History Recap / DoctorWhoS1E1AnUnearthlyChild

The Tardis materialises on an unfamiliar landscape...

Roll credits.

'''Part Two'''

When the foursome step out of the Tardis, Susan quickly exposits that it was supposed to have changed shape, the first clue that it's somewhat less than reliable. Before long, the Doctor is kidnapped by a tribe of cavemen, who he placates by offering them the secret of fire. Unfortunately, he's forgotten his matches. His three companions try to rescue him, but only succeed in getting themselves captured.

NB This story is commonly also called "100,000 BC".
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* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The original pilot version of the episode had a slightly different version of the theme tune and a different dematerialisation noise for the TARDIS, the Doctor behaved like a JerkAss, and Susan was a Creepy Alien Chick. It also had a lot more in the way of technical screw-ups than the finished episode, and that's ''really'' saying something if you're familiar with this era of the show.

* {{Zeerust}}: Amazingly, this is one of the few episodes of the show to ''correctly'' guess some aspect of the future: the U.K. would indeed decimalise their currency, in 1971.
** The effect this episode had on that has not yet been determined.

And enter the TARDIS. Which is of course bigger on the inside than out. Her grandfather, a crotchety old man, is the Doctor.episode, no less. Susan says she made up the name TARDIS based on it's full name. Later, t

Now, neither of these teachers fit the model of the later companions. They're in their thirties. One is male and the other is female. They are not having an extra-curricular relationship. [[TheSarahJaneAdventures Not yet.]]

And enter the TARDIS. Which is of course bigger on the inside than out. Her grandfather, a crotchety old man, is the Doctor.

** SciFiDebris makes a decent argument that this can be interpreted as CharacterDevelopment - the Doctor is always so earnest about redeeming villains later on because he has been in that dark place himself, and he is so attached to humanity because Ian called him out this time.
** This idea is actually embraced in the New Series by the Tenth and Eleventh Doctor's. A repeated theme is that HumansAreSpecial because they stop The Doctor from going too far.
* CanonDisContinuity: In the very first episode, no less. Susan says she made up the name TARDIS based on it's full name. Later, they've always been called that by all the Time Lords.
** Actually, the Timelords invariably refer to the Doctor's TARDIS as by its proper designation "Type 40 Time Travel Capsule" or merely "Type 40". They use the term TARDIS rarely, and more often than not in context as being "The Doctor's TARDIS".

The story can be watched [[http://www.dailymotion.com/playlist/xy3r6_yimothy_an-unearthly-child here.]]

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: In one episode, the Doctor--y'know, the poster boy for [[TechnicalPacifist Technical Pacifism]]--is prepared to bash a helpless man's head in with a rock... because he's in the way.

->''If you could touch the alien sand, and hear the cry of strange birds, and watch them wheel in another sky would that satisfy you ?''

Deciding that he can't have them tell the world about the Main/CoolShip and that the "Foremans" will need to leave, he starts up the TARDIS. Ergo, acquiring the first two companions via abduction. [[FirstInstallmentWeirdness For the only time ever]], Ian and Barbara are knocked unconscious by the time travel.

Deciding that he can't have them tell the world about the Main/CoolShip and that the "Foremans" will need to leave, he starts up the TARDIS. Ergo, acquiring the first two companions via abduction. For the only time ever, Ian and Barbara are knocked unconscious by the time travel.

** Since TARDIS is short for Time And Relative Dimensions In Space it could be some sort of standardized translation Susan made up.

** Ian addresses the Doctor as "Dr Foreman"; the Doctor responds, "Eh? Doctor who?"

->''Touch the alien sand, and hear the cry of strange birds, and watch them wheel in another sky...''

* SciFiDebris makes a decent argument that this can be interpreted as CharacterDevelopment - the Doctor is always so earnest about redeeming villains later on because he has been in that dark place himself, and he is so attached to humanity because Ian called him out this time.

* TitleDrop: Ian addresses the Doctor as "Dr Foreman"; the Doctor responds, "Eh? Doctor who?"

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/unearth_3880.jpg

->-- '''Part Two- "The Cave of Skulls"'''

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: For the most part, Ian is the hero at this point. The Doctor does do a neat job presenting the knife as evidence to the cavemen, however.
* FridgeBrilliance: The two human companions are knocked unconscious the first time the TARDIS time travels with them onboard. This never happens again. This is likely the first time the TARDIS has ever time traveled with an actual human on board. Thus, it wouldn't be calibrated for human beings. They're never knocked out again because the TARDIS recalibrates itself for human beings afterwards.

* NightmareFuel - Episode 2 (yeah, we had to wait two whole episodes before it kicked in) ends with a scene in "The Cave Of Skulls", our EstablishingShot of said scene has a whole human skeleton prominently displayed in the foreground, and piles of skulls in the back ground. For those interested it is at [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG11MD98rB4 2.39 in this clip]].

* WhatTheHellHero: The Doctor's aforementioned attempted rock bashing

Now, neither of these teachers fit the model of the later companions. They're in their thirties. One is male and the other is female. They are not having an extra-curricular relationship. [[{{Main/Subtext}} Canonically]].

->'''Part Two- "The Cave of Skulls"'''

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** The affect this episode had on that has not yet been determined.