AN UNEARTHLY CHILD
It is November, 1963. Two schoolteachers, Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright, discuss a strange pupil; Susan Foreman, whose oddly eclectic knowledge and brilliant mind seem to represent an enigma. They go to her home only to discover that the address given is an apparently abandoned scrapyard, although the address is not a mistake, for Susan goes inside. Following her in, the teachers find no trace of the girl, but an incongruous police box which seems to be alive...
An Unearthly Child is an extremely competent introduction to "Doctor Who", functioning, as with the best in television science fiction with an opening premise which appears normal to the characters, but then gradually driving them into unknown and unknowable territory. For the only time in the series' history, everybody does not know what is inside the box, nor the secret of Susan's grandfather, and the air of mystery created is exceptionally well portrayed. The inside of the ship, and its incredible flight back through time are simply stunning, even to today's audience brought up on CGI and other gimmickry, and the actors are on top form. An astonishing start.
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