The Episode That Almost KILLED Doctor Who - Reviewing the Original Pilot - An Unearthly Child

[@MrTARDIS]

"What's happening with the bloody doors!" Thanks for watching this video, folks! Be sure to "like" and leave a comment to appease the almighty algorithm!

[@costelinha1867]

That door clip reminded me of the bloopers of old Star Trek shows where the doors would shut on people's face, or people would miss their cues of opening the doors, and thus the cast would constantly bump into them.

[@MrTARDIS]

@Kian Stockton I think that they'd just release all of Season 4 and for the cover have a 50/50 Hartnell/Troughton split.

[@sonofaredshirt8329]

In my heart I'm a Trekkie first but of course always had nothing but love for Doctor Who since I my first saw John Pertwee rock that crushed velvet smoking jacket, but even as a Trekkie I have to say what you uploaded is pure gold! I had no idea of this backstory. Thank you for sharing!

[@timgorg1919]

Fun fact: The Cartoon "Milo Murphy's Law" (sequel of Phineas and Ferb) predicted it. There were an episode where they found the lost pilot of Doctor Zone (and Time Monkey) and now it was the founded pilot episode. The episode was something with monster pistachios.

[@southerneruk]

I was around when it was first aired, Hartnell is the best doctor

[@marcjames3487]

Wow, as a child I saw every episode, including Patricks' entrance, which i do vaguely remember. Wish I had a Tardis to go back and record them !

[@RandomID10T-tm]

My first Doctor was Christopher Eccleston since I was born a couple years before the revival. I deeply envy you being able to grow up with the show's origins!

[@S-1ushyy]

Holy shit that awesome,also valuable too,Power of the Daleks is lost now

[@maxkennedy7430]

I really like the thunderclap in the pilot theme. I guess Sydney knew that some of the viewers as well as kids would find the theme scary and didn't want it to be Too Scary.

[@Enzo012]

They wanted to make Hartnell's face appear in the intro but they thought it would scare the kids.

[@exempligratia101]

The thunderclap has a reminiscence to “The Prisoner” (1967).

[@STho205]

@@exempligratia101 preminent

[@kenlieck7756]

@@STho205 Preminiscence? Pre-eminence? Perambulance? Peritonitis? Pizzagate?

[@kelvinh8327]

Thunderclap was inspired!

[@CyborgCharlotte]

While I can see how this almost killed the show before it even began, it’s insane to think this still exists in its original form, and that we’re able to watch it in its entirety. Warms my media preservationist heart

[@VulpisFoxfire]

It's on the DVD.

[@CyborgCharlotte]

@@VulpisFoxfire Yes, but I’m just amazed at how it survived given how it was shot down by the showrunner and the BBC’s tape junking policies of the time

[@SammEater]

@@CyborgCharlotte Like the dude in the video said, the pilot was only saved because someone mislabeled it as something else. A fortunate accident.

[@billyandrew]

@CyborgCharlotte That when the cretins began running the BEEB.

[@ADJackD]

@@SammEater if only that happened with missing ones

[@elidasilva5558]

15:10 - Gotta say, that thunder clap was pretty cool and I think they used the idea for the Matt Smith era opening

[@fjccommish]

It didn't fit.

[@wackywaa1458]

I like how we see the perspective of someone entering the Tardis. Where you can see the interior through the police box doors. Surprised they never properly used this again.

[@themirrorsofmymind]

They actually did. I think it happened more than once but the first time that I'm sure of is in the 3rd Doctor story _"Colony in Space"_ when the TARDIS travels to Uxarieus, with Jo Grant aboard. When The Doctor opens the doors and she sees that they're not on Earth you can see the console room from the outside.

[@ITSMeatMan]

I love the camera movement in the unaired pilot, it really gives a good sense of scale for the console room scenes

[@bladersmosh]

Seeing the unaired pilot really makes want to watch An Adventure in Space and Time again which I look forward to seeing your review of as the finale of the Hartnell marathon.

[@mountaintiger6945]

I just want to say I'm old enough to have personally seen each and every Dr. Who episode ever made. Including the lost episodes before they were lost, it wasnt until Whittakers Doctor that I Ever regretted being a fan. Yes we've had good & bad episodes but never almost entire seasons, I'm soldiering on the hope the next Doctor won't disappoint. I mean they're bringing back former actors just to bring the fans back.

[@billyandrew]

I had grave concerns, when they announced the show was being revived in 2005. After Troughton I lost faith in the character, as it was dependent upon what could be found in the dressing up box. I was thoroughly surprised and pleased by Eccleston, but once Tennant left the modern role I found myself in a similar frame of mind, again. The baddies and supporting actors put in better performances than those in the lead role.

[@bobp6742]

@@billyandrew Troughton was my favorite Dr as a kid always looked forward to watching his clown type character which was poles apart from Hartnel. Then Jon Pertwee took over and in my eyes it was an abortion barely watched Dr who again until Eccleston took over until the total abortion of that awful Whittaker and I'll NEVER watch Dr who again the whole history of the program has been destroyed.

[@Yesica1993]

"I mean they're bringing back former actors just to bring the fans back." Yep. It's such an insult, like we are that stupid. I can't stand the way they intentionally destroyed this show.

