8.1/102,296 votes#1 - An Unearthly Child
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 11/23/1963
After discussing a strange pupil, Susan Foreman, teachers Ian and Barbara follow her to a junkyard. They meet her grandfather, the Doctor, and force their way inside a police box with frightening results.
Director: Waris Hussein
Writer: Anthony Coburn
6.4/101,638 votes#2 - The Cave of Skulls
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 11/30/1963
The enigmatic Doctor, afraid that schoolteachers Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright will reveal his secrets to the people of 20th century Earth, has taken them and his granddaughter Susan back to the dawn of human history. There, the four travellers are dragged into the savage politics of a tribe of cavemen who have lost the secret of making fire…
Director: Waris Hussein
Writer: Anthony Coburn
6.3/101,509 votes#3 - The Forest of Fear
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 12/7/1963
Prisoners of the earliest humans, the TARDIS crew are caught in a deadly power play for leadership of the tribe.
Director: Waris Hussein
Writer: Anthony Coburn
6.5/101,468 votes#4 - The Firemaker
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 12/14/1963
The TARDIS crew must make fire for the early humans to stay alive. But once they do, they may not be allowed to leave!
Director: Waris Hussein
Writer: Anthony Coburn
7.6/101,553 votes#5 - The Dead Planet
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 12/21/1963
Time Unknown, Planet Unknown. The TARDIS lands in an eerie petrified forest overlooking a magnificent steel city. The Doctor wants to explore the city – but what is waiting there?
Director: Christopher Barry
Writer: Terry Nation
7.7/101,368 votes#6 - The Survivors
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 12/28/1963
The dead planet is not uninhabited after all. The Doctor is about to meet what will become his greatest enemies. And he and his crew are dying of radiation sickness.
Director: Christopher Barry
Writer: Terry Nation
7.6/101,327 votes#7 - The Escape
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 1/4/1964
Imprisoned on Skaro by the scheming Daleks, the Doctor and his companions work to escape their clutches.
Director: Christopher Barry
Writer: Terry Nation
7.6/101,293 votes#8 - The Ambush
Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 1/11/1964
The time travellers work desperately to both escape the Dalek city and prevent a bloody massacre.
Director: Christopher Barry
Writer: Terry Nation
7.2/101,255 votes#9 - The Expedition
Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 1/18/1964
The time travellers have escaped from the Daleks, but left a vital piece of the TARDIS behind. Getting it back will mean pushing the Thals to mount a dangerous operation.
Director: Christopher Barry
Writer: Terry Nation
7.0/101,221 votes#10 - The Ordeal
Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 1/25/1964
Ian, Barbara and the Thals struggle through the caves to reach the Dalek city. Will they get there in time? Is there even a way through the treacherous caves? And what are the Daleks planning?
Director: Christopher Barry
Writer: Terry Nation
7.5/101,234 votes#11 - The Rescue
Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 2/1/1964
Time is running out as the Doctor and his companions try to defeat the Daleks before they wipe out all life on Skaro.
Director: Christopher Barry
Writer: Terry Nation
6.8/101,231 votes#12 - The Edge of Destruction
Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 2/8/1964
A mysterious explosion has knocked the TARDIS into void. And in their confusion, the crew are turning on one another.
Director: Joe Ahearne, Richard Martin
Writer: David Whitaker
6.9/101,119 votes#13 - The Brink of Disaster
Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 2/15/1964
The TARDIS is adrift, the crew turning on each other. Only by working together can they find their way out before they are destroyed.
Director: Joe Ahearne, Frank Cox
Writer: David Whitaker
7.2/10636 votes#14 - The Roof of the World
Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 2/22/1964
The TARDIS experiences a total power failure and is stranded in the Himalayas in the 13th century. The travellers are forced to join the caravan of the famous explorer, Marco Polo, in order to survive -- but Polo, fascinated by their claims that the TARDIS can fly through the air, seizes it on behalf of Kublai Khan in the hope that presenting the Khan with such a fabulous gift will convince him to let Polo return home to Venice. The travellers are forced to accompany Polo on his long trek across Asia to the Khan's court, but their many attempts to reclaim their property are foiled -- not just by Polo, but by the war lord Tegana, who is apparently on a mission of peace but has entirely different plans for dealing with Kublai Khan...
