000. "An Unearthly Child" unaired pilot
The term pilot is a bit of a misnomer. It's actually the first completed attempt at episode one, titled "An Unearthly Child", which is the first episode of the very fist serial, also titled "An Unearthly Child".
It's obvious why the unaired version remained shelved until 1991. Although I was hoping for a disasterpiece, the reality is it's just a sloppy rough draft of the finalized product. The camera lingers a little too long. The action is stilted. There's a flubbed line or two.
But perhaps the most significant change is the replacement of Basil Rathbone as the random cop with Winston Churchill:
"unaired pilot"
"We shall fight them in the TARDIS. Nevah give up. Nevah surrendah."
But the unaired pilot has its bizarre charms. In one fumbled sequence Ian Chesterton (William Russell) and Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill) are "hiding" from the Doctor in a junkyard, but the camera angle shows them awkwardly staring at one another attempting to not see each other in the dark. This moment lingers for a protracted few seconds, creating a surreal game of hide and seek:
Perhaps Ian's dead father left him an invisibility cloak?
There's also a brief sequence where Susan (Carole Ann Ford), the titular child, stays in a classroom in order to make a Rorschach ink blot. The music builds to a tremendous swell, as though she were in a Hitchcock picture and she just figured out what the 39 Steps are. Then the camera pans up to her face in surprise, only to quickly cut to the next scene.
"What am I doing?"
Unearthly, indeed.
001. "An Unearthly Child" Part 1: An Unearthly Child (November 23, 1963)
This is among the most captivating first episodes of anything I've seen. It no doubt benefited from having a scrapped first attempt. Regardless this is tight, economical storytelling with a fairly sophisticated use of non-linear narrative devices.
The show introduces the characters and complex science fiction elements through a familiar device: we slowly wander into the world through the perspective of an outsider. Two school teachers (Ian Chesterton and Barbara Hill) become concerned with their shared student Susan who exhibits baffling characteristics. She's brilliant, but in a savant-like way. She knows complex physics, but can't tell you how many shillings are in a pound. While this dialogue is bald faced exposition, its non-linear playfulness makes it quite clever. Shortly after introducing Susan the two teachers continue to tell stories, allowing the show to cut to brief glimpses of Susan, creating a fractured portrait of an oddly captivating personality.
I hate when people blast music on their phones tho.
From this introduction the show follows the two teachers as they attempt to uncover the mystery of Susan, ending up in a junk yard and crossing paths with the Doctor. Push comes to shove and they eventually wind up inside the TARDIS, the police box that's actually a ship that travels through time and space. The slow build up to this reveal makes the inside of the TARDIS a genuine marvel of a set piece, moving from the banal to the extraordinary.
During this movement from mystery to reveal we are introduced to the Doctor, played by William Hartnell. It's evident immediately that the dude is in a league of his own here. While Russell and Wright are earning their paychecks by carrying the bulk of the narrative with their clipped naturalism and Ford is airily gorgeous and deeply expressive, it is Hartnell who is the payoff, more-so than any gadgets or special effects.
It also helps that the Doctor is a stone cold prick. He's practically the villain of this entire serial. His arrogant contempt for humans is dripping with stinging cynicism. He refuses to explain things that Ian and Barbara don't understand. He openly mocks them even though Susan pleads their case. And he actually electrocutes Ian on purpose and then he throws them thousands of years into the past where they're almost murdered no less than four times. He's not unlike the smug dickishness of Charles Laughton's Dr. Moreau in Island of Lost Souls.
In short, the dude's a badass. Well, except for his colonial racism. At one point he says to Susan regarding her teacher's reaction to the TARDIS:
"Remember the Red Indian? When he saw the first steam train his savage mind thought it an illusion too."
Christ. There's no coming back from that one. Despite my love of this episode I can't defend this shit or simply contextualize it without critique. I will hold out that the Doctor's arrogance becomes a crucial part of the series, which already seems evident in the following episodes where his contempt for cave people draws sharp socialist criticisms from Ian and Barbara.
Finally, the last shot is gorgeous:
I love studio artifice, especially when it's utilized as smartly as this. The whole episode was built on intimate spaces and practical locales. Then suddenly a glimpse of complete fantasy fabrication. What a way to end an episode.
I'll be honest, the next two episodes are a bit of a slog. They're flat compared to the first episode, even though the title card suggests otherwise:
graphic design game strong.
Perhaps the economic storytelling of episode one was less a deliberate choice and more a necessity so that the budget would allow for the ugly, indistinguishable production design of the following three episodes.
