Review: The Edge of Destruction

The Edge of Destruction has gained a well-deserved reputation as one of the strangest Doctor Who serials ever to have been broadcast and it has often been much maligned. Script problems on other serials coupled with the BBC’s decision to originally only grant the show a trial thirteen episode run had left the makers of Doctor Who with a two episode gap to fill. Story editor (the title of script editor wasn’t used until later in the show’s history) David Whitaker therefore completed the script in just two days basing it all in the one set and using only the four regular cast members. In that respect The Edge of Destruction is unique in Doctor Who and it is an incredibly important serial in the development of all four of the original cast members.

The tone for the serial is set very early with an eerie atmosphere evident right from the opening scene particularly when a zombie-like Susan enters the fray. This eventually turns towards a genuine horror sensibility, which wouldn’t be seen in Doctor Who again for some time and arguably never again to the same extent. The malfunction of the Tardis allows the directors of the serial to exploit some dramatic lighting and the use of only the Tardis set develops a genuinely claustrophobic feel that only adds to the tension. In many ways it is a return to the success of the first episode of the debut serial An Unearthly Child when sharp dialogue and a reliance on the actors resulted in such a darkly atmospheric piece.

The Edge of Destruction is ultimately an actor’s serial. Each character experiences more different emotions in these two episodes than in many other whole serials. Susan in particular takes on a much more interesting role here than she had previously played in The Daleks, where even at that early stage in the series the character had begun to fall into what would later become known as the stereotypical role of ‘the screamer’. This is most famously exhibited in the scene in which seemingly possessed she threatens Ian with a pair of scissors. This in itself would be extremely shocking, but the moment when she begins to repeatedly stab the chair  beneath her in a frenzied state is one of the most surprising in Doctor Who history. Unsurprisingly it garnered some complaints and the producers of the show admitted that in that instance they had gone too far for a childrens programme. While this is undoubtedly true and it would be unthinkable to see such a scene in Doctor Who these days, it is nonetheless a wonderfully powerful image and adds an incredibly dramatic threat.

Under the pressure of carrying the story the cast do an excellent job. There are occasional moments where William Russell and Carole Ann Ford both slightly overplay their ‘possession’ (also it’s noticeable in all the early shows how difficult it is to convincingly act fainting), but these are the exceptions and at a time when one-take was the norm they can certainly be forgiven the odd indiscretion. The stand-out performer unquestionably though is Jacqueline Hill as Barbara. It’s hard to think of any actor in the show’s fifty year history who put in such consistently wonderful performances as Hill and she is simply superb here. She invests the character with a quiet dignity at all times and is totally believable throughout. The scene in episode one where all the clock faces on the Tardis have melted is let down by the effects and it is quite hard to work out exactly what has happened on first watch, however Hill’s reaction and her genuine sense of anguish completely sells it and overcomes the shortcomings caused by the shows meagre budget.

The relationship between the crew of the Tardis changes dramatically after The Edge of Destruction and for that reason it stands as one of the most important serials in the shows long run. While the tension and conflict between the four main characters had worked to make the show an engaging and dramatic success over the early episodes it would have been hard to sustain such an atmosphere for much longer. Key to the change is the development of the Doctor’s character. Up until this serial he had been unsympathetic, crotchety and generally untrustworthy with moments of selfishness and cowardice thrown in. For much of The Edge of Destruction little seems to have changed. His first reaction to the signs that things are starting to go wrong is to accuse Ian and Barbara of meddling and his only shows of concern are once again towards Susan. As episode one progresses his accusations grow in size leading to a wonderful scene in which Barbara fights back, legitimately pointing out that without his new companions he would almost certainly have been killed in his two previous adventures and ultimately calling the Doctor “a stupid old man”, a speech again brilliantly delivered by Jacqueline Hill. He repeatedly ignores Ian and Susan’s pleas to apologise to Barbara and by the beginning of episode two his anger and aggression has grown even further towards them. What is perhaps more surprising is to see Susan, though very briefly, also turn on her friends and it is noticeable again that Hill plays Barbara’s reaction to her accusations differently and with a greater air of desperation than The Doctor’s. The darker edge to the Doctor’s character is once again drawn out when he states that Ian and Barbara must be treated as enemies and be punished as such. The reaction of Susan to this statement leaves viewers in no doubt of the seriousness of the punishment and once again shows the threat that the Doctor posed in the early stage of his development.

