The Edge of Destruction

Warning: all reviews contain some spoilers

Season 1: episode 3

Let me start with the good... this episode has only two parts. Even then, I'm afraid I couldn't watch the whole thing all the way through. 45 solid minutes of Susan freaking out, Ian and Barbara walking around like zombies, and the Doctor either flubbing or improvising every line he has makes for excruciating torture. On the whole, the episode feels like it is stalling, or trying to get the most out of the TARDIS set, which hasn't had much screen time up until now -- save for brief visits at the beginning and end of the prior story arcs.

The feel of the episode is supposed to be one of mystery and a number of red herrings are thrown into the mix. Is there an invisible enemy? Is the TARDIS broken? Did Ian and Barbara actually have a hand in sabotage? The answer is none of these... the answer is one of the springs in the time machine is broken and a button was left at the ON position. Err... come again?

Apparently there is a 'fast return' switch on the TARDIS, which can take them back from the far future of the Daleks and Skaro. The TARDIS, being the extremely advanced machine that it is, tried to warn them with some sort of psychic emergency system. Why a machine that can communicate psychically with its passengers relies on a spring release button is never explained. Nor is it explained why a machine that can psychically communicate danger isn't better at doing so... a simple red-lettered warning sign would have been more effective.

The whole episode also has the feel of a live broadcast. Either the show was live back in 1963 or they had precious few takes to get things right. Ian and the Doctor have some clumsy exchanges where they walk over each other's lines or seem to forget what should be said next. Very strange from an American perspective -- even the crappiest shows from the 60's still had a polish to their productions. They may not have said anything interesting or thought provoking, but they said it correctly and with expert editing.

Had I been watching in 1963 I may have been apt to leave the series for a while. As it is, I have my task ahead of me. I can only assume things go upward from here.

I've decided to skip incomplete or reconstructed story arcs, so I'll be skipping over Marco Polo and on to the Keys of Marinus.