There has been a lot of discussion over the years about where to start when trying to get somebody into Doctor Who. One of the easiest answers is to start with "Rose," the premiere of the revival, since it helps introduce all of the most important concepts. But others argue that it is a weak episode and others are better for capturing fans more quickly.
One of the least recommended routes is to start at the true beginning, with the first episode from 1963. There are many reasons for this. For one, it's difficult to find, as many of the streaming services start with the second serial. For another, it presents a very different version of the Doctor from the one fans are used to these days.
While it might not be the best starting point for a new fan, it's worth watching for committed fans, especially during long waits between seasons. I'm currently going back to watch the Classic Era from the beginning and will post my insights as I go.
The very first story in Doctor Who is "An Unearthly Child," a four-episode arc that introduces the show's basic concepts and helps demonstrate who the characters are. This serial aired between November 23 and December 14, 1963, and includes the episodes "An Unearthly Child," "The Cave of Skulls," "The Forest of Fear," and "The Firemaker."
"An Unearthly Child" Plot
The story begins with two teachers, Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright, discussing their experiences with a student named Susan Foreman. She is simultaneously brilliant in conceptual subjects and clueless about everyday life, which baffles the pair. They decide to investigate her home life, finding that she seemingly lives at a junkyard, and her enigmatic grandfather is incredibly hard to track down.
Eventually, the pair end up forcing their way into the TARDIS out of concern for Susan's well-being, at which point the Doctor essentially threatens to keep them prisoner. Ian and Barbara refuse to believe his claims of time and space travel, so the Doctor has the ship take off, landing in caveman times.
They land near a tribe that is struggling over who should be in charge. Za is the son of the former leader, attempting to hold onto power by making fire. Kal is an outsider who quickly gains power by focusing on finding food and winning fights. The time travelers are captured, and the tribe is divided on whether to force them to make fire or sacrifice them to their god, Orb.
An old woman is terrified by the idea of fire, which pushes her to release them. The Doctor, Susan, Ian, and Barbara try to make it back to the TARDIS, but they are followed by Za and his girlfriend. Za gets attacked by an animal, and Barbara fights for them to help him. Meanwhile, Kal kills the old woman and frames Za for it. They make it back to the TARDIS, but the rest of the tribe is waiting for them.
While Kal is initially in control, the Doctor tricks him into revealing that he, not Za, killed the old woman. This leads the rest of the tribe to kick Kal out. Despite their help, Za decides to send the time travelers back to the cave where they were previously imprisoned. Ian builds a fire there and shows Za how to do it himself, but Kal breaks in and engages in a fight to the death with Za.
After Za emerges victorious, with his rival dead and fire at his command, he says that he will get food for the tribe and give some to the time travelers for their trip home. But he then changes his mind, demanding that they stay instead and join the tribe. Susan and Ian come up with a plan to distract the cavemen with skulls placed on top of the fire, which works long enough for them to get back to the TARDIS and escape.
Overall Review
It's difficult to watch this serial given the context of the rest of the series. The Doctor is a completely different character, and Susan and Barbara are a far cry from the strong female companions modern fans will be accustomed to. However, I'll do my best to judge the story on its own terms.
"An Unearthly Child" was the first introduction to the show, so it had to quickly sell its audience on the concepts. Starting with Ian and Barbara does this well, as it gives the audience an easier entry-point before diving into space and time travel. These are also well communicated, as the Doctor and Ian spar over their feasibility.
The story as a whole also works fairly well, with the characters visiting an established world in conflict. The cavemen need to decide on a leader and discover fire, so the Doctor and his companions are in a perfect position to demonstrate their personalities in how they help the tribe achieve their goals.
While the Doctor is the initial catalyst, spotted using futuristic technology, the companions have the most impact on the tribe. Ian is the one who knows how to make fire without technology, and Susan and Barbara are the ones who are compassionate enough to help Za when he gets hurt. Thus, they all play an important role in moving the plot forward effectively.
With that being said, the characters are pretty hard to enjoy from a modern perspective. Susan and Barbara both fall into fits of hysteria whenever there's the slightest bit of uncertainty, and the Doctor has no compassion for anyone (except possibly Susan). However, there is already character growth within this first story, as Ian and the Doctor are able to end their own struggle for power and respect the skills each brings to the table.
Commentary in the context of modern Doctor Who
Since very few people are likely to watch "The Unearthly Child" without having some experience with the rest of the show, it's worth noting a few interesting facets of the story from that perspective. The majority of these comments have to do with the Doctor himself.
In this serial, the Doctor alternates between profound apathy for those around him and an ominous sort of glee. In the first episode, he gives off very similar vibes to Gene Wilder's Willy Wonka, passively encouraging Ian to touch a live wire. After that, his predominant characteristic is condescension, with Barbara telling him off because "You treat everybody and everything as something less important than yourself."
And that's absolutely true. He looks down on both of the teachers, but also has a very paternalistic perspective when it comes to Susan. More than that, he sees no value in the cavemen at all. He repeatedly scolds Barbara and Susan for wasting time caring about Za, and none of them intervenes when Za brutally kills Kal right in front of them.
With all of that being said, there are a couple of parts that I really enjoyed. One of Susan's oddities was that she was unable to solve problems without things like future math. For example, she struggled to answer a problem involving three dimensions, since her understanding of the world involves five.
This is an aspect of the Time Lord's perspective that I would love to see more of in the show today. Of course, they would be confused from time to time! Yet all we get these days is offhand comments about the current beliefs being wrong, which isn't nearly as entertaining. The only moment I can think of in the modern show that's similar is when the Doctor was teaching physics but it was translated to the students (and audience) as him just repeating the word "physics" repeatedly. Which, for the record, is one of my favorite moments from that season.
My final observation was that one of the cavemen in this serial mentions that the Doctor is "Full of fire," and that he specifically can "make fire come from his fingers" and smoke from his mouth. This was just a misunderstanding of the Doctor using matches, but it's an eerily accurate description of New Who's version of regeneration.
That's a sheer coincidence since the concept of regeneration hadn't even been considered at this point. Furthermore, the golden glow modern fans are used to wasn't introduced until 2005 in our timeline and the transition from the 8th Doctor to the War Doctor in his. Even so, it's fascinating to see how the seeds were (unintentionally) sowed from the very beginning.
Overall Rating: 7/10. Narratively, "An Unearthly Child" does everything it needs to. However, it leaves much to be desired when it comes to the magic of Doctor Who and the depth of its characters.