Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time! This time, a story featuring mild curiosity in a junkyard, impossible physics, and caveman politics.
STORY:
The iconic nature of the first episode means it's one of the most important pieces of sci-fi ever produced.
The sense of mystery is strong; the first episode in particular quickly builds a strong sense of strangeness and awe, which the script manages to keep up throughout the early half of the serial.
The latter part of episode two and pretty much the entire rest of the serial feel dragged out and repetitive (arguments about firemaking and leadership), with the central characters moving back and forth between being prisoners and escaping.
The time period and the characters aren't interesting enough to make for an engaging four-parter, and the full potential of Doctor Who's pure historicals won't be seen until a few episodes later, in the now missing Marco Polo (1964).
There's a fight to the death at the end of episode four, and it serves as the first-ever action scene in Doctor Who. It's very clunky and weirdly shot, but the lighting and music make it fairly tense and atmospheric nonetheless.
POPULATION:
Ian and Barbara come across as likeable, inquisitive school teachers right away, while Susan appears to be eerily alien but innocent. Then there is the late, great William Hartnell's portrayal of the old, grumpy, and slightly cantankerous Doctor. Ian quickly becomes the hero of the story, while the Doctor is more of a cautious mystery.
Speaking of the Doctor, he's a work in progress here; we see him smoke a pipe for the first and last time, and he's trying to avoid taking an active part in the adventure, except for when he nearly kills a caveman with a stone. He then steps up in the last episode to outwit the cavemen.
William Hartnell and William Russell deliver some instant classic lines, and there's a lot of surprisingly enjoyable talk about making fire as well.
There's some overacting in the guest cast, so much so that it's difficult to take their cavemen characters seriously most of the time.
By the time episode three arrives, the strong characterization of the two central female characters, Susan and Barbara, has vanished, leaving us with only screaming women who irritate you.
PRODUCTION:
Yes, this serial, like most in the classic series, is a bit rough around the edges when compared to other sci-fi projects of the era (Star Trek, anyone?), but that's part of the charm.
An Unearthly Child grabs your attention with its music from the get-go: the haunting theme tune by Ron Grainer and Delia Derbyshire and the atmospheric incidental music by Bernard Kay.
The sheer inventiveness of the people involved makes aliens, time travel, and the TARDIS—some of the franchise's key elements and some classic sci-fi aspects—feel instantly iconic and believable in this story.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
An Unearthly Child marks the beginning of an ever-growing franchise, made with real heart despite limited resources. The first episode is a must-see classic, and the remaining three can be skipped if you don't feel like sitting through endless escape attempts and caveman politics.
Review by Theo KallströmVIP 6BlockedParentSpoilers2022-03-08T17:46:00Z— updated 2024-05-02T15:02:32Z
:white_check_mark:73% = Good! = Mildly recommended!
Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time! This time, a story featuring mild curiosity in a junkyard, impossible physics, and caveman politics.
STORY:
The iconic nature of the first episode means it's one of the most important pieces of sci-fi ever produced.
The sense of mystery is strong; the first episode in particular quickly builds a strong sense of strangeness and awe, which the script manages to keep up throughout the early half of the serial.
The latter part of episode two and pretty much the entire rest of the serial feel dragged out and repetitive (arguments about firemaking and leadership), with the central characters moving back and forth between being prisoners and escaping.
The time period and the characters aren't interesting enough to make for an engaging four-parter, and the full potential of Doctor Who's pure historicals won't be seen until a few episodes later, in the now missing Marco Polo (1964).
There's a fight to the death at the end of episode four, and it serves as the first-ever action scene in Doctor Who. It's very clunky and weirdly shot, but the lighting and music make it fairly tense and atmospheric nonetheless.
POPULATION:
Ian and Barbara come across as likeable, inquisitive school teachers right away, while Susan appears to be eerily alien but innocent. Then there is the late, great William Hartnell's portrayal of the old, grumpy, and slightly cantankerous Doctor. Ian quickly becomes the hero of the story, while the Doctor is more of a cautious mystery.
Speaking of the Doctor, he's a work in progress here; we see him smoke a pipe for the first and last time, and he's trying to avoid taking an active part in the adventure, except for when he nearly kills a caveman with a stone. He then steps up in the last episode to outwit the cavemen.
William Hartnell and William Russell deliver some instant classic lines, and there's a lot of surprisingly enjoyable talk about making fire as well.
There's some overacting in the guest cast, so much so that it's difficult to take their cavemen characters seriously most of the time.
By the time episode three arrives, the strong characterization of the two central female characters, Susan and Barbara, has vanished, leaving us with only screaming women who irritate you.
PRODUCTION:
Yes, this serial, like most in the classic series, is a bit rough around the edges when compared to other sci-fi projects of the era (Star Trek, anyone?), but that's part of the charm.
An Unearthly Child grabs your attention with its music from the get-go: the haunting theme tune by Ron Grainer and Delia Derbyshire and the atmospheric incidental music by Bernard Kay.
The sheer inventiveness of the people involved makes aliens, time travel, and the TARDIS—some of the franchise's key elements and some classic sci-fi aspects—feel instantly iconic and believable in this story.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
An Unearthly Child marks the beginning of an ever-growing franchise, made with real heart despite limited resources. The first episode is a must-see classic, and the remaining three can be skipped if you don't feel like sitting through endless escape attempts and caveman politics.