[@adamdavis1648]

​@@Yesica1993What makes you think it was intentional? 🤔

[@ernestgrouns8710]

The filming constraints remind me of what the cast and crew of Dark Shadows had to deal with back in the 60's. Classic shows!

[@andrewjohnson1873]

Finally an actual video. I haven't enjoyed the channel since the switch to livestream cuts. Videos like this is what drew me in as a subscriber.

[@Agos226]

I remember seeing the unaired pilot before the real one and thinking the ink blot scene was so cool and weird, I honestly wish they had kept it

[@MoviesWithMarty]

100% same here, I really loved that scene and that Susan said about the fog being mysterious, which they changed in the aired episode too. Plus, I much preferred how "mysterious" Susan actually was in the unaired episode too

[@webz3589]

Its kinda reminicent of the howlround effects from the opening sequence

[@Joey15811]

That scene should have stayed the same

[@plantainsame2049]

I remember that Odd I thought I only watched the normal version Had the beginning dvd as a kid First 3 storys

[@gityman]

When I was abour 16 or 17 years old in 1977 or '78 (I forget exactly) I lived near Pinewood studios and used to go fishing at Black Park lake which was right next door to the studios and resembles a Transylvanian forest with it's pine trees (Why alot of the Hammer horror films were filmed there). I found a hole in the fence and decided to check out the Pinewood sets, and came across a large warehouse full of dusty old props. In the corner there was a light blue police box (not dark or royal blue though the paint might have faded with age). I only twigged it might have been the Tardis (or one of them) when nearby almost obscurred with rubbish and dust was a battered Dalek prop. I was a little confused as I was sure Doctor Who was filmed at a BBC studio and not Pinewood studios, one of the big British movie studios. To this day I don't know if I found & touched the original Tardis.

[@KiwiWasGone]

That would’ve been sick ngl

[@MrExplosion449]

This version of the first Doctor has always intrigued me, it’s always reminded me of the darker moments that later Doctors have, like 7 and 12. Hartnell really did have a great range

[@fredneecher1746]

Back in 1963 I had a massive crush on Susan! We see more of her here than in all the remaining episodes, so thanks for that. Old times!

[@paulbennett772]

Me too!

[@MichaelHickerson]

I saw An Unearthly Child early in my Whovian days -- my PBS station picked up the Lionheart package of the complete serials and ran them. Being new, I had no idea that I was seeing what a lot of fans hadn't seen since original airing in many cases. Years later, I picked up the Hartnell Years VHS that included this episode and was struck by the differences. I often wonder if Dr Who could have sustained itself with the Doctor being this prickly.

[@fredwood1490]

There have been a number of characters who started off as angry, even as jerks, who, over the first season , slowly overcame their demons and mellowed out. There was even one, Doctor Smith of Lost in space who became worse as the series went on. Watching them grow and change is a part of the beauty of some of these old series, making those characters relatable and the old Doctor had a lot to be angry about. That anger did remain, submerged, in the character all along.

[@billyandrew]

Yeah, aliens are like that, I suspect, easily irritated by our constant human stupidity and unaccepting of our etiquette. 😉😂😂

[@ThanhTriet600]

The Doctor was presented as the antagonist for the first three stories, and then he's a whiny baby in Marco Polo before mellowing out into the good character we know and love. It took them a while to decide what they wanted to do with him. It's crazy to see the Doctor in "The Daleks". The reason the TARDIS team is even in danger is that the Doctor lied to them for selfish reasons, and then he later wanted to just ditch Barbara after she got captured. He wanted to ditch the Thals later and let them all get exterminated but couldn't because the Daleks stole his mcguffin.

[@monty2005]

The Tardis console has a different layout of controls in this version and the prop was painted white instead of green, leading to flare from the prop and it’s subsequent green paint job. The console was left green in its appearance ms in season 7 and subsequently remained green in various iterations until Tom Baker’s earlier episodes (Planet of Evil and Pyramids of Mars).

[@billyandrew]

Props to you! 👏👏👏😉😂

[@Mistersandyrobertson]

The amount UK tv wiped is shocking. The bulk of the wonderful Mystery & Imagination series, which I enjoyed back in the day, featuring stories by the likes of M.R.James and performances by actors of the calibre of Jeremy Brett, ditched so that tape could be reused. Aiee!

[@golden.lights.twinkle2329]

"The Tractate Middoth" episode was epic!

[@Mistersandyrobertson]

@@golden.lights.twinkle2329 I remember seeing it, and a paperback tie-in had the image of the spider crawling down the corpse's face on the cover. Some guy uploaded soundtracks of episodes on You Tube using the name from the story, Library of Late John Rant. That episode audio is there with that book shown in the header.

[@thelastmotel]

Have you ever read the Target novelisation of "Dr Who and The Daleks" (the second Hartnell story)? It uses an alternate "origin" as its opener, with Barbara and Ian not knowing Susan, and just stumbling in to the TARDIS, the way Tom did in the feature adaptation of Daleks' Invasions Earth 2150AD. There are a lot of explanations, them being given a "white Mars bar that tastes exactly like bacon and eggs" for a meal, and Ian taking a steam and oil shower in the TARDIS' bathroom. The rumour back in the day was the novelisation having such a radically different start, and totally replacing Unearthly Child, was because they'd used abandoned script ideas from early drafts of Unearthly. It has a lot in common with both of the Cushing films, and lends credence to the rumours that the Cushing film scripts were based on abandoned DW episode scripts.

