Susan
Foreman, 15, is the Doctor's granddaughter and goes to Coal Hill School,
London. Two teachers, Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright, go to investigate
her home background. 'Home' appears to be a police box, located in a junkyard
at 76 Totter's Lane. This police box is in fact a TARDIS (Time And Relative
Dimensions In Space), the Doctor's dimensionally transcendental spaceship,
which plunges them all back to the Earth of 10,000 BC. They are captured
by a tribe which has lost the secret of fire. Two leaders, Kal and Za,
are involved in a power struggle. Ian makes fire for Za by rubbing two
sticks together, but Za does not allow the time-travelers to leave as
promised. By a clever trick the Doctor and his companions escape to the
TARDIS now stuck in the shape of a police box because of its faulty Chameleon
circuit.
.
The Doctor: William Hartnell
Ian Chesterton: William Russell
Barbara Wright: Jacqueline Hill
Susan Foreman:
Carole Ann Ford
Guest Appearances:
Za: Derek Newark
Hur: Alethea Charlton
Kal: Jeremy Young
Horg:
Howard Lang
Old Mother: Eileen Way
.
Producer: Verity
Lambert
Assistant Producer: Mervyn
Pinfield
Script Editor: David
Whitaker
Writer: Anthony
Coburn, (Additional material by C.E. Weber)
Director: Waris
Hussein
Designer: Barry
Newberry, Peter Brachacki (episode 1)
Costume: Maureen
Heneghan
Make up: Elizabeth Blattner
Music: Norman Kay and Stock. ("The
Three Guitars Mood 2" by The Arthur Nelson Group)
.
a
Novelised by Terrance Dicks as "Doctor Who and An
Unearthly Child" (0 426 201442) first published by W.H Allen
(now Virgin publishing Ltd in 1981 with cover by Andrew Skilleter,
(Target #68). New printing in 1990 with cover by Alister Pearson.
Also released as "The Tribe of Gum" script book by Anthony
Coburn, from Titan Books, (185286012X) first published in
1988 with cover by Dave McKean. Edited by John McElroy.
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Released as "An Unearthly Child" in UK (February 1990),
in Australia and New Zealand (BBC catalogue #4311); Released in US and
Canada in 1992 (CBS/FOX catalogue #3401); in episodic format, cover art
by Alister Pearson. The pilot (version 2) was released on "The
Hartnell Years" (BBC catalogue #4608 in UK (June 1991), in Australia
and New Zealand ( CBS/FOX catalog #3403).
Released in US and Canada (1992).
A further, remastered version containing all three takes released on "The
Edge of Destruction & Dr. Who: The Original Pilot" in UK
(April 2000), also in Australia and New Zealand
(BBC catalogue #6877). Released in US and Canada, October 2000 (Warner
Video catalogue #E1497).
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In
this first story the Doctor seems very much the anti-hero, and is portrayed
as a tetchy, selfish old man.
The working title for this story was "The Tribe Of Gum".
Although this story is titled "An Unearthly Child", it
is frequently referred as "10,000 BC".
The first episode was repeated the following week prior to episode 2,
partially because power failure, and the mainly dur to the death of American
President John F. Kenned, which had prevented many people from seeing
it.
A pilot episode had been recorded but was not televised at the time, with
only slight differances from the first episode.
All 4
episodes exist. A pilot episode of episode 1 also exists, this was transmitted
in an evening of special programs in 1991 to mark the closure of Lime
Grove Studios.
Ealing
filming. (19 September; 9 -11 October 1963)
Studio recording in Lime Grove D. (27 September;
18, 25, October; 1, 8 November 1963)
Episode
1 - The first time that Ian and Barbara enter
the TARDIS, Susan operates the door switch. Later on, the Doctor electrocutes
Ian, when he uses the same switch
Episode 1 - While
Ian and the Doctor are examining the clock in the TARDIS, both of them
interrupt each other.
Episode 1- Ian
claims that the Doctor closed the TARDIS doors, though in fact it was
Susan.
Episode 3 - Scrolling
backgrounds are seen when the TARDIS crew runs on the spot, while they
are escaping through the forest.
Episode ? - At
one point, a stagehand can be seen through a 10-20 centimeters gap in
one of the corners of the TARDIS.
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