“The Edge of Destruction”, also known as “Inside the Spaceship”, is the third adventure of the first season of “Doctor Who” classic series, which aired in 1964. It follows “The Daleks” and it’s a two parts adventure written by David Whitaker and directed by Richard Martin (first episode) and Frank Cox (second episode). At that time the various episodes of each adventure had individual titles, in this case:
- The Edge of Destruction
- The Brink of Disaster
The story
Something isn’t working in the Tardis navigation and the First Doctor (William Hartnell), Ian (William Russell), Barbara (Jacqueline Hill) and Susan (Carole Ann Ford) faint. When they wake up, Susan seems to have lost part of her memory and is behaving strangely.
In the Tardis a sense of paranoia is developing and the Doctor starts thinking that Ian and Barbara have somehow sabotaged his spaceship. If the truth won’t come out soon they will all die.
Extras
This DVD is very rich in extras. There are typical contents such as production subtitles and a gallery of pictures from this adventure.
Doctor Who: Origins. A 55 minutes documentary on the origins of the series. It’s one of extraordinary documentaries that shed light on a period of the series, in this case that of its creation.
Over The Edge. A documentary on the production of this adventure with interviews with cast and crew.
Inside The Spaceship. Some original members of the cast and crew talk about the Tardis.
Masters of Sound. A documentary set in the BBC Radiophonic Workshop about creating the “Doctor Who” theme.
Arabic Soundtrack. The option to see the second episode of this adventure with arabic music.
Marco Polo. A version of the adventure “Marco Polo” condensed into 30 minutes. This is the adventure that follows “The Edge of Destruction” but of its seven parts only pictures and the audio track are available.
Also included in PDF format there are the Radio Times Billings of the first three “Doctor Who” adventures and the full script of the adventure “An Unearthly Child”.
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The budget for the thirteen “Doctor Who” episodes originally approved had practically been used up but there were still two episodes to produce. Extending “The Daleks” to nine episodes would have been too much even by the ’60s standards. It was therefore decided to create another adventure that composed by two episodes only set in the Tardis, using the existing sets, with the protagonists of the show as the only characters.
Today we might call “The Edge of Destruction” a psychological sci-fi thriller. Inside the Tardis closed and limited environment – the big spaces inside the Tardis weren’t introduced until years later – a fault starts causing strange events. The Doctor and Susan become increasingly suspicious of Ian and Barbara and the story unfolds in a manner similar to a stage play, based almost exclusively on acting.
There was no money to create special effects that showed adequately how time itself you was breaking up inside the Tardis, threatening to destroy it. A clock that looked like it was melting was created but due to the quality of television at the time it was very difficult for the audience to notice its distorted shape and Ian0s wristwatch that stops only partially helps to understand what’s happening.
Thanks to the restoration of the episodes for the DVD, we can now see this adventure in a higher quality than when it aired but the production limits force us to rely mainly on acting anyway.
“The Edge of Destruction” is nothing extraordinary but despite its faults it has its own importance. In fact it’s through the confrontation that a real bond among the characters is created. Ian and Barbara started traveling with the Doctor and Susan against their will and this had influenced the early adventures but the tension in the Tardis that is at risk of destruction ends up creating a real group.
The “Doctor Who: The Beginning” box set – available on Amazon UK
