003. The Edge of Destruction Parts I & II

I was hoping to avoid a long delay, but as the semester rapidly nears its conclusion my time becomes increasingly accounted for by students and papers.

003. "The Edge of Destruction" Part I: The Edge of Destruction (February 8, 1964)
003. "The Edge of Destruction" Part II: The Brink of Disaster (February 15, 1964)

Susan goes full DePalma.

Here I'm trying out a different approach. I'm axing the step by step synopsis of the plot in favor of an overview. I figure you can watch the episodes for yourself or consult the many plot descriptions available throughout the web (wikipedia, for example).

The idea of the third serial is smart, but the execution is pretty terrible. The Edge of Destruction is a simple two-parter that could have provided some much needed breathing room after two fantastical serials that took us into the stone age and a high-tech alien world (it's also possible that Destruction, which takes place exclusively inside the TARDIS, gave the budget some breathing room after the high concept serials that proceeded it).

The set up is simple: the four members come to (and take an inordinate amount of time getting their bearings) only to discover that the TARDIS is trapped in a limbo state that won't allow the four members to leave the ship. Someone or something may be taking over and possibly possessing members of the crew. It's a now-classic cabin fever scenario (Star Trek did this a lot). Paranoia threatens to tear the crew apart and lead them all to certain doom. If done properly it could have been as tense as The Thing.

The problem is that everything in these two episodes comes off as flat, meandering, and repetitive. The intimacy is wasted due to (what I'm assuming is) a terrible script that needed revisions and once filmed it was too late to go back.

Early on the episode hints at a possible alien force entering the TARDIS and taking over the Doctor or Susan, as their behavior becomes erratic, aggressive, and suspicious of everyone. Accusations of sabotage start flying. At first this seems to be evidence of the Doctor being possessed as he blames Ian for literally everything that has ever happened. On top of this, all deductions and possible solutions are equally pulled out of thin air with no grounding or reason. The episodes are reduced to random statements being declared by the characters with nothing to back them, which is totally anathema to the style this show has established.

The icing on the cake is when the reveal shows that the whole reason the TARDIS is trapped in a state of imminent destruction is because a button is stuck and hasn't released from being pressed down! This in itself is hilarious and helps illustrate the continuing arrogance of the Doctor, but it also makes the theme of possession utterly worthless. Suspicion of sabotage, sure, but why on Earth did the Doctor and Susan act like such fucking crazy assholes? Like, the Doctor literally sentences Ian to death by exile from the TARDIS for his sabotage. Death! It's the kind of major plot hole that overshadows the rest of the episode. And had this been well-executed it wouldn't have mattered, but these episodes are by far the worst in the show (so far): dull, tedious, and sloppy, as if the creators decided to just wing it. What really sinks it is the repetitive bickering (a frequent problem of the series that is exacerbated by being the only action here) and the lack of grounding for the ideas the character's have. Thus far the show has emphasized the problem solving process as its key source of dramatic action, so it's bizarre how unfounded everything is here. Lastly, the possibility of some intimate character development was squandered.

If you're pressed for time and not a completest then consider skipping these two episodes.

However, there are a couple of highlights.

Seeing the inside of the TARDIS, particularly the living spaces, was interesting. It reminded me of the modernist house in Mon Oncle.

One of the final scenes is of the Doctor apologizing to Susan for the unfounded accusations he made. This is a great scene and one of the only moments of this serial that recalls the style and execution of the previous successes.

Lastly, the idea for this episode is fascinating: a paranoia thriller that is actually about making unfounded accusations where one should be checking the equipment thoroughly. But it's unreal that I shouldn't expect a few clunkers here and there.

UP NEXT: my first foray into the lost and reconstructed episodes:Marco Polo Part I "The Roof of the World".

002. "The Daleks" part 7

002. "The Daleks" Part 7: The Rescue (February 1, 1964)

Apologies for the delay. This has been almost-finished for weeks. For upcoming installments I'm going to play around with a different format, maybe less play by play synopsis and more impressionistic notes.

The final episode of the serial begins with Hunky Brother running to Ian's help as Chicken Shit dangles over the crevasse. "It's too smooth!" he yells as his grip begins to slip. Before Hunky Brother can do much of anything, Chicken Shit pulls out a knife a cuts the rope, saving Ian but falling to his death.

Turns out he wasn't a coward after all.

The sequence lingers on Ian and Hunky Brother's face, contemplating the toll of this expedition.

a great tracking shot btw.

We then cut to a rather brief Dalek sequence that gives us the Doctor and Susan chained to the wall. The Doctor and a Dalek are talking over each other about finding another way instead of radiating the entire planet, but the only discernible dialogue is in a close up of the Doctor's face as he mumbles about "senseless, evil killing!"

