Series 1 Episode 3: The Forest of Fear

Serial: An Unearthly Child
Episode: 3 ("The Forest of Fear") 
Doctor: William Hartnell
Companions: Barbara, Ian, and Susan

Writer: Anthony Coburn
Director: Waris Hussein
Original Air Date: 7/12/1963 

AGEISM V SEXISM

Oh look out, the Old Woman is on the prowl and she's got a sharp stone that she's trying to hold still in shot while the titles go up over it.

Susan's been crawling about for sharp rocks, making herself useful. That's what we like to see.

The Doctor seems to be giving up easily. Ian is proactive, then chides him for sitting there just criticising everyone. Goaded, the Doctor suggest they use fragments of bone, which are sharper, and is pragmatic about the situation, saying they have to untie Ian first, as he's the strongest and may have to defend them. I hate to say it, but, seeing as Ian's reasonably beefy, he's probably right, despite my feelings on the unspoken assumptions as to the relative strengths of men and women. Though at least the Doctor doesn't try to imply that he is in any way stronger than Barbara or Susan because of his also being male, and indeed the latter has to take over from the Doctor on rope-hacking duty because his arms are tired.

Babs's job is to try and remember the way they came. She's surprised that the Doctor wants to help her. Then there's some wonderfully non-gendered discourse on the nature of fear;

DOCTOR: Fear makes companions of us all.
BARBARA: I never once thought you were afraid.
DOCTOR: Fear is with all of us and always will be. Just like that other sensation that lives with it.
BARBARA: What's that?
DOCTOR: Your companion referred to it. Hope. (<---Lovely stuff.)

But oh dear, here's Susan's first big scream of the episode. It's a crone with a stone, Susan, calm the fuck down.

Old Woman seems pretty determined that they not make fire. Reactionary fuddy-duddy is reactionary. More ageist than sexist, tbh.

Hur has apparently seen the crone with the stone sneaking off. Za wonders why Hur didn't stop her, seeing as how she's, like, well old. Hur seems more bothered about why she took his knife, and has figured out that she's going to kill the strangers (and has not gone into the forest as Za seems to think) because she is afraid of fire. Za, your girlfriend is way out of your league in the brain department. Seriously, she has to explain it to you that "the strange tribe" won't be able to show you how to make fire if the crone with the stone bumps them off. You suck at caveman politics, Za. For real.

Aww, isn't that nice. The crone with the stone says she'll set them free if they'll go away. The Doctor seems totally fine with that, and isn't even bothering to try to talk her into accepting progress/new technology. Just happy to get away.

Za shoves his girlfriend aside so he can try to move the great stone to the cave, because it's totally logical that he'll be more successful moving it aside without her help than with it. Dickhead.

Hur tells Za that leaders are strong, so if he's a real leader he's stronger than the beasties out there that snack on cavemen. Definite shades of Lady Macbeth.

Did the Old Woman die, or did she just pass out?

The Doctor needs a breather. Ian offers to carry him. The Doctor tells him he's not senile, he just needs to catch his breath for a moment. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Ian. Also, interesting that at this stage it's old people who are seen to be a hindrance rather than women, and indeed that the script is quicker to call people out on ageism than on sexism.

Babs can't remember the way back and has to cry on Ian for a bit. Ian tells her to remember they're free and shakes her a bit for good measure. Yeah, they're really going to move faster with her clinging to Ian like that.

Susan remembers where they are and is all but dragging the Doctor across the landscape. The Doctor gets shirty with Ian;

IAN: How are you feeling?
DOCTOR: I'm all right. Don't keep looking upon me as the weakest link of the party. (<--- Quite right, too, Doctor. )

Babs is getting hysterical because she saw something moving in the bushes. The Doctor thinks it's nonsense. Ian has to calm her down by grabbing her face and talking at it.

The women go to sit down, and the men decide on a plan of action. But wait, the Doctor seems to be saying what we're all thinking;

IAN: Susan seems to remember the way better than any of us.
DOCTOR: You seem to have elected yourself leader of this little party.
IAN: There isn't time to vote on it.
DOCTOR: Just as long as you understand I won't follow your orders blindly. (<--- I hope you remember how this feels, Doctor, in situations to come.)

Oh but there're more!

IAN: If there were only two of us, you could find your own way back the ship.
DOCTOR: Aren't you a tiresome young man?
IAN: And you're a stubborn old man. But you will lead. The girls in between and I'll bring up the rear. Because that's the safest way.  (<--- Ian, you are a sexist, ageist prick. Love, TheOtherScarman.)