[@billyandrew]

I can well believe it.

[@NieR.Amanda]

I'm really glad for the opportunity to see and contrast this version, to get an idea of just how far they were willing to go with the characters of the Doctor and Susan in their attempts to portray them as unearthly and alien to a 1960s audience.

[@billyandrew]

Which is why I preferred William's initial portrayal of a cantankerous Dr, an alien less inclined to observe human etiquette, a being that didn't suffer fools gladly.

[@Yesica1993]

This was fascinating! I'm an American New Who convert. I've only started watching the Classic eps via Britbox in the last couple of years. I've had to learn the history in bits and pieces, and all out of order. (I suppose that's fitting. Timey-wimey, and all that!) Susan was so annoying at times. (Nothing against the actress, just the character.) But I do wish her "alien-ness" had been played up more. As I a pilot, I found both her and the Doctor fascinating. I don't think it was a bad pilot at all! When all is said and done, the main purpose of a pilot is to make people want to see more. I know I can't fully erase all I know and watch this like someone seeing the show for the first time. But in making an effort to see it that way, I do think it succeeds in making you curious about these people and that crazy box!

[@billyandrew]

Personally, I didn't find anything to enthuse over, once Troughton left, until Eccleston, in the 2005 revival of the show, similarly with Tennant, his successor, but once he left the show left me cold, other than filling in the Arc and Cannon. Who knows, pardon the pun, maybe the next Dr will rekindle my enthusiasm.

[@Yesica1993]

@@billyandrew That's the good thing about the show. With the revolving cast, even the main character, people can choose. I know we're supposed to accept the new actor is still the same person/character. But despite whatever similarities are still present, in practicality, it's an entirely different person. It really was a brilliant idea!

[@MaryAnnNytowl]

Well done! I've seen other reviews/commentary on the first version of Unearthly Child before, but you covered a lot of bits that were skipped in this, that, or the other versions of commentary. You got them all in one video, rather than them skipping X in one video, Y in another video, and Z in a third video, etc., and that felt quite satisfying! Thanks. ❤️❤️

[@jackieking1522]

My parents thought I was frightened by the stories when I hid behind the settee but actually I couldn't bare to watch Susan, object of vast desire. Damnit, she still is.

[@billyandrew]

BIG RESPECT! 👏👏👏👍😂😂😂

[@tompearce5418]

Cannot believe she virtually disappeared from the later series. Even the Time Lords weren't interested in her welfare at the Doctor's trial. The Second, Third and Fifth Doctors pretty much ignored her during the Five Doctors.

[@ADJackD]

@@tompearce5418 thankfully eight remembered

[@SammEater]

Susan is really cute.

[@thomasgary1219]

I absolutely couldn't believe how Susan was treated in the Five Doctors. When the first Doctor introduces Susan to the fifth, his reaction was a very cold hearted " I know" . Two and Three did not even speak to her in the grand finale at the end. As for me, I was 13 when An unearthly child made first appeared and I was immediately smitten. Susan Foreman was the inspiration for my first adult dream. I loved her then and I still do today.

[@susantoker7254]

It is great that this still exist. Plays have test runs and shows need them too. Getting good Science Fiction and Fantasy shows were always challenging to get made (except maybe in this recent era). Thank goodness Verity fought for Dr Who!

[@MoviesWithMarty]

Absolutely loved this! Thank you so much. I saw the unaired episode a little while ago and loved all the little fluffs. I actually liked some of the things they removed, like the Rorschach test, the line Susan says about the fog being mysterious which seemed to be taken different in the aired episode. Then there's the eerie, alien-like mystery of Susan that was great, but they then changed that. PLus, seeing the interior of the Tardis through the gap in the door is a wonderful detail that helps make the move from exterior to interior so much more seamless, but they again decided to not do that for the aired version. I did much prefer the fog being shown too, as it adds to the mystery of the episode. Although one of the things I am glad they changed was the Doctor's attitude and demeanour, becoming much more playful in the aired episode. Thanks again! P.S. Having not seen An Adventure In Space and Time yet and having only seen a few episodes of Classic Who, it blows my mind that Sacha Dhawan plays Hussein in Space and Time! I know actors have played multiple roles in DW, but I didn't know this one!

[@iandrake8202]

What a treat that was! Thank you for streaming this❤

[@omega311888]

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR POSTING THIS! I love learning all the "unknowns"!

[@MickeyMouse-ul2zs]

I remember the first series back in '63 (I was an eight year old then) and it was brilliant. Scary, dramatic and so "space age". The theme music was absolutely perfect too.

[@billyandrew]

My most favourite theme music ever and part of the reason why I joined the Beeb in the '70's, just to see the sheds where' Sounds' conducted their work. It's my call notification theme, unsurprisingly.

[@pandoranbias1622]

I kinda like the thunderclap version of the intro. It gives off more of a feeling like it's a rough time storm and less a calm flowing ocean. The revived series does this much better with the Tardis spinning and tumbling over itself as it travels through the time vortex.

[@mspeter97]

Seeing this is an amazing insight at how TV shows were filmed.

