I thought it might be fun to start some threads above individual stories to get discussions going and what better way to start after the 60th anniversary but where it all began.
This story is (or rather the first episode is) considered to be one of the all-time greats and it isn’t hard to see why. Everyone of the four regular cast makes an immediate impact and the contrast between the cluttered, gloomy junkyard of the first half with the gleaming white time machine of the second half is excellent. Waris Hussein’s direction is superb but what I think is overlooked is just how good the following three ‘caveman’ episodes are.
Often dismissed as ‘not very good’ or certainly ‘not as good as the opening episode’, these three are properly engaging, thrillng Doctor Who. The stakes are high and the guest cast - especially Jeremy Young, Derek Newark and Alethea Charlton, are all brilliant.
It’s a real shame this story is now in limbo because of one man’s rather unbalanced view of the world but thank goodness that most fans already own a copy (or know where to find the story if they are that desperate).
I went down a bit of a rabbit hole with this story and put together a Wakelet of everything online I could find related to the story, its production and its legacy.
A link to my review of the cavemen episodes as well as Toby Hadoke’s superb podcast about the production of the story as well as commentaries on those three episodes are available in the Community tab on TARDIS Guide’s page for this story.
What do others think about this dawn of a TV legend?