An Unearthly Child

(A foggy night, and a policeman is patrolling his beat past I M Foreman's Scrap Merchants at 76 Totter's Lane. Inside is an assortment of items, including a police telephone box.) [Coal Hill School corridor]

(The bell is ringing for end of classes.) GIRL: Night, Miss Wright. BARBARA: Wait in here, please, Susan. I won't be long. BOY: Goodnight, Miss Wright.

[Laboratory]

(A man is tidying up after the class) IAN: Oh? Not gone yet? BARBARA: Obviously not. IAN: Right, ask a silly question. BARBARA: I'm sorry. IAN: That's all right. I'll forgive you this time. BARBARA: Oh, I had a terrible day. I don't know what to make of it. IAN: Oh, what's the trouble? Can I help? BARBARA: Oh, it's one of the girls, Susan Foreman. IAN: Susan Foreman? She your problem too? BARBARA: Yes. IAN: You don't know what to make of her? BARBARA: No. IAN: How old is she, Barbara? BARBARA: Fifteen. IAN: Fifteen. She lets her knowledge out a bit at a time so as not to embarrass me. That's what I feel about her. She knows more science than I'll ever know. She's a genius. Is that what she's doing with history? BARBARA: Something like that. IAN: So your problem is whether to stay in business or to hand over the class to her. BARBARA: No, not quite. IAN: What, then? BARBARA: Ian, I must talk to someone about this, but I don't want to get the girl into trouble. And I know you're going to tell me I'm imagining things. IAN: No, I'm not. BARBARA: Well, I told you how good she is at history. I had a talk with her and told her she ought to specialise. Well, she seemed quite interested until I said I'd be willing to work with her at her home. Then she said that would be absolutely impossible as her grandfather didn't like strangers. IAN: He's a doctor, isn't he? That's a bit of a lame excuse. BARBARA: Well, I didn't pursue the point but then recently her homework's been so bad. IAN: Yes, I know. BARBARA: Finally I got so irritated with all her excuses I decided to have a talk with this grandfather of hers and tell him to take some interest in her. IAN: Did you indeed? And what's the old boy like? BARBARA: Well, that's just it. I got her address from the secretary, 76 Totter's Lane, and I went along there one evening. Oh Ian, do pay attention. IAN: Sorry. You went along there one evening? BARBARA: There isn't anything there. It's just an old junkyard. IAN: You must have gone to the wrong place. BARBARA: Well, that was the address the secretary gave me. IAN: The secretary got it wrong, then. BARBARA: No. I checked. There's a big wall on one side, houses on the other and nothing in the middle. And this nothing in the middle is number 76 Totter's Lane. IAN: Hmm. That's a bit of a mystery. Well, there must be a simple answer somewhere. BARBARA: Well, what? IAN: Well, we'll have to find out for ourselves, won't we? BARBARA: Thank you for the we. She's waiting in one of the classrooms. I'm lending her a book on the French Revolution. IAN: What's she going to do, rewrite it? Oh, all right. What do we do? Ask her point-blank? BARBARA: No, I thought we could drive there, wait till she arrives and see where she goes. IAN: Oh, all right. BARBARA: That is, if you're not doing anything. IAN: No, I'm not. After you.

[Classroom]

(Susan is listening to guitar rock music on her transistor radio. I'm thinking The Shadows. She looks a little elfin, like Audrey Hepburn) BARBARA: Susan? SUSAN: Oh, I'm sorry, Miss Wright. I didn't hear you coming in. Aren't they fabulous? BARBARA: Who? SUSAN: It's John Smith and the Common Men. They've gone from nineteen to two. IAN: John Smith is the stage name of the Honourable Aubrey Waites. He started his career as Chris Waites and the Carollers, didn't he, Susan? SUSAN: You are surprising, Mister Chesterton. I wouldn't expect you to know things like that. IAN: I have an enquiring mind. And a very sensitive ear. SUSAN: Oh, I'm sorry. (She turns the radio off.) IAN: Thank you. SUSAN: Is that the book you promised me? BARBARA: Yes. SUSAN: Thank you very much. It will be interesting. I'll return it tomorrow. BARBARA: Oh, that's not necessary. Keep it until you've finished it. SUSAN: I'll have finished it. IAN: Oh, where do you live, Susan? I'm giving Miss Wright a lift, I've got room for one more. SUSAN: No, thank you, Mister Chesterton. I like walking through the dark. It's mysterious. BARBARA: Be careful, Susan, there'll probably be fog again tonight. SUSAN: Mmm. BARBARA: See you in the morning. SUSAN: I expect so. Good night. BARBARA: Good night. IAN: Good night, Susan. (They leave. Susan sits on a desk and starts reading.) SUSAN: But that's not right.

