An Unearthly Child

001 – An Unearthly Child
Doctor Who serial
Ian and Barbara moments after forcing their way into the TARDIS.
Cast
Doctor William Hartnell (First Doctor)
Companions Carole Ann Ford (Susan Foreman) Jacqueline Hill (Barbara Wright) William Russell (Ian Chesterton)
Others Derek Newark — Za Alethea Charlton — Hur Eileen Way — Old Mother Jeremy Young — Kal Howard Lang — Horg
Production
Directed by	Waris Hussein
Written by	Anthony Coburn C. E. Webber (episode 1, uncredited)
Script editor	David Whitaker
Produced by	Verity Lambert Mervyn Pinfield (associate producer)
Incidental music composer	Norman Kay
Production code	A
Series	Season 1
Length	4 episodes, 25 minutes each
Date started	23 November 1963
Date ended	14 December 1963
Chronology
← Preceded by Followed by → — The Daleks
List of Doctor Who serials

An Unearthly Child (sometimes referred to as 100,000 BC) is the first serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC TV in four weekly parts from 23 November to 14 December 1963. Scripted by the Australian writer Anthony Coburn, it introduces William Hartnell as the First Doctor and original companions; Carole Ann Ford as the Doctor's granddaughter Susan Foreman, with Jacqueline Hill and William Russell as school teachers Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton. The first episode deals with Ian and Barbara's discovery of the Doctor and his time-space ship TARDIS in a junkyard in contemporary London. The remaining episodes are set amid a power struggle between warring Stone Age factions who have lost the secret of making fire.

The first episode was recorded in September 1963 on 405-line black and white videotape. However, due to several technical and performance errors in the initial recording, creator Sydney Newman and producer Verity Lambert decided to rerecord the episode. A remount was made in October, when subtle revisions were made to the Doctor's characterization.

The launch of Doctor Who was overshadowed by the assassination of John F. Kennedy the previous day. The serial received favourable reviews and the four episodes attracted an average of 6 million viewers.

The first episode begins in a junkyard in contemporary London and introduces the four characters who were to form the main cast in the first year: the Doctor, schoolteachers Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright, who are concerned about one of their pupils at Coal Hill School named Susan Foreman, who seems to have a very alien outlook on England.