Arnold
Tash Jayasinghe
CibbuanoAn Unearthly Child
January 23rd 2007 05:40
Thought I'd go right back to the beginning with my Doctor Who reviews. Here's the very first Doctor Who story.
VITAL STATISTICS
MAIN CHARACTERS: The 1st Doctor (William Hartnell), Susan (Carole Ann Ford), Ian Chesterton (William Russell) and Barbara Wright (Jacqueline Hill).
EPISODES: Four half-hour episodes.
SETTING: Contemporary Earth (1963), in London. Prehistoric Earth (100 000 BC).
HOW DOES IT FAIR BY TODAY’S STANDARDS
'An Unearthly Child' remains riveting television some 45 years after it's original broadcast. The first episode (set in London) is especially good, it's introduction of the character of the Doctor shows him as suitably enigmatic and surprisingly anti-heroic. The three companions are less supporting characters than their later counterparts would become, they are every bit as much the stars of the show (much as Rose was for the new series of Doctor Who). The subsequent three episodes, taking place in the prehistoric wilderness and putting the time travellers at the mercy of a tribe of cavemen, is moderately entertaining and doesn't really drag, giving us some interesting character-driven live-by-your wits adventure.
BITS I LIKE
The Doctor is an arsehole! It's so great. He kidnaps Ian and Barbara, feigns innocence when he does something dodgy like picking up a rock to bash someone's head in, and generally acts like a selfish mad scientist. The production values are pretty good for early 60s British TV too - the TARDIS looks fantastic, it's telling that the set would change minimally over the next 25 years or so (if it aint broke, don't fix it!). The music and titles sequence are great too and deservingly went on to become an iconic part of the series. The caveman sequences are nice and spooky also.
BITS I DON’T LIKE
There's not much I don't like about this story, it's one of my favourite black and white Doctor Who serials. The caveman bits could probably do with a bit of tightening up, but that's just a little niggle.
The novelisation of 'An Unearthly Child'
HOW MANY TIMES I’VE SEEN THIS NOW
Probably about 10 times.
DISTRACTABILITY SCALE
Minimal. Hardly drags at all, except maybe a bit in episode 3.
THE ACTING
William Hartnell is top notch as the Doctor, he gives the character a winning mix of edginess and eccentric quirk. Jacqueline Hill and William Russell give good, grounded and realistic performances to help the audience identify with what is going on, and Russell is especially endearing as the action-hero of the show. Carole Ann Ford however treads a fine line between engima and annoying... her performance borders on the childlishly petulant and she only occasionally manages to convince. Most of the actors and actresses playing the cavemen range from forgettable to bad.
| 51 |
| Vote |
Subscribe to this blog