Director: Waris Hussein
Writer: John Lucarotti
7.0/10589 votes#15 - The Singing Sands
Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 2/29/1964
Tegana sabotages the party's water bags, leaving them in dire need of fresh supplies.
Director: Waris Hussein
Writer: John Lucarotti
6.9/10579 votes#16 - Five Hundred Eyes
Season 1 Episode 16 - Aired 3/7/1964
The Doctor and Susan are able to supply Marco with condensation that has formed inside the TARDIS, saving the group from dying of thirst. When the group are reunited with Tegana, the travellers begin to suspect he is up to something.
Director: Waris Hussein
Writer: John Lucarotti
6.9/10570 votes#17 - The Wall of Lies
Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 3/14/1964
The Doctor's group manage to rescue Barbara from the Mongols but once more Marco remains unaware of Tegana's involvement.
Director: John Crockett
Writer: John Lucarotti
6.8/10565 votes#18 - Rider from Shang Tu
Season 1 Episode 18 - Aired 3/21/1964
The Doctor and his friends elect to warn Marco of Acomat's attack even though it means losing their chance to gain access to the TARDIS.
Director: Waris Hussein
Writer: John Lucarotti
6.9/10560 votes#19 - Mighty Kublai Khan
Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 3/28/1964
The Doctor, Ian and Barbara are forced to surrender to Tegana and Marco, leaving both of them the opportunity to gain possession of the TARDIS.
Director: Waris Hussein
Writer: John Lucarotti
7.1/10567 votes#20 - Assassin at Peking
Season 1 Episode 20 - Aired 4/4/1964
Tegana finally makes his move to assassinate the Khan, giving the Doctor and his friends an opportunity to thwart his plans and regain the TARDIS.
Director: Waris Hussein
Writer: John Lucarotti
7.1/10913 votes#21 - The Sea of Death
Season 1 Episode 21 - Aired 4/11/1964
The alien world of Marinus. Perfect peace has reigned here for decades due to the mind-controlling influence of a machine known as the Conscience. But now a race known as the Voord have developed an immunity and Arbitan, keeper of the machine, has been forced to scatter the vital control keys around the planet. Now he needs the help of the time travellers to get them back - it will be an extraordinary journey, with perils every step of the way...
Director: John Gorrie
Writer: Terry Nation
7.2/10872 votes#22 - The Velvet Web
Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 4/18/1964
The Doctor and his friends arrive in the apparently idyllic city of Morphoton but Barbara soon begins to realise there is more to their hosts than meets the eye.
Director: John Gorrie
Writer: Terry Nation
6.9/10856 votes#23 - The Screaming Jungle
Season 1 Episode 23 - Aired 4/25/1964
The search for the second key takes the travellers to a jungle where Ian and Barbara come under threat from rapidly growing plants.
Director: John Gorrie
Writer: Terry Nation
6.7/10846 votes#24 - The Snows of Terror
Season 1 Episode 24 - Aired 5/2/1964
Searching for the third key, Ian and Barbara meet with the sinister trapper Vasor before following Susan and the others into a cave system guarded by the mysterious Ice Soldiers.
Director: John Gorrie
Writer: Terry Nation
7.1/10834 votes#25 - Sentence of Death
Season 1 Episode 25 - Aired 5/9/1964
The group are reunited with the Doctor in the city of Millennius where Ian faces trial for murder after the fourth key is stolen.
Director: John Gorrie
Writer: Terry Nation
The Best Episodes of Doctor Who Season 1
Every episode of Doctor Who Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Doctor Who Season 1!
The adventures of The Doctor, a time-traveling humanoid alien known as a Time Lord. He explores the universe in his TARDIS, a sentient time-traveling spaceship....
Genres:DramaAction & AdventureSci-Fi & Fantasy
Season 1 Ratings Summary
"An Unearthly Child" is the best rated episode of "Doctor Who" season 1. It scored 8.1/10 based on 2296 votes. Directed by Waris Hussein and written by Anthony Coburn, it aired on 11/23/1963. This episode is rated 1.7 points higher than the second-best, "The Cave of Skulls".