To all those old enough to remember the very first adventure of Dr Who shown on British TV, way back when, can you help?

A disagreement broke out over the weekend at chez litow regarding the first monsters that the intrepid doctor encountered. The majority of opinion was Daleks but two of us remembered large flying insects called Zarbie or similar, with Daleks being the second adventure

Does anyone remember?

Cheers
LITOW

Have a look here. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/doctorwho/episodeguide/index_first.shtml) Daleks appear in the second episode. The plot for the first episode talks about cavemen and things. Loads of trivia on the site.

D

Thanks Dufwer

I don't remember Cavemen and things but at least I know that my memory is not completely shot and it definately was not the Daleks.

Thanks again

When I was a sprat Dr. Who was on the ABC (Orsetralia) at 6pm weeknights. As of this Monday they started again:ok:

First episode was undiluted crap. Cavemen, grunting, cardboard rocks. Much whining from the Doctor... I'm watching it anyway but. Next villians - the DALEKS:}

I understand the intent was just an insight to history, just as the goons were just supposed to take the p*ss out of history. Thankfully they both went other ways.

Much as I'm looking forward to watching Tom Baker (in a decade or so) shame on the ars*holes in the feral gummint who have brought the ABC to this position that they have to air this old stuff. They should make a new series...

Is MY memory playing tricks or was the first episode transmitted the day after the JFK assassination??

Quite correct Teeteringhead. JFK assassinated 22nd November 1963, first episode Dr Who 23rd. The series was intended to have an educational bias (hence original companions = teenage girl + 2 teachers, one science and one history) with alternate historical and science fiction adventures. The Daleks appeared in the second adventure, but in the first episode there was only a glimpse of a sucker arm at the end; they did not appear fully until the second episode.
The reason why there were 3 companions was that each episode was treated as a live broadcast (it was recorded, but on videotape, and editing of that was so expensive that breaks were kept to a minimum), so usually the doctor and companions split into 2 pairs to enable different areas of the set to be used.