C01S01 An unearthly child

Synopsis

Susan Foreman, is a mystery to teachers Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright, seemingly knowing more than she should about the past... and the future.  Their curiosity leads them to follow her home one night, only to find that her 'home' appears to be a deserted junkyard.  In the junkyard, they discover a police telephone box and a strange old man, who claims to be Susan's grandfather, and calls himself the Doctor.  The journey of a lifetime is about to begin...

Cover notes

A policeman walking his beat on a foggy evening...  An empty junkyard...  A police box that hums mysteriously...

It all sounds - and looks - so iconic now, but it really was a humble beginning for a series that would run for over forty years.  A series that would launch the careers of hundreds of talented actors, directors, writers and other TV professionals, and influence generations to come.  The Daleks on Westminster Bridge, the Cybermen outside St. Paul's Cathedral, the Sea Devils rising from the waves... they all stem from this one small beginning.

Doctor Who's first episode is a masterpiece, probably one of the finest examples of 1960's television.  With a pace and self-belief that is genuinely astonishing, it gently pulls the viewer into its world, so that 25 minutes after the safe, comfortable environs of Coal Hill School have been left behind, the first journey through time and space by a police box leaves no room for any doubt.  The Doctor has arrived.

The Doctor... In the wake of Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, and all those who followed, it's hard now to think of the character in terms of a single actor.  But the first ever regeneration of the lead character was still three years away at this point.  Here, William Hartnell is the Doctor, and the strength, power and authority he bestows on the character is electrifying.  Although he would soon mellow, the first few stories of the series portrayed the Doctor as an aloof, amoral, authoritative alien, and Hartnell's performance is first-rate from the word go.

But although Doctor Who was the name of the series, the programme wasn't devised simply as a device for the central character.  It began life as more of an ensemble piece, and plaudits must be given to William Russell, Jacqueline Hill and Carole Ann Ford, who all contribute greatly to the story's appeal.

The other star of the opening episode is the TARDIS.  A ship that can look like any everyday object, but which gets stuck in the shape of a police box after the first time we see it in action is truly inspired.  And once past the faded blue paint of the exterior, a control room that appears timelessly elegant in design, and in concept too.  Bigger on the inside than the outside - what an idea!

Doctor Who had begun.  The world has never been the same since.

Cast

Crew

DVD Extras

Commentary