Literature Review
Doctor Who A Cave of Skulls originally aired November 30, 1963
When last we left Doctor Who, concerned teachers Ian (William Russell) and Barbara (Jacqueline Hill) barely had time to process the claims that their gifted student Susan (Carole Ann Ford) and her “grandfather” the Doctor (William Hartnell) were time-traveling aliens before the old man threw some switches and shanghaied them off into the time stream.
After a bumpy ride (by early Doctor Who standards), they recover and begin arguing about whether or not they’ve really time traveled or not, an argument that would be a lot briefer if the Doctor would just open the damn doors already.
In the midst of this, we are introduced in Doctor Who to a tribe of cave folk, specifically one chap who’s angling for the leadership role. His dad apparently knew how to make with the fire, but neglected to pass the secret on, leaving his poor offspring to frantically play with his bone with nary a spark to show for it. (On the upside, he doesn’t seem to be going blind.)
Once they step outside and find themselves not in London but in a bleak, paleolithic landscape, their disbelief becomes a moot point. While they’re picking up horse skulls and generally gaping in wonder, the Doctor wanders off to have a smoke.
Yes, the Doctor smokes a pipe now. Pipes are cool in Doctor Who. Unfortunately, the Doctor is soon dragged away by a caveman who saw the Time Lord come out of his “tree” and make fire with his fingers (his matches). So I guess there’s a good lesson for the little ones after all. Don’t smoke or you’ll be kidnapped by a caveman. Stay in school, kids.
The rest of the Doctor Who gang soon realizes the Doctor is AWOL and set off to find him, eventually getting captured as well. And that’s basically it as far as narrative progress for this episode. While the previous ep kept things rolling with the mysteries of who and what the Doctor and Susan are, the leisurely pacing here is a lot more noticeable. Mainly because half of the episode is spent watching cave people argue about who should be in charge. Indecision 10,000 BC.
We’re left with a Doctor Who cliffhanger that isn’t terribly cliffhang-y, with the TARDIS travelers held captive in a cave full of split-open skulls, thus proving that cave people don’t play when it comes to making fire come from your fingers
https://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/ent/scifi/doctor-day-unearthly-child-cave-skulls.html
Had it been revealed at the end of episode four that this was actually a future vision of the Earth, following a nuclear holocaust, then it wouldn’t have come as a surprise. Maybe this was the original intention but got lost after one of the many rewrites? Not that it really matters, but it would have given the story an extra little frisson.
The tribe are a mixed bunch. Most mannered is Howard Lang as Horg who’s difficult to take seriously, although Derek Newark (Za), Alethea Charlton (Hur), Kal (Jeremy Young) and Eileen Way (Old Mother) are much better. All would return to the series in later years, as well as popping up in numerous other series of the time.
Za, Hur and Kal form an unlikely love triangle with Old Mother looking on ironically from the sidelines, constantly muttering that it would be better if Za never learns the secret of fire. It’s hard to understand her vehemence against fire, especially if one believes Za’s statement that without fire they’d die. Exactly why fire strikes such fear into her heart is never explained.
The initial TARDIS scene is notable for allowing the doors to open on the alien landscape. This wasn’t very common (although it would crop up again in The Sensorites) but I’m grateful they did it here since it really helps to sell the illusion of stepping from the ship into the unknown.
The forced perspective sets of the apparently endless plains may be obvious if you look too hard, but given the small amount of money Barry Newbery had to play with they’re still impressive. The wind sound effects help to create the impression that it’s freezing (although that makes the moment when Ian touches the sand and is astonished how cold it is, all the more strange).
We get the first of Susan’s hysterical fits, when the Doctor disappears – I really wish Barbara had slapped her hard as it might have discouraged her from doing it again! As for the Doctor, we see him enjoying a crafty smoke with a pipe – clearly this was only introduced so that Kal could see the Doctor make fire (or maybe the trauma in the Cave of Skulls was the moment he decided to kick the habit?)
Although Ian’s still in denial about everything, there’s also the first sign of his practical nature – after the Doctor disappears he automatically takes command. And when they’re all imprisoned in the Cave of Skulls it’s no surprise that Barbara is the one he checks on first (“Are you all right? Did they hurt you?”). Although never explicitly stated on-screen it seems obvious Barbara and Ian are very much a couple (as David Whitaker later confirmed in The Crusaders novelisation).
With the Doctor having seemingly lost all of his previous bluster (“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, it’s all my fault. I’m desperately sorry.”) things look bleak for our four heroes as they contemplate the myriad of skulls – all of which have been split open.
https://archivetvmusings.blog/2017/11/24/doctor-who-an-unearthly-child-part-two-the-cave-of-skulls/