TV Club: An Unearthly Child

[BillFiler]

Thanks for the kind words @Goibniu

The Cavemen episodes are too easily discarded by a swathe of fandom is what I have experienced, and they tell a really important story about the early evolution of our main casts’ relationship

[realdoctor]

@Goibniu

I was never before able to enjoy Episodes 2 to 4 of the serial. This time around, I had just read his very positive thoughts about the episodes set in the Stone Age. With that in the back of my mind, the whole watching experience was really elevated. Thanks, BillFiler.

This is one of the very best things about a positive fandom community. I agree.

@Goibniu

I guess I like his first reasoning more because the second has just too much of a touch of keeping Susan with him against her will. I am aware there are more aspects, her not being an adult, him being her guardian, and so on. But paired with definitely kidnapping Barbara and Ian: However flimsy it may be to argue with protecting the timeline, it’s still a better and less awful reasoning, in my opinion.

It’s interesting, though, because the Doctor does go on a character development arc. When we meet him at the beginning, he could very easily have become a really unpleasant and dangerous character. His motivations, to start with, are distinctly muddy and often shady. He willfully risks everyone just to satisfy his own curiosity in “The Daleks”. He’s unequivocally NOT a great guy to start, but Ian and Barbara change him, and very much for the better. That starts (but isn’t limited to) in “An Unearthly Child”.

What’s particularly remarkable is that you can follow the Doctor’s development as a character (their changing morality and evolving ways of interacting with others, what becomes permissible in their mind regarding interference etc.) right through until this very day. Sure, the character goes through periods where they are presented as more consistent and less evolving than others, but there are other periods where there are clear character arcs in play (First Doctor, Third, Sixth [although with arguable degrees of success], Seventh - and much moreso since 2005).

Unearthly Child set the stage, but the challenge has very much been taken up and built upon. That’s pretty impressive for a show now in its 61st year.

[dwpostings]

Going into this story I fully expected to be bored by parts 2-4 from the overall consensus I had heard, however it kept going as a wonderful little character piece, despite the misgivings. That first part is a masterclass though, a pinnacle episode that is directed and shot so marvelously.

[WhoPotterVian]

I wonder if they will ever get the rights sorted?

The BBC need Disney’s involvement somehow to strongarm Stef Coburn. Maybe if they end the Britbox deal for the classic series internationally and sell the streaming rights for the classic series to Disney?

[Goibniu]

With Disney becoming increasingly anti-physical media and Disney+ known for taking down content they own / simply not streaming it anymore, I’m not sure if relying solely on Disney is the best long-term strategy from the fans point of view. However, it’s something we can’t really influence anyway.

[deltaandthebannermen]

@dwpostings

I fully expected to be bored by parts 2-4 from the overall consensus I had heard, however it kept going as a wonderful little character piece

Never ever be swayed by ‘overall consensus’ in life, let alone in Doctor Who fandom

[WhoPotterVian]

Agreed. Being swayed by a consensus is boring. People call me mad for loving Fear Her, for instance, but I will never shut up about my love for that episode.

[DarthGallifrey]

@shauny

The Doctor is more “creepy and potentially a murderer” than mysterious.

@SweetAIBelle

You know, these days, two teachers deciding to follow their student home would be kinda stalky…

You could really easily, without much editing, make that first episode either into a Twilight Zone episode, or an episode of a show like Criminal Minds.

[DarthGallifrey]

@TrakeniteAdventuress

If it were possible to edit the first part onto The Daleks, then we might just have a perfect start to Who

That’s actually what David Whitaker did for the Daleks novelization (Doctor Who in an Exciting Adventure with the Daleks) in 1964, he basically rewrote Episode 1 of An Unearthly Child (with significant changes: takes place on Barnes Common, Ian’s a assisstant research scientist, Barbara is Susan’s tutor) before moving into The Daleks where he streamlines the TV story somewhat. The novel is also told from Ian’s POV. Also of note, the novelization of An Unearthly Child wasn’t written until 1981.

[MrColdStream]

So, I listened to the unofficial audiobook release of the 1981 Target novelisation (written by Uncle Terry and read by Dwayne Bunney from the Sirens of Audio podcast).

Terry’s writing is, as always, straightforward to follow. The adaptation itself isn’t too exciting. It’s faithful to the original story, only adding a bit more depth to the characters and the setting (the policeman at the beginning is given a couple of extra scenes, and we get to know the cavemen better). The Doctor is the mysterious, slightly arrogant alien we know, Susan is strange and naive, Ian is a natural leader, and Barbara wants what is best for everyone. Bunney’s narration is fine, but nothing special. His voices aren’t too exciting - his Ian is good, but his Doctor is a bit boring.

Overall, I don’t find this to be better than the TV story (which I find to be perfectly fine), as it shares some of its problems - such as the back-and-forth padding.