The Edge of Destruction

1)This is an unusual story in that it features only the regular cast, and that the action never moves outside of the TARDIS. In a way, it's an odd story to do for what is only the program's third story in, but it does offer an opportunity to show our heroes interacting with one another without any outside presence, and to show the viewer a little bit of what it's like inside the TARDIS. As such, it's an interesting experiment. It occurs to me that in the new series, we haven't really seen much outisde of the console room. It might be nice to have them do an "explore the inner TARDIS" story.

 

2)The opening scene of this is one of the most bizarre scenes in all of Doctor Who, with all of them acting all bizarre and half-amnesiac. It's a tribute to their acting ability that they are able to achieve such an effect on one relatively drab set with no special effects to speak of going on. Carole Ann Ford is particularly creepy in this - especially the scene with her going nuts with the scissors. She does hostile very well - I could easily picture her playing a deranged killer in something.

 

3)The TARDIS has Murphy beds!

 

4)Wow, Barbara really tears into the Doctor - I thought she might she smack him. In a way, it makes a certain amount of sense - getting torn out of time, fighting cavemen and then Daleks - it's enough to freak anybody out.

 

5)Some fun quotes:

  • "His heart seems alright."  I seem to recall reading a fan theory that he only grew the second heart after his first regeneration.
  • "But where would it hide?" "In one of us."
  • "One moment you're abusing us, and the next you're playing the perfect butler."
  • "One man's law is another man's crime." Wait, what?

 

6)Cliffhanger: Ian goes to strangle the Doctor!

 

The Brink of Disaster

1)I notice again that there's no music to speak of in this.  Watching these old episodes really does make you notice how much the new ones drown you in music.

 

2)The danger signal is pretty obnoxious - no wonder he replaced it with the cloister bell. I always liked the fault locator, they ought to bring that back. It seems kind of a stretch that one spring goign wrong could very nearly wreck the ship - Time Lord tehcnology seems awfully sensitive. You'd also thin that the TARDIS could find a less obscure way of alerting the crew than to psychically assault them and then show them random images.

 

3)Another very tense episode - more good acting from the regulars. Hill does "mopey" quite well. Interesting how Hartnell goes from cold rage to Britain's most lovable old fart so quickly.

 

4)Some fun quotes:

  • "My machine can't think."
  • "I think your old grandfather is going a tiny little bit around the bend."
  • "As we learn about each other, so we learn about ourselves."
  • "You know, I acquired that ulster from Gilbert and Sullivan."

 

5)Cliffhanger: Susan finds a giant footprint in the snow!

 

Overall:

Quite an enjoyable, innovative story. It's interesting to see the four characters learning to deal with one another. Very well-written and well-acted, I thought.

 

[Part of list of Doctor Who episodes here.]

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  • This always reminded me of one of those TWILIGHT ZONE stories, the "What the F*** is going ON?" kind.

    Like most series, DOCTOR WHO was initially given the go-ahead for 13 weeks. So, after a 1, a 3, and a 7, they had 2 left. Hence, the 2-parter. Just think... if not for "THE DALEKS" becoming an overnight sensation, with ratings, phone calls and fan mail increasing week by week, this could have been the finale.

    Most "casual" fans I know in America never made it this far. The Doctor's harsh personality totally turned off people used only to Tom Baker (or, WORSE-- Peter Davison!! --whose fans always extoll his being such a "nice guy"). So, they missed seeing the exact point where The Doctor started to become a nice guy.

  • Re: The second heart issue. The fan theory you mention is one possibility BUT the second is that Ian is a science teacher & not a medical doctor so we can't necessarily take his word as gospel. He is just listening at his chest where the human heart resides & might just not be hearing the second.
  • Good point.  It's like that line from "Remembrance of the Daleks:  "How is he?" "No idea. I'm a physicist."

  • I get the impression that, because it’s an obvious “bottle show” designed to cut costs, that it’s not a particular fan favorite. I have always liked it, though, because it’s the first (of three as I count them) really important stories to focus on the TARDIS itself (the other two being the one when Rose absorbed the TARDIS’ energies and the other being when the TARDIS took human (female) form. I listened to the audiobook recently, and it is well-written enough that one doesn’t really notice the short-comings of the televised version.

    The first chapter summarizes both “An Unearthly Child” (including “The Cave of Skulls”) as well as “The Daleks” and is written in such a way that even someone wholly unfamiliar with Doctor Who would be quickly brought up to speed and would have no trouble following the story.

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