A Journey Of A Thousand Eons...: 3. The Forest of Fear (An Unearthly Child, Episode Three)

I am not sure who determined that the default length for a typical Doctor Who serial would be four episode or why.  I do know that right from the start, it’s obvious that one of the biggest--and kind of annoying--tropes was cemented right here in this third episode of the first serial.

This is the prototypical ‘Corridor Chase’ episode.  The bulk of this episode is concerned with our protaganists escaping from the Cave of Skulls, running through the titular forest of fear while enemies (in this case Za and Hur) are in pursuit, and are promptly captured.  There’s other stuff, and some of that stuff is interesting, but the gist of it is the equivalent of running in a circle.

The really interesting thing is how the dynamics of the original Tardis Crew are coming together.  A real tension develops between the Doctor and Ian, with the two sort of struggling over who takes command.  Although I was a little concerned that Barbara was going to be all ‘Girl School Screamer’ this go round, hugging Ian tightly and crying in terror, she ends up being something of the moral center, insisting that they help the injured Za when they could reach safety by fleeing.  And I’m increasingly becoming convinced that if this is a Shakespearean tragedy, then Althea Carlton is Lady MacBething the hell out of this.  I definitely get the impression that she is the smartest of her tribe, and is using those smarts to manipulate Za so she can have a position of power by proxy.  There’s one eyerolling moment of...jealousy?...between her and Susan, but I can forgive that.

The educational element is still there--we learn how to make a improvised stretcher from Ian--but in his way William Hartnell lets us know who’s in command of the show.  I find the way he develops the Doctor in these early episodes fascinating.  He’s continually adding new layers and nuance to his character, and I still don’t have any clear sense of who’s side he’s on.  Even something as standing off to the side stoically while Ian, Barbara and Susan are tending to Za tells us a little about who this Doctor is without letting us know if he’s friend or foe (and that sense will play extremely well in a serial we’re coming up on after this one and next wrap up).

This go around, I’m still not keen on this serial...even though I can see how it acts as a ‘mission statement’ for what the series was supposed to be.  It’s still significant, and should be viewed if only for that.