Customer Reviews

Doctor Who - Edge of Destruction & The Pilot Episode (Part II) [VHS]

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After waiting months to finally obtain the "correct" release of this video, the Warner snafu is over, for now. I can't say it was worth the wait, but I am pleased with the contents on them. The remastering of both "The Edge of Destruction" and the original "pilot episode" look beautiful, magnificently cleaned up by the Restoration Team. Although, don't look at the story too much, as it was originally conceived to fill time between "The Daleks" and "Marco Polo"(the sets weren't ready!). "Edge" itself is incredibly bizarre, but things start ot feel a little normal during "The Brink of Disaster". The original pilot is also very enjoyable. Love Susan's little jig in classroom. But the Highlight of the release, at least for North Amercian viewers, is "The Missing Years". A 30 minute special made by the Restoration Team about various Doctor Who episodes that might be missing forever. Also included, are various extracts and clips from missing episodes. Well researched, well made, these people know what they're talking about, very informative. And let's not forget the bonus episode: Episode 3 of "The Underwater Menace"! It has to be seen to be believed! Absolutely wonderful! The Doctor in disguise is NOT to be missed. A must get for any Doctor Who nut.

"The Edge of Destruction" is probably my favorite Doctor Who story, and is definately a classic from the so-called Monster Era of the 1960s, though often underrated. Thrown together quickly because "Marco Polo" wasn't ready, "The Edge of Destruction" has the distinction of being the only Doctor Who story set entirely inside the TARDIS with only the main characters.

The real hero of the story is the TARDIS herself. Through strange clues--melting numbers on a clock-face, the bliking light on the fault locator, the food machine, and mysterious images from journeys past on the scanner--she tries to lead her passengers to the solution.

"The Edge of Destruction" is Doctor Who at its finest.

SYNOPSIS: After leaving the planet Skaro, the Doctor attempts to return Ian and Barbara to England, 1963. Things are going well until the TARDIS console explodes, rendering the time travelers unconscious and the Ship dead in space. What's worse, the TARDIS doors are open--something that should be impossible.

When Ian suggests a mechanical failure, the Doctor agrees and together they try to discover the fault. Susan, the Doctor's granddaughter, has a different theory. What if something has invaded the TARDIS? Barbara is worried by Susan's line of thinking. Besides, she asks, where would something like that hide? "In one of us," Susan responds grimly.

Soon, however, the Doctor suspects an entirely different cause: sabotage. He lays the blame squarely on Ian and Barbara, and is determined to expel them from the TARDIS. Only when a second explosion rocks the Ship, does the Doctor piece together the mysterious clues the TARDIS has been giving them all along.

With seconds to spare, the Doctor repairs the malfunction, and the time travelers arrive on a snowy mountain pass. "Look at this, Grandfather," Susan calls from outside. On the scanner screen, Ian and the Doctor see a giant footstep in the snow...NEXT EPISODE: MARCO POLO.

After what seems like one of the longer waits in history for a Who video, the superlative Missing Years tapes finally makes the jump across the pond to American shores. And the clips featured on this tape are worth the price along and are really what elevate this reviewer to give this double tape set so many stars. The clips are nicely done and will leave Who fans yearning for more missing episodes to see the light of day--especially anything from Evil of the Daleks or Fury from the Deep. (The clip from Fury is frightfully unnerving and shows off how could this story could be if all of it was available). Yes, the presentation by Deborah Watling and Frasier Hines is a bit over the top at times--but it's worth it for the clips. Also included is the first complete Troughton episode--part three of "The Underwater Menance." It's campy at best and features one of the more infamous cliffhangers in all of Who. But the featured peformance by the second Doctor makes it worth seeing.

As for the Edge of Destruction, it's a quiet Hartnell two-parter. It's really more about the character development of the original TARDIS quartet than anything. An interesting story as it's the only story to take place completely inside the TARDIS. Added on is the umpteenth re-release of the original pilot. If you've got the Hartnell Years tape, you've already got it. it's just been remasted--which I'm not sure helps it that much.

All in all, buy this set for the great clips on the Missing Years. And slip the Edge of Destruction in on a rainy afternoon as a good way to spend an hour.

The BBC can't do anything right! First and foremost they cancelled Doctor Who, now they can't even release it on video properly. For some reason (incompetence, most probably) they placed, not the original pilot episode, but the actual first episode of an Unearthly Child as it originally aired. The tapes have been pulled from retailers and are being replaced with the proper episode. How long this will take, no one knows. Another big disappointment for North American Who fans. DON'T buy this tape until you're positive you know what you're getting

"The Edge of Destruction" is obviously low-budget filler in between the bigger stories "The Daleks" and the lost "Marco Polo." For fans of the underrated Hartnell years, though, this is a great one and at times bizaree. Written by David Whitaker, original script editor for the series, this one is filler (both of the episodes of the story feature just the main cast of the show totally isolated in the time machine), but it's still lots of fun. Hartnell's Doctor again plays the angry and mean side, but this is a turning point in that in the end we see he is finally starting to warm up to the schoolteachers Ian and Barbara who have thusfar been the heroes of the series.

"The Pilot Episode" is a fun watch for die hard fans, as is the missing years tape which almost makes a fan like myself sad at the prospect of all of these lost classics. Some of the best DW? No. Enjoyable? Yes.