[@imwelshjesus]

Terrifying thing is I can bleeding well remember watching this episode. How the hell am I still alive?

[@billyandrew]

You and me both. Never thought, back then, I'd live so long. 🤪😂😂

[@rjmcallister1888]

The 'pilot' for "100,000 BC" was shot on videotape in October, 1963. It's fully available on the "The Beginning" DVD set. Director Waris Hussein and producer Verity Lambert, along Sydney Newman, agreed there were major problems with performances and especially the technical execution of it. Reshoots were rare at the BBC, but all agreed this one needed it.

[@robertmontague1216]

Actually except for the rare location shoots during the B/W era and film inserts used when the actors were on a 'holiday' during actual main recordings, the series was always shot on video. The holidays themselves were caused by BBCs constant recording schedules and I'm supposing Equity 's union rules and hence why the B/W era has a lot of episodes were some of the main characters are temporary written out of the action, indeed in Mission To The Unknown, all the main cast were on Holiday and the story starred Edward de Souza and Barry Jackson

[@CrossoverKid92]

I dunno about anyone else, but I quite like the thunderclap in the pilot theme - granted it might seem a bit tame compared to what we get in the opening credits these days....

[@benmiller3252]

I'm wondering if the unaired pilot and An Adventure In Space and Time will be included on a Season 1 blu ray set

[@MrTARDIS]

It 100% will. It's on the DVD release of the first 3 serials.

[@benmiller3252]

@@MrTARDIS I do have a feeling that Season 1 might be the next collection set after season 2

[@calumbishop7082]

@@benmiller3252 Probably not, Season 1 does have a semi-continuous narrative early on, connecting the first 4 serials together, Including Marco Polo which is completely lost. They could get away with releasing the Season 2 boxset as only two episodes from The Crusade was missing, they could even arguably get away with releasing a Season 6 boxset as the only story with unanimated missing episodes is the relatively unpopular 'The Space Pirates' (widely regarded as Troughton's worst story). The other first and second doctor seasons are just missing too much key stuff. Season 3 is missing most of its episodes. Season 4 is still missing/has unanimated, The Highlanders, which introduces fan favorite companion Jamie. And Season 5 is still missing/has unanimated The Wheel in Space, a Cyberman story which also introduces a new companion.

[@jinnbuster4753]

I remember running home to watch this in 1963 when I was 15. I was too enthralled to notice any fluff. I fell in love with Carole Anne, I was that age. Police boxes were everywhere in those days.

[@billyandrew]

Still are a few in Glasgow City centre, used to sell coffee or CBD oils.

[@Gentleman_Songster]

Wow, this takes me back! I was 12 when Dr Who first went out, and I was delighted when the first episode was repeated with the second back-to-back the following Saturday. I was intrigued by the idea of the TARDIS being bigger on the inside, but it didn't seem unreasonable in a machine that could travel through space and time -- something to do with that 'relative dimension in space' no doubt! But I could never get my head around the notion that the doors could be WIDER inside than out.

[@naradaian]

Yes I recall that repeated broadcast…interesting we are so imprinted with it. Do you remember A for Andromeda

[@Gentleman_Songster]

@@naradaian I remember it indeed -- though I can't remember how it ended. It's an idea that would work well today, with plausible modern tech.

[@Gentleman_Songster]

In fact I find it WAS remade in 2006! The original script was written by Fred Hoyle, who was a rather better writer than he was a physicist, IMO.

[@AllensTrains]

I saw the first episode of Doctor Who as a small boy. I was immediately transfixed and became and avid Who watcher every Saturday night! I notice in the unaired pilot that the TARDIS doors open outwards into the police box prop, but they open inwards into the TARDIS interior. A difficulty for subsequent Doctor Who set designers is how to handle the transition from the police box prop to the TARDIS interior. But we see here that the original police box prop was larger to allow the interior doors to open into the police box which obviates this problem! Thanks for uploading.

[@truekaliban4674]

Nice glimpse into history. Thank you very much. It's a damned shame that it took us so long to begin appreciating our own popular culture. So much has been callously thrown away. I spent part of my childhood in the town of Hayward, California. It's high school was once voted the most beautiful one in the entire United States. It was torn down after standing for less than forty years, to put up a grocery store.

[@billyandrew]

Progress, so we're told. Go figure...

[@THEFORBIDDENMAN-lk7of]

THANKS FOR SHOWING I REMEMBER THE 1ST BROADCAST I WONDERED IF THEIR WAS A CLIP / STORY BOARD - BUT TO FIND THEY DID A PILOT WAS GREAT TO SEE CONSIDERING IT WAS LOST/ MISS LABELED HOW LUCKY WAS THAT.

[@octaviusfooks7194]

Well, I'm glad that a pilot episode was made, I mean, imagine it as a dress rehearsal. There are always bound to be mistakes in order to iron them out before the broadcast version on 23rd November 1963

[@andrewbowman4611]

I doubt the pilot was initially conceived as a proof of concept, as that would have been prohibitively expensive at the time. To all intents and purposes, this episode was produced with broadcast in mind. It was only the fact that it was such a disaster that Sydney Newman allowed for a reshoot, presumably having convinced his bosses it was worth doing. In fact, the term 'pilot' would have been unheard of, as most other shows' first episodes went out regardless of quality. It was a different situation in America, in particular the Star Trek pilot The Cage. In that instance, however, money was already available should a remount be necessary. It's certainly true that the BBC couldn't have justified wasting licence fee payers' money on producing streams of unbroadcastable experiments. It's the same financial reason why so many TV shows of the 50s, 60s, 70s, even 80s, were wiped. Think of the public outcry if they found out the BBC were wasting money buying new tapes when there were perfectly serviceable ones lying around collecting dust.

