S01E01.4: The Firemaker (1963)

Written by Anthony Coburn
Directed by Waris Hussein

First Doctor, William Hartnell

Companions: Susan Foreman, Ian Chesterton, Barbara Wright

Drinking game tally: 3

After being ambushed by Kal and his followers, the Doctor, Ian, Barbara, and Susan are taken back to the caveman camp along with the wounded Za. After some arguing in the ever-brutal caveman dialogue, the Doctor convinces the tribe that Kal was the one who killed the old woman, not Za, indicated by the blood on his knife. They convince the tribe to drive Kal away, but then Za imprisons them in the Cave of Skulls once again.

Hur tells Za how Ian and Barbara helped nurse him, but neither of them are able to grasp the concept of compassion. He also reflects on some wisdom that Ian gave him earlier:  “Kal is not stronger than the whole tribe.”

Back in the Cave of Skulls, Barbara and Susan help Ian make a fire.

Za enters the cave and watches them make the fire. He asks who the leader of their tribe is and Ian informs him it is the Doctor, concluding their squabbling over the position in part 3 of the story. Ian explains to Za that everyone should know how to make fire, and that the firemaker is the least important person in their tribe because everyone can do it.

Meanwhile, the tribe outside becomes impatient for the deaths of the Doctor, Ian, Barbara, and Susan, which were supposed to occur at dawn. Kal, too, has decided to sneak back and returns to the cave.

After a super-epic caveman brawl, Kal is dead [someone dies—drink!] and now (with the added bonus of fire) Za is the undisputed leader. He brings the fire on a torch out to the tribe, and declares himself leader.

He goes to the forest to hunt for meat, abandoning the Doctor and gang in the Cave of Skulls. When he returns, Za decides to never let them go.  Susan then gets the idea to put skulls on top of torches so it will look like they died and they can escape out the back of the cave.

The tribe was terrified at first, but soon realizes their trick and they all make torches to chase after them. Luckily it was too late and the Doctor, Ian, Barbara, and Susan make it safely back to the TARDIS. The TARDIS dematerializes just as the cavemen approach, astonishing their simple minds [TARDIS moves—drink!].

Barbara and Ian demand to be taken back to their own time, but the Doctor explains that it isn’t possible. The TARDIS lands, and the Doctor has no idea where they are. They decide to look around outside, but before they leave, the Doctor asks Susan to double check the radiation levels. She does, says they’re fine, and they all exit the TARDIS. As the episode comes to a close, we see the radiation dial shoot up [episode ends in a cliffhanger—drink!].

"An Unearthly Child" and it's following episodes that make up the serial will always have a special place in my heart because it’s the first ever serial of my favorite series ever. I love the cheesy effects and plot devices, which are a big part of what makes Classic!Doctor Who such a great show for me.

This episode in particular was a bit painful, though, primarily because of the cavemen. Their dialogue was broken and choppy, so much so that it was just irritating and didn’t add much to the story for me. I realize that they are cavemen so it needed to be simple, but I feel like it could have been at least less choppy.

Additionally, I don’t know how much I buy the cavemen not understanding friendship or compassion. In the first place, most animals exhibit both of those behaviors very regularly. Secondly, living in a communal setting (as human beings have always done) would make those traits both recognizable and valued.

It was also really interesting to look into the mindset of the 1960s. The gender roles were much more pronounced than you typically see these days (e.g. Barbara and Susan screaming, crying, acting hysterical, etc.), and age roles were as well, which I wasn’t expecting (the fighting between the Doctor and Ian, incarnating old vs. young).

Ian and Barbara’s utter disbelief of the Doctor and the TARDIS in the beginning was also something unexpected for the modern viewer. I wonder, though, if maybe that is more of a realistic reaction than the reactions of more modern companions. I think it probably depends a lot more on the individual than on the era they come from, in any case.