Epic Watch Doctor Who: Story 1 - An Unearthly Child

For a lucky few this was their introduction to Doctor Who. I wouldn't see it until many years had passed in my who-fandom. I've been a fan of the doctor since junior high i think, long before eccleston or even mcgann had their turn at the tardis, i believe the first i saw of the doctor was the tom baker story 'robots of death' and it hooked me for life. I saw a few more baker and pertwee stories, the five doctors, and at least one of the cushing films, battlefield with mccoy, and then nothing for a while, in the pre-dvd, pre internet days it was easy to exhaust the who supply from the library and blockbusters. Thanks to the revival, and the internet, it's now easy to see whatever who remains to be seen. So i'm picking up the gauntlet, watch every bit of Doctor Who i can, in order, from the beginning.


Characters Introduced:
The Doctor (William Hartnell)
Susan Foreman
Ian Chesterton
Barbara Wright
the TARDIS

Locations Visited:
London 1963 AD
Earth 100,000 B.C.

We meet the TARDIS first, then Barbara and Ian, talking about Susan, the strange student who knows so much and so little at the same time. The follow her home to a junkyard where they meet a strange old man going into a police box. eventually they force their way in to find it's bigger on the inside, and instead of letting Ian and Barbara go, the doctor flips some switches and sends everyone back in time, where they get caught up in a power struggle among a tribe of cavemen, they use their wits to escape into the tardis and set a course for home, or do they?

Some interesting things of note, the doctor is called Doctor Who a few times, but always as a question, Susan takes credit for the name TARDIS, which she derived from the full name/descritpion Time And Relative Dimension In Space. The Doctor and Susan have been parked on earth for about 5 months, which might be the longest the doctor's been in one spot willingly. The trip back to 100,000 B.C. is the first one where the chamelon circuit doesn't work, and don't think the doctor's ever fixed it. On their escape from the cavemen the Doctor reveals he won't be able to direct where they're going.

Amazing that a show shot over 40 years ago, the first of many, still holds up.