The Edge of Desctruction

This two parter is otherwise known as Inside the Spaceship.

It is an interesting story with a departure from the normal adventures. The whole story is entirely based within the 'spaceship' (TARDIS) and involves strange goings on which lead to all 4 lead characters acting very peculiarly and becoming suspicious and antagonistic towards each other.

There are problems in that while Hartnell as the Doctor acts as well as usual and the part of Barbara as ever is portrayed well by Jacqueline Hill, both the other members of the crew with their very strange behaviour seem a little jarring at times. Their performances are a bit strained by the unusual material. Carole Ann Ford struggles and even the usually brilliant William Russell puts in possibly his least convincing performance. To be fair, when being called upon to act in such odd ways and so out of character it makes things very difficult for the actors, especially so early after the series creation.

Another problem is the story is not entirely well executed with the mystery and claustrophobic suspicion and suspense working really well at times but being rather illogically and too easily resolved at other times. The first episode is intriguing and holds your attention but can be a bit over the top. The second is more even and well acted but has some strange resolutions to the mysteries.

Overall this is a bravely different foray into claustrophobic mystery, not perfectly executed but good stuff in many ways.

My Ratings: Episodes 1 & 2 - 7/10

A strange story from a time when the program wasn't quite sure what it wanted to be. I give it points for originality and for sheer oddity compared to the formulaic content that fills most of the show's history. As a story, though, it doesn't have much going for it.

The Edge of Destruction is one of those stories that you either love or you hate completely. The plot shows the Doctor, Ian, Barbara, and Susan stuck in the TARDIS and everyone starts acting weirder than what has come to be known as normal, mainly the fact that Susan tries to kill people with scissors, the Doctor drugs everyone, Barbara goes crazy, and Ian acts almost high.

The story keeps itself as a fun romp through the TARDIS corridors and ends in a conclusion that can only be described as weird due to everything going crazy from a switch being held down. Highlights too the props for melting clocks/watches and Richard Martin being able to direct a story well enough for everyone. I like psychedelic stories, but everything sort of works out and the story really won't be for everyone. Recommendation would be to sit back and turn off your brain to enjoy.

This story story is good but not great in my opinion. It is only 2 parts long (45 mins) and can feel like filler between The Daleks and Marco Polo. The plot is good in the first part and creates real mystery but the explanation in the second part really lets the plot down and damages the overall story. The Acting however is great in this story and we see our team be torn apart by what is happening to them. This story is also a good insight into how the TARDIS functions and has some kind of intelligence. The short time frame really works in this story keeping the drama throughout. Overall, there isn't that much to say about this story other than it's pretty good and it come in 'the beginning' box set so you are probably going to end up with it anyway and I give it a 7 / 10.