The first chink of light in the relationship between the Doctor and his companions comes midway through episode two when he realises that he was wrong in his accusations and states the necessity of them all working together to survive, admitting for the first time that he needs them. This is borne out when once again the Doctor seems out of ideas and ready to prepare for death and it is Barbara who again shows some proactivity in trying to unravel the mystery of what has happened to the Tardis. He does show some signs of compassion and concern, albeit by todays standards in an unacceptably sexist manner by sheltering the two girls from the truth of how long they potentially had left to live and encouraging Ian to face death alongside him. When eventually the problem is worked out and danger is averted there is an immediate change in the Doctor’s character, he is apologetic and warm towards Ian and when setting the Tardis controls he for the first time shows a genuine excitement about traveling with his new friends. The final scene of the serial where he makes his apology to Barbara takes these changes further and the warmth and friendliness of the Doctor is clearly evident, as is the beginnings of a bond between him and Barbara that will arguably be the strongest of any of the first Doctor’s with his companions.

Alongside the four regular cast members, the fifth character in The Edge of Destruction is the Tardis itself, as this is the first indication that it is more than simply a ship. Thanks to the new series in particular we are now entirely familiar with the idea that the Tardis is a living breathing entity, but it’s clear that even as Ian and Barbara made the first suggestion that maybe it could think for itself, the writers had no such concrete plans. The Doctor initially dismisses the idea, though shortly after admits that it is possible that in a different way to theirs it might have some capacity for thought. In doing so Whitaker added a further layer of mystery to the show.

The climax of the mystery is in many ways quite disappointing. After the drama and tension of the two episodes to discover that it had all been caused by a single switch being stuck in place is slightly anti-climactic. particularly as the idea of the Tardis having a ‘fast-return’ button is a slightly clunky device anyway (this isn’t helped by the famous mistake of having the words ‘fast return’ written in marker pen above the switch, supposedly as a rehearsal aid for Hartnell). Despite this The Edge of Destruction is a classic example of the journey being more important than the ending. It represents the beginning of the Doctor as we know him and slowly turns the Tardis crew from reluctant companions into genuine friends. Not bad for a serial that was never planned.

Review: The Daleks

The Daleks saw the Doctor and the Tardis crew make their first trip together to an alien world and in doing so encountered their first alien beings who would prove to be the most iconic in the series’ history. The impact of the Daleks was immediate and saw the show’s viewing figures climb dramatically, establishing it in the public consciousness. As a creation they transcend the programme and it is remarkable to think that they represented just the kind of ‘bug-eyed monster’ that the series’ creators had initially set out to avoid.

Following on from An Unearthly Child, the initial exchanges in The Daleks are a slight disappointment. The dialogue between the show regulars that had sparked with tension in the first story here falls a little flat. Terry Nation the writer of the serial and creator of the Daleks has a reputation for writing good adventure stories, but his dialogue is often less impressive. The actors also seem to be having a tricky time delivering the lines, with their excellent naturalistic performances from the first serial slightly slipping in quality in the early stages of the new adventure. William Hartnell fluffs the odd line, but I should point out at this stage that these mistakes have never bothered me. There’s an argument from some fans that many of the so-called fluffs were deliberate on the part of Hartnell as part of his characterisation of the Doctor. Personally I think the fluffs are understandable mistakes given the pressure on the actor and the ridiculously tough recording schedule he and the acting team had to deal with. There are times when they interrupt the flow, but more often than not they make little difference and deliberate or not can be seen as part of the charm of the first Doctor.

The Daleks had two different directors over it’s seven episode run, Christopher Barry and Richard Martin. Both make some interesting choices and there are some very nice touches such as when Barbara places her hand on the camera lens when feeling her way around a wall. Generally though the more interesting and experimental elements of the direction jar with what is a pretty static piece. In particular the directors seemed to struggle with exactly how to make the scenes involving just the Daleks seem interesting given their lack of movement and often long speeches. That said, Barry does provide us with one of the most iconic shots in Doctor Who history as episode one ends with Barbara pressed against the wall in fear as we see a Dalek arm approaching her.

