The Edge of Destruction

You're working late tonight, Miss Wright

The Edge of Destruction

This episode is actually pretty creepy. Especially Ian. The bit where you see him unconscious in a chair, and then suddenly he's standing there staring at Barbara, saying, "you're working late tonight, Miss Wright". I do think William Russell does that vacant sort of acting quite well. He points at the Doctor, who's unconscious on the floor and, without sounding particularly interested, asks, "what's he doing there?" Then Ian and Barbara find the doors are open and he points at the still unconscious Doctor again and says, "perhaps he did it". Maybe it's just me, but I find those bits extremely creepy, far more than when Susan goes psycho with the scissors, which I find a bit silly. Actually, right near the end of the episode Ian has another bit which isn't meant to be creepy, but is still strange. After the clock and watches melt, the Doctor says something about turning in for the night, and Ian looks at his watch and says in the "vacant" voice, "if it is night. We have no way of telling now". Deliberate or not, that line was rather creepy too.

I forgot to mention Barbara putting on Thal trousers in the Daleks, but she's sporting them here again. I find that very strange. Why did she change trousers during the Daleks? Is that a very subtle indication of what she got up to with Ganatus? Yay, the food machine's back. I like how you can instantly get water or milk, but have to put in a code for anything else. It is good to see that milk is valued on Gallifrey.

Lovely TARDIS furniture

It's quite funny the way the doors close when Ian walks towards them, and then open as he walks away. It's more like the TARDIS is taking the piss rather than giving them "clues". The bit where Barbara rants at the Doctor is great. It deserves to be lauded as a superb moment, even if she does shriek at a clock straight after doing it.

This is such a brave episode. I know they didn't exactly have much choice, but surely there was a safer route they could have gone down than a story in which everybody goes mental. It's actually quite exciting in places, and although it isn't really all that good, the time goes by quite quickly. 6.5/10

The Brink of Disaster

Oooh, another Ian pratfall right at the start of this episode. Hartnell then chooses two of the worst moments to fluff. "Don't underestimate me," and "we're on the brink of destruction" would have been two good lines if he hadn't stumbled over them so badly. It does make me ask why this wasn't called the Brink of Destruction, though, since that's what they all keep saying. 

 

It's quite fun how Barbara keeps coming to these wonderful conclusions somehow. I know they say it's because she's upset and wants to prove the Doctor wrong, but still. I particularly like it when she says, "we had time taken away from us and now it's being given back to us because it's running out". What? What on earth are you talking about? And why did the TARDIS think knocking them out over and over was a good way to warn them?

Hamlet, Act III Scene I moment. Ish.

I like how the Doctor keeps the fact that they're supposedly about to die from Barbara and Susan. It's quite a sweet touch for him this early. Why is he going around, though, saying things like, "we have 10 minutes to survive," and, "we have 5 minutes left"? He's just randomly saying all that without any basis whatsoever for doing so. He should at least look at the console or the fault locater before saying things like that. The fault locater, by the way, is an interesting idea that was dropped extremely quickly. That would have been very handy in some later stories.

Hmm, the Doctor's monologue at the end is all very impressive, but it's also a bit meaningless, isn't it? I do like it, it's just a bit sudden, and it's very nice of Ian, Barbara and Susan to stand aside and stay quiet while he does it. At the end, he says to Barbara that they've got her "some wearing apparel for outside". Strange way to say it, but okay. His inability to properly apologise to her is another nice touch. He accidentally comes across as patronising as he says, "we must look after you, you're very valuable!"

It's all a bit easy, and wrapped up so early. Really early, in fact, although that in itself isn't a bad thing as the story had ground to a halt somewhat, and we get a few nice chats with everybody saying how awfully sorry they are and so on. Barbara sulks like mad, which is quite fun to see, and we see a bit of Marco Polo, yay! 5.5/10

 

Conclusion

I'm delighted this story was made. It may not be an example of Doctor Who at its best, but it is a very good example of the things that the show can do, and the variety of styles on offer, particularly when you contrast it to the two stories that have just come before. The Brink of Disaster has a few lulls, but for the most part it is good to watch, and works fairly well as a palate cleanser between the two long stories of the season. 

 

So far, three stories out of three have scored 6/10, I've completed the hat-trick! I'm surprising myself by sticking quite well to my harsh marking routine. Just to clarify, for me, 6/10 is a positive score. It's still above average. However, coming up next is a story which fully deserves a place in my top twenty stories, so I can guarantee now that it won't be four in a row getting 6.

Average Rating: 6/10

Old Rating: 6/10

New Rating: 6/10