An Unearthly Child

Alternate Titles: 100,000 BC | The Tribe of Gum

Writer(s): Anthony Coburn

Director(s): Waris Hussein

Producer(s): Verity Lambert

Episodes:

1. An Unearthly Child
2. The Cave of Skulls
3. The Forest of Fear
4. The Firemaker

An Unearthly Child (or if you want to be picky 100,000 BC) is the first ever story of Doctor Who, waaaay back in 1963! Okay, maybe this is the second time they had to film because the first time the doors wouldn't stay still and Jackie was getting stuck on doors and the Doctor was being as shitty as a door (maybe not, but he was more of a butt than he is in the aired version, in fact, every single character is).

First aired on the 23rd of November, 1963, this first story did not get a whole lot of attention because Kennedy had been assassinated in the day prior, plus some blackouts happened at the time. It had to be rerun (wow, because 1960s TV don't really do that) and then the second episode aired.

Now, let's ramble about the title sequence! My lord it is gorgeous! The sweaping lines (?) are weird and abstract and give off what the show is: weird and mysterious. And so does the theme music! It may have been composed by Ron Grainer, but Delia Derbyshire made it into what slaps (if you get what I'm saying). A mysterious and alien sounding tune that makes you pumped for the next adventure, but gives you chills because it can be scary. And it is.

These first seasons gave me dread of seeing these characters die. I know they don't (well... some) but the stakes can be so high it gives off that feeling.

First episode, let's go. We start of by seeing a random policeman walking about in the fog, in a sequence that, even I, who eats up old TV shows like a bowl of cereal in the morning, say it goes on too long. I know they're still trying to make this really new show (at the time, I think Quatermass was the closest in terms of sci-fi, and even then it was catered towards adults, this was for a children/family audience), but maybe trimming down a bit wouldn't be that bad. But anyways, a gate is opened (with I. M. Foreman written on it, or Forman like Remembrance of the Daleks did decades later; we will have some interesting things about it in the EDAs I believe), walk around for a little bit and BAM! Police box! It's her! The TARDIS! I bet people got really confused back in the day.

Fade, the scene shifts to a school corridor, some students doing I don't even know and

"Wait in here please Susan, I won't be long."

I'm fangirling (fanboying?) a lot, but... It's her! It's Barbara! Actual god. One of the most likeable and best leads/companions of the show, in my humble (not so humble) opinion. Plus the acting is top-notch. There's a reason I have a "shrine-page-information-thingy" about Jacqueline Hill on this website. Even this one sentence... brilliant.

So, Barbara, which at this moment is Random-Teacher-Asks-Random-Susan-To-Wait, goes off to another classroom, barely knocks and barges right in, where this other teacher is at. Meet Ian Chesterton! He's a bit hit and miss at this point. Some people love him right away, some people take time to like him (and other prolly hate his guts). I was on the second group. Only started to warm up to him after The Edge of Destruction. Ian is the jokester type, so when Barbara comes with her worries about a certain student (this Susan), Ian isn't taking it all that serious.

Babs is not amused.

Susan is a mysterious child, who's a genius at some things, but dumb at other. Barbara is impressed by her knowledge and offers her private teachings (I guess this was common in the 60s??), but Susan refuses because her grandfather doesn't like strangers. Susan's homework hasn't been too good too. Barbara decides she should talk to her grandfather, however her address leads to a random junkyard. 76 Totter's Lane. Strange... But it has to be the right address...

So after a bit of talking, Barbara and Ian decide to investigate.

Anyway, Susan is boppin' at her 60s MP3. And god, Carole Ann Ford delivers a strange, but endearing Susan. "I like walking through the dark... It's mysterious..."

Barbara and Ian follow Susan home, erhm, junkyard. They find a vibrating police box ("It's alive!"), hear Susan's voice coming from it and bump into and old man who wants them to get off his lawn.

Say hello to William Hartnell, portraying the arsehole Doctor. Awesome performance. If you are a bit worried about his behaviour this story, don't worry. The Tenth Doctor is much worse :)

After a not-very-friendly altercation, the teachers assume the Doctor has Susan locked in the police box, Ian and the Doctor do their best-hug-fighting and Babs barges in! It's bigger on the inside!

What processes is such an iconic scene, it's best for you to experience it yourself.