[@STho205]

If you look at contemporaries to this in the US TV...even from the late 50s this was incredibly primitive studio work by 1963. This was soap opera fast playhouse studio almost akin to community theater. The pilot of Twilight Zone was a Desilu Theater presentation of The Time Element in the late 50s for a series that began weekleys in Sept of 59...low budget but it was far beyond this technically. For 2100£ in 63, nobody expects the sweeping cenemographic technicolor pilot to Bonanza in the mid 1950s or ABC/Disney Davy Crockett in 1955....but comparisons to Twilight Zone and Lost In Space pilots are fair for the 1959 to 1963 era. The early episodes of The Avengers by UK ABC (pre ITC) were just as rough and clunky as this. Truly quaint. Wow 2100£...just wow.

[@paulhayes5724]

The term pilot certainly wasn't unheard of - indeed, in one of the documents from the time held at the BBC Written Archives Centre in Caversham, Joanna Spicer even refers to the costs of the episode being covered by the "pilot fund". The hope was that the first produced version of the episode would be transmittable, but the intention had always been that it could be remade if not. It's correct to say though that the pilot wasn't what the series would stand or fall on - there were always going to be other episodes afterwards. In theory 52 in total, although at one point when Baverstock got cold feet it could have been as few as four altogether.

[@paulhayes5724]

@@STho205 It was pretty much impossible for any UK broadcaster to make single-camera film shows at the time without US investment, mainly because Equity regulations insisted on full feature-film rates of pay for their members for any such productions. Hence why UK TV drama remained predominantly multi-camera VT based for decades longer than in the US, although there were various other reasons for this too of course.

[@STho205]

@@paulhayes5724 that's a good point. BTW did that explain the telephones too....especially the miserable and enraging pay phones of the era.

[@johndonaldson3619]

What a marvelous piece of historical storytelling....thank you

[@NoosaHeads]

People often think it was Delia Derbyshire who composed the Doctor Who theme. In fact it was the prolific Australian composer Ron Grainer (who also composed the theme music for The Prisoner - 1967). Derbyshire did change the arrangement considerably, however and Ron Grainer, apparently, was delighted with her work.

[@petergarlick8251]

Agreed I was on stage with him at adel university when he was awarded his phd great humbling moment for him and for all of us

[@flyingspirit3549]

Thanks so much for making this available!

[@benedictwolf]

Thank you for providing the last piece piece of the puzzle! Back in the early 90s they broadcast this episode on its own and I didn’t immediately know what a Pilot was. Then I spent years wondering how they could have started Doctor Who An Unearthly Child at episode 2. It just made no sense to me. It’s niggled at the back of my mind ever since. Thanks to you I now finally realise I misunderstood their meaning of “Unaired Pilot; taking it far too literally! I was unaware it was replaced by an actual aired pilot!!! Now maybe I’ll get some sleep at night at last!! 😩🤣😩 PS I love the thunderclaps in the opening titles! 😏

[@dennisdevito2829]

I like Hartnell’s performance in the original pilot

[@HalRappaport]

This was great!! Thank you for making this review!!

[@stevem.1853]

I've heard that pilot episodes were not a common practice at the time and it was only Sydney Newman's faith in the show that allowed them to shoot it again. Also Newman had ruffled a lot of feathers at the BBC with the changes he made, and many people were making things difficult for the production team as Dr Who was his pet project...

[@michaelcarpenter2498]

Yeah. From what I recall, it was not a test but the actual first episode. Sydney took them out to lunch and told them to "Do it again."

[@LadyMaelBethad]

No-one made pilots and a lot of drama was still live in 1963.

[@bostonblackie9503]

I think originally they were called audition shows!

[@michaelcarpenter2498]

@@bostonblackie9503 no. At that point their were no pilots that would not be aired. The cost alone would see to that.

[@madlenellul3430]

@@LadyMaelBethadNo there were many pilots made for T.V. shows in the 50’s - 60’s. I could give you tons of examples but my two favourites are Boots & Saddles, ( piloted as Without Incident in Playhouse 90 and as Cavalry Patrol ) and, of course, Star Trek with its Pilot - Menagerie . It’s just common practice. Incidentally that was an excellent podcast. Born in 46’ I still remember the first episode that hooked me from the very start. Yes it was amateurish but it was so different to what had come before. Over the years it matured turning to amazing colour. Then the hiatus till the turn of this century and New Who with Chris, David, Matt and Peter. What came after was an abomination written by a quack trying to rewrite the doctors past history. However I’m encouraged that with David’s return Dr.Who will finally return to Hartnells legacy. Let’s hope for all Who fans it’s a HAPPY NEW YEAR…👵🇦🇺🇺🇸

[@anhedonianepiphany5588]

From episodes that have vanished which we dearly wish were still available, to entires seasons - and actual “Doctors” - which we wish would disappear entirely, it’s been a fascinating evolution.

