Old Skool Tour: The Edge of Destruction

[rangersyl]

"You know, my dear child, I think your old grandfather is going a tiny little bit around the bend."

Flawed, but groundbreaking. You could say that about most Who, actually.

The real story in "The Edge of Destruction" is less 'Oh noes! We're at the Edge of Destruction!' and more 'How Ian & Barbara and Susan & the Doctor became friends'. This story contains a lot of the Doctor being a treacherous old git, with a heaping side order of Creepy!Susan. But by the end, there is a truce and the forging of a trusting relationship between the Gallifreyans and the humans. This is good, because if the Doctor -- and let's face it, the interpersonal drama of the first two serials was the Doctor's fault -- had continued to be a treacherous old git, the show wouldn't have lasted beyond a first season.

When it comes down to the plot, telling a story this abstract with the limited tools at their disposal was like walking a tightrope between creepy and unnerving vs. implausible and ridiculous. The story as a whole tumbled off of that tightrope on several occasions.

Other observations:

- Even though everyone's behavior wasn't supposed to make sense, I found the lack of sense disturbing.

- Carole Ann Ford was all over the place on this one. When she was 'on' as Susan, she was great. But when she cried out inexplicably and threw herself writhing onto the floor... well. Granted, I won't blame her entirely for it because the director and the editing were not always kind to her.

- Upon further reflection, I'm going to blame the script, director and editor for the sometimes bizarre overacting. It wasn't just Susan, but the Doctor got in on it, as well as the usually near-perfect Ian and Barbara. In other words, if something makes me want to slap Ian and Barbara -- it's not Jacqueline Hill's or William Russell's fault. Ever.

- If you have this on DVD, check out the extras. There are lots of interviews with Verity Lambert, Carole Ann Ford and William Russell, among others. They discuss how much flak they caught for Evil!Scissors!Susan as well as theorizing WHY "FAST RETURN SWITCH" was written on the console with a sharpie.

- Barbra PWNS. She so TOTALLY PWNS. Not only does she figure out that the TARDIS is trying to tell them something is wrong, she also earns extra points for calling the Doctor a 'Stupid old man'. And she speaks with the voice of how many exasperated companions when she says: "You ought to go down on your hands and knees as thank us. Gratitude is the last thing you'll ever have, or any sort of common sense, either." :: looks at Martha ::

- On to the groundbreaking parts. The TARDIS is alive! It's telepathic! It has a mind of its own! And the power source is under the console. RTD uses this directly in "Boom Town" and "Parting of the Ways". A fact which Verity Lambert thought quite cool. Grumble deus ex machina grumble. But at least it's a deus ex machina shout-out to Old Skool.

- The other significant development: The Doctor. From here on out, he's less the anti-hero and more 'the man who makes people better'.

- The more I see of the earliest TARDIS interior, the more I like it. It wasn't just a stark white control room -- there were other rooms and controls all over the place. The Doctor collected all kinds of bric-a-brac and stored it every corner. I will have to take exception to those beds in Susan and Barbara's room, though. Those beds must have been all the rage on Gallifrey, but they're something only a Time Lord would find comfortable. Apparently the Doctor gradually develops a preference for Earth furniture. Future companions will greatly appreciate this, I'm sure. That, and the mothballing of the creepy food dispenser.

- First mention of the wardrobe room! Booyah!

- I'm not sure about you, but I'm not all that impressed with Time Lord technology if all that trouble was caused by a broken spring. Redundancy in design is a good thing.

The bottom line: A pivotal slice of Who that tries to be creepy and unnerving, and for the most part succeeds. The plot is thin, and you may be embarrassed for the actors. All is forgiven, though, in that last scene with Barbara and the Doctor.