The Edge of Destruction.



 

The Beginning Boxed Set
includes the first 3 serials.
For around $20
you can't go wrong.

It's very easy to overlook this episode. Unlike many episodes of Dr. Who there are no monsters, no mad scientists; and no historical backdrops. The Edge of Destruction is a character piece and a very important one for Dr. Who.

The music is very ominous in this episode which as you'll see is very fitting. Last episode we left our time travellers just as an explosion had hit the TARDIS and this episode starts appropriately enough with the repercussions of that. Ian Chesterton, Susan; and The Doctor are all unconscious when our story begins. Barbara Wright is awake and doesn't seem to remember who any of them are. Soon Susan and Ian awaken with a similar ailment.

We see alot more of the TARDIS
in this serial.

We soon learn that the equipment on the TARDIS is acting strangely. The food machine is claiming to be out of water when it isn't, the view screen is randomly displaying their past adventures; and the doors of the TARDIS keep opening and closing on their own. The Doctor has a gash on his head and he seems as out of it as everyone else. Something is amiss amongst our adventurers and none of them can quite put their finger on what it is.



BARBARA: Yes, but, but where would it hide?
SUSAN: In one of us.

Barbara is as usual right on the money when she questions if something has snuck aboard the ship. Susan agrees suggesting that maybe something came aboard inside one of the crew. (wonder if a young Ridley Scott saw this episode?) And they're both right because the crew is being slowly poisoned and scared by energy fluctuations (the explosions) on the ship. As they become more frightened they begin acting more and more irrational and giving vent to their very real suspicions of one another. The danger in this episode comes from within.

Susan attacks Ian (and the weird TARDIS bed) with a pair of scissors. The Doctor himself accuses Ian and Barbara and of tampering with his ship, threatening to throw them out of it. And disturbingly Susan believes he will. In fact she seems to know that The Doctor is suggesting this very act by merely saying he will treat the school teachers as his enemies. Makes you wonder who has been thrown out of it in the past.

This leads to one of the best parts of the serial when Barbara tells off The Doctor, accusing him outright of kidnapping them; and telling him he should drop down on his knees thanking them for saving him so many times since. Not that he'd know anything about gratitude. Yet. We also see more of Ian's concern for Barbara. His biggest problem with the preceding events were the fact The Doctor hurt her feelings and wants him to apologize to her. Nearly getting stabbed with scissors is apparently nothing to him next to her feelings. He also questions whether the Doctor's adventures and research are conducted in the name of good or evil. Something not really clear at this point in the show. And as usual The Doctor gives an ambiguous answer to keep us all guessing.

DOCTOR: Oh, a mere harmless sleeping drug.
IAN: I thought so.
DOCTOR: Yes, you rather suspected
I was up to some mischief.

He then shows up whistling with drinks. To which Ian tells him that he doesn't get him. "One moment you're abusing us, and the next, you're playing the perfect butler." Real nice summary of The Doctor really. Of course the drinks are drugged and he puts everyone, Susan included to sleep. That rascally Hartnell. The first episode ends with a great cliffhanger as a pair of hands come from offscreen and wrap themselves about The Doctor's throat. Is this the mysterious visitor Barbara and Susan alluded to earlier?

Longwinded and somewhat
confusing monologue time
bitches!

We soon learn that it is loveable Ian Chesterton?! He seems in the mood to strangle anybody now even going for Barbara. Luckily that doesn't work because Ms. Wright once again discovers the cause of all the strange goings on. She mentions that the TARDIS appears to be alive and is attempting to warn them with all of these minor malfunctions. The Doctor is incredulous at first but as more energy explosions wrack the ship he begins looking for an answer.

Much like Batman;
The Doctor labels everything.

He realizes that the TARDIS' fault locator is telling them that the entire ship is at fault. But how can that be? He informs the others that if the answer isn't found soon the result will be the total disintegration of the ship! With the help of Ian he learns that the problem stems from the Fast Return Switch on the TARDIS. He hit it after their encounter with the Daleks and apparently it got stuck. A broken spring nearly sent our travellers hurtling toward the brink of destruction at the beginning of the universe. The Doctor fixes the switch and the crisis is averted.

