Season 1 episodes
![[First Doctor Who Logo Image]](1logo.gif)
Episodes this season:
No Code Title First Shown Eps Exists
0 Pilot An Unearthly Child 31 Aug 91 1 all
1 A An Unearthly Child 23 Nov 63 4 all
2 B The Daleks 21 Dec 63 7 all
3 C The Edge of Destruction 8 Feb 64 2 all
4 D Marco Polo 22 Feb 64 7 none
5 E The Keys of Marinus 11 Apr 64 6 all
6 F The Aztecs 23 May 64 4 all
7 G The Sensorites 20 Jun 64 6 all
8 H The Reign of Terror 8 Aug 64 6 1,2,3,6
Notes:
Originally the pilot was not intended to be aired, but was finally shown
as a part of a tribute to the BBC's Lime Grove studios when they were closed
in 1991.
Episode Details
An Unearthly Child
Mystified by a strange schoolgirl in their class, two teachers, Ian Chesterton
and Barbara Wright, follow her home to find out more. Home turns out to
be a mysterious Police Box in a Junkyard in which she lives with her grandfather,
who claims to be able to travel in space and time.
"If you could touch the alien sand, and hear the cry of strange birds, and watch them wheel in another sky, would that satify you?"
- Doctor, AN UNEARTHLY CHILD
Video Release: PAL VHS BBC Video BBCV4311, Cert PG
The Daleks
Arriving in a petrified forest, the Doctor and his companions find traces
of a recent visitation. Upon investigation the crew encounter the peaceful
Thals and hear about their war with terrible machine creatures called Daleks
who live in a nearby city.
"This planet is dead--totally dead."
- Doctor, THE DALEKS
"Stone trees are all very well, but in the next forest I walk through, I want them all to be made of wood."
- Barbara, THE DALEKS
Video Release: PAL VHS BBC Video BBCV4242, Cert U
Edge of Destruction
When an experiment goes wrong a large explosion shakes the TARDIS, and
it appears that it was almost destroyed and has been left hanging in the
void. The Doctor becomes suspicious and accuses the teachers of sabotage.
Doctor: You know, I acquired that [coat] from Gilbert & Sullivan.
Ian: Oh, really? I thought it was made for two.
- THE EDGE OF DESTRUCTION
"Yes, the planet Quinness in the fourth universe."
- Doctor, THE EDGE OF DESTRUCTION
Marco Polo
The TARDIS crew meet the explorer, Marco Polo, who is on his way to the
court of Kublai Kahn. Marco Polo hopes to free himself from the service
of the Kublai Kahn by presenting him with the TARDIS and thence return
to Europe.
Click to read the script for:
The Keys of Marinus
The TARDIS lands on the mysterious island of Marinus which is surrounded
by a sea of acid, and is captured by the Keeper of the conscience of Marinus.
The Conscience of Marinus is a machine that ensures justice to the people
of Marinus. The Doctor and his companions set off to retrieve the four
missing keys that control it, but can they stop them falling into enemy
hands.
The Aztecs
The TARDIS arrives inside an Aztec temple in the 15th century. The travellers
leave the temple, and a massive door closes behind them, cutting them off
from the TARDIS. Barbara is mistaken for a reincarnation of Yetaxa (an
Aztec God), while Ian is forced into a fight to the death with the Aztec
champion Ixta. While the Doctor attempts to find a way back to the TARDIS
again, Barbara takes advantage of her position to try to stop human sacrifices,
against the Doctor's wishes.
Video Release: PAL VHS BBC Video BBCV4743, Cert U A
Storyline for The Aztecs
The Sensorites
The TARDIS lands on a 28th century spaceship from earth that is under the
control of aliens known as Sensorites. Through telepathic communication
with Susan, the Doctor and his companions are invited to the Sensor-sphere,
home of the Sensorites. The Doctor uncovers a human plot to kill the Sensorites,
but can he put a stop to it in time?
"Grandfather and I don't come from Earth. it's been ages since we've seen our planet. It's quite like Earth, but at night the sky is a flaming orange, and the leaves on the the trees are silver."
- Susan, THE SENSORITES
Susan: When will we get back, Grandfather?
Doctor: I don't know, my dear. This old ship of mine seems to be an aimless thing. However, we don't worry about it, do we? Do you?
Susan: Sometimes I feel like I want to belong somewhere, and not just be a wanderer. Still, I'm not unhappy.
- THE SENSORITES
"Beau Brummel always said I looked better in a cloak."
- Doctor, THE SENSORITES
The Reign of Terror
The TARDIS materialises in France in the grip of the French Revolution
and the crew rapidly become embroiled. Before long Ian and Susan are captives
in the Bastille and the Doctor impersonates a regional governor in an attempt
to get them freed. Ian and Barbara become spies, trying to find out who
the next leader of France is to be, and when they discover Napoleon Bonaparte
is the likely contender, the suggestion is met with derision.
Links: onwards to season
2, back to the main Dr
Who guide.
B.King@ee.surrey.ac.uk & D.White@ee.surrey.ac.uk
30th August 1994