So to our eponymous monsters. They make their first full appearance in episode two and the first thing that is noticeable about them is how incredibly verbose they are. The nature of the Dalek speech pattern and their relatively static nature in this serial does cause a few issues with the flow and rhythm of the adventure, nonetheless their initial appearance makes an immediate impact. It’s well worth stating in the week of his sad death that this is in no small part down to the brilliant work of Raymond Cusick. The design of the monsters has barely changed in fifty years and the many subsequent attempts to recreate their success by later designers demonstrates just how impressive Cusick’s achievements were. It is also notable that at this early stage the Daleks haven’t quite developed their exterminate on sight policy. They initially simply temporarily paralyse Ian when he attempts to escape and overall these Daleks are far more scheming and thoughtful than many of their later incarnations. In episode four we get our first tiny glimpse of the insides of a Dalek. I mentioned in my review of An Unearthly Child how particularly in the early stages of the show much use was made out of the reactions of the actors to events happening off screen. This is a classic example of how well that can work to cover up a limited budget and the limits of special effects. When Ian and the Doctor lift up the lid of the Dalek casing their reaction is immediately one of horror and disgust, it’s a wonderful moment and it allows the audience to imagine what they may have seen. Shortly after we get a glimpse under a Thal cloak of the Dalek and though it is only fleeting it can’t really live up to the effect of that initial reaction shot.

By the end of the serial there are the first signs of the Doctor who we see as a hero starting to show themselves. However, at the beginning he is still very much the untrustworthy and seemingly selfish individual we left at the end of An Unearthly Child. As the Tardis crew land on the unfamiliar planet they all agree that they should leave as soon as possible and only the Doctor wants to stay. He therefore lies to his companions, claiming that he needs mercury for the Tardis fluid link in order to leave, ultimately endangering the lives of them all just to satisfy his scientific curiosity. His first thought remains his own safety and he is seemingly quite happy to leave Barbara stranded when it first becomes clear they are in danger, even snapping at Susan when she challenges him for this reaction. Despite this there is evidence of a bond developing between him and Barbara later in the story. First he praises her ingenuity when they overpower the Dalek and then later they form an alliance when attempting to persuade Ian to use the Thals to get into the Dalek city. Ian’s relationship with the Doctor remains frostier, but they enjoy a nice moment after the Doctor gets Ian’s name wrong. The Doctor remains happy to leave the Thals to deal with the Daleks on their own until he realises they cannot leave without first returning to the Dalek city. It’s noticeable though that at the end of the adventure the Doctor remains with the Thals for longer than is absolutely necessary, suggesting that his meeting with the pure evil of the Daleks, coupled with his introduction to Ian and Barbara has already made him re-assess his general policy of non-intervention and self-preservation.

As the Thals are introduced the story turns into an attack against pacifism as Ian and the crew attempt to persuade their alien allies that fighting the Daleks is essential if they are to survive. Sadly the Thals come across as being rather bland. It’s ironic that given the clear influence of the Nazis on the Daleks that the Thals are positively arian in their looks and while they look mostly the same they are also fairly indistinguishable as characters. The exception is the character of Antodus, who though mostly whiny and cowardly, does have his own personality and when eventually dying in a moment of self-sacrifice he completes an interesting character arc that is sadly lacking with his fellow Thals. Of course the Tardis crew do eventually manage to persuade the Thals of the need to fight and the Doctor’s response of “the mind will always triumph” to Ian’s query of how they were supposed to take on the Daleks with no weapons can be seen as a defining mantra for the show in the ensuing years.

The link between the Daleks and the Nazis is often mentioned and it’s clear from very early on in their creation, most blatantly in episode six when their arms point upwards in a Nazi style salute and they chant of becoming ‘the master race’. Ian had earlier pinpointed the Daleks hatred of the Thals as simply a ‘fear of the unlike’ though there is again a slight irony in the positioning of this statement. It comes in the middle of a scene in which Barbara and Ian talk regularly of a lack of humanity and human characteristics in the Daleks and the tone and manner of their speech makes it clear that they are including the Thals under the umbrella of the term ‘human’ simply because they look like them, when of course they are really just as alien as the Daleks.

Ultimately The Daleks isn’t the best Dalek serial in Doctor Who, but as the first it is an early watershed moment in the history of the show. The Daleks themselves are very successful and they provide a genuine menace that makes it easy to understand why they caught on to such an enormous extent. The Doctor and his companions’ relationships are continuing to develop alongside the series itself. A development that would kick on once more with the next serial, the unique The Edge of Destruction.

 

Review: Who on Earth is Tom Baker?