But the damage has been done among our travellers. Many hurtful things had been said over the course of the episode. Many suspicions and grudges uncovered. Susan suggests to her grandfather that he should apologize to the schoolteachers but he doesn't seem to know how. One fascinating aspect about The Doctor is that with all his vast knowledge and resources; he really doesn't know how to interact with other people. He must've been a social outcast prior to his adventures. Perhaps it was his reason for leaving.

 

BARBARA: What do you care what I think or feel?
DOCTOR: As we learn about each other,
so we learn about ourselves.
BARBARA: Perhaps.

Easy going Ian overhears this and as usual he goes with the flow. He tells The Doctor sometimes he can read on his face what he wants to say even if he doesn't say it and accepts his "apology." The two have a good laugh at this. (Ian's a ham) Barbara as usual is a tougher sell but after a fairly heatwarming scene with her alone with The Doctor they seem to at least put their differences aside; with The Doctor acknowledging that disaster was averted because of Barbara. Maybe he really does need help sometimes.

And with them ends the first major storyarc of Doctor Who. The

David Whitaker
screenwriter of
The Edge of Destruction, The Rescue,
& The Crusade; among others. 

Edge of Destruction was written as a throw away filler episode; and it easily could have been. But to David Whitaker's credit he turned it into something very important to the series. Because this is the episode where the companions give voice to the fact The Doctor is fallible (something the new series could use more of), that his companions aren't just pests; and where the time travellers aboard the TARDIS begin to feel like an actual crew. They aren't friends yet; but they're getting there.

With these admissions the show can now move forward in new directions. On their first stop they need some heavy jackets because it's snowing outside... and Susan just found a huge footprint in the snow. This looks like a job for...




Figured this would be a good time to show off
the custom figures of Barbara, Susan; & Ian I made.



The Dead Planet.

The second serial The Daleks is about discovery; for both the audience and the time travellers aboard the TARDIS. In this episode we get to see more of the TARDIS itself as Ian explores it with The Doctor after landing on the planet Skaro. We learn that there's a computer on board that catalogues and maps out all their adventures where they've been. Though this can't get the school teachers home according to Susan; because The Doctor is forgetful or some silly reason or another. My guess at this point would be he simply doesn't want to and fed his granddaughter some line of bull. ;-)

We also get to see that this amazing ship that can travel through space and time is also filled with the mundane. Every expect to see a coat rack on a space ship? The TARDIS has one. Besides the TARDIS we also get to see several other devices employed by The Doctor. There's a TARDIS food processor which will make a small pill taste like any food you can dream up and The Doctor has a pair of spectacles with binoculars attached to them. There's also one device within the TARDIS which I forgot to mention; which is alright as the crew doesn't pay it much mind either. It only detects radiation levels on the planets they visit. And while Susan does attempt to look at it; that impatient Doctor fellow hurried her out the door before she got to see the dial reveal this planet they're on Skaro; is filled with dangerous levels of radiation. Silly humanoids.

Outside the ship Barbara and Ian assess their situation. They're scared and want to go home. They don't trust this mad Doctor in his ship and with good reason. So far they've been kidnapped with presumably no hope of returning to their own time and have been nearly killed by cavemen. What other wonders can await them? They now find themselves on an apparently dead planet. They're in a petrified jungle with stone trees and stone animal things and stone rocks. Er; scratch that last one. They soon find themselves on a cliff overlooking a city of amazing design and The Doctor curious as ever wants to explore it; but Ian takes control and tells him no. They aren't potentially risking their lives exploring some city unless they have to. This of course frustrates The Doctor who for the first time questions whether kidnapping these people may have been a mistake. Hmm.

The Dalek City
You'll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.

Heading back to the ship Susan stops to look at the stone flowers only to get groped in the woods. She screams and runs back to the TARDIS telling them how she felt a hand, a human hand touch her out there. Nobody believes her. And why should they? They just spent a couple hours exploring a mile of this dead planet. There couldn't possibly be life out there. Could there? Back inside the TARDIS Barbara feels sick and Susan makes her some sort of aspirin. She's still upset about how nobody believes her and treats her like a kid. Being she is probably older than both Ian and Barbara; she should. The night inside the TARDIS is rather uneventful other than the knocking outside the door. Probably by those non-existent life forms. Ian and Barbara this time complain to The Doctor that they want to go home. As usual it falls on deaf ears.