Back in the cave we realize that the party is down to four people: Ian, Barbara, Hunky Brother, and a plus one Thal. Hunky is ready to throw in the towel and they seem to have reached a dead end, meaning they'll have to recross the crevasse. A heated argument about Chicken Shit dying for nothing breaks out, but Ian insists he died for them. Their lamp begins to flicker and they turn it off to save power, which reveals a light source into the cave.

 psst. hey kid, wanna travel space and time?

They find it and peek through into none other than the Dalek's own water treatment plant.

Back on the other side of the city Alydon and Foxy discuss the Doctor. Apparently he succeeded in knocking out the power of the radio or static or something (it's not entirely clear), but his absence means he must have been captured.

Alydon determines the time to attack is now! He gives a rousing speech: "We may be farmers but have we forgotten how to fight?!" Then answer: yes, Alydon, jesus that's what the last two episodes were literally about.

Back in the Dalek control room the Doctor tries to make a bargain for his and Susan's life (it's still uncertain why the Daleks wouldn't have killed them already). He tells them about the TARDIS and their ability to travel through time and space, but the Daleks don't believe it. The Doctor points out the fluid link as proof of the technology, to which the Daleks simply say they will wait until everyone is dead and then go examine the TARDIS.

The Doctor tells them that without him they'll never figure it out, but the Dalek responds: "Every problem has a solution." This exchange, though brief, is one of the best of the serial with the Daleks. It really gets to the heart of how both the Doctor and the Daleks think and frames their struggle as one of humanist improvisation and the death-cult of unfeeling pragmatism.

The scene ends with the Daleks being made aware that the Thals have breached the city.

From here on out things get chaotic in the best possible way. We follow the frantic advancing of Ian, Barbara, and the Thals as well as the confusion of the Daleks within the control room.

We cut to Ian and company moving through the old familiar hallways of the Dalek city. Barbara says that all the hallways look alike, a clever reflection on the economic production design of reusing the same set over and over again, but hey it works.

Back inside said control room we're treated to a show of Ian smashing a camera from the perspective of the screen.

The Daleks bark orders to unseen armies, directing troops from their command center. We learn the last stages of their operation are about to begin. The Doctor desperately pleads with them not to kill everything on the planet.

Ian and company fortuitously cross paths with Alydon. The plan is now to find the control room and knock it out, but just as this is said the Daleks start sealing off corridors with heavy metal doors.

We get a quick shot of Dalek confusion (for some reason).

And then back to those sealing doors. Barbara is fixin' to be crushed by one, but it seems the doors can be halted with force.

Quick cut back to the Daleks who are now counting down from the thirties.

Following this is an incredible 180 degree pan of the control room, beginning with the dead Thal, through some Daleks, and ends by looking down a long hallway with Ian and company sneaking their way in. All the while the countdown to radiation continues.

Once Ian and Alydon make their way into the control room the ensuing battle gets pretty frantic.

They free the Doctor and Susan. Barbara hurls a rock at a Dalek. Some Thals get zapped. Some Thals jump on Daleks, others knock them down. In the chaos the countdown stops and the power source of the radiation meltdown is destroyed, which also immobilizes all of the Daleks.

This is followed by a startling quiet and a survey of the damage. The frantic editing serves the fight scenes well here. In the past this has lead to incoherent confrontations, but here it is used deliberately to reflect the chaos of multiple characters involved in frantic life or death struggle.

The serial concludes back in the forest near the TARDIS. The Thals are eating while the Doctor works on some machinery. Alydon asks where the Doctor comes from and if he'll stay, prompting a short monologue in close up:

"You wanted advice, you said. I never give it. Never. But I might just say this to you: always search for truth. My truth is in the stars and yours is here." Translation: I'm gonna explore space and time, make do with this shit-hole, loser.

We're then treated to a series of final words, gifts, and goodbyes. The Doctor shakes Alydon's hand and Barbara and Hunky Brother share a tender moment. He gives her some material for a dress and kisses her hand, by Barbara goes in for the full french. She's a lady who knows what she wants. They enter the TARDIS and it disappears.

Inside the TARDIS the Doctor runs around the console pulling levers and hitting buttons. There's a loud disconcerting sound and the four fall down as if struck by something.



UP NEXT: The Edge of Destruction Part 1, "The Edge of Destruction"

002. "The Daleks" part 6

002. "The Daleks" Part 6: The Ordeal (January 25, 1964)

My prayers have been answered. The failures of Part 5 are not repeated here, proving that the last episode was just a sloppy anomaly. This installment returns to basics: well-grounded scenes built on character relationships and creating tension and drama from simple obstacles. And what an excellent example of those features this episode turns out to be.

The Thal filling the water bags was sucked in to the vortex and the episode gets under way with a powerful image of empty water bags swirling in the water.