Right away the narrative plunges into the power struggles of a bunch of filthy cave people who spend most of their time standing around looking miserable in a dank cave. This alone is not a problem, but the finesse with which part 1 was filmed is noticeably absent here. It also doesn't help that the horde of cave people take fucking forever to do anything, and it takes them even longer to say something. On top of that, they repeat themselves ad nauseam. "Make fire this", "Make fire that".
"Teach Cousin Eddie how make fire."
In what is now a classic serial narrative device, the characters wind up in the middle of a regional power struggle. Za, the heir apparent to the stone throne, has to make fire to secure his leadership, but a feisty rival named Kal attempts to usurp him. The Doctor gets pulled in by Kal, who witnesses the Doctor light a match (thus he has fire) and shanghais him to the cave of dirt and misery.
But Za isn't giving up so easily. Despite the constant interference of an Old Crone who claims fire bring death, Za has an ace in the hole. Namely, a Lady MacBeth cave woman who's the real brains of this outfit. The bulk of this episode and the next are given over to Za listening to Lady MacBeth's plans, waiting for Za to slowly, painfully, make strategies to best Kal and learn make fire.
"Maybe he teach Cousin Eddie make fire?"
Then at some point the other three companions (Susan, Ian, and Barbara) end up in the cave as prisoners; pulled into the very heart of the political struggles of cave people.
While it's smart that the show gives so much time to these new fantastical characters, it fumbles the execution by making everything so murky and same-y. The four principles, who were absolutely captivating in the first episode, fade into the background; overwhelmed by fur-clothed extras that you can't tell apart. The whole episode plays like a Tolkien chapter of goblins arguing, only without the momentum or attention to detail.
To make matters worse, an excessive amount of precious screen time is given over to the resident Crone, whose face hijacks the entire frame as we are forced to listen to her protracted exclamations of "Kill them. Kill the strangers."
ugh, give it a rest old lady.
The final segment is pretty solid. The four companions reunited in their prison. The Doctor earnestly apologizes for getting them into this mess (quite a change from last episode's swaggering contempt). As they attempt to cut their bindings the camera lingers on the crushed skulls of victims past, an evocative cliff hanger to be sure!
001. "An Unearthly Child" Part 3: The Forest of Fear (December 7, 1963)
Episode three picks up a bit by cutting among a few different lines of action. We find the four companions attempting to break free, while everyone's favorite Crone ominously steals a dagger and heads toward the prisoners. But not after a quick reminder that everything is gross and difficult to make out:
Orson Welles' MacBeth.
We get some good conflict as Mr. Chesterton begins fighting back against the Doctor's bullshit and he quickly emerges as an ad hoc leader of the group, using all his faculties to figure out a plan.
The Crone sets the four free, not wanting fire be made. Lady MacBeth witnesses this and wakes Za. They decide to pursue the four into The Forest of Fear, which is home to a beast of some sort.
Now this plot is actually pretty clever, but the execution leaves much to be desired. Apart from the developing group dynamics of the main four, we spend an ungodly amount of time watching the cave people figure shit out that is already completely obvious to the viewer. Because of this there is zero tension or intrigue. As a general rule mysteries without tension only work if the detective is Sherlock fucking Holmes, not Barney Rubble.
The flight through the titular forest yields some interesting moments. For one, the Doctor's arrogance becomes more of an explicit theme of the show. At this point he actually seems like a fucking dipshit. When Barbara sees something in the dark the Doctor curtly dismisses it. Really, Doctor? There couldn't possibly be anything in a prehistoric jungle called THE FOREST OF FEAR?
"I don't like Red Indians and I don't like women." -The Doctor
This is the part of the episode where things get obnoxious. While it's great to see Ian become a more dynamic character and the hubris of the Doctor makes him very compelling, it's a bummer to see the women suddenly become hysterical messes.
"There, there. I'll make decisions for you."
Even my girl Susan becomes a blubbering mess. Meanwhile the Doctor reflects on his arrogant mistakes, looking like Henry Fonda lost in the woods in On Golden Pond.
"Look at the loons. The loooooooons!"
After a protracted sequence of caterwauling, Za and Lady MacBeth show up on the trail of the beast.
"All we are saying is give fire a chance."
