Classic Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child

Briarheart Reviews: An Unearthly Child

In 1963 a small group of people came together to make a low-budget Sci-Fi show for kids. Nobody thought it would last too long. It might have a couple good years in it, but beyond that, it won't live on as anything significant. That was fifty-five years ago and that TV show is still going relatively strong. That show is Doctor Who.

The first serial isn't great. It isn't even the real reason why Doctor Who became popular, however, the first episode of the serial is phenomenal. It has a dark, sinister atmosphere and the reveal of the TARDIS and the Doctor are both amazing. The rest of the serial... not so much.

The rest of the serial follows a basic caveman making fire plot, but this time with time travelers. Not a very original idea, but a safe one. The biggest issues with this story are the god-awful acting from the cavepeople and the pacing. Beyond the main cast, the villain and the supporting characters fucking suck. None of them come across as remotely believable at best and at worst their acting is as bad as Tommy Wiseau's acting in The Room.

The pacing is also terrible. There are so many scenes that retread the same ground tread earlier scenes did. It's too repetitive. The episode feels like its actively trying to dick around and be a shitty piece of filler. The story could have easily been cut down an episode or two and it would have been fine but instead, we're left with a story that's slithering in circles at a snail's pace.

On the bright side, however, we have at least one pretty great episode that deserves the reputation it has as legendary and three-fourths of the main cast are pretty great too. I am of course talking about the Doctor, Ian, and Barbara. Sadly Susan's just annoying and unlikeable. The worst part about that is the fact that that's how she is throughout her entire time on the TARDIS. Some of you may be wondering why I say the Doctor is part of the good 75% in this story even though he's a total dick. Well, the simple explanation is character development. If you watch the Hartnell era in order, the First Doctor changes from being a grumpy old bastard and ruthless killer into your loving, bumbling, but wise grandfather figure. The man here is definitely different from the man in The Tenth Planet and it's a really nice development too.

At the end of the day, though there are worse stories, An Unearthly Child certainly isn't good. In fact, I'd say it's right on the edge of mediocre and bad. Watch the first episode and just move onto the next story if you haven't seen this one yet.