World Famous Comics: Doctor Who - The Time Meddler (Episode 17)
Doctor Who - The Time Meddler (Episode 17)
Starring: William Hartnell, Maureen O'Brien, Peter Purves Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Binding: DVD Format: Black & White, NTSC Label: BBC Warner Number of Items: 1 Region Code: 1 Release Date: August 05, 2008 Running Time: 100 minutes Theatrical Release Date: September 29, 1975
Description: The TARDIS seems emptier without Barbara and Ian - at least until the Doctor and Vicki discover that the astronaut Steven stowed away before they left Mechanus. Steven's skepticism toward time travel pushes the Doctor to confront him with living proof. Shortly after landing on a beach in England, they discover a Viking helmet, but Steve remains unconvinced. Instructing Steve and Vicki to wait with the TARDIS, the Doctor seeks further proof. Heedless of the Doctor's warning, Steven persuades Vicki to explore the cliffs above the beach, where they find an abandoned wristwatch. Meanwhile, the Doctor investigates a ruined monastery, where he encounters an electric toaster, a gramophone playing ecclesiastic chants, and a monk who traps him in an alcove. Eventually, the Doctor realizes that the famous Battle of Hastings is only a few weeks away. That should provide ample proof for Steven, but who is this mysterious monk, and what is his interest in the events of 1066?
Amazon.com: One of the most popular adventures from the William Hartnell era of Doctor Who, The Time Meddler pits the Time Lord against Carry On star Peter Butterworth in an entertaining, well-written adventure. Set in England back in 1066, on the eve of the Battle of Hastings, The Time Meddler sees the Doctor drawn to a monastery where a single monk resides. So how come the singing of the monks can be heard from far away? And what's the reasoning behind the modern utensils he discovers? All paths lead to the aforementioned Butterworth, whose character's backstory adds a nice twist to the story. The Time Meddler throws in the backstory of Jamie discovering the world of time travel for the first time, but it's the sparring between Hartnell and Butterworth that provides the sparks. And while it's not a perfect adventure, The Time Meddler is very entertaining, and a nice slice of classic Doctor Who. Poignantly, the late Verity Lambert joins an intelligent, interesting commentary track in the highlight of the disc's extras. The Time Meddler was the last Doctor Who story she produced, and her contribution to the supplementary features package is both interesting and a fitting tribute to her work. --Simon Brew
Story holds up well. Basic extras. To me the William Hartnell stories from the Doctor Who videography are an acquired taste. By today's standards many of them a slow moving and a challenge to watch. But "The Time Meddler" is one of the few existing Hartnell era stories that I actually enjoy. The story is interesting, the black & white film enhances the cheesy sets, the Monk is a great nemesis for the Doctor, and Hartnell is at his most playful when he interacts with the Monk.
The extras aren't anything exciting though. The Hartnell comic books history is fascinating and the tributes to the late Verity Lambert, first producer of the series, are fine. The missing scene deleted by overseas sensors was not worth the wait. It was audio only and you get thirteen seconds of the sound of screaming and grunting.
"The whole course of history changed in one single swoop." Never meddle with success, they say. Fortunately the producers of "Doctor Who" chose not to heed this warning in 1965, ending the successful second season with this strange tale of time meddling. It's worth bearing in mind that this was a very different era, one in which season endings weren't felt to require earth-shattering cliffhangers or mega-dramatic climaxes, and indeed there is little to distinguish "The Time Meddler" from its prior stories in terms of tone or pacing. And yet, mainly in retrospect, it's crucially pivotal in the show's history, introducing unprecedented concepts and themes that we now take for granted as essentially "Doctor Who" through and through. And it also succeeds as an entertaining romp of an adventure, to boot.
First of all, "The Time Meddler" shines as the prototypical example of the so-called pseudo-historical story, that delightfully distinctive blending of science fiction elements and past historical settings so typical of Doctor Who. Afterwards, that is. Up until this story, the purely science fiction stories and the purely historical stories had remained worlds apart, alternating with each other in almost lockstep fashion. What an innovative brainstorm it was to fuse the two! And something of the excitement of this unusual new approach communicates itself through the mood of the storytelling: we're pulled along by puzzle upon apparently irresolvable puzzle as the Tardis arrives somewhere along the northeastern coast of England in 1066 and what seems like an onlooking medieval monk seems less mystified than intrigued, as if by an unexpected but familiar sight. A monk, as it gradually turns out, who happens to own a wristwatch, a gramophone record player, an electric toaster, a first aid kit with penicillin, and...a Tardis?!
Yes, this is also the first time in the show's history that we get to meet someone else from, well, wherever the Doctor is from. The Meddling Monk, that is, another wanderer in time and space like the Doctor, though with much more of the prankish trickster about him. The way this revelation is weaved into the script is subtle and ingenious, adding a whole dimension to the ongoing series and the mythos of its main character even as, in a way, it reveals nothing and only adds a layer of mystery to it all (a knack that later writers eventually lost, for better or worse). The Monk himself is a great and memorable character, incorrigibly mischievous and yet likable for that very reason--and also for the fact that amidst the mischief and his unconventional methods he has a nice altruistic streak, the desire to "improve things" through his time meddling, in this case by wiping out the Viking fleet with space-age weaponry and so allowing King Harold to win the Battle of Hastings, thereby avoiding much of the warfare and strife in Europe that necessarily followed over the centuries. The Doctor will have none of such irresponsible interference, however, and comes down pretty hard on the Monk. Maybe too hard. The Doctor here seems just a bit malicious, possessed of a playfully cruel streak all his own (and perhaps a dash of envy?), reminding me anyway of his more initially unsettling personality in the show's first episodes. Indeed, the "Battle of Wits" between the Doctor and the Monk comes across not as a comfortably simple tussle between good and evil but more like a turf war between two unreliably eccentric but powerful renegades. I'm not sure if the writer intended it so, but it's definitely more interesting that way. Even, as the Meddling Monk might say, more fun.
