An Unearthly Child (TV story)
An Unearthly Child was the first televised story of Doctor Who. It premiered on Saturday, 23 November, 1963 and first introduces William Hartnell as the First Doctor, Carole Ann Ford as Susan Foreman, William Russell as Ian Chesterton and Jacqueline Hill as Barbara Wright.
Synopsis
Curious about an unusual pupil, Susan Foreman, two school teachers follow her home to a junkyard. This leads to an encounter with the mysterious Doctor and his police box which turns out to be a craft capable of travel in time and space.
Afraid that the teachers will reveal his secrets, the Doctor whisks them back in time. They arrive in 100,000 BC and encounter a group of cave people desperately trying to create fire. Kidnapped and imprisoned in a cave filled with skulls the unwilling travellers have to work together to create fire and escape their captors.
Plot
An Unearthly Child (1)
School teachers Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright become concerned about one of their pupils, Susan Foreman. She seems to have a very alien outlook on 1963 England and though her knowledge of some issues is very advanced, she has other curious gaps in her basic understanding or extends concepts beyond their normal parameters. Following her home, Ian and Barbara discover that she appears to live in a junkyard with her grandfather. In fact, Susan and her grandfather, the Doctor, are aliens, who travel through time and space in the TARDIS, a time machine disguised as a police box that is much larger on the inside than it is on the outside. When Ian and Barbara stumble into the TARDIS, the Doctor, who appears to be a wanderer and a fugitive, decides that it is too dangerous to remain in 1963 London and so dematerialises the TARDIS with himself, Susan and the two school teachers on board.
The Cave of Skulls (2)
As they travel back to the Stone Age, Ian and Barbara blame the Doctor for kidnapping them from contemporary society. They also have difficulty believing they have actually travelled in time, but the remoteness of their situation and the vileness of the civilisation they encounter convince them that they have indeed been taken far back into the past. The Doctor is concerned too because the exterior of the TARDIS does not seem to have changed when the ship rematerialised. Susan explains that the ship is supposed to change its appearance to blend in with its surrounding, but for some reason it has remained in the shape of a police box.
They soon become involved in the power struggles of a Stone Age tribe (known in an early working title of the serial as the Tribe of Gum), where leader Za is being mocked for not being able to produce fire, which his father, the previous leader, was able to do. Kal, an interloper from another tribe, only heightens the tension when he offers himself as an alternative leader who could make fire. His evidence is the Doctor, whom he saw trying to light his pipe, but the old man has dropped his matches and is unable to help. As a punishment the four time travellers are incarcerated in the hideous Cave of Skulls, containing remnants of executed people and sacrifices, and promised a similar fate for refusing to co-operate. They are freed by Old Mother, the naïve widow of the last tribal leader, who believes that they could make fire but does not want them to do so, as she considers it a bad omen. The four travellers then flee into a Palaeolithic forest pursued by Za and his partner Hur.
The Forest of Fear (3)
When Za and Hur catch up with them the tribal leader is attacked by a wild beast and seriously injured. The Doctor is so desperate to leave that he contemplates killing the caveman, but is stopped by Ian. They build a makeshift stretcher to help convey Za back to the tribal settlement, hoping by doing so to prove their good intentions. However, in their absence Kal has killed Old Mother and blamed it on Za. Kal assumes leadership of the tribe and leads a party of tribe members after the strangers, capturing them just as they reach the TARDIS.
The Firemaker (4)
The four travellers are returned to the encampment, but the Doctor is able to convince the tribe that Kal killed Old Mother and leads them in an attack which drives Kal into the forest. The recovered Za is once more declared leader, but instead of expressing his gratitude by freeing the travellers as the Doctor expected, he orders them returned to the Cave of Skulls, this time with Old Mother’s body for company. Ian is eventually able to make fire for Za using friction for a spark, hoping that this gift will convince the cave dwellers to set them all free. As Za watches intently, and the travellers try to explain to him how "in our tribe, the fire maker is the least important person," they are attacked by Kal, who has killed Za's guard and slipped into the cave, seeking revenge. Za fights with and kills Kal, further confirming his leadership of the tribe. With fire at his disposal, he is now undisputed leader. In this security he decrees that the travellers will merge with his tribe rather than leave and orders them confined to the Cave indefinitely.
Susan eventually devises a plan to scare and distract the tribes people enough to allow them to flee. Four skulls are placed on top of burning torches, and this ghoulish vision is enough to distract the tribe and allow the travellers to escape back into the forest. This time the four travellers make it back inside the TARDIS before the tribe can capture them and, once they are ensconced, the ship dematerialises once more.
The Doctor explains that he has no idea where or when they will end up next. In time the viewscreen shows their new destination, a mysterious jungle whose trees appear petrified. The travellers venture outside the TARDIS doors while, behind them on the console, the radiation detector's needle passes into the "Danger" zone...
