An Unearthly Child vs An Unearthly Child - Comparison

[Haplocena]

Fascinating, but slightly schizophrenic to watch.

[obeeah]

the unaired pilot has more scenes

in the broadcasted ep. the edits are a bit noticeable

[obeeah]

Though I have both of these, I like the pilot better.

(even before this side by side comparison.)

[MegaVidsNetwork]

i loved the original tardis take off better, much more violent :P

[bioniclefactory1]

actully the pilot was broadcasted in 26 augest 1991

[661cyclist]

There are however noticeably errors in the pilot, particularly when you watch the whole episode: actors fluffing their lines, mishaps with the props, etc. And the 'policeman' sequence at the very beginning was far too long in the pilot: they did well to shorten it.

[661cyclist]

I find it hard to decide between the two versions: thanks for showing them side by side: fascinating bit of 'history'!

I suppose my eyes are rather drawn to the changes in 'Susan' - probably because I probably fancied her rather at the time of first airing (I was only a kid!). The change in her costume is dramatic: the stripy top which became her 'trademark' as the series progressed. But perhaps - the smock suited her better? And see how much her hair has grown between the two filmings!

[Calvero52]

I like the broadcast version better as well. The Doctor isn't as mean. He gets frustrated but finds it humorous at the same time. Susan is a little less excited. And Ian and Barbara don't change that much. But it is fun to compare the two versions :)

BTW, Happy 48th birthday to Doctor Who! May it keep regenerating!

[johnxgin1]

i like the broadcast version than the Pilot version.

[Tom7Burton]

Their are some shots in the un-aired pilot that would have looked really good in the Broadcast Version of " An Unearthly Child " :)

[ebwarg]

It's always interested me that they showed the TARDIS interior when looking in from the outside in the unbroadcast pilot, and then never again until the series was revived in 2005. I'm guessing it was just too much of a pain to set up, especially in the early days, where it would likely have required two recording breaks.

[LegoDaleks]

@ebwarg In More than 30 Years in the TARDIS they have a tracking shot to show you what that would look like, with of course the correct control room. In some of the 60's stories like The Sensorites they start in the TARDIS and without cutting they go out onto the ship.

[Iainofthemeteor]

It's amazing to think that Doctor Who was originally given the thumbs-down.

[FishWRabies]

1:45 where Barbra's audio synced creeped me out!

[BurningPotatoFilms]

The Pilot version feels slightly more polished than the Broadcast version for some reason!

[Darren79]

@BurningPotatoFilms - I love both versions but the broadcast version has the edge for me as I adore Hartnell's performance and find Waris Hussein's direction much more assured.

[rojblake82]

@Darren79 The pilot version is crap, in billions of ways and it is very violent thank god it was changed for transmission.