Tom Baker’s autobiography ‘Who on Earth is Tom Baker?’ was published in 1997 so it’s fair to say that this isn’t exactly a topical review. However, having sat down to read it again recently I felt the need to champion the book for anyone yet to discover it’s magic.

The first thing to say about the book is that anyone reading it simply looking for a memoir of Baker’s time on Doctor Who may be disappointed. My well-thumbed paperback copy clocks in, thanks to some remarkably small print, at 262 pages. Baker is offered the part of the Doctor in chapter sixteen beginning on page 181, so the role that made him famous takes up only just over a quarter of the book. Who fans shouldn’t let this put them off. Through childhood, his attempt to make it in the church, national service, family life and his acting career Baker’s life has been fascinating and he is quite simply a wonderful story teller. The cast of characters he introduces us to is quite remarkable and gives credence to his suggestion that no writer has ever been able to come up with characters as interesting as those he has met in real life. He is witty, clever and brutally honest, allowing the book to veer seamlessly between being laugh out loud funny and terribly sad. Often seeming to be at odds with the world, you are left with the belief that while we got arguably the best Doctor in the show’s long run, Baker found the part that possibly saved him.

Ultimately I would recommend this book to anyone, whether you have an interest in Doctor Who or not (but if you’re reading this you probably do). Tom Baker is one of the classic British eccentrics and it is no surprise that he is still held in such great esteem. For Who fans I’d say it’s a must. The book is unlikely to reveal anything new about the show to fans, particularly so long after it’s original publication, but it is a wonderful insight into the man who was the Doctor for longer than anyone else. A genuine five star read.

Review: An Unearthly Child

And so it began. On the 23rd November 1963, the first episode of a new weekly science-fiction show aired to generally favourable reviews, but was ultimately largely overshadowed by the assassination of President Kennedy the previous day. Nonetheless, that first episode set the show on a path that would see it still captivating audiences fifty years into the future. While the show has developed massively since that first broadcast, it’s testimony to the creativity of those involved in the original run that so much has remained the same.

An Unearthly Child is a tricky serial to review as one whole piece of drama. Instead it’s far easier to break it down into two separate pieces; the first episode, from which the serial takes it’s name, and the three remaining episodes after the Tardis has made it’s first journey. The initial episode remains one of the most atmospheric and intense pieces of drama I have ever seen. The opening moments are iconic, beginning with the unique title sequence and theme music, the camera then pans through a junkyard following in the footsteps of a policeman, eventually settling on what would have seemed to viewers at the time to be a perfectly ordinary police box. Waris Hussein’s direction succeeds immediately in creating an atmosphere of mystery and it isn’t in any way clear exactly what kind of show we are watching. Teachers Ian and Barbara are the first characters to be introduced, and thanks to some neat dialogue and the skill of the actors Jacqueline Hill and William Russell there is an immediate rapport between them as they discuss their problem student Susan. As we get our first glimpse of the Doctor’s granddaughter it isn’t hard to see why Carole Ann Ford was cast in the role. She has an other-worldly quality to her that must have made her seem perfect casting and her slight strangeness only adds to the atmosphere of the show.

The thing that is most surprising about An Unearthly Child and much of the stories that follow it in the early Hartnell era is the incredibly adult feel to the whole show. Designed as a programme ostensibly aimed at children there is a dark undercurrent that pervades the early episodes. This is never more clear than with the initial introduction of the Doctor. From his initial appearance he is incredibly unlikeable, showing himself to be both untrusting and untrustworthy as well as patronising and arrogant. It’s a theme of early Who that the threat or horror of a particular scene or moment is rarely shown explicitly on screen, but is instead gaugeable by the reactions of the other actors. That is the case here as the level of threat the Doctor seemingly poses is enhanced to a far greater level due to the performance of Ford, making Susan seem genuinely scared of what he many have in store for Ian and Barbara, as she pleads for him to let them go. Certainly her fears seem justified as the Doctor makes no attempt to warn Ian of the electric shock he receives from the booby-trapped Tardis console. By the end of the episode we are left with the man who would become our ‘hero’ having essentially kidnapped Ian and Barbara who lay on the Tardis floor, unconscious and as far as we the viewers are aware quite possibly dead. It is an incredibly brave way to start a new series and it is gripping from start to finish. Before the episode ends there is just time for two more iconic moments. Firstly the Tardis makes it’s first journey and we get to hear the noise that would be forever described in future Target novelisations as ‘a wheezing, groaning sound’ emanate from the Tardis console. Then the episode reaches it’s climax and we get the first ever Doctor Who cliffhanger, as the Tardis lands and an unknown shadowy figure watches over it.