Cast
- The Doctor - William Hartnell
- Ian Chesterton - William Russell
- Barbara Wright - Jacqueline Hill
- Susan Foreman - Carole Ann Ford
- Za - Derek Newark
- Hur - Alethea Charlton
- Old Mother - Eileen Way
- Kal - Jeremy Young
- Horg - Howard Lang
- Policeman - Reg Cranfield (uncredited)
- School Children (all uncredited) - Francesca Bertorelli, Carole Clarke, Heather Lyons, Mavis Ransom, Cedric Schoeman, Brian Thomas, Richard Wilson, Leslie Bates
- Members of Tribe (all uncredited)- Billie Davis, Brenda Proctor, Lyn Turner, Doreen Ubells, Frank Wheatley, Janet Fairhead,
- Tribe Children (all uncredited) - Antonia Moss, Julie Moss, Timothy Palmer, David Rosen, Trevor Thomas, Elizabeth White,
- Double for Za - Leslie Bates (uncredited)
- Double for Kal - Billy Cornelius (uncredited)
- Double for Za - Derek Ware (uncredited)
Crew
- Writers - Anthony Coburn
- Director - Waris Hussein
- Producer - Verity Lambert
- Script Editor - David Whitaker
- Designers - Barry Newbery, Peter Brachacki
- Assistant Floor Manager - Catherine Childs
- Associate Producer - Mervyn Pinfield
- Costumes - Maureen Heneghan
- Fight Arranger - Derek Ware
- Film Cameraman - Robert Sleigh
- Incidental Music - Norman Kay
- Make-Up - Elizabeth Blattner
- Production Assistants - Douglas Camfield, Tony Lightley
- Special Effects - BBC Visual Effects
- Special Sounds - Brian Hodgson
- Studio Lighting - Geoff Shaw
- Studio Sound - Jack Clayton
- Theme Arrangement - Delia Derbyshire
- Title Music - Ron Grainer
Continuity
- The TARDIS, disguised as a police box, makes its first appearance in the junkyard at the beginning of the story, as well as its chameleon circuit, which breaks at the end of the first episode, getting stuck as a police box. This story also introduces the concept of time travel by travelling into the past.
- This story takes place in both 1963 (in the 20th century) and roughly 100,000 BCE.
- Even though it is very likely, there is no direct evidence to say that Episodes 2, 3, and 4 are set on Earth.
- We see the Doctor smoking a pipe in the second episode but he is never seen smoking again.
- The Doctor returned to Totter's Yard in 1963 in Remembrance of the Daleks, 1985 in Attack of the Cybermen, in 1997 in EDA: The Eight Doctors and also in BFA: The Harvest.
- In Remembrance of the Daleks it appears to have been just weeks or even the day after the conclusion of episode 1 of "An Unearthly Child".
- It is revealed in Remembrance of the Daleks that the Doctor was hiding the Hand of Omega in London when the teachers discovered his presence.
- EDA's Interference: Book One and Interference: Book Two explain the importance of Foreman's Yard to the Doctor's timeline and introduces the character of I.M. Foreman. During this adventure the Doctor encounters his Eighth Incarnation who has travelled back along his own timeline (EDA: The Eight Doctors).
- The events of this story can be seen to follow on from those in TN: Time and Relative.
Errors
- When Susan says "I like walking through the dark" neither Ian nor Barbara seem bothered about the thought of a teenage girl walking alone at night.
- Why does Susan ask Barbara for a book about the French Revolution and then leave it in the classroom? As far as she is concerned at this point she will be at school the next day.
- Just before Ian is electrocuted by the console someone in the studio can be heard shouting a cue
- At the end of episode one the caveman shadow is seen to extend much further than it really should
- Given that it is so cold in Episodes 2, 3 and 4 why are the cavemen wearing so little clothing.
- Susan claims that she made up the term TARDIS from the initials of Time and Relative Dimension in Space. But it is later revealed that Gallifreyan society is several million years old. An explanation for this apparent inconsistency is proposed in NA: Lungbarrow.
References
- At the start of Episode 2, caveman Za is attempting to create fire. He references his father, who made fire, but was killed for it. Later on, the TARDIS crew are forced to give the cavemen fire in a struggle to be leader of the tribe.
- The cavemen worship the Sun God, which they call Orb.
- Susan refers to decimalization. In 1963, England was working to a system of 240 pence to a pound. Decimalization actually took place on February 15, 1971 and it was just a guess by the production team that decimalization would take place at some time.
- The Doctor refers to television to help describe how the TARDIS is bigger on the inside.
- Both space and time are mentioned by Susan.
- Reference is made to the Doctor and Susan having visited The French Revolution (1789 – 1799). The Doctor, Susan, Ian and Barbara later visited the French Revolution in The Reign of Terror later in this season.
- Susan is listening to John Smith and the Common Men when Ian and Barbara walk in, John Smith being the stage name of 'the honourable Aubrey Waites, also known as Chris Waites according to Ian. John Smith became an alias used by the Doctor.
Production and Archive
- This story is also known as 100,000 BC, The Tribe of Gum, The Firemakers and Cavemen. See disputed story titles for more information.
- The episodes of this story went by different titles during the production stage. Episode 2 was originally known as The Fire-Maker, Episode 3 was originally known as The Cave of Skulls and Episode 4 was originally known as The Dawn of Knowledge.
- All episodes exist in 16mm telerecordings.
