10 Behind The Scenes Secrets From Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child
7. An Unearthly Child Or 100,000 B.C.?
Like almost all of the stories that would follow An Unearthly Child in the Classic era of Doctor Who, the first four episodes form a single serial. This had led to a little bit of confusion over the title of the pilot episode itself, versus the title of the serial that it begins.
Production notes suggest that Verity Lambert intended for it to be called 100,000 B.C., while others contend that it was always due to be called An Unearthly Child. The former title would certainly make more sense when it came to the serial, as the close of the first episode leaves the Doctor, Susan, Ian, and Barbara in the distant past.
There are other titles that get suggested, such as the Tribe Of Gum. Although this has been suggested to describe the people that make their first, shadowy appearance at the end of the first episode, this title is never actually spoken on-screen.
An Unearthly Child, which is a description of Susan Foreman herself, is the title that has stuck most consistently with the first episode, regardless of whether it fits the first serial or not.