The Verge of Death

"The TARDIS is attacking us."

Writer: Carole Ann Ford (with Rob Craine & Beth Axford)

Format: Short Story

Released: October 2025

Printed in: The Adventures After 01

Featuring: First Doctor, Susan, Ian, Barbara 

Synopsis

Discover what happened after...

A remarkable collection of new Doctor Who short stories that give a glimpse into the moments just after the Doctor saves the world, and the credits roll.

The Doctor has had many adventures, visited many planets and made a whole host of friends (and some enemies). 

But if you thought it was all over after the TARDIS doors closed, and the time ship dematerialised, onto the next adventure, you'd be very much mistaken.

From Earth's past, present and future, to the furthest reaches of the universe, here are eight tales that give us a glimpse into the worlds the Doctor left behind. Sometimes triumph, sometimes tragedy (and always chaos) these are stories you'll never forget.

Verdict

The Verge of Death was a great start to the latest short story collection of The Adventures After! I’m a sucker for continuity so getting eight sequels to on screen adventures is a big positive in my eyes, and starting with a story written by Carole Ann Ford herself is a delight! I still maintain that Susan is a massively underutilised character as the Doctor’s granddaughter and first companion. She’s literally the one he left Gallifrey with and that should say so much about their relationship. I thought it was touched upon really nicely here and that helped in splitting up the original TARDIS quartet in literally separate rooms within the interior. When it comes to First Doctor serials that I would expect or hope for a sequel to, I wouldn’t have ever considered The Edge of Destruction to be honest. I wouldn’t have even thought it possible to be honest with it being a two-part serial entirely contained to within the TARDIS. And yet here we are immediately after the events of Marco Polo as the proceeding serial and everything is perfectly logical. Sure, it may have been a natural TARDIS fault that caused everything to wrong last time out, but after such a long time away on their travels with Marco Polo, there is certainly the possibility that not everything was as solved as it seemed. That’s an exciting thought and particularly leaning in on Susan attacking Ian with the scissors was really good stuff. I thought the DWM interview with Carole Ann Ford, Rob Craine and Beth Axford who all brought this story to life to kick off the collection was great and very insightful with me learning for the first time that the scissors scene was improvisation! That’s such a memorable moment from the serial so that is quite the revelation. It being used as the explanation here for there being a telepathic creature infiltrating the TARDIS from when the doors were thrown open mid-flight was terrific. It all made sense because how would a TARDIS fault drive Susan to think of an attack like that? I thought the Doctor and Susan getting to talk openly together about leaving Gallifrey was good, although it didn’t feel of the era. I like the mystery and ambiguity surrounding the Doctor and Susan’s home world at this time so that felt a tad out of place. It was no bad thing though and I really enjoyed looking back on Susan’s time and her graduation. Her recognising the Capitol as home was nice too. I wasn’t expecting so many flashback scenes considering this takes place only after the fourth serial, but Susan having some inner conflict and needing that reassurance from those closest to her was lovely. It maybe went on a tad too long, but it was nice for Susan to experience that as she battled the mental challenge with the creature. Tapping into her telepathic abilities prior to the events of The Sensorites is also a neat touch. I thought the Doctor and Susan using the Time Lord ability of contact together was lovely and it was really nice for them to combine in a really caring and compassionate way to defeat the creature with their telepathic abilities. It was a powerful familial moment that we perhaps didn't see enough of on screen. It was really nice for the Doctor to praise Susan for her idea and they pulled it off together. It was great as well for Ian and Barbara to be feeling very different sensations as the TARDIS was making their room very cold and they embraced one another foreshadowing their relationship. The threat of such a safe haven like the TARDIS being taken over was fantastic and I like the focus on Susan. You'd expect that in a story written by the actor who played her, but the depth of exploring her feelings for Ping Cho felt more personal. Overall, a really good start to the collection! I do love a sequel so this will be right up my alley.

Rating: 8/10