- All episodes are held in the BBC's Film and Videotape Library.
- The original story line for this story was entitled Nothing at the End of the Lane. A short story by the same name written by Daniel O'Mahony can be found in Short Trips and Side Steps. It suggests the entire first season of the show may just be a psychotic fantasy in the mind of Barbara Wright.
- Originally the names for the Doctor's companions were to be Bridget ("Biddy") instead of Susan, Lola McGovern (instead of Barbara Wright), and Cliff instead of Ian.
- The makers of the show originally considered the idea of having a functioning chameleon circuit but ruled it out on cost grounds.
- Some of the bones used in the story were real, but most were replicas. 150 vacuum-formed skulls were made by a freelance model-maker based in Esher.
- Other proposals considered for the first story included The Giants by C. E. Webber which was partially rewritten for the season 2 episode Planet of Giants and The Living World written by Alan Wakeman.
- A pilot version of the first episode was made and exists in various versions. For more info on the pilot see the Pilot Episode.
- Bernard Lodge was the uncredited designer of the original title sequence.
- C. E. Webber had been working on a proposed episode known as The Giants which was originally intended to be the first story but was later rejected. Anthony Coburn later adapted C. E. Webber’s first episode, which had already been written, and placed it at the beginning of his story.
- A rumour states that Jackie Lane was offered the role of Susan. Actually, she auditioned for the part, but she withdrew before the role was cast.
- The original police box was not left over as a prop from Dixon of Dock Green, as another rumour states.
- Most of this story was filmed at Lime Grove Studio D, however, some film sections were recorded at the film studios in Ealing.
Broadcast
- The first showing of An Unearthly Child received only 4.4 million viewers. This was because a power outage in some parts of Britain had prevented some viewers from tuning in. For this reason, on Wednesday 27 November, the Programme Review board decided to repeat the first episode immediately before the second episode. This repeat gained a significant more amount of viewers – 6.0 million – 5.9 million of which stayed tuned in to watch the following episode. Episode 3, The Forest of Fear, received 6.9 million viewers, an increase of a million from the previous week. By the final week, however, the viewing figures dropped for The Firemaker to only 6.4 million viewers.
- This is the first Doctor Who story ever broadcast, as well as being the first one to feature the First Doctor, Susan Foreman, Ian Chesterton, and Barbara Wright.
- The first episode was repeated just before the second episode a week later on 30 November because of a power outage. This repeat was not however shown in Northern Ireland.
- The first episode, An Unearthly Child has come to be seen as a classic of Science Fiction, which is in contrast to the less positive reaction of critics when it was first broadcast.
- A rumour is that the first episode’s first broadcast was delayed ten minutes because of the assassination of President Kennedy the previous day. It was actually broadcast only 80 seconds late.
DVD and VHS releases
DVD release
This story was released (as Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child) as part of the DVD box set The Beginning, together with The Daleks and The Edge of Destruction.
| Region | Release Date | PAL/NTSC | Released by | Release code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 2 | 30th January 2006 | PAL | BBC DVD | BBCDVD 1882 |
| Region 4 | 2nd March 2006 | PAL | Roadshow | Unknown |
| Region 1 | 28th March 2006 | NTSC | Warner Video | E2489 |
VHS Release
First release
The first release of An Unearthly Child on DVD was in 1990. This was brought out as ‘’Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child’’
| Region | Release Date | PAL/NTSC | Released by | Release code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 2 | January 1990 | PAL | BBC Video | BBCV4311 |
| Region 1 | January 1992 | NTSC | CBS/FOX Video | 3401 |
| Region 1 | - | NTSC | Warner Video | E1906 |
Note: The 'Next Episode' caption has been removed from Episode 4.
Second Release
This was an unedited, remastered edition that the BBC originally intended to release in a box set with The Daleks and The Edge of Destruction. They changed their plans and decided to release each story individually. This idea was later used for the DVD release in 2006.
| Region | Release Date | PAL/NTSC | Released by | Release code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 2 | September 2000 | PAL | BBC Video | BBCV6959 |
Target Novelisations
Titled Doctor Who and an Unearthly Child and written by Terrance Dicks, the book was published on 15th October 1981 by Target Books and priced at £1.25. With a cover by Andrew Skilleter, the book was issued in a 30,000 copy print run (ISBN 0-426-201442).
It was the first book published after a six month gap caused by a Writer's Guild strike and was later numbered as number 68 in the Target Books Doctor Who Library.
The book was reprinted a number of times:
- 1982 (£1.25)
- 1983 (£1.25)
- 1984 (£1.35)
- 1985 (£1.50)
The book was re-issued as Doctor Who - An Unearthly Child on 15th February 1990 (priced £2.50) with a print run of 5,000 copies. It featured new cover art using Alister Pearson's painting for the BBC Video release.
External links
- BBC Episode Guide Page for An Unearthly Child, with video clips
- Story synopsis for An Unearthly Child at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
- A Brief History of Time Travel - An Unearthly Child
- Outpost Gallifrey entry for An Unearthly Child
- An Unearthly Child entry at Encyclopaedia of Fantastic Film and Television
