They call it a 'bottle show.'

Or at least the creators of the 1963 anthology series "The Outer Limits" did.  A bottle show is simply an episode of a running TV series whose main purpose is to create an episode that is both interesting but cheap to produce to save the budget for other episodes or simply save it for other episodes.  Or sometimes, a bottle show happens when plans go wrong and an episode that was designed to be made cannot for whatever reason.  Throughout the history of taped television the bottle show has been an unfortunate result of limited budgets and plans that invariably go wrong.

Luckily, many people who make shows are creative people--through they're even rarer nowadays.  They can make due with limited budgets and create something that is watchable and isn't the worst thing since "Blossom" or "The Secret Life of Desmond Pfeffer."  But sometimes--and it's very rare--sometimes a creator can not only make something watchable, but makes something interesting, something special....hence our case today.

"The Edge of Destruction" is the third Doctor Who story ever broadcast, following in the footsteps of "Unearthly Child" and the influential "Daleks."  Due to problems making other stories along with the budget, story editor David Whitaker was chosen to write a simple two-part story (remember: Doctor Who is a serial, a story made up of some-odd episodes) to bridge the gap between the end of production on "The Daleks" and the next serial, the now-missing "Marco Polo."   A simple task, but with a catch:  it had to be contained entirely within the TARDIS, the Doctor's ship which is bigger on the inside then it is on the outside, thanks to no money to spend on entirely different sets.

Thus, the stage was set for a glimpse into the lives of the four participants of the TARDIS--The Doctor, the nameless old man who is definitely not human; Susan, his granddaughter (although whether it's biological or not has still yet to be explained!); and two schoolteachers, Ian and Barbara, who have been whisked away against their will into the Doctor's strange adventures which I'll explain whenever I get "An Unearthly Child."

I don't really wish to give away any of the plot except to say that after "The Daleks," the TARDIS shakes violently and everyone is knocked unconscious.  When they awaken, all of the crew have temporary memory loss and start to go insane.   Eventually, strange occurrences start to happen:  the TARDIS interior doors open and close of their own accord.  Susan flips out and attacks a bed with a pair of scissors.  All the clocks aboard stop....and the Doctor starts to act very strangely.....and everyone turns on each other until the reason why is explained.

And I'm not telling you, either.   Needless to say, this is essential viewing for all Doctor Who fans even if they don't care for the 1960 Black and White era which ushered in the show's long run.  The American video release is quite interesting, however:  since "Edge of Destruction" is only two episodes long, the BBC have added the very first (and rejected) version of the original pilot and as an added bonus have included the documentary "The Missing Years," which explains why some Doctor Who stories are missing in their video forms but why their audio tracks and numerous (and I mean NUMEROUS) photographs and video clips exist.  For your convenience, I've added a few links at the bottom of this review to satisfy your curiosity.  In fact, I've been playing around with reviewing one of the telesnap reconstructions of a few of the missing episodes and possibly will.

Either way, this is a very good episode to get, and I almost wish I could go into explicit detail about it but I would hate to ruin the surprise for you.  Plus, the more people that buy this tape collection are more people who may bring more missing episodes to light.  Plus, it's an entertaining hour and a half and shows how good 1963 television could be.

RATING:  Very good and short for those who have no patience.  Highly recommended.  Four Stars out of Four.