The next morning they discover a box full of vials with strange liquid in them. Susan is vindicated. There are people here and they either left this or dropped it the night before. The school teachers want to go home more than ever now and force The Doctor's hand. He'll take them home and starts up the TARDIS; but it malfunctions because that devious Doctor wants to explore the city and doesn't care if it's dangerous. So he claims the fluid link on the TARDIS which he himself has pulled out has run out of mercury. And there's none left on the ship either. Guess they'll have to see if there's any in that city. Hmm?

Both Ian and Barbara suspect that The Doctor is full of it; but nobody calls him on it. Instead they begrudgingly head down to the city where now The Doctor himself feels ill. Everyone else is tired too but they're still unaware of the radiation. They marvel at the city which appears to be empty and decide to split up. Barbara gets to go off on her own for whatever reason. She is soon introduced to the first alien race in Dr. Who: The Daleks.

The Dead Planet Dalek
by Character Options

The Daleks are amazingly unhuman in appearance. They're robots the shape of pepper pots. They have no legs. They have a single eye which protrudes from the top in a stalk and have what appeas to be a plunger for an arm and what we'll soon learn is a gun for the other. Another thing that separates The Daleks from the humans on the show (other than perhaps The Doctor) is their inhuman disregard for the well-being of anything other than themselves. They have no regard for living things and only keep them alive when they're useful to their plans and consider laughter is nothing but noise. They are The Daleks and they are here to exterminate you when the time comes.

While Barbara is off getting captured The Doctor, Suan; and Ian discover a room full of machines and from a geiger counter learn that the reason they're all becoming ill is because of the high radiation levels on Skaro. The Doctor wants to head back to the ship immediately. Without Barbara. Ian and Susan refuse to go back without her and because he won't leave his granddaughter The Doctor gives in. Doesn't matter however because they too are soon taken prisoner by The Daleks. Ian attempts to escape; but is shot by the Daleks who have temporarily paralyzed his legs. Inside their cell they're reunited with Barbara. The Doctor is questioned by The Daleks where he discovers that the dead planet of Skaro was created as a result of a nuclear war between the Daleks and the monstrously mutated Thals.

Back in the cell the four travellers get sicker. They don't spend their time idly however and together figure out that The Daleks cannot leave the city. That they must move along the metallic floors using static electricity like a bumper car at a carnival. Barbara is the real brains of this outfit and wonders if there's something living inside of The Daleks. Are they really just robots? The Doctor manages to persuade The Daleks to allow one of them to go back to the TARDIS to find radiation gloves... drugs; without which they'll die. Tha Daleks want these drugs. They assume that The Thals have survived outside of the city with them and want to use them for themselves. The Doctor and Barbara are too sick to go and Ian is still recovering from his paralysis; so Susan is elected even though she is "just a child." But is she really? Susan hurries back to the TARDIS where she runs smack into a monstrously hideous Thal.



Alydon
played by
John Lee

But he isn't hideous. He's perfectly human in appearance. And the Thals are the ones who left the vials for the travellers. They're anti-radiation drugs. D'oh. The Thal's name is Alydon and he doesn't trust The Daleks. He gives Susan a second set of vials to hide on herself figuring that The Daleks only want the drugs for themselves. An interesting thing of note. At this point the Thals and Daleks haven't seen one another in years and don't even know what one another look like. Their mistrust of one another is entirely based on the unknown. Though the Thals have every reason to be wary.

Susan heads back with the drugs and of course The Daleks take them from her. (good thing she has more of them. though where she hid that giant box is anyone's guess.) Secretly recovered the time travellers hatch a plan to escape. Using a cloak Alydon gave to Susan they overtake their Dalek guard and cut off his connection with the static electrified floor which renders The Dalek completely immobile. Together with The Doctor, Ian opens the Dalek up and in a brilliant move we, the audience don't see the creautre inside of The Dalek. Instead we just see Ian and The Doctor's look of disgust. They tell the girls to go keep look out while they wrap it in the cloak (because they don't even want to touch it) and chuck the creature on the floor where we get our only glimpse of the monstrosity inside them. From beneath the cloak hangs a limp deformed clawed hand.

