The Edge of Destruction (TV story)

The Edge of Destruction
Doctor:	[[doctor::First Doctor]]
Companion(s):	Susan Foreman Barbara Wright Ian Chesterton
Main enemy:	None
Main setting:	Time/Space Vortex (episode 1), Creation of the Milky Way Galaxy (episode 2)
Key crew
Writer:	David Whitaker
Director:	Richard Martin (episode 1) Frank Cox (episode 2)
Producer:	Verity Lambert
Release details
Release number:	3
Premiere broadcast:	8th February - 15th February 1964
Format:	2 25-minute Episodes The Edge of Destruction The Brink of Disaster
Production code:	C

Summary

A mysterious blast renders the TARDIS crew unconscious. They awake disorientated and soon find that the TARDIS is strangely malfunctioning. As all of the systems breakdown, the behaviour of the crew becomes more erratic. Soon the Doctor comes to believe that the school teachers are behind the malfunctions in an attempt to blackmail him into taking them home.

Gradually it becomes clear that the problems are a warning from the TARDIS. It seems that a spring has broken on the fast return switch causing the TARDIS to travel back through time towards the creation of the Milky Way Galaxy. The Doctor corrects the problem and the travellers are able to escape.

Cast & Characters

• Dr Who - William Hartnell
• Ian Chesterton - William Russell
• Barbara Wright - Jacqueline Hill
• Susan Foreman - Carole Ann Ford

Crew

• Writer - David Whitaker
• Director - Richard Martin (episode 1), Frank Cox (episode 2)
• Producer - Verity Lambert
• Script Editor - David Whitaker
• Designer - Raymond Cusick
• Assistant Floor Manager - Jeremy Hare
• Associate Producer - Mervyn Pinfield
• Costumes - Daphne Dare
• Make-Up - Ann Ferriggi
• Production Assistant - Tony Lightley
• Special Sounds - Brian Hodgson
• Studio Lighting - Dennis Channon
• Studio Sound - Jack Brummitt
• Theme Arrangement - Delia Derbyshire
• Title Music - Ron Grainer

Notes

• The first story featuring only the Doctor and his companions
• The first story to take place entirely in the TARDIS with only the regular cast. The only other story to take place entirely inside the TARDIS is the Children In Need Special
• This story is also known as Inside the Spaceship, The Brink of Disaster and Beyond the Sun
• All episodes exist in 16mm telerecordings
• Both episodes were recovered from the negative film prints discovered at BBC Enterprises in 1978
• An Arabic print is also held
• This story was written to make up the number of episodes and meet the shows commitment to the BBC. The show was initially comissioned for 13 episodes. An Unearthly Child (4), The Daleks (7) and therefore an additional 2 episodes were required in case the show should be cancelled at this point.
• Some of the music from this story was released as "Doctor Who at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Volume One - The Early Years, 1963 - 1969" (BBC Music WMSF 6023-2)

Influences

• The Time Machine
• Haunted House Movies

Ratings

• The Edge of Destruction - 10.4m viewers
• The Brink of Disaster - 9.9m viewers

Myths

• This story had the working title Beyond the Sun. (This was a working title used for The Daleks)
• This story was written at short notice because the set for Marco Polo was not complete (See notes for real reason)

Location Filming

• The story was filmed at Lime Grove Studio D

Continuity

• The Doctor realises for the first time that the TARDIS is at least partly sentient, a fact that seems to suprise him.
• The TARDIS's abilities are further expanded upon in Boom Town and The Parting of the Ways
• The fast return switch is again used in The Witch Hunters, Seasons of Fear and Neverland
• The TARDIS power source is beneath the central console
• The TARDIS has an inbuilt memory of all the locations it has previously visited
• Despite the size of the TARDIS Susan and Barbara share a sleeping area
• Susan and the Doctor share a telepathic link with each other and the TARDIS
• The only other episodes to feaure only the Doctor and his companions are The Ark in Space and Children In Need Special
• The Doctor and Susan have visited the planet Quinnis in the fourth universe four of five journeys ago
• The coat the Doctors lends Ian was given to him by Gilbert and Sullivan

Discontinuity

• In episode 1 the studio floor is visible in the "white void" outside the TARDIS
• Fast Return Switch is written in felt tip pen on the console
• There are a couple of serious dialogue problems with William Hartnell. At one point he repeats the same line twice causing problems for the other actors.
• William Hartnell completely omits the scripted explanation for the melted clock faces
• While being central to the plot the idea that a device such as the TARDIS would use a spring seems a little strange

Quotes

Barbara Wright to The Doctor - 'Accuse us! You ought to go down on your knees and thank us! Gratitude's the last thing you'll ever have... or any sort of common sense either!'

Story Arcs

Ian and Barbara's abduction The TARDIS Arc

More Info

• Story Synopsis
• Story Transcript
• Story Novelization
• Story Statistics
• Story in the Media