And so after a pretty much perfect opening episode, we move onto the bulk of the opening serial as the Tardis crew encounter a stone age tribe. This is where the story runs into a few difficulties. When the main cast are together the atmosphere is still terrific, but the scenes amongst the tribe are dull in comparison. This is partly due to the fairly pedestrian nature of the plot. It’s essentially a local leadership battle being fought out between two mostly identical characters and their race to discover fire. Unfortunately they also speak in that slow, monosyllabic, television caveman manner, which though possibly more accurate, doesn’t really lend itself to high drama. In fact as the actors are unable to rely on their words to express themselves it tends to lead to over the top performances that don’t sit smoothly against the performances of the four regular cast members.

The threat of violence is there throughout the serial, culminating in a final fight between the two rivals for the leadership of the tribe. Though once again the more significantly violent moments of the fight occur off-screen we are left in no doubt as to there outcome thanks to some fantastic reaction shots that express the full horror of what the Tardis crew are being forced to witness. However, the most shocking moment of the serial is unquestionably when only a last minute intervention from Ian prevents the Doctor from striking a rock over the head of caveman Za, killing him in cold blood. This is resoundingly not the Doctor that we will grow to love. This is a Doctor who’s first instinct when captured is to give up and is only persuaded into action by his new human companions and a Doctor who is seemingly quite happy to kill in order to make his own life easier.

At this stage the show was still clearly finding it’s feet, trying to decide exactly what it wanted to become. Much of the first series would be devoted to trying to discover just that. An Unearthly Child was a remarkable starting point for the series, bringing us a talented regular cast, a couple of reluctant travelling companions and a dark, irascible and unsympathetic title character. Little did the people involved know just what they had started or just how endless the possibilities were for the show. Fortunately for us that fun was still to come.

 

Review: Running Through Corridors

About two years ago I started out on a journey through classic Who. I had a highly enjoyable time making my way chronologically from Hartnell to McGann in a little quest that took up a huge amount of time and lessened my bank balance considerably as I built up my DVD and audio collection. As the show’s original run is now almost entirely available on DVD, this journey has now become an increasingly well-trodden path and unsurprisingly there is also a huge amount of literature detailing fan’s own trip through time with the Doctors. Running Through Corridors is one such tome and it stands out from it’s peers for two key reasons. Firstly, it’s a proper book and everything. The internet is a rich source of all things Doctor Who, but if like me you far prefer the feeling of having an actual book in your hand instead of scrolling down a screen, then this is a massive bonus (I do realise the irony of me making this comment on a blog). Secondly, the authors of the book Robert Shearman and Toby Hadoke are fans of the show, but they’re not just any old fans. Shearman is a writer of some distinction and is steeped in Doctor Who, having been responsible for some of the best Big Finish audio stories and of course most notably being the man who brought the Daleks back to the new series. Hadoke is a writer and comedian and a very fine one at that. His first one-man show was entitled Moths Ate My Doctor Who Scarf (well worth a listen if you can track down the BBC audio) and he has been heavily involved in a number of the DVD extras for the classic series’ of Doctor Who. Together they really know there stuff, and their involvement with the inner-workings of the show add an extra dimension to the book, for example, it’s a lovely bonus when in the midst of an analysis of a particular episode we can get a nice little anecdote detailing what a lovely lady Anneke Wills is. The two writers interests also compliment each other nicely, with Shearman offering some wonderful and occasionally optimistic interpretations of possible sub-texts to the episodes, while Hadoke is at his most passionate when discussing the actors who helped make the show so popular, be they well-known or relatively nondescript. Most importantly though Shearman and Hadoke are also very funny. It’s a regular problem with many writers on the subject of Doctor Who that they just take the whole thing that little bit too seriously. Nobody could doubt these authors love and affection for the show, but that doesn’t mean they can’t laugh at it’s more absurd elements, at least in the company of other Who fans. This first volume takes in 60’s Who, and I fully recommend it. I enjoyed it immensely and can’t wait for the second and third volumes. Give it a go, it’s well worth a read.