Ian is really an amazing goof here. Because he actually gets inside of the Dalek shell. It's a wonder anyone found them scary after that. Inside he mimics The Dalek "voice;" actually sounding more the way modern fans are used to them sounding than they do in this episode. They attempt to fool The Daleks by having Ian Dalek lead the way as if he's escorting The Doctor, Ian; and Barbara as prisoners. The plan simply doesn't work. The Daleks aren't fools and the first one they come across spots the imposter immediately; warning upper management who set off an alarm. Did I mention Ian inside the Dalek was silly? Well now he finds himself stuck inside it. Cue laugh track. The others have managed to break one of the doors so the Daleks can't get through; but those pesky Daleks are on top of it. They're cutting through the door with a welder arm attachment. Though they're reluctant to leave him there; except The Doctor of course; Ian persuades the others to escape into a nearby elevator. We're then witness to the biggest waste of a cliffhanger ending in the show's history when The Daleks enter and blast Ian's Dalek!

But that oddly isn't the end of the episode. The death of Ian isn't as gripping as Susan opening the TARDIS doors apparently. We learn almost immediately Ian has made it out and into the elevator. (though we'll never learn how he did it I guess) He soon rejoins his friends inside a small room that looks like an observation tower. There's a strange statue in the room. Odd that The Daleks would appreciate art however ugly this thing is. At this point I wonder if a Dalek can fit inside an elevator. But they can. One at a time. Dalek design flaw if you ask me. Build bigger elevators damn it! So the first Dalek is soon sent after the escaped prisoners. The time travellers can't seem to get the doors in the observation room open and can't escape; so they chuck that weird sculpture down the elevator shaft. Score! And this is the reason we'll probably never see a Dalek owning a statue again.

Back-tracking a bit; at some point during all of this The Daleks hatched a plan to lure the Thals into their city to kill them. The naive Susan believed that The Daleks were sincere in wanting to live in harmony with butterflies and rainbows amongst The Thals and wrote them a letter signed Susan; which is what she agreed with The Thals she would sign if The Daleks wanted to live in peace. The Daleks don't seem to understand Susan is a name; because the members of Project Dalek don't have names. The Thals don't really have that much of a real reason to mistrust of Daleks (other than that whole war thing but that was a long time ago) and accept The Daleks offer to come get food and supplies. While The Doctor and the rest of the gang are throwing ugly statues down Dalek elevator shafts; the Thals have arrived in the name of peace. Susan sees them coming out the window and is horrified now knowing that it's a trap!



And winner of the award
for most awkward looking death
goes to...

 The door finally opens and Ian argues with the others to head back to The TARDIS while he runs off to warn The Thals. Need it be said The Doctor thoroughly backs this plan? We're then taken to where The Thals are to pick up their food. It's a huge banquet hall with a table with a feast laid out. The leader of the Thals Temmosus is thrilled by this; but Susan's friend Alydon is still not so sure. Ian arrives on the scene and sees The Daleks lying in wait while the Thals look at this amazing all you can eat buffet. You'd think Ian would pop out and warn them right? Well he doesn't. Damn it Chatterton! Instead he holds back until almost the last second and by then it's too late. A bunch of Thals including their leader Temmosus are killed.

Ian heads back to the Thal village along with Alydon where they find The Doctor, Barbara; and Susan already there lounging about. The Doctor is having a ball learning about Thal history where we learn about the war between the (at the time) warrior race of The Thals and the scientifically minded Dals. We get to see the Thal ancestors; but in another deft move; the viewer doesn't get a glimpse of the forebearers to the Daleks. The Thals as a race have evolved into a bunch of pacifist Jesus types. If the Daleks exterminate us; we shall turn the other cheek. This annoys Ian but The Doctor says that's their choice. Leave them to their fate. That is until of course Ian informs The Doctor that in all the madness of the Dalek City; the fluid link was taken from him by The Daleks. But then why is he checking his pockets to begin with? Silly Mr. Chemberton.

The Doctor now wants the Thals to fight back against The Daleks. He doesn't care if they're killed. He needs that damned fluid link. Ian as the moral center of the show flatly disagrees. He'll have none of the Thals' deaths on his conscious. Barbara however soon sides with The Doctor. She wants the hell off this planet and she's ready to use the Thals to do it if that's what it takes. Ian is disgusted by the two of them but reasons maybe he can get the Thals to want to fight for their own reasons after some guilt-tripping from the tag-team of The Doctor and Barbara.