I only got to see the old Black & White episodes once when I was growing up--so it's a real treat to see them after such a long time. I didn't enjoy "The Edge of Destruction" as much as I thought I would, however. You could tell that it was thrown together rather quickly, (due to the sets for Marco Polo not being ready some have said), and while there are good moments, the sound was not very good and Hartnell (who is my favorite Doctor BTW) did flub his lines alot. I skipped over the original unaired pilot as i have already seen it before on "The Hartnell Years" and I was also eager to see the "Missing Years" tape--and boy did I enjoy that. The clips were absolutly wonderful and it almost makes you cry to think that many of these episodes will never be found. It was almost like watching new episodes because we have never seen most of these clips before, and made this collection well worth the price. Episode 3 of "The Underwater Menace" was absolutly delicious and had some very funny scenes. This is definatly a must have for the serious Dr. Who fan. (like me.)

The "first" pilot episode included on this set was never aired apparently due to dissatisfaction on the part of production team -- they felt that Hartnell had played the part too aggressively, there were problems with some line flubs, a few technical glitches; this was flying by the seat of their pants as it was. Thus, this was left in the can and the "second" pilot (is that like being a virgin twice?), the one shown on television in those flickering, far off days, was the one most known to Whovians and other dimensional travelers until this video was put together. I enjoyed this particular version after seeing the second one (!) - Hartnell does play his part aggressively, rather than the more enigmatic reading he gave it second time around. His impatience with these dense, arrogant humans is obvious; as far as he is concerned, they are a tremendous threat, and for good reason. Were the knowledge of dimensional time and space travel to become developed among this half-barbaric civilization, it would be disasterous. Susan in vain begs him to leave these humans behind - their minds, says she, reject anything they cannot understand (that would have been balm to me as a grade schooler, struggling with what seemed like impossibly unimaginative teachers). It will therefore be presumably a mind-expanding experience for Barbara and Ian (who turn out to be excellent companions) to be literally hijacked to 100,000 BC.

The Edge of Destruction, originally called Inside the Spaceship, owes its claustrophobic studio-bound setting to producer Verity Lambert's desire to save a bit of money and show off the interior of the TARDIS, a 2000 pounds sterling staging that set this cash-strapped show back a fair bit. All I can say is the thing works - hastily put together it may have been (Hartnell had a tough time remembering these long speeches he had to memorize in next to no time and flubs a bit - who cares, it made it seem more realistically frantic, anyway), but the surreality of the whole episode is unsettling - this seeming creeping insanity, the breakdown of trust among four people trapped inside a space ship headed towards its own disintegration, the desperate need to grasp onto some sort of reality, however slippery.

Teased with the thought of all of those missing episodes (110 to be exact), I'm not sure I'm glad or frustrated that I have now seen these excellent out-takes in The Missing Years segment, presented by a peppy, well-preserved Frazier Hines (Jamie) and an equally peppy, endearing Deborah Watling (Victoria, in an awful haircut) with a somewhat wide-eyed narration that is all in good fun. They present a selection of Dr. Who clips and short interviews with the film collectors who found them, and where and how they were found is both amusing and interesting. The censored bits from the Australian collector especially are vivid and shockingly modern; missing the rest of the various episodes made me want to weep. Notable is the intriguing regeneration scene from Hartnell to Troughton -- the fact that someone had probably shot this bit of film by training their old 8mm on their television screen gives it a very creepy, shadowy, telescopic view that I rather liked. Also contained in this segment is the suriving complete third episode of The Underwater Menace, which was great camp.

Unfortunately, the film collector who admitted that after 30 years the chances of finding any more viewable Dr. Who's are very slim may be, I fear, correct. Like the TARDIS, however, hope is eternal...

This particular adventure is very claustrophobic, as well as being very intense, and atmospheric. In a way, it's almost Hitchcockian in its execution. For this adventure takes place within the confines of the Doctor's ship, the TARDIS. Some sort of intense shockwave has knocked the crew unconscious, and something seems to be wrong with all of the systems within the ship. Not only that, but paranoia, moments of insanity, as well as suspicions and accusations run rampant among the four companions, as no one is sure who to trust, for rational thinking and understanding are thrown out the window, at least, until the climax of the final episode, as the Doctor finally realizes what has happened. This adventure was really cool, and very intense, as the Doctor faced off with both Barbara and Ian, in an intense scenes of wild accusations and mistrust. But ultimately, it was this adventure that marked a turning point for William Hartnell's Doctor, for it was here that the Doctor showed signs of being less harsh, and more likeable, especially towards Ian and Barbara.

"The Edge of Destruction" with it's minimal set is still more entertaining than a number of Doctor Who stories--a lot of mood swiings for the actors and suspense for the viewer. "The Missing Years" tape is interesting, with quite a few clips not released on earlier videos. Contrary to some dour critcs who apparently take Doctor Who a little too seriously, I think "The Underwater Menace" episode is a riot--a lot of fun, manic acting and high energy, and a pretty impressive "underwater" sequence, despite a couple shots featuring the suspended actor's heavy black truss wire. Made me wish more early missing episodes are found and released.

The stories and material included are fine - a must have for any Doctor Who fan! However, the buyer should verify the product number before buying. Product #E1497 (which I ordered and returned), the original release, was recalled because an incorrect print was used in the video transfer. The final scene of "The Edge of Destruction" is missing! If you buy, be sure to verify that you are ordering product #E1578, which is the corrected release. Unfortunately, I know of no way to verify this based on the product description supplied by Amazon.