We then linger for several beats on the whole crew mourning this loss, adding some weight to the first life lost in this whole endeavor. Already this episode has slowed down to give gravitas to its small moments. Also, this dude is taking the loss real bad:

 
This will come into play later as he develops into a more distinctive Thal extra, as with the visual motif of mourning death.

Meanwhile Team B (Susan, the Doctor, Alydon, and his lady) are spying on the city and drawing a map. Their plan is to disrupt the Dalek's radio and television frequencies.

Inside the city the Daleks give a report on the neutron bomb option. Turns out it will take almost a month to build, which is time they do not have with the impending Thal attack. Here we return to the terse Dalek sequences that avoid flatness by giving too much dialogue and exposition in those robot voices. Just a quick update and a little more insight into how their calculating minds work.

Cut to Barbara and the Hunky Brother "exploring the caves" together. They are looking for ways into the city, but this becomes a tender moment between the two characters whose relationship was hinted at in the previous episode. The intimate scene leads to them discovering the sound of running water. More importantly, we got some good Barbara moments. Consider the following exchange, in script format, you see:

BARBARA

Remember what Ian says, we're not to take any chances.

HUNKY BROTHER

Do you always do what Ian says?

BARBARA

No. I don't.

This is some saucy stuff. Barbara is easily one of the most dynamic characters of the four. Ian could be, but he's too self-righteous and chauvinistic at this point in the series. Until we get moments of his failures he'll never seem as human as Barbara, Susan, or the Doctor.

Barbara's also into some kinky shit.

Barbara and the Hunk find a hole and decide to spelunk that shit. Hunk goes through on a rope and Barbara ties it to a rock, albeit poorly, as it gives way and Hunk falls to his potential doom. But just as things were getting heavy with Barbara and Hunk, Ian shows up with a cadre of Thals and decides to take over. Turns out it was a small drop into a big cavern with many tunnels.

Back in the city the Daleks are alarmed at the "great movement among the Thal people" and the fact that their images are not working.

The Thals outside are using large reflective sheets to blind the video towers.

The Doctor, Susan, and Alydon have now entered into the city walls, ending in a close up of a giddy (or vindictive) Doctor who promises, "we'll show them a thing or two."

We then cut to an incredible shot of the side of a tunnel with Ian, Barbara, Hunky, and the Thals walking through it. It looks like a diorama or the cross section of a location from a Wes Anderson film.

Here we get a scene of one of the most prominent Thal extras, let's call him Chicken Shit, arguing with Hunk about wanting to go back. He goes off about how they'll never defeat the Daleks and all this is hopeless. Hunk won't let him leave, but before anything can happen there is a convenient rock cave-in that knocks Chicken Shit out and blocks the way they came.

Can't go back now, loser.

A quick scene of Daleks shouting emergency and saying that they can track the attackers with vibrations, thus taking them by surprise (a pretty neat piece of technology that probably could have been established sooner).

Back outside the city Susan, the Doctor, and Alydon arrive at a fuse box thing mounted on the wall. Somehow the Doctor determines this is the power source for the static electricity that powers the city...or the radio towers...or something. The Doctor tells Alydon to go command the Thals to redirect their light beams at a different tower while the Doctor proceeds to smash the fuse box and uses the TARDIS key to redirect a current into another fuse box for something (I'm unsure of the details here).

Before Alydon leaves he implores them to hurry, but the Doctor is too proud of his accomplishment not to revel in it for a spell. Low and behold he and Susan are descended upon by ambushing Daleks.

Back in the cave Ian and Hunky arrive at a deep crevasse. They male-bond over trying to figure out a way to pass it (it's too deep to climb down and can't be circumnavigated). As they brainstorm the sound of the running water adds a nice touch to this slow, quiet sequence. Ian decides it has to be jumped and goes first.

With a rope tied around his waste he makes the leap and the action editing is actually pretty good. Hunky jumps next.

We return to the Daleks one last time. They have the Doctor and Susan sitting like school children on the floor while they Bond villain monologue their plan. We get a brief rehashing of how the Daleks need radiation to survive and are going to overload their reactors and flood the atmosphere with radiation.

discussing the final solution to the Thal question.

The Doctor calls them murderers, but they says its extermination! They go into some weird heil Hitler chant that is difficult to make out.

I'm not sure why they didn't kill the Doctor and Susan immediately. I mean, they're going to kill everyone with radiation so it doesn't seem like they need them to set a trap. Also, why would they explain their plan to them? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Back at the crevasse Barbara makes the jump. Then a Thal, leaving Chicken Shit as the final member. He stares down the crevasse. Ian throws him the rope and talks him through the process while Chicken Shit mumbles that he can't do it.

 best shot in the whole serial.

He jumps and falls, almost taking Ian with him as the rope connects them. Chicken Shit dangles and screams while Ian barely holds on to the slippery rock. The episode ends in a literal cliff hanger.

UP NEXT: The Daleks Part 7, "The Rescue"