[@billyandrew]

👏👏👏👍😂😂😂

[@golden.lights.twinkle2329]

I actually remember when there were police boxes in the streets. I even remember seeing police entering and exiting them. I watched Doctor Who from the very first episode and was then completely hooked. The best Doctor was William Hartnell and the best companion was Wendy Padbury as Zoe.

[@billyandrew]

There still are police boxes in the street, at least in Glasgow, although they're now used to sell coffee or CBD oils.

[@dennisanderson3895]

TY for a very interesting look at the natal development of such an iconic character! It sounds like U.S. program(me) development gets a little more extravagant - but the manageable chaos and the duct-tape-and-spunk knew what it was doing. I like the mellowing of the Doctor's attitude between pilot and broadcast: It took him from having a less likeable mean streak to being firm but also warm. It didn't get to discover the Doctor until the mid-70s when the PBS station in Des Moines was airing it and I first saw Pertwee in the role. The character and show had a beginning that may have been tense behind the scenes but also, I'm sure, charm and fun.

[@marienbad2]

Fantastic video, I never knew about this at all! Thanks for the recommendation!

[@professorakiba434]

I am surprised you failed to mention the Doctor's motivation for kidnapping the teachers. In the broadcast version he dematerializes the TARDIS because Susan threatens to leave him with the teachers. But in the pilot Hartnell's Doctor clearly is concerned about allowing the teachers to remain in 1963. He sees their knowledge of the TARDIS as a threat to history since they will re-enter the junkyard with the notion that "all this might be possible." I often think that Hartnell's delivery of those lines are some of his best acting in the series and also some of the better written lines in the script though the pilot never aired in his lifetime.

[@LordOfLight]

I remember watching this when it first aired in 1963. I was hooked; and when the Daleks came along weeks later they scared the 💩out of me. I was 10 years old.

[@billyandrew]

@Heart Of Darkness I remember telling the cops some of my neighbours were cavemen. I found a load of sheep and pig skulls in some rubbish bins, (long story. 😂) following the _Cave of Skulls_ episode. The cops were none too pleased with me wasting their time. 😂😂😂

[@MetalJesus157]

13:59 the first ever Michael Bay shot

[@rbdogwood]

Quite a development over the years. Strange to go back and see the early programs again, but that's time travel for you even if it's just in my head. The broadcast images are just as I remember, probably sharper as ours was a fairly rubbish TV.

[@billyandrew]

Blame that timey-wimey thing.

[@PupRiku]

I grew up watching old episodes on VHS, recently I've started right from the start and watched all of the complete serials up to Tom Baker. I always liked Hartnell but it's AMAZING to see how different he can play the character, I'm glad they didn't go with the angry Doctor. He really started off the entire series well.

[@stewartmckay9830]

I saw the very 1st few doctor who's it was terrifying as a very young child. It actually was close to the bone just after war time. The chant of exterminate exterminate exterminate exterminate, Totally freaked me out. It truly was a modern horror.

[@billyandrew]

*"Doc-tor!"* Hearing that word, when Eccleston revived the character, in 2005, cast me back and sent shivers down my spine, making me five years old, again!

[@QPRTokyo]

I remember watching the first episode after seeing teasers or what ever you wish to call them. I met the original Doctor in Mayfield, Sussex. To be honest I found the character scary at times. I was never afraid of the Darleks. Oh,and I got William’s autograph.

[@billyandrew]

He and Patrick play the character so well, a humanoid, benign to humankind, but less inclined to adapt to etiquette, therefore never suffering fools gladly and always that dangerous spark to them, that alien aspect, whereby you could never be totally at ease...unpredictable, basically. Only Eccleston and Tennant have ever given off the same vibe in their performances, I feel. Plus Hurt in his couple of performances, as the War Doctor, naturally.

[@BrianSmith-lj6ug]

Both versions are good but I really like the more sterner Doctor in the Pilot.

[@matthwe3468]

The death of JFK was also another bullet Doctor Who had to dodge. Fortunately Syd agreed to a repeat.

[@Joanna-il2ur]

I remember that well. JFK was killed three days before broadcast, so nobody watched it. The second time we were staying with my grandparents and my parents has a row with them so my sister and I could watch it. It also killed Bob Dylan’s third album, The Times They Are a-Changing, due to be released the Friday after JFK was killed on the Wednesday. Columbia panicked and delayed it to early 1964.

[@matthwe3468]

@@Joanna-il2ur JFK died the day before broadcast.

[@DavidSmith-cx8dg]

An amazing survival and interesting to see the subtle differences . It was on twice because of JFK. and I remember waiting in anticipation for the next part . William Hartnell's character seemed a bit mysterious and not entirely trustworthy in the early episodes . For a nine year old live action science fiction was new and amazing .Quatermass and other shows like the Outer limits were too late and Dr Who was essential viewing . The time slot was just right before parents took over the tv .

[@Williamottelucas]

Then we're the same age (65) unless the show was screened more than a year or two later in New Zealand. It was on along with Johnny Quest, Lost in Space and Voyage to the bottom of the sea and Time Tunnel. We only had one channel in those days, and during the weekdays broadcast was from 5 pm until 9 pm, extended to a 2 pm start on the weekend.

