{Reflist}}
 
{{DWN}}
{{DWN}}
{{TitleSort}}
{{TitleSort}}


[[Category:First Doctor novelisations]]
[[Category:Target novelisations]]
[[Category:Target novelisations]]
[[Category:1981 novels]]
[[Category:1981 novels]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1963]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1963]]
[[Category:Stories set in London]]
[[Category:Stories set at Coal Hill School]]
[[Category:Stories set in Shoreditch]]
[[Category:Stories set in the distant past]]
[[Category:Stories set in the distant past]]
[[Category:Sources set on Skaro]]

Latest revision as of 20:17, 3 November 2024

RealWorld.png

You may be looking for the novelisation as it exists within the DWU.

Doctor Who and an Unearthly Child was a novelisation based on the television serial An Unearthly Child. This novelisation was written some eighteen years after the publication of the novelisation of The Daleks, published as Doctor Who in an Exciting Adventure with the Daleks. The two books, if read chronologically, do not maintain continuity.

Publisher's summary[[edit] | [edit source]]

1981 Target Books edition[[edit] | [edit source]]

FIRST PUBLICATION OF THE VERY FIRST DOCTOR WHO STORY

A strange girl who knows far more than she should about the past – and the future...

Two worried teachers whose curiosity leads them to a deserted junk yard, an extraordinary police box and a mysterious traveller known only as the Doctor...

A fantastic journey through Space and Time ending in a terrifying adventure at the dawn of history...

DOCTOR WHO AND AN UNEARTHLY CHILD

THE BEGINNING OF A LEGEND

1990 Target Books edition[[edit] | [edit source]]

23 NOVEMBER 1963: THE BIRTH OF A PHENOMENON.

Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright are teachers at Coal Hill School in London. One of their pupils, a girl named Susan Foreman, intrigues them: she displays strange knowledge and an uncanny intelligence. They follow her to her home-- and she leads them to a police telephone box, incongruously parked in a junk yard, where they meet a tetchy, white-haired old man. Susan calls him grandfather, but he says he is known as the Doctor...

This was the public's first glimpse of the dimension-hopping Time Lord, and the beginning of a television legend. More than a hundred and fifty adventures and a quarter of a century later, the Doctor and his Tardis are still travelling through time and space.

Terrance Dicks, who was the Doctor Who script editor for five years, has written more than sixty novelisations of Doctor Who television stories. This is a new edition of his novel based on the first Doctor Who story ever shown on television.

Doctor Who - An Unearthly Child is available as a BBC Video, and will be broadcast on BSB television during 1990.

Chapter titles[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. The Girl Who Was Different
  2. Enter the Doctor
  3. The TARDIS
  4. The Dawn of Time
  5. The Disappearance
  6. The Cave of Skulls
  7. The Knife
  8. The Forest of Fear
  9. Ambush
  10. Captured
  11. The Firemaker
  12. Escape into Danger

Deviations from televised story[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The policeman who appears at the start of the story has an expanded role. He stops by Totters Lane, sees the TARDIS and finds it curious that such a thing should be in a junkyard, reasoning to himself that the box was there because it had worn out and had been sold for scrap. He had heard a rumour that police boxes were eventually going to be phased out altogether in favour of every constable having a personal walkie-talkie radio, but personally didn't believe such a thing would ever happen. He returns to the junkyard the next night to find the TARDIS gone, thinking that he must have imagined it.
  • The Doctor specifically states that his name is not "Doctor Foreman" rather than just implying it.
  • The Old Mother is said to be the mother of Za. The father of Za is named Gor.
  • The novel ends by mentioning the war between the Kaleds and the Thals, and the fact that the Doctor was about to meet the Daleks for the first time.

Writing and publishing notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Suggested by producer John Nathan-Turner as a tie-in to the broadcast of the serial on TV as part of a series of repeats,[1] author Terrance Dicks was given only a fortnight to complete the book. There were delays incurred in securing the necessary permission to novelise the story, as the original author Anthony Coburn had passed away by 1981; the go-ahead was eventually given by Coburn's widow Joan Moon.
  • A guaranteed success because of the TV broadcast, this title had an increased cover price and the first edition featured a red foil logo.
  • Cover artist Andrew Skilleter starts an unbroken run of twenty-one covers of artwork with this title, whose artwork he completed over a weekend without being requested to provide any roughs, describing this cover as "a weekends work" in his book Blacklight.
  • It was the first book published in the Target Books Doctor Who novelisation schedules after a six month gap caused by a Writer's Guild strike.
  • It was also the first book to use the new 'neon logo' the TV series introduced for Season 18.

Additional cover images[[edit] | [edit source]]

British publication history[[edit] | [edit source]]

First publication:

  • Hardback
W.H.Allen & Co. Ltd. UK
  • Paperback
Target

Re-issues:

  • Paperback
Target / Virgin Publishing Ltd. UK February 1980 Cover by Alistair Pearson (£2.50 UK)

Editions published outside Britain[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Published in France by Editions Garanciere in 1987 as a paperback edition, translated by Jean-Daniel Breque and published as Docteur Who Entre en Scène, it was one of eight French novelisations; each book is given the strapline ‘Igor et Grichka Bogdanoff presentent’ they presented a French science programme called Temps X, the broadcaster had bought and dubbed a selection of Fourth Doctor stories in 1986 but didn’t show them until 1989. The novelisation features an image of the First Doctor with the Fourth Doctor’s scarf.[2]
  • Published again in Germany by Goldmann Verlag in 1989 as a paperback edition, translator unknown and published as Dr. Who und der Kind von den Sternen, it was one of six German novelisations published in the late 1980’s. Unusually the artwork was swapped with Doctor Who and the Keys of Marinus.
  • French edition. Cover by Jean-François Pénichoux

    French edition.
    Cover by Jean-François Pénichoux

  • German edition

    German edition

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]

to be added

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. ↑ The Five Faces of Doctor Who
  2. ↑ Based on the Popular BBC Television Serial 3rd Edition.
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