Review of Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child (1963) by Corey B — 29 Aug 2011

The first Doctor Who story starts out wonderfully with a fun first episode about how Susan, a student at a school, is far too intelligent for her own good.

There's a fun mystery at play in the first episode, and even though you know The Doctor and the TARDIS are involved, it's neat to see how everything started!

Then the actual adventure begins, and it's a long, dull snooze. The next three parts of the story have our motley crew encountering a tribe of cavemen who can't figure out how to make fire. The lack of a budget really hinders this episode as the characters spend most of their time in a cave.

William Hartnell isn't particularly great as the Doctor. He comes across as just an angry, old man, and the series really falls on the shoulders of the companions. Susan is perhaps the most interesting as she turns out to be The Doctor's granddaughter. Having basically just seen the 2000s version of "Who" it's strange to see other Time Lords traveling with The Doctor.

It's funny to see how many things were in place early on, but outside of a fun first episode, this is only for the most curious and diehard Doctor Who fans.