BARBARA TRIPPED OVER. WE HAVE TRIPPAGE. AND IT'S A DOUBLE WHAMMY BECAUSE SHE'S SCREAMING GRATUITOUSLY AT SOME SORT OF DEAD ANIMAL. Stop sobbing, Babs, it's just a wild boar or summat that's been killed by a larger and potentially more terrifying animal, which is a cause for concern, but really nothing to be howling about.

Susan at least is showing the appropriate level of controlled concern/alarm as she and the Doctor examine the evidence and Ian presumably goes to talk into Babs's face again.

Za stops Hur from going to investigate because there is danger and gets mauled for his trouble. Hur's reaction is to scream and moan, but in fairness I'd probably do that if I were unarmed and someone I cared about were being mangled by a prehistoric beast before my eyes.

Barbara wants to help. Ian is trying to manhandle her out of it, but Barbara breaks away. Susan is unnecessarily hysterical in her determination to help as well. The Doctor is all for leaving everyone in the lurch, and even tries yelling "SILENCE!" into Susan's face, but is deservedly shouted down and abandoned in the bushes.

Hur is very protective of Za, but seems unable to do anything except keen.

Even though it's the women who want to help, it's Ian who wades in to play doctor, and immediately starts ordering the women around and taking the piss out of our Babs on account of her compassion;

IAN: Your flat must be littered with stray cats and dogs.
BARBARA: These are human beings, Ian. (<--- Well, quite.)

Interesting debate between the [not a] Doctor [of medicine] and Ian/Barbara. Barbara tells him that he treats everybody and everything as something less important than himself (go Babs). The Doctor tries to tell her that her judgement is off, and tries to counter her accusation that he's being inhuman with practical observations as to their being too exposed etc.

Kal is a dick to old women. And has almost definitely killed her. For...political reasons? To be honest, the whole caveman politics thing is passing me by on account of its being boring as hell.

Hur is apparently jealous of Susan and thinks of Za as "hers", which makes it a weirdly level playing field. She also says they are like a mother with a child, and doesn't understand their desire to help and heal.

Susan says that the Doctor is "always like this if he doesn't get his own way". I hope she means "sulky", not potentially homicidal. That's a serious-looking stone in your hand, Doctor, and Ian has totally rumbled you.

The Doctor's misplaced chivalry is as un-endearing as Ian's sexism;

DOCTOR: You don't expect me to carry him, do you?
IAN? Do you want the women to do the job for you?
DOCTOR: Oh, very well.

Aaaaaaaaaaand we have a good old scream (though not a gratuitous one) for the appearance of Kal's cavemen who have cut off their route to the Tardis AND BIG CAVEMAN FACE IN THE CREDITS.

OMG THEY'LL BE SLAUGHTERED FOR SURE.

*Eeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaooowwww ooo-EEE-oooooooooo-WOOOOOOOO-oooooooo*

Summary (as applicable to this episode)

Does it pass the Bechdel test? Yes.

Is/are the female companion(s) dressed “for the Dads”? No.

Does a woman fall over/twist her ankle (while running from peril)? Yes.

Is/are the female companion(s) captured? No.

Does the Doctor/a male companion/any other man have to rescue the female companion(s) from peril? Not unless you count Ian saving Babs from having to endure the trauma of tripping over a dead pig.

Is/are the female companion's/s' first/only reaction(s) to peril gratuitous screaming? Yes.

Does a female companion go into hysterics over something reasonably minor? Yes.

Does the female companion have to be calmed down by the Doctor/a male companion/a man? Yes.

Is a man shamed into doing/not doing something because the alternative is a woman doing/not doing something? Yes.

Does a man come a cropper because of his "manipulative" girlfriend/mother/significant female other? Yes.

Is the young, strong, straight, white male lead the person most often in control of the situation? Yes.

Is there past/future/alien sexism? Yes.

Does a "present"-day character call anybody out on past/future/alien sexism? No.

Did a woman write/direct/produce this episode? No/No/Yes.  

Verdict

In some ways better, in many ways worse. Ian as the strong, straight, white, male lead is called out on his assumption that he is the natural leader of the group, but only by the Doctor, and on grounds of ageism rather than sexism. Which is still cool, but not as cool as it could be. The screaming/hysteria/pointless falling over has also been taken up a notch.