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An Unearthly Child/Tribe of Gumm
The next three episodes are in a different style altogether. The four modern people are plunged into a Neanderthal world where a tribe is clinging to life with the winter setting in. Nobody knows how to make fire, and a power struggle goes on between Za, the tribe’s natural leader, and Cal, who came from another tribe. The Doctor and his companions are caught up in that power struggle and eventually, after giving fire to Za, they make their escape. 8/10
The story is amazingly low budget. Apart from the four Daleks that were commissioned everything else is found object theatre. Sets are made of whatever can be contrived. But it was contrived well. The story is long-drawn out in comparison with modern dramas but in its day it must have looked spectacular. The first sight of a Dalek is an amazing moment even in retrospect. Their final defeat by The Doctor, with a little help from his companions and from the native Thals, is, of course, not final at all. They would be back. But nobody knew that at the time. They were meant to be a one off. Nobody knew that that Doctor Who would even go beyond these first three stories. This could have been it. 9/10
But in the 1960s television plays with one set and a few actors moving around that set were standard fare of the TV schedule. And it was a work of simplicity to write two twenty five minute episodes about four people trapped in a confined space, slowly losing control of themselves as paranoia and suspicion set in, before they get it together and start to find the solution to their problem. All the cast give sterling performances as they shout at each other, blame each other, threaten to kill each other, before finally getting it right. William Hartnell's soliloquy about the nature of the universe is a wonderful piece of TV drama. The fact that a tiny spring turns out to be the cause of their near annihilation is significant of Doctor Who. While it is not of this Earth most of the time it can have the most down to Earth solutions to the problems. It is what has made it so successful for almost half a century. 10/10
Extras. Commentaries are the one thing that makes DVD’s worth their money. The commentaries on the whole box set are by surviving members of the cast and crew including Verity Lambert, Waris Hussein, William Russell and Carole Anne Ford and include insights into the filming of the episodes, memories of those who are no longer with them, and some good humour from old friends. 10/10
The Pilot! Two versions of the unaired pilot are included. The first is the unedited 35 minute studtio recording from September 1963 which Sydney Newman looked at and then ordered a second, revised version. It includes the spectacular failure of the TARDIS doors to shut, even with two big stage hands pushing them. The 25 minute edited version is much improved, and contrasts interestingly with the actual broadcast episode which runs immediately afterwards if you choose the ‘play all’ option. 10/10 Four Comedy Sketches from Mark Gattis ad David Wallam poke gentle fun at some Doctor Who mythology. The Pitch of Fear is an hilarious comedy send up of the first producer pitching the idea of Doctor Who to the head of drama. The Corridor Sketch satirises the chaos of getting the pilot episode off the ground, with a fantastic cameo appearance of Nicholas Courtney (The Brigadier) and some topical jokes about Quatermass and Crackerjack (topical in 1963, that is!) The Web of Caves has Mark Gattis playing The Doctor, answering the TARDIS door to two very camp aliens who just wanted to find out if he would be available to stop them destroying the universe. The Kidnappers reminds us why Dalek duvet sets only come in singles. Because that is the marital status of those fans who can’t tell fact from fiction when they get beyond the age of consent. Peter Davison is a good sport as he puts up with being kidnapped, gagged and blindfolded by two overzealous fans. 10/10 For fans of the theme tune, the first disc also includes a full length version of the original theme tune coupled with the 1963 title sequence. 10/10
Creation of The Daleks is a documentary which details the design, scripting and realisation of the first ever Dalek story and their immediate ascension to TV legend status, with contributions from Verity Lambert, Director, Richard Martin, designer, Raymond Cusick and others. Interesting and informative with rare scenes of Dalek operators in the Dalek shells. 10/10
Doctor Who Origins. An excellent 55 minute documentary about the creation of Doctor Who from the first executive meetings of the BBC drama department to the first broadcast the evening after Kennedy’s assassination. Verity Lambert, Waris Hussein and others speak honestly and candidly about the problems that threatened the project before it began, the limitations of the budget and studio problems, and the enthusiasm and dedication of all involved. 10/10 Over The Edge. Again, candid and informative about the production of the shortest but most critically acclaimed of the first series stories, Edge of Destruction. 10/10 Inside The Spaceship. A documentary about the design of the TARDIS console room set. Compare with the 2005 box set tour of the new TARDIS. 10/10 Masters of Sound. A look at how the BBC Radiophonic Workshop created the Doctor Who theme and many of the sound effects, including the TARDIS materialisation. A little dull in parts, where it gets technical, but includes actual interviews with Delia Derbyshire who created the first version of the theme. 9/10 Marco Polo. A thirty minute condensation of the lost Marco Polo story using soundtrack recording and still photographs. 10/10 A selection of PDF documents accessed on PC CD Rom , including Radio Times billing of the episodes and the script of An Unearthly Child. 10/10 Arabic Soundtrack. – The second episode of Edge of Destruction dubbed into Arabic. Why? I don’t know. But it’s there. 0/10 There are stills photo galleries and all three discs with rare pictures from filming all three stories plus Marco Polo, the missing fourth story and on all episodes production subtitles provide information about the making of all the episodes while watching the action and listening to the dialogue. An alternative to the commentary soundtracks. 10/10
10 out of 10.
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The
first three Doctor Who stories need no introduction to any fan, surely.
The first story has the umbrella title of ‘An Unearthly Child’
but that really only refers to the first episode, which in twenty-five
packed minutes tells the story of two schoolteachers, Barbara and
Ian, who go looking for the grandfather of one of their pupils, Susan
Foreman, who they are worried about. They discover that the two of
them live in a police box hidden in a junkyard. The police box is,
in fact, a space ship in disguise. The Doctor and his granddaughter
are from another planet and another time and to protect his secret
The Doctor sets the ship, called the TARDIS, in motion. When it stops,
they are no longer in London. 
This
seven parter was the most ambitious idea of all. IT threw away the
injunction not to have any ‘bug eyed monsters’ in the
series. The Daleks are the ultimate bug eyed monster. They were a
design classic that has stood the test of time. And they began HERE.
This
story was commissioned because the jury was still out at head office.
They wanted two more episodes to make a thirteen episode block. It
had to be low budget. The TARDIS set and four principle actors was
all they had to work with.
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