[@ritahill5235]

Yes, I remember when they broadcast episode 1 again after JFK died. I wasn't expecting that at all and thought I was going loopy (10 years old at the time). Also disappointed when a few years on I went to see the movie, and it was Peter Cushing as the Doctor, not William Hartnell.

[@Stroheim333]

Carole Ann Ford as Susan is lovely.

[@mrwho995]

Really interesting video. Great job!

[@richardruff8712]

I saw the first episode, ( the day after the Kennedy shooting )... Most people didn't buy the Radio Times, so we didn't know what it was all about... I think the Newspapers just mentioned " a new series " starring William Hartnell... Due to the events in Dallas, we all assumed it would be some kind of Medical Report about the state of JFK... Only for us all to be stunned by watching the old man and the others, taking off in the TARDIS... I remember the scene, at 14:25, where the TV screen on the wall, shows the TARDIS apparently rising away from London.. ( similar to a camera on a modern space rocket as it leaves the launch pad )... I think this really showed that they were actually leaving Earth !... I always preferred the classic interior of the TARDIS, 1960's style, and the original control console... IMO, so much better than the more modern versions...

[@ians.rickard2564]

Thanks. Sydney Newman was genius at his job. I tend to believe that one day, what is imagined in Science fiction, one way or another, at some time in the future will come true. In the 1960s we would never have believed small handheld wireless videophone could be ubiquitous, or 3D virtual info-graphics would be used with paper or a screen. Now, we can walk on a treadmill wearing a virtual headset exploring & interacting with vast spaces, in detail. So one day... if humanity survives & continues to discover & design progressively, technically, might we have a real experience of vast space on the inside of, on the outside, an observably small vessel? As for their being Time Lords.. well of course!

[@billyandrew]

@Ian S. Rickard Time Lords travel using just their minds, but, back in the early '60's and still struggling to journey to the moon, it was felt too difficult a concept for the public to accept, so the TARDIS was mooted, then put forward, as more acceptable means of interstellar/interdimensional travel. 😉😂😂

[@SegaNintendoGuy64]

Hartnell-Cember Continues, Thank goodness that the show continue on from that point, Personally from my point of view I prefer the broadcast version better than the pilot.

[@costelinha1867]

Oh my god that original pilot TARDIS dematerialization sound effect is annoying as hell, thank god they replaced it.

[@sg-zd8eb]

A copy of the pilot was transmitted on August bank holiday in 1991 as part of a commemoration of Lime Grove studios closure.

[@spluff5]

So that's why an Unearthly Child was so good. It's the only episode where they had a chance to practice.

[@frankshailes3205]

One episode of the first Dalek serial also had to be remade, part way into the run of making the others, because of it being unusable due to studio audio talkback on the recording.

[@Monty-in-gumboots]

Haha - Friday 13th September 1963 - the day I was born. But no, I'm not a Time Lord. Tis nice to know though of some of the small things that started in the world at the time and still continue today. - Long live Doctor Who.

[@kevindooley3881]

Thank you so much for this insight into the beginning of The Doctor.

[@D_Rogers]

Trippy... :) We almost lived in a timeline where the Doctor dresses like a banker, the TARDIS bleeps when it dematerializes and Susan named the TARDIS on a youthful whim!

[@jonathanbrown4465]

I remember watching the first broadcast in 1963 (I was 11). We never noticed mistakes so much back then. I suppose tv did not run as smoothly as it does these days.

[@richardruff8712]

I saw the first episode, ( the day after the Kennedy shooting )... Most people didn't buy the Radio Times, so we didn't know what it was all about... I think the Newspapers just mentioned " a new series " starring William Hartnell.. Due to the events in Dallas, we all assumed it would be some kind of Medical Report about the state of JFK... Only for us all to be stunned by watching the old man and the others, taking off in the TARDIS... I can especially remember the scene, where, at the end of the episode, the shadow of the stone-age man falls on the TARDIS... We had never seen anything like that before !!!

[@robertmontague1216]

Have it, comes with the 3 disc DVD that features the first three serials

[@cannedmusic]

Too bad they scratched the hexagon part, it could have been used as an item that tied it to Torchwood. The center portion of the inkblot does sort of resemble either a weevil or an ood.

[@tonyleyden2066]

In this unaired pilot is there a dvd to show how doctor who changed the setting of doctor who in general and it would make a worthy addition to all doctor who dvds

[@allenshepard7992]

I'm so glad you found all the footage. Video tape would not exist for another decade. Hope you check out the American TV show "Captain Z ro" from 1955. He had a secret moon base with a chamber for moving in space and time. Not as good as the TARDIS, but interesting. They focused on the tech while the Dr. used tech as if it were common place.

[@billyandrew]

Video did exist, back then, believe it or not, which is why so many tapes were entirely wiped or taped over, which is part of the problem. Rather than purchase new tapes the Beeb foolishly destroyed archives of programmes.

[@stevenc.6502]

I've seen that episode. Was there ever any explanation of how Susan was the Doctor's granddaughter?

[@billyandrew]

Born in the 49th Century, I think we can assume he had some dalliance with a lady, Susan being their granddaughter, or maybe a title of convenience, as it might, back in the '60's, have been frowned upon for an elderly man and a schoolgirl to be seen travelling together anywhere, let alone through time.