Ian spends some time trying to rally the troops. Will they fight for their own lives? Survey says no. Alydon would rather die the better man. Will they fight for a tin can then? A can full of the history of the Thal people? Again no. They don't believe Ian will give the can to The Daleks but if he does they'll let him. Damned tree huggers. Fine then. Will the Thals stand up if Ian takes their women and gives them to The Daleks? Bingo. Suddenly Alydon grows a pair and knocked Ian upside his head. Suddenly the Thals realize there is something worth fighting for. Each other. So they hatch a plan to attack the Dalek city on two fronts. One team will hang out at the front gate while the other team will head through deadly marsh lands and caves filled to the brim with mutants and dangers unknown.

Ganatus
played by
Philip Bond

If I were Ian;
I would've cut the rope.

The Doctor brave as ever decides to wait at the gate while Ian and Barbara head around back. Barbara seems smitten by one of the Thals Ganatus who apparently gave her a pair of his pants. Smooth operator that one. From here the story follows the team actually doing something and several Thals are killed. One is sucked into a whirlpool and Ganatus' whiny, annoying brother sacrifices himself when he falls into a precipice within the cave and nearly drags Ian down into the hole with him. He cuts the rope saving Ian and in turn us from having to watch him. Through it all they soldier on eventually finding their way into the Dalek city.

While the Thals have been hard at work getting into their city; The Daleks being no dummies have already figured out they'll soon be attacked. They however make the mistake of taking the anti-radiation drug which kills not only the Daleks who take it but seems to have gone airborne and kills many more of them putting the entire city into a state of chaos. This works well for our heroes who now no longer have hundreds of Daleks to worry about. This however has brought the surviving Daleks to the conclusion that they need the radiation to survive and have decided to drop another neutron bomb to ensure their survival.

The Doctor however hasn't been idle. Together with the Thals he's taken out the Dalek's communication systems. Afterward he and Susan sneak into the Dalek city to destroy The Daleks static electrictity control box. While they're somewhat successful they also alert The Daleks to the fact that they're in the city and are taken prisoner. While in captivity The Doctor learns that The Daleks have changed their plan and decided that being building a neutron bomb takes too long; they will instead blow up some of their nuclear reactors to ensure their way of life. Growing desperate The Doctor offers to help them build and use a TARDIS. The Daleks are interested in the idea of his ship; but reason that after they irradiate the planet they can learn about the TARDIS at their leisure without The Doctor's help.

Luckily both teams of Thals soon storm the city and overpower the remainder of the Daleks. Together they storm the Dalek control room with Ian and Barbara and free Susan and The Doctor while they destroy The Dalek equipment. Several Thals are killed in the battle but once the Dalek control room is overtaken they are rendered immobile and they beg The Doctor to fix their equipment otherwise they will die. He refuses and allows The Dalek race to perish. He then concentrates on repairing his ships while the victorious Thals lament the fact things couldn't have ended without all this death and destruction.

We're soon taken back to the TARDIS where the Thals ask The Doctor to stay but he refuses telling them he never gives advice. Certainly there's never any meddling from him. He then shakes and with Alydon and boards the ship. Ganatus obviously doesn't want Barbara to leave and there's a touching scene where they say thier goodbyes and she kisses him. Good thing Ian didn't see that one. Back inside the TARDIS The Doctor takes off but soon the ship is wracked by an explosion and we learn that the time tavellers are most certainly headed toward...

100,000 B.C.



These two men are not friends.



So the first adventure starts off with The Doctor and Susan having seemingly made amends going over the instruments of the TARDIS. Barbara and Ian soon wake up. Ian doesn't trust The Doctor at all thinking that when the doors open they'll still be in the junkyard on Totter's Lane. Barbara however seems to have accepted her fate and believes the time-travellers; though she doesn't like their situation anymore than Ian. Eventually The Doctor decides to prove that he isn't playing a game (this time) once and for all and finally opens the doors.

The first thing you'll realize about this three-parter is that it would've made for a much better two-parter. Because at least in the world of Dr. Who; cavemen talk too damned much. Guess we haven't evolved as a society past that one.



