Doctor Who - Season 1 - An Unearthly Child (The Unaired Pilot)

Matt's thoughts on the unaired pilot of Doctor Who.

[This review does contain spoilers] 

Today I am reviewing the first ever episode of doctor who that was produced back in 1963. Although this version of an unearthly child never aired I still think that it deserves a review.

Overall I think that they made the right decision about this episode. The version that aired is better than this one. I do like this episode as it is quite similar to the real Unearthly Child but there are elements that this one just doesn't do right.

For example in this episode the doctor is far too grumpy. Now you are all saying 'the first doctor is grumpy'. I know, I know but this is different. He is too stubborn, too mean. It just isn't the doctor that we all know and love. Hartnell is one of the best doctors as he is so different from the rest but in this particular episode I don't think he had quite settled into the part properly.

Susan is another character that wasn't right. Personally I never liked Susan but in this episode she is so much more irritating. I could just slap her round the face. But that is not the point. The point being that I think her character could have been much more toned down. Also she is a bit suspicious of everything and I don't understand why.

Ian and Barbara are the highlights of this episode as they are perfect. They are always perfect. They are two characters which are so brilliantly written. Their suspicions about Susan and the general way that they act. Those two actors have captured the essence of school teachers perfectly.

One of the biggest parts of this episode is of course the tardis reveal which has always been a 'fan girl' moment for me. This version is different of course but I don't care. It is still a good scene none the less. But when Ian and Barbara try to leave the Doctor's evil laugh really puts me off. The Doctor is not evil and yet in this part he is portrayed as the villain. And then he is 'evil' again when Ian is pressing buttons on the controls and the doctor does something and Ian falls over in pain. 

After all this The Doctor still proceeds in trapping Ian and Barbara as they take off and travel through the vortex. This knocks Ian and Barbara out and they eventually land in a mysterious place with a mysterious figure's shadow cast over the blue box. This is a good cliffhanger to an alright episode

Overall I do like this episode although it has it's faults but I am going to give it a 5/10 because there are better episodes and there are defiantly worse ones too.

Thanks for reading
Matt.