[@tompearce5418]

Presumably at some point he got a woman pregnant.

[@Nastyswimmer]

0:43 - alternative, not alternate. It's a British show so let's not slip into Americanisms

[@brendannahor1460]

The unaired pilot was transmitted in the 1990's during a "Doctor Who" Night on the UK channel BBC2! Mind the doors! And they were from the 45 Century which later was changed to "Wonderer in the 4 & 5 dimensions of Time and Space"! 🤔

[@robalexander8065]

I think the memory is cheating. Actually it was transmitted in the afternoon on August Bank Holiday Monday 1991 as part of The Lime Grove Story. Doctor Who Night was aired on Saturday 13 November 1999 and featured part 7 of The Daleks and the McGann TVM. The Doctor and Susan were originally from the 49th Century.

[@brendannahor1460]

@@robalexander8065 Probably! If you can remember the very first transmission of The Brain Of Morbius; like me, then memory problems can occur! 🤔

[@robalexander8065]

@@brendannahor1460 Fair enough, tbh BBC2 had so many theme nights over the years it is easy to lose track and yes I do recall watching The Brain of Morbius on first transmission. I do find it interesting what the younger fans like Mr T. make of Classic Who.

[@brendannahor1460]

@@robalexander8065 Alot of them think it started in 2005 not 1963! It's been on constantly ever since! They have no idea that it was cancelled twice in the 1980's and that the 1990's had 1 episode in 1996! We had to wait around for bloody ages for it to come back!

[@robalexander8065]

@@brendannahor1460 I admire RTD trying to reduce the gaps between series but those we have seen recently are as nothing to the Wilderness Years or even the 1985/6 hiatus.

[@pious83]

It reminds me of the pilot episode of Babylon 5. A lot of the aesthetic was close, but not quite there yet.

[@johndavis6119]

Just found your channel. I love Doctor Who! This video was fascinating.

[@samcadwallader2899]

I went to a screening of this at a cinema in the 1980's. I preferred the Doctor as an even grumpier old sod.

[@johnclapperton8211]

I remember the first broadcast episode, introduced by the continuity announcer as in "...a day in an ordinary comprehensive school", in which one girl disagrees with the teacher, that there are not just four dimensions, but five. "And what is the fifth?" "Space" says she. I remember thinking, alright, so what are the first three?

[@Tonystarkes888]

both versions are awesome, man this dude can act.

[@billyandrew]

Could. William died in '75, fairly young, aged 66 or 67, to the best of my memory.

[@MuchWhittering]

Fun fact, if you press "Play All" on the Unearthly Child DVD, for some unknown reason, this plays first. Because for some reason they made this "episode 1", instead of a bonus feature. Which means this was the first version of the first episode I saw.

[@kingbertie]

Was 6:09 kept in the aired version ?

[@sandyfaye13]

That was very interesting. My dad was the first Dalek in the series.

[@MarcelNL]

That grumpy version was much more like David Bradley. It almost felt unnatural to see him acting a bit lighthearted and with a smile.

[@Bob-h3n]

7:59 That's frickin awesome. Why remove that?

[@liamconnelly7888]

Is there any update on any of the missing episodes - any been found recently ?

[@davidmyers2912]

Great job, as always!

[@EsotericArctos]

Unaired Television Pilots were quite rare in the early days of Television, including in the 1960's. They usually got a go or no from the first episode, and if it was a go, that first episode became the first aired. These days pilots that are never aired are definitely a lot more common. Personally I enjoyed the slightly darker version of the Doctor in the "pilot" but I can understand, being a "childrens show" that they had to soften him somewhat.

[@shakes1026]

And to think, the next series is said to have a 10 million dollar/pound (I don't know, Disney is an American company) budget per episode

[@Rob_eight10media]

those old camera pedestals weighed a ton surprising they got any steady movements at all..

[@matthewbolitho-jones]

I like An Unearthly Child

[@iandaniel2153]

Shoot! these actors were good ... thank you for pulling this together. Would only add that @6:05 Hartnell does something which by today's standards would appear to be a bit creepy by placing his right hand to the left side of Susan's breast.

[@kevinmorris3200]

I like how they changed the way Susan explains the Tardis because she looked and sounded too wise, confident, and old in the pilot. The broadcast version correctly portrays what she is which is a scared young 15 year old who just got caught.

[@billyandrew]

There's no way of knowing how old Susan truly was. Born in the 49th Century, has she aged, travelling back to the '60s? We know the results from atomic clocks, proving that time moves faster for the clock on earth than the one on a simple aeroplane, never mind the TARDIS, but how about travelling back in time...does that work on the same principle?

[@tompearce5418]

If she really was 15 and ages normally then the Doctor must have left Gallifrey less than two years before Ian and Barbara wandered into the TARDIS.

[@burningflag3679]

I've heard about this being found. But never bothered to go digging for it. This right here is some damn good work. Can't lie i like the angry Doctor. Yep its a great preformance more than that i just like it, a lot. But yeah that portrayal would have made Doctor Who a very different show.

[@hc3932]

Grumpy William Harnell is to my likening! When the original aired it created so much interest that it was rerun the following week.