The Edge Of Destruction

Story Title: The Edge Of Destruction
Episode Count: 2 Series: 1 Story No: 3
Doctor: 1st Companions: Ian, Barbara, Susan
Date(s) Watched: Saturday 29th November 2008

So onto the shortest story of the series & one that I think is rather underrated. Episode 1 sees Team Tardis wake up after the mini explosion (if you’d call it that) in the Tardis as seen at the end of The Daleks. All play their confused states rather well (even Susan, most of the time) with Barbara being the sanest of the lot, with Susan being absolutely hysterical (there’s a surprise) and Ian in an trance like state. Ian reveals that the Doctor, at this point, only has one heart. The Food Dispenser appears again, this time dispensing packets of water in a Capri-Sun style package. Susan collapses in the console room in a hysterical state and then turns a bit psychotic by threatening to stab Ian with a pair of scissors, however although this is supposed to be effective I found it to become very irritating (I’m trying my hardest but still find her irritating).

Hartnell sports a rather groovy looking bandana throughout the majority of this story, of which we learn the colour stripes fade as the injury heals. A piece of familiar music appears in this episode, which I think I had heard before in The War Machines (although it could possibly be The Tenth Planet, can’t fully remember now) We also get a reference to a planet that The Doctor & Susan visited before a An Unearthly Child, called Quinnis, although they never do visit it in a future story. Susan by this point is fully “possessed” (for want of a better word) & at first her change of costume I though was reflecting this, although Barbara ends up in the same costume (which turns out to be a nightie) a bit later on. Barbara has a great little rant at the Doctor once he accuses Ian & her of causing sabotage in the ship.

One part I didn’t get first off was when Barbara screams hysterically at the clock in the Tardis, it’s only on a retake that I noticed it’s because the clock face is broken that she is scared witless. At the end of episode 1 we see Hartnell acting rather mischievously which leads into the nice little cliff-hanger of a possible intruder in The Tardis.

Episode 2 reveals however that this is a possessed Ian & The Doctor’s sudden switch on them is a bit out of character, with him accusing them of all sorts in a very convincing way. Susan switches from being possessed and being on Ian & Barbara’s side with a helping of hysterics along the way. The Doctor mentions that the Tardis can’t think, although by the time we get to The Third & later Doctors they talk as if the machine is alive. Susan again cranks the OTT hysterics up to 11 on the dial, I’ll be honest I don’t blame Carol Ann Ford for this, to be fair that’s how they wanted her to play the part. Hartnell again has some nice dialogue again especially the part where the console room grows very dim & The Doctor’s speech about the forming of the stars & solar systems. The story resolves itself in a suitable, if slightly convenient way. By this point I have grown to like all but Susan and my appreciation of the 1st Doctor, Ian & Barbara has grown. We also get our first name check in this story (Gilbert & Sullivan) and lead onto our next story, which is unfortunately where we come up against our first missing story, Marco Polo

Overall Rating: 4/5 – Short & sweet but full of great dialogue & acting, Susan unfortunately is rather irritating & convincing in equal measures but gets away with it more here due to the circumstance of the story. However there is another nice moments in it to make it enjoyable.

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