An Unearthly Child

Information

Writer: Anthony Coburn, C. E. Webber
Director: Waris Hussein, Douglas Camfield
Script Editor: David Whitaker
Producer: Verity Lambert, Mervyn Pinfield (associate producer)
Executive Producer(s): None

Originally Broadcast: 23rd November - 14th December 1963
Episodes: 4

Duration: 25 mins each episode
Production Code: A
Series: 1
Story Number: 1
Enemy: Kal
Setting: London, 1963/100,000 BC


Synopsis

Curious about an unusual pupil, Susan Foreman, two school teachers follow her home to a junkyard. This leads to an encounter with the mysterious Doctor and his police box which turns out to be a craft capable of travel in time and space.
Afraid that the teachers will reveal his secrets, the Doctor whisks them back in time. They arrive in 100,000 BC and encounter a group of cave people desperately trying to create fire. Kidnapped and imprisoned in a cave filled with skulls the unwilling travellers have to work together to create fire and escape their captors.

Cast

William Hartnell - The Doctor

Carole Ann Ford - Susan Foreman

Jacqueline Hill - Barbara Wright

William Russell - Ian Chesterton

Derek Newark - Za

Alethea Charlton - Hur

Eileen Way - Old Mother

Jeremy Young - Kal

Howard Lang - Horg

Story Notes

• This is the first story broadcast on television.
  
• This is the first broadcast story featuring the First Doctor, Susan Foreman, Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright.
  
• This story is also known as 100,000 BC', The Tribe of Gum, The Firemakers and Cavemen. See disputed story titles for more information.
  
• The episodes of this story went by different titles during the production stage. Episode 2 was originally known as The Fire-Maker, Episode 3 was originally known as The Cave of Skulls and Episode 4 was originally known as The Dawn of Knowledge.
  
• All episodes exist in 16mm telerecordings.
  
• All episodes are held in the BBC's Film and Videotape Library.
  
• The first episode was repeated just before the second episode because of a power outage. This repeat was not however shown in Northern Ireland.
  
• The original story line for this story was entitled Nothing at the End of the Lane. A short story by the same name written by Daniel O'Mahony can be found in Short Trips and Side Steps. It suggests the entire first season of the show may just be a psychotic fantasy in the mind of Barbara Wright.
  
• Originally the names for the Doctor's companions were to be Bridget ("Biddy") instead of Susan, Lola McGovern (instead of Barbara Wright), and Clif instead of Ian.
  
• The makers of the show originally considered the idea of having a functioning chameleon circuit but ruled it out on cost grounds.
  
• The bones used in the cave of skulls were real bones taken from an abattoir and were very unpleasant to smell under hot studio lights.
  
• Although assumed there is no evidence to suggest that episodes 2,3 and 4 are even set on Earth.
  
• Other proposals considered for the first story included The Giants by C. E. Webber which was partially rewritten for the season 2 episode Planet of Giants and The Living World written by Alan Wakeman.
  
• A pilot version of the first episode was made and exists in various versions. For more info on the pilot see the Pilot Episode.
  
• The First Episode, An Unearthly Child has come to be seen as a classic of Science Fiction, which is in contrast to the less positive reaction of critics when it was first broadcast.
  
• Bernard Lodge was the uncredited designer of the original title sequence.
  
• We see the Doctor smoking a pipe in the Second episode but he is never seen smoking again.
  

Preceded by: --- - Followed by: The Daleks