12. The Very First Serial Has Three First Episodes, And Five Names
Doctor Who received its first transmission on 23 November 1963, but it was planned to launch eight days earlier on 16 November 1963. The delay was due to technical issues and errors made during the initial recording, including a persistent door randomly opening of its own accord onboard the TARDIS, a more gruff-talking Doctor, a more weird Susan and lines pertaining to the Doctors home world. Originally he was meant to hail from the 49th century, not Gallifrey as we know it. As such, two first episodes were filmed: the first of which is colloquially known as the Pilot of Doctor Who, whilst the second adopted the overarching serial title of An Unearthly Child. The original remained hidden until it was finally broadcast in 1991, nearly 32 years after it was recorded. A third first episode does exist however; that of an edited version of the original Pilot which removed studio noise, and added in digital adjustments. As a result, three versions of the very first episode exist in varying forms. Furthermore, whilst An Unearthly Child is the official name of the first serial, four other names have been used. These include The Tribe of Gum, 100,000 BC, The Palaeolithic Age and The Stone Age. Many argue that 100,000 BC is the true name of the serial since it was used by production staff at the time, but the BBC markets the serial as An Unearthly Child.