Now here the episode displays the full creativity of the filmmakers, who elected to emphasize small human moments over spectacular action. The beast mauls Za offscreen, most likely for budgetary reasons, but the result is a profound emphasis on the human. The beast is unimportant, what matters is that we see Za as a person who experiences fear and pain. In spite of the Doctor's callous dismissal of Za's injury (more remarks about savages), Ian, Barbara, and Susan decide to aid him, illustrating their lack of malice towards the dirt people. And this despite the obvious shit eating grin Ian sports during the mauling reaction shot:
"Fucking rekt lol."
What follows is the most beautiful sequence in the serial: Ian helping the bleeding Za while the Doctor pisses and moans about being exposed out in the open. The scene balances the contentious dynamics of the four leads while simultaneously displaying crucial action and unraveling the now thematic arrogance of the Doctor. But beauty is fleeting dear readers. Before you know it we're back to the cave of shit listening to some garbled nonsense of Kal the usurper. This time he's fabricated a murder mystery, but don't kid yourself that it might be interesting this time.
That last scene was too good. Quick, do something boring.
The episode ends pretty well. After the dull scheming of Kal we cut to the four mains finally reaching the TARDIS, only to be surrounded by Kal and the tribe.
001. "An Unearthly Child" Part 4: The Firemaker (December 14, 1963)
the effect so nice we used it twice.
The episode opens with more Flintstones detective work: the four companions are surrounded by Kal the usurper and the rest of the tribe. Kal tries to pin the murder of the Crone on Za, meanwhile Lady MacBeth tries to explain that the strangers helped Za after he was hurt by the beast. The best bit here is when the Doctor suddenly plays Columbo and proves that the murderer was Kal all along. Again, well done stuff but a bit dull in that we've already seen everything played out. Yet Hartnell's performance makes this stuff sing.
"Oh, just one more thing..."
The Doctor and Ian help instigate a riot to drive Kal out after exposing his murderous deeds. Then Za, after promising to help the four if they helped him, goes back on his word and takes them prisoner, or something like that. Meaning we return to that ugly cave.
Then there's more Game of Thrones shit between Za and Lady MacBeth. Again, interesting stuff that's just not executed very well.
But Za does become a character with depth as he attempts to negotiate a fire deal with the Doctor & co. while balancing the cultish demands of the tribe who want to sacrifice the strangers to "the orb" i.e. the sun. The scene also includes some interesting socialist themes about who gets to have the knowledge of firemaking.
mfw when make fire.
But in keeping with the serial's theme of repetition, Kal the usurper is suddenly replaced by Lady MacBeth's father as the resident rabble rouser who begins stirring the pot against Za. Then Kal comes back again, but this time (finally) for a mother fucking show down.
Surprisingly, the duel is fascinating. Really top notch stuff. The action throughout the entire serial up to this point has largely been so clunky that it's incomprehensible. But here the Za-Kal duel becomes a highlight of the story arc.
The murky screenshots don't do it justice, but the expressive lighting, the choreography, the rhythmic editing, and the sound design make this fight a tense and emotionally compelling moment. Once Za massacres Kal the music gives way to heavy breathing, emphasizing the physical exertion of the brutal violence, which was teased throughout by tense reaction shots of the four companions as they watch a gruesome death.
Then Za shows the tribe fire. He again goes back on his promise and refuses to allow the four to leave. They cook up a plan that involves setting skulls on fire to terrify the "savages" while they flee.
But the flaming skull trick only fools the cave people for a moment. Nothing gets past detective Za. What ensues is a brilliant chase montage of running-in-place shots mixed with angry torch mobs, complete with canted angles and Eisensteinian editing rhythms.
From this sequence on the episode resumes the economical brilliance of the first episode. The four make it back to the TARDIS and immediately squabble over their destination.
The Doctor can't just bring them back to their original time without more data and they wind up in some unknown location with futuristic space birch trees. In keeping with the already established theme of high-quality cliff hangers, the episode ends with the Doctor asking Susan about the radiation levels. After she says "fine" they prepare to exit the TARDIS, but not before the camera pushes into the radiation meter, which goes off the fucking chart.
Despite my complaints about the slog of the middle two episodes, the first serial is overall an excellent beginning. The first episode is a certified standout of style and form and the final episode has enough brilliant moments to make up for its misfires. Nothing in these muddy episodes is outright bad, it just seems ugly and repetitious next to the inspired moments. This could very well be a result of the claustrophobic sets and the fact that the filmmakers had the opportunity to learn from their mistakes on that first episode. As far as this project goes, I'm more than excited to continue on after what I've experienced here. A particular highlight is how already, from the start, the four main characters are dynamic people that anchor the action and the sci-fi trappings.
UP NEXT: The Daleks
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