The rent was due and they were ACTING. All 4 of the main cast have amazing moments. There isn't a single thing I would change about part 1, but part 2 feels a little stagnant since the dramatic peak for me was in part 1.

The Edge of Destruction 10/10

The Brink of Disaster 9/10

Total 9.5/10

📝6/10

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"The Edge of Destruction: Ambition Meets Chaos in the TARDIS"

The Edge of Destruction stands out as Doctor Who's first truly experimental story, a two-part bottle episode set entirely within the TARDIS. It introduces strange, haunting concepts but struggles to weave them into a coherent narrative.

The serial's ambition is undeniable, but its execution leaves much to be desired. Writer David Whitaker juggles intriguing sci-fi ideas and unexplained phenomena, yet the connections between them often feel forced, as though the conclusion was decided first and the journey pieced together haphazardly.

The sense of mystery and mounting tension among the four main characters drives the early parts of the story, creating an atmosphere of paranoia as they turn against one another. However, the payoff—that unity is the key to success—feels too rushed and underdeveloped.

Characterization falters in significant ways. At such an early stage in the series, the deviations from the characters' established traits feel jarring rather than impactful. Carole Ann Ford’s Susan suffers the most, with her role reduced to exaggerated outbursts, marking the beginning of her decline as a compelling companion. Barbara and the Doctor, however, shine in their confrontational moments, bolstered by stellar performances from Jacqueline Hill and William Hartnell.

Hartnell delivers a standout moment in his reflective monologue at the end of Part Two—a beautifully shot and defining scene for his incarnation of the Doctor. Yet, the resolution to the crisis—a faulty spring on the TARDIS console—is laughably underwhelming, cementing the story's reputation for having one of the weakest and most absurd conclusions in the series' history.

The pacing, while energetic, swings too far into chaos, bombarding the audience with too many ideas in too short a span. While its ambition and atmosphere are commendable, The Edge of Destruction ultimately collapses under the weight of its own experimental nature.

The Edge of Destruction is a wonderful little story. Being just set in the TARDIS and just starring the main team members it could easily get stale but at just 2 parts it doesn't overstay it's welcome. This episode is sort of psychological horror given that there's no tangible villain, just the minds of the characters being messed with. And as a psychological horror it functions very well. As the characters are stuck in the TARDIS there is a sense of claustrophobia; the lighting and music are also used much more effectively to create a sense of atmosphere then you would expect to see in a lot of the Hartnell era.

Where this story shines though is on it's characterisation. The Hartnell era is great because you can watch the active process of the high Gallifreyan mindset get deprogrammed from the Doctor's head by the companions and you see him develop into a more heroic character. This is a great example of this. Barbara gets to tear the Doctor apart here, it's brilliant and Jacqueline Hill performs it so well. The Doctor's character up to this point has been quite sketchy, he tried to kill an innocent man in An Unearthly Child and deceived Ian and Barbara into going into the city in The Daleks. In this story he similarly has moments of deceptiveness and kinda just being a dick but he is called out and at the end of the story comes round and apologises to Barbara showing his growth as a character. It's very clear that this story is a turning point in strengthen the Doctor's relationship to his friends. Hartnell is on fire here. He gets moments of deceptiveness, brashness, whimsy, kindness and a beautifully written monologue, all of which he delivers fantastically. I feel like I a have a tendency to underrate Hartnell because my god... he's just perfect. Overall this is a story that functions as a cool psychological horror as well as a great character piece and turning point for the Doctor. 8/10 / 4 stars.

A beautiful little bottle episode that I don't think could have been made at any other point in the show's history.

Firstly, I want to praise the episodes titles, The Edge of Destruction going into The Brink of Disaster feels very Revival Season 9 to me, and in the best way possible.

This story is just so strange and I kind of love that, there's a real sense of tension and building dread. These characters the audience would've been coming to get to know and love over the last 2+ months are now trapped together, and the worst is being brought out in them. I've seen others comparing it to Midnight or Class' Detained, and I absolutely agree that this feels very much like a precursor to those, but I love that here, unlike Midnight, The Doctor is almost the antagonist of a lot of the story here.

When I say that it's a story you couldn't tell at any other point in the show's history, The Doctor is the main thing I'm talking about, he's brash and rude, and even effectively threatens to kill Ian and Barbara at one point. This story wouldn't work with any other doctor, you just wouldn't believe that he'd do that, but here, where the character's not fully formed yet, where he's still a mystery, you really don't know what he's willing to do.

It's also a great story to help showcase the wide variety of stories that can be told with the show. Often-times the new series will start with a trio of episodes, one in the past, one the present, one the future, and here, The Edge of Destruction finishes out that trilogy that the first two eras of the show tend to do. An Unearthly Child shows the past, The Daleks shows the future, and The Edge of Destruction is more of a 'sidestep'.

The character acting here is also great here, I especially love the way The Doctor uses a light to explain what happened to Susan, or the moment where he admits to Ian that they only have five minutes, and they both sort of share a moment.

The only reason this isn't higher is that, where other stories are somewhat let down by the stylings of the time, I feel this story is really let down by it. I think different camera angles, or more use of darkness could have really improved this story, but of course that wasn't the done thing at the time.

So the last thing I want to mention then, it Barbara. The way she stands up for herself against The Doctor, how she's not taking any ■■■■ from him, even when Ian is so ready to forgive and forget, she's not, she needs to hear that apology, and she can't move on in their relationship without it, it's a great point of characterisation which I just adore, and absolutely moves Barbara up my companion ranking

There is some interesting dialogue and character development in this, as well as the most coolest water dispenser I've ever seen (I wish they existed). However, nothing really happens story wise across the two episodes. They very much feel like 'spare' episodes when compared to The Daleks but its nice to see various different rooms in the TARDIS and see the seeds sown for the idea of the time machine being a 'living creature'.