And So It Begins... An Unearthly Child

Or "The Tribe of Gum", or "100,000 BC" or "Unamed Serial". Whichever you choose to call it. Please no comments regarding correct/incorrect story titles; I really can't be bothered with the arguments and I firmly sit on the side of "you can call it whatever you like as long as everybody knows what you're going on about" camp.

But onwards, onto the episodes themselves. Part One - An Unearthly Child - is simply one of the finest episodes of Doctor Who ever broadcast. It positively drips atmosphere, from the unique and famous theme tune (many thanks Ron Grainer and Delia Derbyshire!) to the opening shots of a fog bound street, the camera's journey through the gate of an old junkyard and finally fixing upon a Police Telephone Box, humming with an uncommon power... the mystery of the box, Susan and the Doctor is delicious. Don't forget that at this point, we knew nothing of Time Lords, Gallifrey, regeneration, jellybabies or multicoloured scarves. This was an old man and his granddaughter, on the run from who knew what.

This first 25 minutes of television was a landmark not only in the history of the BBC, but to the popular culture of the entire country. TARDIS, The Doctor, bigger on the inside, companions, time travel. This is where it all started, leading to generations growing up with a hero, and a leaving a legacy that is stronger than ever today, 49 years later.

However, it must be said that initially the Doctor was not the hero of the piece, at least not the hero as we came to know him. Hartnell's Doctor here is arrogant, selfish and not a little frightening. We're never quite sure what his agenda is. He resorts to kidnapping Ian and Barbara to preserve his own secret, and later on in the serial is prepared to bash in a caveman's skull to make good his escape. This ain't your kids' Doctor Who! But its all down the Hartnell's superb performance that his Doctor never wanders into the realms of absolute villainy, nor does he slide too far to the other side, becoming the stereotypical eccentric dotty old professor. No, this Doctor is someone we can't quite get a handle on, at least not yet.

Unfortunately, it all goes downhill from episode 2. I have to say that I don't find cavemen particularly exciting and the story unfolding is simplistic to say the least. The three episodes spent on the search for fire are tedious and its a massive relief when they finally make it back to the Ship and go somewhere, anywhere, else.

But its that first episode that sets the seemingly indestructible foundations of Doctor Who and its brilliance more than excuses the tedium that follows over the next three episodes.

Next up: The exterminators arrive...