Za played by
Derek Newark



There are two power struggles that're showcased in these episodes. Both are the fight for leadership and resistance to change. Among the cave people this battle takes place through lengthy and at times boring debates between the leader of the cavemen Za and a stranger to the tribe with odd ideas; Kal. Both of them want to bring fire to the tribe to cement their place in it as leader.

Of course the power struggle we're really interested in during the course of 100,000 B.C. is the one between our travellers. Kal isn't the only stranger with odd ideas because The Doctor assumes he's the leader of his party too. And of course this brings him into contention with our representative from the "real world;" one Ian Chesterton. Ian is naturally protective of both Barbara and Susan and he really doesn't trust The Doctor. And why should he trust a man who so callously uprooted him from his world? But Ian just doesn't want to be leader, he's still internally struggling to maintain his hold on the reality he knows and being in charge gives him some glimmer of hope to do this. Good luck with that Mr. Chesterton.

The odd thing to me is that the action of this story starts out with the kidnapping of the most experienced traveller on the show. The Doctor is out getting herbs and rocks (one of which he's smoking?) when Kal comes along and knocks him upside the head in what he later claims was an epic struggle. Kal has seen The Doctor make fire and he wants him to do so for the cheap win over Za. And The Doctor would. He isn't too concerned about changing history here. But he's lost his matches. Silly Doctor.

Soon the rest of the gang realizes he's missing and run off in search of him only to be captured themselves. From here on out we get long-winded speeches on why the cavemen should or shouldn't kill the strangers until they inevitably escape with the help of an old woman. Women seem to like to cause trouble in 100,000 B.C. The strangers take off through the jungle where we get a heated debate between Ian and The Doctor about who is actually the leader of their little party. It's one of the gems of this serial. Meanwhile Za's woman (whom I think is actually named "Her") has talked him into chasing down The Doctor and company, this way the old man can make fire for them instead. (see? women=trouble)

 

Za and his woman are catching up to the time-travellers when Za is attacked by a creature of some sort. We don't see it just hear it. Barbara hears it too and wants to go back and help. The Doctor is outraged by this show of compassion and then he and Barbara have it out in the second highlight from these episodes. Barbara calls The Doctor selfish and immoral. She's right. Ian as usual is with Barbara and the two of them along with Susan help the bloodied Za. This confuses both The Doctor and Za's woman. And that rascally Doctor not only suggests to Susan that they should head back to the ship and escape without the school teachers; but also attempts to smash an unconscious Za's head in with a rock. The Doctor is a dangerous man indeed; especially when you take into consideration the implication of Susan's line "he's always like this when he doesn't get his way."

Kal played by
Jeremy Young
is outwitted by The Doctor.

The Doctor begrudgingly helps the others get Za back to the TARDIS to fix him up only to be recaptured again by Kal and the rest of the cavemen. This sparks; you guessed it; more caveman debate! Yawn. Though during the course of this one three interesting things actually happen. Both power struggles come to an end. The time-traveller's when Ian gives up and tells Za that The Doctor is their leader and the cavemen's when Za kills Kal. (Ian got off easy that time. Not that the Doctor would ever... oh wait... he would.) And last we get the first glimpse of The Doctor using his superior intelligence to help the crew when he tricks Kal into exposing himself as a murderer which in turn gets the tribe to turn on him.

Za then has the quartet of heroes tied up again and while awaiting their fate Susan picks up one of the skulls in the cave and this sets off a plan which she and the others hatch to escape once and for all. And just in time if you ask me. I thought I might have to listen to the caveman debate team again.

Sliders
another crew
looking for a way home. 

Once back inside the TARDIS Ian demands that The Doctor take him and Barbara home only to learn there's another kink in that plan. Not only does The Doctor not really want to do so; but he doesn't know how to either. He's doesn't know what desitination he's headed to until he gets there and doesn't know how to direct the ship to a specific point in time. Oh boy. (this is a premise other sc-fi shows such as Sliders and (i think) Quantum Leap would use quite effectively years later)

And that's the first adventure. Though it should be pointed out that this is the adventure where we learn about the TARDIS' Chameleon Circuit which is supposed to camoflauge the TARDIS turning it into a variety of things depending on the time period/place they arrive at. It remains broken for most (if not all) of the show's 50 year run. But it is with this adventure that it actually broken according to Susan who finds it strange that it isn't working.

