#The Edge of Destruction

[polaritydisturbed]

One thing that’s become really clear while watching Classic Doctor Who alongside the current era—especially starting with the Fifteenth Doctor—is how well the Ninth through Twelfth Doctor eras nailed the balance of episode length and story structure.

Classic Who usually split its stories into four or five 20–25 minute episodes per arc, which roughly equals the runtime of a modern two-parter. But while that format allowed for sprawling narratives, it came with a tradeoff: pacing. Entire episodes sometimes feel like narrative treading water—not because the writing was bad, but because of the constraints of mid-20th century television. (That’s its own fascinating rabbit hole, but we’ll save that for another time.)

To be fair, Classic Who did experiment with its format. Some stories, like The Edge of Destruction—a tight, two-part psychological thriller set entirely inside the TARDIS—used a smaller runtime to great effect. It’s still one of the strongest entries of Season 1, partly because it had no room to meander.

Later, the show dabbled in stories of two 45-minute episodes during Season 22. But those episodes often had the same problem: some stories still didn’t need the extra time. Take The Mark of the Rani, for example. It was padded out to fit that two-part, 45-minute-per-episode format (roughly 90 minutes total), but honestly? It could’ve been a sharper, more effective 40-minute story. There’s a lot of unnecessary fluff that drags the pacing down.

But then you get something like The Keys of Marinus—a six-parter (20 min each part) that essentially functions as a sci-fi anthology. Each episode throws the Doctor and co. into a completely new setting with its own self-contained mini-plot. It uses its extended format to experiment and surprise without feeling stale. That’s when the long form works.

Then came the 2005–2017 revival era, and honestly? The show hit its structural gold standard: twelve episodes per season, blending 40-minute standalones with 80-minute two-parters. And it just worked.

Episodes like Blink and Midnight were tight, high-impact stories that landed precisely because they didn’t overstay their welcome. Try stretching either one to feature-length, and the tension would unravel. Meanwhile, two-parters like The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances had room to build atmosphere, layer in character development, and deliver those signature emotional wallops. They remain fan favorites for a reason: the format gave them the breathing room they needed—and then stopped.

Which brings us to the Fifteenth Doctor’s era.

Right now, we’re back to a one-size-fits-all approach but the opposite direction: single 40-minute episodes across the season, with only the finale allowed to be a two-parter. And the result? Some stories just aren’t getting the space they need to land.

Doctor Who thrives on structural flexibility. Some stories need 80 minutes to unfold. Others are perfect little 40-minute excursions. Locking every episode into the same runtime is like asking every alien to fit inside a human suit: it works until it doesn’t, and when it doesn’t, it’s obvious.

The point is: variety in format has always been one of Doctor Who’s strengths. When the show leans into that, it sings. When it forgets that… well, you end up with stories that could’ve soared if they were just given a little more space to breathe.

(Also I don’t mean to exclude 13—it’s just that her era experimented with structure so much across her run that it’s kind of its own thing, there’s a whole separate post to be written about what worked and didn’t there.)

(Fun fact for reading this far: The Edge of Destruction was only two 25-minute parts because the production team didn’t know if the show was getting picked up for more episodes. They wrote a short, self-contained story set entirely inside the TARDIS to avoid building new sets. It was meant to be cheap filler—and it ended up being one of the highlights of the First Doctor’s era.)

[notyoujamie]

[anonymousdandelion]

You know, the first thing we saw the Doctor do was intentionally (albeit in panic mode) abduct a couple of humans, only to try to throw them off the TARDIS a couple episodes thereafter (also in panic mode)

…so I think it’s rather satisfying character growth that the very last thing the First Doctor does, amidst all the panic of his first regeneration, is manage to open the door to make sure that his current couple of humans, whom he accidentally abducted, don’t get left behind.

[bettedavises]

Screaming didn't help, the TARDIS should have used her old methods to call the Doctor's attention to something being wrong. Making Ruby try to stab him with scissors.

[cedarboughs]

My favourite early Doctor Who episode plot is maybe the one where a physical spring on the TARDIS gets stuck so it decides to alert the crew to that fact by psychically making them want to stab each other with scissors

[deadbeatescape]

I forgot to post this gif I made of the first doctor and susan so here it is now

[orange-blob-of-pixles]

My favourite dr who episodes because why not

The edge of destruction (1st doctor)

Lux(15th doctor)

The wild blue yonder(14th doctor)

[idkaguyorsomething]

The first few seasons were wild. Couldn’t fit all the good stuff in here, but here’s some of the highlights. ¡Please reblog and explain your pick in the tags!

[doctorwhogirlie]

[dailyclassicwho]

ian chesterton & barbara wright 32/?

[regicidal-defenestration]

[polaritydisturbed]

Fifteen maybe Velma, but First is defiantly Fred

[asoulwithadream]

No one told me that The Edge of Destruction (1964) was so fucking funny... TEAM Tardis just running around confused is the most advanced form of entertainment of that era LOL

The Doctor casually Bleeding Out: Ian and Barbara:🧍‍♀️🧍‍♂️"Should we help him?"

"............... WHAT IS GOING ON HERE????"

"nO.... who ARE you.... ARGH" Susan needs sum milk

Susan, love, whatever did that couch do to you?

"Well it's not very logical >:(((" - The Doctor, 1964

"One man's law is another man's crime... Sleep on it Chesterton! Sleep on it! <3"

The 1st Doctor is the most gremlin thing on this Earth. He jumps around and wiggles his fingers like an evil elf and I live for it. He is my spirit animal.

Also the cliffhanger was cruel. I think it's like someone in the group who's been possessed. Probably Susan, since she was tweaking that entire episode.

[captaincleverusernamehere]

You’re telling me the third classic who serial is a psychological thriller/mystery that I skipped on my first watch through because I thought it had a bunch of missing episodes when in reality it’s actually just a two-parter????? I’m hyped now this is sick

[susansgirlfriend]

Susan is honestly quite adorable in The Brink of Disaster. She helps out a ton by counting the time between the lights going off, describing what she can see outside the TARDIS doors (even if it frightens her), and the Doctor properly acknowledges her for her bravery. She's quite cute at the end as well dressing up for the snow and then throwing a snow ball at Barbara.

Also after this episode the TARDIS team are finally friendly with each other. While I quite like the character arc that spans the first thirteen episodes I am happy they get to be friends and go on adventures together.

[kcdahippie]

This episode is SO WEIRD thus far. it's very reminiscent of The Edge of Destruction TV story when the companions were going batshit crazy in the TARDIS.

Very fun serial to return to considering the weirdness that was 73 Yards