Loosetooth's Tardis Chronicles: The Firemaker

A continuing exploration of Doctor Who from the very beginning, and The Doctor’s first adventure An Unearthly Child.

Need to catch up first? Then check out Part One, Part Two and Part Three

…and now the adventure continues…

An Unearthly Child part 4: The Firemaker

Following their recapture, The Doctor, Ian, Barbara, Susan and a stretched Za are taken back to the neanderthal’s community cave, where Kal tries once again to assert his dominance, and claim the tribe for himself.

The Doctor tricks Kal into revealing he was the one who killed the Old Woman, and with Ian’s help goads the tribe into driving Kal out. A revived Za degrees Kal is no longer part of the tribe. Za instructs his people to once again imprison the travellers in The Cave of Skulls.

Za asks Hur to tell him what the strangers did while he was unconscious, abou how the strangers cared for Za. Za also ponders on something Ian said to him “Kal is not stronger than the whole tribe” reasoning that the tribe can prosper if they work together.

Za goes to The Cave of Skulls and informs the strangers his people believe their sacrifice will bring fire, and if they do not show him how to make it he cannot prevent their deaths. Ian shows Za how to make fire.

Kal returns, kills the guard to The Cave of Skulls catching Za and the strangers unawares. Za and Kal begin to fight, although evenly matched Za wins, killing Kal. Za then takes a flaming torch to the tribe and re-establishes himself as leader of the tribe.

Za refuses to let the travellers go. Susan and Ian concoct a plan to escape, placing skulls upon flaming torches to scare the tribes people. When Za realises they’ve been tricked the tribe make chase, but The Doctor and his companions make it to the Tardis before they can be caught.

Although they are now safe The Doctor informs Ian and Barbara he is unable to take them home, and the foursome arrive at a new destination.

It would appear the audience of 1963 were not quite as enamoured with third episode The Forest of Fear as the ratings for The Firemaker saw a dip of half a million viewers, although those half million tuned back in for The Dead Planet (clearly they were interested to see where the next adventure would take place.

The Firemaker was also more exciting than the previous episode, with the elongated fight between Za and Kal (which regularly cuts to brilliant close-ups of the travellers reacting to the brutality), in a time before social media and catch-up TV it was largely water cooler talk that kept people tuning in, and The Firemaker gave them something to talk about.

Are you a Doctor Who fan? Have you seen An Unearthly Child?

Next Episode: The Dead Planet