The Edge of Destruction

Right after takeoff from Skaro, the TARDIS breaks down in mid flight. The console room plunges into darkness and the Doctor and his companions are flung to the floor. As they recover they find they have lost parts of their memories and the Doctor and Susan feel as if they have been hit across the back of the neck. Barbara and Ian fear that something has forced its way into the TARDIS, but the Doctor begins to suspect that his new human companions are to blame. As paranoia begins to set in the travelers realize that they are in terrible danger, facing imminent destruction, and they have to put aside suspicion or die.

It's a bit of a gamble so early in a new series to take the regular cast and strand them together like strangers trapped in an elevator between floors. Usually this is the sort of thing an established series will attempt to bring some plot elements to a head and force out a solution. And it is a short story by comparison to the previous ones; just two episodes as opposed to four for Child and seven for The Daleks. But this works out very well, drawing the regulars to their limits and building the tension between them to breaking point. The TARDIS is not the only thing on the edge of being destroyed - it's the unity of the crew. The Doctor unleashes his full fury at Ian and Barbara as he suspects that they have meddled with his craft; the arrogance and superiority that he first showed in An Unearthly Child is back with a vengeance, and all they have been through with the Tribe of Gum and the Daleks goes right out the window. Both humans react with indignation and outrage, but it is Barbara who really stands up to the Doctor, her patience with his ways at an end. Susan, too, begins to suspect that Barbara and Ian are to blame, and we are reminded that she is not human when her cold edge emerges; given the chance she could be just as alien and cold as the Doctor.

The Edge of Destruction also brings a whole new dimension to the TARDIS itself; at first it was shown as a safe haven, a refuge from the rest of the universe and more than just a travel machine - a home. Once the lights go out and the constant hum of the machines that keep it running is gone, it all changes. The dark corners of the rooms and corridors become menacing, and we are shown more of them including a sleeping area and a sort of living room outside it where the food machine can be found. There are slight modifications to the set since The Daleks but nothing major - indeed the console room and the TARDIS layout will visibly change up over the next few adventures. The Target novelization of the story has some additions to the narrative including some sequences with the Doctor and Ian venturing deeper into the TARDIS and exploring chambers not seen in the televised episodes. I read the novel after I had seen the serial on TV and I remember enjoying it, but had it been the other way around I am sure I would have been disappointed at the abbreviated video.

 It was not actually until I got the DVD that I saw the episodes in their entirety; the omnibus version I saw on WNED 17 was missing a few minutes of footage off the end of episode two, and the serialized versions I saw on YTV were missing the final seconds of episode two. The reason? The next adventure does not exist on any video format nor film, and the final episode of Edge promises next week's adventure to come. The DVD releases are the episodes restored to the way they were meant to be seen, preserving the integrity of the original, and even if the next episode is not around to be seen, it is indeed handy to be heard...

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