It's revealed Susan and the Doctor are exiled aliens and the police box is their TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimension(s) in Space), a ship that can travel through time and space. Yep that's it. No Gallifrey, no Time Lord-mentioning. This was when Doctor Who truly was a mystery.

So, now that Barbara and Ian know that they're aliens and they have a ship, the Doctor thinks it's a great idea to ignore his granddaughter's pleas of letting them go and kidnaps them, taking everyone to god knows where.

A photo taken right before disaster.

The next three episodes... people don't like them. But I do, because I'm a idiot?? These episodes are an expansion of the first one, with the crew (TM) have to work together to survive, despite not trusting eachother... And when I say crew I mean Doctor vs Babs and Ian. But hey, the cliffhanger/opening is pretty neat.

Say hello to some cavemen. Za is the leader. He's trying to make fire and failing miserably. If he doesn't make fire he's not leader anymore and won't get laid.

The crew-not-so-crew is confused. Susan and the Doc are confused because the TARDIS didn't change. Ian is confused because they can't have travelled through time and space. Even though Ian isn't in Shoreditch anymore.

Anyway, the Doctor smokes a pipe (wut) and is kidnapped by a caveman named Kal, because fire.

This prompts the teachers and Susan to go and search for him, fight some cavemen and get imprisoned.

And this is when the BIG PLOT (tm) starts happening. It's tense, man. Real tense.

Some highlight scenes include:

• 

  Original gif by thirddoctor

• Za gets attacked by a big feline, the Doctor thinks "This bitch slowing us down" and tries to kill him with a rock. No, seriously. Ian stops him.
  
• "This knife has no blood on it. I said, this knife has no blood on it."
  
• The awesome-shot fight scene between Za and Kal. When Za makes the final blow, and because it's a kids' show, it cuts to the TARDIS crew. They are appalled and disgusted by what they just saw o_o

Overall, it's a solid start. But if you're still not convinced, don't worry, because the plots get more interesting later on.

Alternate Titles: The Mutants | The Dead Planet

Writer(s): Terry Nation

Director(s): Christopher Barry | Richard Martin

Producer(s): Verity Lambert

Episodes:

1. The Dead Planet
2. The Survivors
3. The Escape
4. The Ambush
5. The Expedition
6. The Ordeal
7. The Rescue

The first Dalek story. Not the best, but still entertaining, with a lot of tense moments.

Alternate Titles: Inside the Spaceship | Beyond the Sun (alternate title for The Daleks, people thought it was referring to this one)

Writer(s): David Whitaker

Director: Richard Martin | Frank Cox

Episodes:

1. The Edge of Destruction
2. The Brink of Disaster

Writer(s): John Lucarotti

Director(s): Waris Hussein | John Crockett

Producer(s): Verity Lambert

Episodes:

1. The Roof Of The World (missing)
2. The Singing Sands (missing)
3. Five Hundred Eyes (missing)
4. The Wall Of Lies (missing)
5. Rider From Shang-Tu (missing)
6. Mighty Kublai Khan (missing)
7. Assassin At Peking (missing)

Writer(s): Terry Nation

Director(s): John Gorrie

Producer(s): Verity Lambert

Episodes:

1. The Sea Of Death
2. The Velvet Web
3. The Screaming Jungle
4. The Snows Of Terror
5. Sentence Of Death
6. The Keys Of Marinus

Writer(s): John Lucarotti

Director(s): John Crockett

Producer(s): Verity Lambert

Episodes:

1. The Temple Of Evil
2. The Warriors Of Death
3. The Bride Of Sacrifice
4. The Day Of Darkness

Writer(s): Peter R Newman

Director(s): Mervyn Pinfield | Frank Cox

Producer(s): Verity Lambert

Episodes:

1. Strangers In Space
2. The Unwilling Warriors
3. Hidden Danger
4. A Race Against Death
5. Kidnap
6. A Desperate Venture

Writer(s): Dennis Spooner

Director(s): Henric Hirsch | John Gorrie

Producer(s): Verity Lambert

Episodes:

1. A Land Of Fear
2. Guests Of Madame Guillotine
3. A Change Of Identity
4. The Tyrant Of France (missing)
5. A Bargain Of Necessity (missing)
6. Prisoners Of Conciergerie