Old Mother
From WhoniverseWiki
| Old Mother[1] | |
|---|---|
| Character | |
| Created by | Anthony Coburn (Writer) |
| Played by | Eileen Way |
| Gender | Feale |
| Species | Human |
| First Appearance | An Unearthly Child |
| Native Place | Presumably Earth |
| Native Time | Possibly 100,000 BC[2] |
| Occupation | Member, possible Matriarch, of the Tribe of Gum |
| Member of | The Tribe of Gum |
| Known Relatives | Presumably other members of the Tribe of Gum |
| Base of Operations | The Tribe of Gum's caves |
Old Mother is a member of the Tribe of Gum, and seems to have some leadership role.
Contents |
Description
Old Mother is an old woman, who knew Za's father well. She remembers a time before the tribe had fire, and is suspicious of the development. She knows a back entrance to the Cave of Skulls that nobody else seems to be aware of, and is willing to sneak about in the night to prevent the rediscovery of fire.
History
Old Mother remembers the leadership of Za's father. She remembers that everyone bowed down to him because of it and that he was killed for it.[3], When Za became leader of the tribe and was unable to make fire Old Mother seemed the only person who thought this was a good thing.
When the cold[4] was approaching, Za's inability to make fire was causing him to lose ground to Kal, a rival leader who had been the last survivor of another tribe. When Kal brought the unconscious First Doctor to the caves, claiming that he had seen him make fire, this led to a confrontation between the two, which was interrupted by the arrival of Susan Foreman, Ian Chesterton, and Barbara Wright. Za imprisoned the time travellers in the Cave of Skulls.[5]
During the night, Old Mother stole Za's knife and freed the prisoners. Za and Hur discovered this, Za knocked Old Mother out, and he and Hur pursued them through the forest. Kal discovered that they were all gone, and interrogated Old Mother about what had happened, killing her with his knife after she revealed that she had been the one who set the prisoners free.[6]
Quotes
It is better that we live as we have always done - Old Mother in The Cave of Skulls - the second episode of An Unearthly Child
References
- ↑ She is listed as Old Mother in the credits, but within the story, she is only referred to as Old Woman
- ↑ The story is never given a date, but it is widely assumed that it is set in 100,000 BC - that being the final working title
- ↑ She says both things within a minute of each other in the second episode, The Cave of Skullls
- ↑ This is almost certainly a reference to winter, rather than - as is often claimed - to an ice age
- ↑ This was what happens in the episode The Cave of Skulls
- ↑ This is what happens in the episode The Forest of Fear
