The Edge of Destruction (TV story)
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.
Plot
The Doctor, while attempting to correct the TARDIS's faulty navigation circuits, causes a small explosion. The Doctor, Barbara, Ian and Susan are all temporarily rendered unconscious. After they awake, Ian and Susan appear to have slight cases of amnesia and everyone begins to act strangely. Unexpected events are happening on the TARDIS, the travellers are becoming suspicious of each other's motives, and the Doctor even accuses Ian and Barbara of sabotage. Fearing that they have been taken over by some alien force -- or that they have intentionally sabotaged the TARDIS in order to force the Doctor to return them to 1963 -- he drugs them and attempts to explore the problem without interference.
Gradually it becomes clear that the strange events are an attempt by the TARDIS itself to warn the crew that something is wrong. The Doctor traces the problem to a broken spring in theFast Return Switch. The malfunction is causing the TARDIS to head back to the beginning of time; the strange events were just the TARDIS's attempts to warn its passengers before the ship is destroyed. Fixing the switch brings all back to normal. The Doctor is forced to do what he least enjoys - apologise, and admit that he was wrong about Barbara and Ian.
The TARDIS materializes on a snowy landscape, where Susan spots a giant footprint in the snow...
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)
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 companion(s) is the 2005 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
References
Individuals
Races and Species
Planets
Astronomical Objects
DVD, Video, and Audio Releases
- DVD Release - This story has not yet been released on DVD
- Video Release - Released as Doctor Who: The Edge of Destruction
- First Release: The BBC originally intended to release this story in a box set with An Unearthly Child and The Daleks but they changed their plans and decided to release each story individually.
- Notes: This video release includes the full takes of the The Pilot Episode
- The US release also included the documentary The Missing Years and episode 3 of The Underwater Menace
External Links
BBC Episode Guide Page with video clips
Story synopsis at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
A Brief History of Time Travel