[Totter's Lane]

(Ian and Barbara are parked up.) BARBARA: Over there. IAN: We're lucky there was no fog. I'd never have found this. BARBARA: Well, she doesn't seem to have arrived yet. I suppose we are doing the right thing, aren't we? IAN: You can't justify curiosity. BARBARA: But her homework? IAN: A bit of an excuse, really, isn't it? I've seen far worse. The truth is, we're both curious about Susan and we won't be happy until we know some of the answers. BARBARA: You can't just pass it off like that. If I thought I was just being a busybody, I'd go straight home. I thought you agreed she was a bit of a mystery. IAN: Yes, but I think you'll find there's a very simple explanation to all this. BARBARA: Well, I don't know how you explain the fact that a fifteen year old girl does not know how many shillings there are in a pound. IAN: Really? BARBARA: Really. She said she thought we were on the decimal system. IAN: Decimal system?

[Memory - classroom]

(The other pupils are laughing.) SUSAN: I'm sorry, Miss Wright. BARBARA: Don't be silly, Susan. The United States has a decimal system. You know perfectly well that we do not. SUSAN: Of course, the decimal system hasn't started yet.

[Totter's Lane]

IAN: I suppose she couldn't be a foreigner? No, doesn't make sense. Nothing about this girl makes sense. For instance, the other day I talking about chemical changes. I'd given out the litmus paper to show cause and effect BARBARA: And she knew the answer before you'd started. IAN: Well, not quite. The answer simply didn't interest her.

[Memory - laboratory]

SUSAN: Yes, I can see red turns to blue, Mister Chesterton, but that's because we're dealing with two inactive chemicals. They only act in relation to each other. IAN: But that's the whole point of the experiment, Susan. SUSAN: Yes, it's a bit obvious, isn't it? Well, I'm not trying to be rude, but couldn't we deal with two active chemicals? Then red could turn blue all by itself and get on with something else? I'm sorry, it was just an idea.

[Totter's Lane]

IAN: She means it. These simple experiments are child's play to her. BARBARA: You know, it's almost got to the point where I deliberately want to trip her up. IAN: Yes. Something like that happened the other day. I'd set the class a problem with A, B and C as the three dimensions.

[Memory - classroom]

SUSAN: It's impossible unless you use D and E. IAN: D and E? Whatever for? Do the problem that's set, Susan. SUSAN: I can't, Mister Chesterton. You can't simply work on three of the dimensions. IAN: Three of them? Oh, time being the fourth dimension, I suppose? Then what do you need E for? What do you make the fifth dimension? SUSAN: Space.

[Totter's Lane]

BARBARA: Too many questions and not enough answers. IAN: Stupid? Or just doesn't know. So we have a fifteen year old girl who is absolutely brilliant at some things, and excruciatingly bad at others. BARBARA: There she is. (Susan looks around then goes into the scrap yard.) BARBARA: Look, can we go in now? I hate to think of her alone in that place. IAN: If she is alone. Look, she is fifteen. She might be meeting a boy. Didn't that occur to you? BARBARA: I almost hope she is. IAN: What do you mean? BARBARA: Well, it would be so wonderfully normal. It's silly, isn't it? I feel frightened. As if we're about to interfere in something that is best left alone. IAN: Come on, let's get it over with. (They get out of the car.) BARBARA: Well, don't you feel it? IAN: I take things as they come. Come on.

[Junk yard]

