The Edge of Destruction

After their initial skirmish with the Daleks, the TARDIS crew hurriedly leave the planet Skaro in an attempt to return to contemporary England, home to schoolteachers Ian and Barbara.  However, an explosion renders both of them, plus the mysterious Doctor and his granddaughter Susan, unconscious - and when they awake, all four sense that something is very wrong indeed.  Aggression, paranoia and a feeling of despair have gripped them all - no one trusts the other and, bit by bit, the Doctor's trusted ship seems to be breaking down around them. But is it? Has the TARDIS finally tired of its inhabitants, or is there a more logical, more rational explanation for everyone's behavior and the ship's bizarre course of action?

Also included on this tape is the pilot of An Unearthly Child, which preceded the version that was originally transmitted on 23rd November 1963. This was the very first Doctor Who episode eve and was recorded some weeks earlier. As a pilot episode, it was created to impress the BBC hierarchy into going ahead with the series. In many ways, it is similar to the version transmitted, but there are also some small but fascinating differences, highlighted in the different "takes" all included on this special tape.

This double cassette package also includes a collectible video, The Missing Years, with clips from lost episodes not seen since the Sixties.

• "The Edge of Destruction" was apparently written at the last minute to fill in a two week gap as the crew needed more time to complete sets for the next story "Marco Polo."  David Whitaker, the show's script editor, cranked out a bizarre story involving the TARDIS crew seemingly going insane.

• This story is also unique in that it has no other supporting cast and takes place entirely in the TARDIS (thus allowing the story to be made quickly and cheaply, while giving the crew the time they needed to complete sets for "Marco Polo").

• Also included in this video is the original, un-aired pilot episode of the series.  The first pilot was rejected by BBC executives and the unusual step of ordering a second pilot was made.  This first pilot shows a much more unsympathetic characterization of the Doctor, an alternate history and background for the Doctor and Susan, a multitude of fluffed lines, and props refusing to work.

• While the un-aired pilot is included on "The Hartnell Years" tape, this release also contains a second recording of the scene shot inside the TARDIS.  Additionally, all recorded footage used in this tape were given the standard cleaning and repair job by the Doctor Who Restoration Team.

• A documentary detailing the events around the recovery of lost episodes (called "The Missing Years") was included with "The Edge of Destruction/Pilot" video release as part of a double video release.  In the U.K. "Edge" was packaged by itself while "The Missing Years" was part of "The Ice Warriors" vidoe.

• Due to a duplication error at WB an older, un-restored version of Edge of Destruction was distributed in October 2000.  Additionally, the first episode of An Unearthly Child was included at the end of the tape instead of the original pilot episode.  The correct version WAS "re-released" in early February 2001 and has the catalog #E1578  instead of #E1497 printed on the back of the tape package.