TV Review: Doctor Who: The Edge of Destruction (1963)

Doctor Who: The Edge of Destruction (1963) written by David Whitaker and directed by Richard Martin

The First Doctor (William Hartnell) and his crew barely escape from Planet Skaro when the TARDIS seems to crash. Everyone is knocked out. When they come to, several have amnesia. The amnesia quickly dissipates but they are suspicious of each other. The view screen only shows pictures of previous trips, not where they are now. The doors won't open. Every time Susan or the Doctor approach the control panel, they get massive headaches. Is there some malfunction or is there a malevolent presence on the TARDIS?

The show is only two half-hour episodes. Even with the short running time it feels long and very odd.  The actors performances are off, which may be accounted for by the amnesia but really seems like they didn't know what the story was leading to. The ultimate solution is a bit of a let-down. The whole story takes place on the TARDIS, so this looks like low-budget filler episodes to offset the other stories that had a lot more production costs.

Not recommended except for Doctor Who completists.