Doctor Who/Recap/S1/E01 An Unearthly Child



"If you could touch the alien sand, and hear the cry of strange birds, and watch them wheel in another sky, would that satisfy you?"

- Part Two - "The Cave of Skulls"

We commence with the World's Trippiest Title Sequence and the first time an audience would hear the "Oooh-ee-oooh" of the theme tune.

Two teachers think their super-bright pupil, Susan Foreman (a brown-eyed girl, complete with transistor radio, though she is not heard to actually sing sha-la-la-la-la-la-la-la), is a bit on the strange side: she's bored with regular physics and math and wants to move on to multi-dimensional physics and maths, and she thinks that the UK has decimalised its currency (which hasn't yet happened in 1963). So, they decide to follow her home one night. This being 1963, it's benign concern for the welfare of a child, and not at all creepy.

Now, neither of these teachers fit the model of the later companions. They're in their thirties. One is male and the other is female. They are not having an extra-curricular relationship. Not yet.

They arrive at Susan's home address. It's a junkyard. They hear Susan's voice coming from inside a police box. Thinking that her grandfather, "I. M. Foreman", has locked her in there, they proceed to open the door.

And enter the TARDIS. Which is of course bigger on the inside than out. Her grandfather, a crotchety old man, is the Doctor.

Deciding that he can't have them tell the world about the Cool Ship and that the "Foremans" will need to leave, he starts up the TARDIS. Ergo, acquiring the first two companions via abduction. For the only time ever, Ian and Barbara are knocked unconscious by the time travel.

When they've landed again, the foursome step out of the TARDIS and Susan quickly exposits that it was supposed to have changed shape: the first clue that it's somewhat less than reliable. Before long, the Doctor is kidnapped by a tribe of cavemen when they seem him smoking his pipe which he never smokes again. This tribe has lost the ability to make fire, and the Doctor agrees to placate them by giving them fire, but unfortunately he has lost his matches. His three companions try to rescue him, but only succeed in getting themselves captured, too. The tribe of primitive humans with monolithic names keep their captives in a cave full of skulls. Charming.

A friendly (well, less hostile) tribesperson unties them, and they make tracks.

The story can be watched here.

NB: This story is commonly also called "100,000 BC", and less commonly called "The Tribe of Gum". "An Unearthly Child" is the title of the first episode (episodes were individually named until season 3) and is applied to the entire first serial through synecdoche.

Tropes
"Doctor: I thought I might get him to...draw the way back to the TARDIS."
 * Action Girl - Susan attacks one of the cavemen with a rather disturbing enthusiasm.
 * Characterization Marches On: In one episode, the Doctor--y'know, the poster boy for Technical Pacifism--is prepared to bash a helpless man's head in with a rock... because he's in the way.
 * Although his flustering when caught is pretty much spot on compared to the rest of the series.


 * Future Imperfect: What draws the teachers' attention to Susan.
 * Line-of-Sight Name: It is implied that Susan got her last name from the junkyard where she and her grandfather were hiding out.
 * My Name Is Not Durwood: Ian is known to the tribe as "Friend".
 * Never Mess With Granny - The oldest cavewoman is also the most vicious, and the most politically adept schemer.
 * One Million BC
 * Styrofoam Rocks: Naturally, as the whole thing was filmed in a studio.
 * Title Drop:
 * Ian addresses the Doctor as "Dr Foreman"; the Doctor responds, "Eh? Doctor who?"
 * Then, later, Ian to Barbara: "Who is he? Doctor who? Perhaps if we knew his name, we might have a clue to all this."
 * What Do You Mean It's for Kids?: The oft quoted truism that Doctor Who was originally supposed to be an educational programme for children seems somewhat dubious in light of this story. There are a lot of dark, violent themes and moments, such as the sight of Za's slashed up, bloody chest after an animal attack, the Doctor trying to smash open the head of an injured man and the heroes being trapped in a cave full of broken skulls, foreshadowing their possible fate. The most shocking part is a lot more subtle however, as Ian and Barbara's attempt to get a policeman, and in particular their fear of what the Doctor might being doing to Susan in the mysterious blue box imply that they (wrongly) fear he may be molesting her.
 * What the Hell, Hero?: Ian calls the Doctor out for his aforementioned attempted rock bashing.
 * What the Hell, Hero?: Ian calls the Doctor out for his aforementioned attempted rock bashing.