The above synopsis probably illustrates my opinion of this batch of episodes more accurately than could any review. Whilst the TARDIS scenes, the acting of the regulars, and the final exquisitely tense ending are easily on a par with "An Unearthly Child", the story as a whole is rather let down by the fact that, in the first place, "The Forest of Fear" has no plot, and in the second place what plot there is in the story seems to largely consist of two cavemen grunting at one another. If one could be made to feel sympathy for these characters, it could work, but all our sympathy lies with the time travellers, and we can only share their impotent fury at being held the prisoners of these supremely stupid cavemen.

That said, the interplay between the regular characters, particularly the Doctor and Barbara, almost atones for this. The Hartnell/Hill double act that, in my own opinion made the early years of "Doctor Who" the success they were is only just beginning here, but already we can sense that these are the most interesting characters, and feel their basic similarity at once draw them together and drive them apart. No longer spectacular, 100,000 BC does, however, manage to further establish the relations of the characters and set the series on a steady footing for the future.