Classic Doctor Who Season 1 Episode 1 An Unearthly Child: An Unearthly Child

In the premiere episode of "Classic Doctor Who", titled "An Unearthly Child", we are introduced to the titular character, who goes by the name of the Doctor. The episode begins with two schoolteachers, Ian and Barbara, who are concerned about one of their students, Susan Foreman. Susan is a brilliant young woman who excels in certain subjects, but struggles with basic knowledge about the world around her. When Ian and Barbara decide to follow Susan home to speak with her guardian, they stumble upon a strange and seemingly abandoned junkyard with a blue police box in the center.

As they investigate the police box, they are shocked to find that it is much larger on the inside than it appears on the outside. They soon discover that it is not a police box at all, but rather a time and space traveling machine called the TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension In Space), and that Susan is not human at all, but rather a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. The Doctor, her grandfather, has been traveling through space and time with her, using the TARDIS to explore the universe and help those in need.

The Doctor is initially wary of Ian and Barbara, but ultimately agrees to take them along on his latest adventure, which takes them back to prehistoric times. There, they encounter a tribe of cavemen who are struggling to create fire. The Doctor and his companions are mistaken for members of a rival tribe and are subsequently captured. The Doctor is able to use his superior intellect to convince the cavemen that he and his companions are not a threat, and he teaches them how to make fire, effectively changing the course of human history.

Throughout the episode, we see glimpses of the Doctor's true character, as well as hints at his mysterious past. He is clearly a brilliant and knowledgeable man, but he is also alien in many ways, both in his demeanor and his physical characteristics. He is also somewhat cold and calculating, even at times cruel, as demonstrated by his willingness to leave Ian and Barbara stranded in the prehistoric era in order to protect the secrets of the TARDIS.

"An Unearthly Child" is not only a thrilling sci-fi adventure, but also a fascinating character study of one of the most iconic heroes in television history. It sets the stage for what would become a long-running and beloved franchise, introducing us to the concept of time travel, the TARDIS, and the very first incarnation of the Doctor.