Next up join us as the time-travellers aboard the TARDIS (they aren't a crew just yet) arrive at...

An Unearthly Child.

There's a great Dr. Who blog called "TARDIS Eruditorium: A Psychochronography in Blue"; the author of which makes an argument that the single pilot episode An Unearthly Child is actually a separate story from the three that follow it 100,000 B.C. It's an opinion that from a narrative standpoint I share. So I'll be covering them both separately.

Barbara and Ian
played by Jacqueline Hill
and William Russell

Our journey begins oddly enough not with The Doctor; but with two meddlesome school teachers. There names are Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright who teach Science and History respectively. Two things that may come in handy on a show involving time travel and the scientific unknown eh? The show starts off with these two because they're the characters the audience are meant to connect with. They're what ties all the craziness that is Dr. Who to the real world we live in.

Susan Foreman
played by Carol Anne Ford

Both school teachers have a problem. There's an odd girl in their class who's equally brilliant and terrible at different things. She knows things she shouldn't. And she avoids Barbara's attempts to sneak their way into her house through tutoring. Her grandfather doesn't like strangers. She' a rather strange, unearthly child named Susan Foreman; and very soon she will be the catalyst that drags both Barbara and Ian kicking and screaming into a little land we like to call The Twilight Zone. And it's all their fault. Barbara claims she doesn't want to be a busybody; but she is. And Ian just goes with the flow.

Which leads to them to follow Susan to 76 Totter's Lane. Home to a junkyard. A scrap heap filled with odds and ends; and one very unusual object for this location: A police call box. A big blue box with a strange humming sound emanating from within it. A box Ian claims is alive. (and it's odd Barbara doesn't question this) But they aren't looking for a police box. They're looking for that mysterious girl who unbeknownst to them has led them down a rabbit hole. But they don't find her. Not right away.

The Doctor played by William Hartnell.

Instead they find a mischievous old man. A man who refuses to answer questions and seems to get off on frustrating the school teachers. He swears he doesn't know this Susan they're asking about; which in turn leads them to suspect that he kidnapped her or worse. And he doesn't care. This seems to only amuse him more. He finds their attempts to extract her whereabouts from him quite amusing indeed. Until of course they decide she's inside the police box. Soon her voice calls out from within it and the dynamic duo of Barbara and Ian rush in to save the day. Only to find Susan is in fact quite alright.

But they also have found themselves inside the TARDIS. A place for the time being that there's no escape. We soon learn that the TARDIS is bigger on the inside than on the outside and that Susan named the TARDIS, short for Time and Relative Dimension in Space. It's a spaceship that can travel through both time and space. We also learn that both she and her grandfather (the old man aka The Doctor aka Doctor Who) are both aliens from another world. A planet and society they've been exiled from; though The Doctor does hold out hope that one day they'll be allowed back. Ian and Barbara are both considerably confused. And who wouldn't be? They don't really believe the strange old man. And they want to leave.

But he won't let them. In fact he's dead set against this. And apparently he's done something similar before; because his granddaughter Susan already knows what he's up to. She pleads with him to let them go. At first he refuses because he's afraid of them telling people about them. Though you'd have to question who'd believe them. He could just kick them out and fly away. But eventually he relents and says he'll open the doors. Only he doesn't. Instead he begins starting up the ship. Susan sees this and in desperation attacks her grandfather; something I'd have to guess would've been shocking back in 1963. He manages to start up the ship anyway and the ship vanishes from 1963 into a montage of psychadelic imagery.

And where will it stop? That's anyone's guess. We soon see the ship has landed. Both Ian and Barbara are unconscious with The Doctor standing over them. I'm assuming they passed out. But back when the episode originally aired? I'm sure there were alot of people wondering which side of the law this mad old man was on.

We're then taken to the first cliffhanger of Doctor who. The TARDIS stands alone in a barren wasteland. Just where are they? We don't know. But there are people here judging from that shadow which just appeared accompanied to some very ominous music and apparently they have a Cave of Skulls. At this point only one thing's for sure. That trouble surely awaits in...