(Ian has a small torch in his hand. There is no sign of Susan.) IAN: What a mess. We're not turning over any of this stuff to find her.. BARBARA: Over there? (Ian falls over a bucket or something.) IAN: Blast. I've dropped it. BARBARA: What? IAN: The torch. BARBARA: Well, use a match. IAN: I haven't got any. Oh, never mind. BARBARA: Susan? IAN: Susan? Susan? Susan! Susan. Mister Chesterton and Miss Wright. She can't have got out without us seeing her. BARBARA: Ian, look at this. (She's found the police telephone box.) IAN: It's a police box! What on earth's it doing here? These things are usually on the street. Feel it. Feel it. Do you feel it? BARBARA: It's a faint vibration. IAN: It's alive! (He walks around it.) IAN: It's not connected to anything, unless it's through the floor. BARBARA: Look, I've had enough. Let's go and find a policeman. IAN: Yes, all right. (Someone coughs.) BARBARA: Is that her? IAN: That's not her. Quick. (They hide as an old man in Astrakhan hat and a long scarf enters the yard. He goes to the police box and puts a key in the lock.) SUSAN [OC]: There you are, Grandfather. BARBARA: It's Susan. IAN: Shush! (Ian comes out from the hiding place.) IAN: Excuse me. DOCTOR: What are you doing here? IAN: We're looking for a young girl. DOCTOR: We? BARBARA: Good evening. DOCTOR: What do you want? IAN: One of our pupils, Susan Foreman, came into this yard. DOCTOR: Really? In here? Are you sure? BARBARA: Yes, we saw her from across the street. DOCTOR: (aside) One of their pupils, not the police, then. IAN: I beg your pardon? DOCTOR: Why were you were spying on her? Who are you? IAN: We heard a young girl's voice call out to you. DOCTOR: Your hearing must be very acute. I didn't hear anything. BARBARA: It came from in here. DOCTOR: You imagined it. BARBARA: I certainly did not imagine it. DOCTOR: Young man, is it reasonable to suppose that anybody would be inside a cupboard like that, hmm? IAN: Would it therefore be unreasonable to ask you to let us have a look inside? (The Doctor goes to an ornate picture frame.) DOCTOR: I wonder why I've never seen that before. Now isn't that strange. Very damp and dirty. BARBARA: Won't you help us? We're two of her teachers from the Coal Hill School. We saw her come in and we haven't seen her leave. Naturally, we're worried. DOCTOR: Have to be cleaned. Hmm? Oh, I'm afraid it's none of my business. I suggest you leave here. IAN: Not until we're satisfied that Susan isn't in there. And frankly, I don't understand your attitude. DOCTOR: Yours leaves a lot to be desired. IAN: Will you open the door? DOCTOR: There's nothing in there. IAN: Then what are you afraid to show us? DOCTOR: Afraid? Oh, go away. IAN: I think we'd better go and fetch a policeman. DOCTOR: Very well. IAN: And you're coming with us. DOCTOR: Oh, am I? I don't think so, young man. No, I don't think so. BARBARA: We can't force him. IAN: But we can't leave him here. Doesn't it seem obvious to you he's got her locked up in there? Look at it. There's no door handle. There must be a secret lock somewhere. BARBARA: That was Susan's voice. IAN: But of course it was. Susan! Susan! Susan, are you in there? It's Mister Chesterton and Miss Wright, Susan. DOCTOR: Don't you think you're being rather high-handed, young man? You thought you saw a young girl enter the yard. You imagine you heard her voice. You believe she might be inside there. It's not very substantial, is it? BARBARA: But why won't you help us? DOCTOR: I'm not hindering you. If you both want to make fools of yourselves, I suggest you do what you said you'd do. Go and find a policeman. IAN: While you nip off quietly in the other direction. DOCTOR: Insulting. There's only one way in and out of this yard. I shall be here when you get back. I want to see your faces when you try to explain away your behaviour to a policeman. IAN: Nevertheless, we're going to find one. Come on, Barbara. SUSAN [OC]: What are you doing out there? IAN: She is in there! DOCTOR: Close the door! IAN: Barbara! (Barbara goes inside the box as Ian briefly struggles with the Doctor before following her.)

[Tardis]

(Barbara finds herself in a very big room, with chair, hat stand, various other pieces of furniture, and Susan standing at a six-sided console in the centre.) DOCTOR: Close the door, Susan. I believe these people are known to you. SUSAN: They're two of my schoolteachers. What are you doing here? BARBARA: Where are we? DOCTOR: They must have followed you. That ridiculous school. I knew something like this would happen if we stayed in one place too long. SUSAN: But why should they follow me? BARBARA: Is this really where you live, Susan? SUSAN: Yes. DOCTOR: And what's wrong with it? IAN: But it was just a telephone box. DOCTOR: Perhaps. BARBARA: And this is your grandfather? SUSAN: Yes. BARBARA: But why didn't you tell us that? DOCTOR: I don't discuss my private life with strangers. IAN: But it was a police telephone box. I walked all around it. Barbara, you saw me. DOCTOR: You don't deserve any explanations. You pushed your way in here uninvited and unwelcome. BARBARA: I think we ought to leave. IAN: No, just a minute. I know this is absurd, but I feel (The Doctor is examining an ornate clock.) DOCTOR: Oh dear, dear, dear dear. This is very IAN: I walked all round it. DOCTOR: It's stopped again, you know, and I've tried hmm? Oh, you wouldn't understand. IAN: But I want to understand. DOCTOR: Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. By the way, Susan, I managed to find a replacement for that faulty filament. It's an amateur job, but I think it'll serve. IAN: It's an illusion. It must be. DOCTOR: What is he talking about now? SUSAN: What are you doing here? DOCTOR: You don't understand, so you find excuses. Illusions, indeed? You say you can't fit an enormous building into one of your small...