Classic Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child - First Ever Serial

I recently rewatched some of new who and that only made me feel a little depressed that there wasn't more awesomeness to watch, but then I remembered that there are still 40-something years of awesomeness that I haven't seen yet. Well, I do have a vague memory of seeing something with K-9 in it, but what was happening or what it was all about I have no clue. So I decided to start my foray into classic who with the first ever aired episode: An Unearthly Child.

Despite the fact that it was aired in 1963, in black and white, with, compared to today's standards, terrible graphics potential and so on, it was excellent. Two teachers are sitting there discussing a girl, Susan, who as they say it is very clever at some things and doesn't know some - obvious - things at all. They're worried about her and more than a little curious. Their investigation is what begins the last 50 years of this amazing show.

The episode doesn't stand alone. There are three other episodes completing the unearthly child story and these four connected episodes are referred to as a serial. In this review I'll discuss all four so that I'm talking about the complete story.

SPOILERS AHEAD

The teachers, Ian and Barbara, go to the address that the secretary has listed for Susan and find that there is nothing there. Or rather, there's a junk yard there, with a blue box, but that can't possibly be where the girl lives. They see her walk into a blue police box (which in their time is a perfectly normal object to find lying around!). As old man tried to hinder them from investigating or speaking to her, even looking in the blue box. This old man, is of course, the Doctor, and Susan's grandfather. He's not like the Doctors I've known.

In this episode he's very aloof and there's a sense that he's laughing at the humans. It gets worse in the next couple of episodes, when Ian and Barbara step into the TARDIS and go on their first adventure. In fact, in the next three episodes I found him downright mean and useless. It's as if he purposefully doesn't want to be helpful, out of spite to the humans, and he's perfectly happy to leave them behind with the cavemen and save himself and Susan.

I thought it was a little strange to go back to prehistoric times with cavemen when they could have had this first adventure anywhere, but it works perfectly well and it introduces the characters and the show quite well. Some of the caveman-speak was a little silly and the whole fire-maker thing was somewhat amusing, but overall the episode worked quite well.

One thing I was pleased to see was the TARDIS's cloaking device malfunctioning. They left 60's London behind and went where the cavemen dwelled, but the TARDIS remained a Police Box and the Doctor was genuinely upset about that. I also love the whole interaction when Ian discovered that the Doctor doesn't really know what he's doing flying the TARDIS and that he doesn't control the destination. Great interaction there.

Overall, it was an excellent start to the show I love and I think all fans of Doctor Who should watch it at some point. I'll probably be watching and reviewing some more Classic Who now, but I don't think I'll review every episode, just ones that stand out.