Review: Doctor Who - 002 - Season 01 Episode 02 - "The Daleks"

If one episode can be pointed out as the single source of success of Doctor Who that is most certainly "The Daleks".
The second story is composed of seven twenty-five minute long episodes that ran from December 21, 1963 to February 1, 1964.
In "The Daleks" the four characters directly follow the happenings of "An Unearthly Child" by landing on a strange planet with a petrified forest. Quite soon our four friends will find out that outside of the forest lies a mysterious city, "Dalek City".

It's a foggy day in Dalek City.

At the sight of the city, the Doctor can't resist his curiosity and after a strong argument with his companion he will trick them into following him in his trip to the city. Unknown to all of them, the TARDIS radiation meter went out of the scale.
They will find that the city is strange and highly technological, meaning that whatever lives (or lived) there was a very advanced civilization.
At one point, Barbara Wright while wondering in the city will end up divided from the main group and trapped inside a building and cause one of the best cliffhangers in Doctor Who history. A strange arm from a weird eye will get close to a scared Barbara. At the end of part one, the first piece of a Dalek, the number one enemy of the Doctor, the menace of the universe, and one of the most famous creations in science fiction, will be introduced to the world.

First glimpse of a Dalek, just a few days before Christmas. Curiously enough it's from its perspective.

In the following parts it will be found out that a big war between the Daleks and the Thals caused mutations to the living beings of Skaro. The Doctor and his friends will have to escape the Dalek's fury and the Thals' reluctance to act agains the Daleks.

On the right, the first Dalek ever seen in its beauty.

I obviously liked this episode. It is a perfect example of early science fiction that crosses any boundary and pushes the limits. The Daleks are mean, evil, they don't have mercy. I can't imagine how many nightmares the kids had after watching "The Daleks". Even my kids, in the XXI  century, enjoyed the show without complaining about the inevitably slow timings and long conversations.

If you've never seen it, then provide as soon as possible. 

We should all thank the First Doctor for this.

Review: Doctor Who - 001 - Season 01 Episode 01 - "An Unearthly Child"

Dallas, November, 22nd 1963. On this beautiful day a dark car is slowly moving on Elm Street. Next to the asphalted road some people are cheering on the grass. They are still unaware that in a split second, the world is going to change. The curious onlookers will witness the explosion of J.F. Kennedy's brain and Jackie's instinctive reaction. The news quickly spread around the world fueling fears of an incoming nuclear war.

United Kingdom, November 23rd 1963. With the event of the previous day in their mind, at 5:15PM local time, with a delay of about eighty seconds on the program, four million British began watching something new, unaware that science fiction and television history was going to change forever.
A strange, eerie music sounded from their now rudimental television set. A new show titled "Doctor Who" just started. The episode had no title, although we know it as "An unearthly child" or "100.000BC".

Doctor Who's first episode is divided in four parts and was broadcasted from 11/23/1963 to 12/14/1963 and is obviously in black and white. At the time the show did not really impress, and many critics called for its demise. Apparently BBC even canceled the show after the first part was aired and planned to stop any other episode to be filmed. Watching it fifty years later I can say that I am not surprised that it was difficult to understand. The First Doctor, played by an amazing William Hartnell tries to be mysterious and his grand-daughter Susan Foreman (Carole Ann Ford) is there to make the Doctor even more so.

Doctor... who?

The first few minutes of the show are actually about her interactions with other people that can't understand her, rather than space and time travel. She is young and goes to high school but at the same time she has a great knowledge about many topics. Susan actually tries to correct her teachers (Barbara and Ian Chesterton) which will later on become companions. Other kids make fun of her because she acts weird.

The junkyard

One night the two teachers decide to follow Susan and then they will meet the Doctor. This is also the first time the viewers see the Doctor. I will not spoil it, but somehow they get into the TARDIS (it's bigger on the inside!) and the Doctor will make it fly through time and space. Arrived at their destination, puzzled Chesterton and Barbara find themselves in the stone age (of Earth or a different planet). Here, the Doctor and his companion will end up tangled in the power struggle of two cavemen that want to be tribal leaders (Za and Kal) and desperately need fire to show their might.

For today’s viewers the episode might seem a bit simplistic. From the beginning of the second part, the original intention of the show is quite evident. Doctor Who was supposed to be a learning experience about history and science and this episode is focused on the importance of fire and the social issues of uncivilized societies. I am left wondering if at the time the behavior of Za and Kal was seen as an allegory to the Cold War.
In my opinion this episode is pretty good, although certainly not the best of the classic doctors. The show was newborn, the crew was unsure of the success of the show, and it was clearly a longshot.
However, “An Unearthly child” gives us what could be the most important line of Doctor Who ever, by the mouth of Ian:
BARBARA: Oh, look, I don't understand it any more than you do. The inside of the ship, suddenly finding ourselves here. Even some of the things Doctor Foreman says,
IAN: That's not his name. Who is he? Doctor who? Perhaps if we knew his name we might have a clue to all this.
Fifty years later we are still wondering if Ian was right.

More info: http://tardis.wikia.com/