An Unearthly Child: The Beginning

So!

Here I go again! I'm writing more reviews - more Doctor Who! My apologies to those who aren't fans of the show. This batch is all the first and final episodes of the show - the first and last of the Classic era, and the first and last of the Revival era. Though I've already reviewed Rose, the first episode of the Revival. Also, what I'm counting as the 'final episode' of the Revival will not actually be the final episode - it's just probably the final episode from this point that I'll ever watch. Wow, that feels final.

The Doctor and his companions - left to right, Barbara, Ian, the Doctor, Susan.

An Unearthly Child

The first episode of Doctor Who aired on the 23rd of November, 1963 (the day after Kennedy was assassinated!) The start concerned two school-teachers, Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright, discussing Susan Foreman, a student of theirs. She's got knowledge beyond anything on Earth. Increasingly bewildered by Susan's strange behaviour, and her reticence on the subject of her moody grandfather, they follow her to her home...a junkyard. Susan is the Doctor's grand-daughter - when he ran away, he took her with him; they then travelled around a bit, before gravitating to then-contemporary Earth. 

Ian and Barbara follow her into a police-box...which is bigger on the inside! The Doctor isn't happy with the new arrivals and, after making a breath-takingly racist speech, kidnaps Ian and Barbara, taking them to the year 100,000 BC. The intrepid adventurers get kidnapped by cave-men who want to discover the secret of fire - the Doctor lit a pipe when he exited the TARDIS, and was spotted. An old woman helps them escape - she believes that fire will endanger the safety of the tribe. The Doctor, Susan, Ian and Barbara escape, along with another prisoner, who is injured. The Doctor attempts to brain the other escapee to prevent him slowing them down, but is stopped by Ian. As a result of dawdling trying to commit murder, they get recaptured; the old woman, meanwhile, is murdered. The Doctor, who up to this point has been irascible, rude and downright murderous, finally shows a positive side - he effortlessly tricks the man who killed the old woman into admitting to committing murder. When the man gets mobbed by the other tribes-people, the Doctor and his companions slip out and return to the TARDIS.

The TARDIS immediately after leaving 1963. Notice a problem? (It's still a police box - it's supposed to change to match the surroundings.)

Overall, I quite like An Unearthly Child. It's interesting to see the Doctor's beginnings - indeed, the Doctor at the beginning is so different that it makes quite the contrast to the rest of the show. Certainly, the first serial of Doctor Who is worth it, just for the novelty value of such a rude, unlikeable Doctor. At the same time, the Doctor does have some redeeming values here - one such instance is his efficiently-handled manipulation of the murderer. He easily assesses that the murderer has a considerable ego and likes to look impressive - so he tricks him into essentially gloating about the crime he committed by insinuating that the murderer's weapon would not actually be capable of ending someone's life. Another moment is where he comforts Barbara after they've been captured - he may not be very likeable, but he understands how to relate to others, and he possesses the ability to recognise and make up for his mistakes. 

On the other hand, An Unearthly Child is, undeniably, a product of its time. The most prominent example of this would be the Doctor's racist speech about how 20th century humans couldn't possibly understand the TARDIS...during which he calls Native Americans "Red Indians", which is not socially acceptable to say these days, to say the least. Similarly, Ian and Barbara act as if the cavemen don't have the ability to understand empathy, simply because they're less technologically adept than 20th century humans, and the narrative supports them. There's a scene where Susan (in stark contrast to her grandad) tries to help the injured man; his girlfriend, failing to realise that Susan's acting out of compassion, promptly gets jealous. Ian and Barbara note that she's incapable of realising that people can act out of compassion. Ironically, this is identical to the Doctor's attitude...however, the Doctor's condescension and arrogance is portrayed as wrong, while Ian and Barbara's is not. 

I would rate An Unearthly Child around 7.5/10.