"The Time Meddler" has much more going for it, too. Stock footage is craftily mixed almost seamlessly into the story, allowing it to transcend the look and feel of the necessarily studio-bound production that it was. Rather maturely horrific incidents are tactfully alluded to and still somehow successfully alloyed with the whimsical humor of the overall adventure. A new companion, Steven Taylor, is introduced and established properly, changing the overall chemistry of the Tardis crew--and confirming such cycling of companions as a permanent fixture of the series. And we get to see the Doctor relish putting away a heady brew of mead with ease, the old devil! In short, this is a quiet classic from the golden age of "Doctor Who"--sheer poetry, dear boy!
What do a watch, a gramophone & toaster, have in common....right! They don't belong in the year 1066 and neither does the MONK The Doctor and crew arrive on Earth to discover that another time-traveler is altering history...... If you described the events that unfold in the Meddling Monk story you might think we were referencing the 2005 series and HAROLD SAXON story arc, not a 1965 episode, because up til this point the the shows history we take for granted that the Doctor & the TARDIS are unique...maybe the "last of his kind" even. So although, the Meddling Monk story takes place during a shaky time for the series, what with it's lead character appearing less and less due to the failing health of William Hartnell, and his companions taking on more and more of the series focus. Resulting in Steven and Vicki spending practically all four parts trying to find the Doctor, while the Doctor himself, gets captured, escapes and then recaptured. But, this awkwardness can't diminish the importance of this monumental milestone in Doctor Who history: It is the first time that the viewer is introduced to another person who is a member of the Doctor's own race. Althought the Timelords still remain unidentified until Wargames (And not long in the series history, before another milestone is reached....the Doctor's ability to regenerate, which follows a short 2 story after this one). Another first for the series that occurs here is the departure from the straight historical story. So far whenever the Doctor has been in the past it has remained true to the history books but, here before long we see the Doctor find not only anachronistic objects (a wrist watch, record player playing monastery sfx, toaster and electric lamp) belonging to the Monk, his "meddling" actions bent on altering 11th century history for his own purposes, but an alien craft other than his own and another time-traveler. As obvious as it seems, this was a "NEW" twist on the shows time-travel theme. Can history be altered now?
As I said companions Steven and Vicki take center stage for much of this story, proving themselves interesting characters even when not fielding dialogue for the Doc. Steven, in his first full story, having come on board the TARDIS as a stowaway at the end of THE CHASE, takes the opportunity to pick the Doctor & Vick's brains a bit about the abilities of the TARDIS, giving viewer the chance to hear more concepts and details not heard since the pilot. The Monk played by Peter Butterworth also proves an excellent addition to the show in the sole appearance as an interesting character never to return to the TV series, but perhaps inspiration for the Master character to come. Although, there is much debate among fans has taken place over the year for and against the likelihood that pair of rogue Timelords are in fact one in the same. But, common reasons against are as follows: The Doctor says that he is "50 years earlier" suggesting he left Gallifrey 50 years before the Monk did and that they have never met before. There are many references that the Master and the Doctor were contemporaries; he and the Monk are not. Also the M.O. of the Monk is dissimilar, unlike the Master, the Monk isn't interested in creating chaos or even world domination, he IS motivated by self-interest in manipulating time to his advantage, like his examples: He claims to have put 200 pounds in a bank account in 1968, and then collected a fortune in interest 200 years later. He also admits to helping the ancient Britons build Stonehenge using an anti-gravity lifter. The Monk is a character you almost can't help, but like, his wicked sense of humor...laughing at the Doctor trapped like a mouse, brings out a similar wickedness in the Doctor...as seen when the Doctor holds the Monk at er..."gunpoint." Unlike, the Master, you don't get the sense that the Doctor holds him as any kind of a real threat...he even says as much himself.
The Monk's plan is to save Harold's army from having to attack the Vikings by destroying the fleet with a bazooka-weapon-of-sorts, allowing King Harold to face the forces of William of Normandy with a fresh army at the Battle of Hastings thus, ensuring that William is defeated at Hastings and thus bringing a period of peace to Europe. With the Monk's help, he hopes that the British will have jet propelled airliners by 1320 . ....interesting that, HAROLD and the SAXONs and the Doctor learning that he isn't alone, while another of his kind prepares to alter the future of mankind....this all seems so familiar but I can't put my drumming fingers on in (drum-drum-drum...drum-drum-drum...drum-drum-drum...)
Here are some GREAT LINES from the story!...The Doctor giving Steven the Tour of the TARDIS...
"That is the dematerialisation control, and that over yonder is the horizontal hold. Up there is the scanner, those are the doors, that is a chair with a panda on it... Sheer poetry, dear boy! Now please stop bothering me!" Genus!!
Later when the Monk explains his plans for excellerating history and that by the 14th century Hamlet will premiere on television ...the Doctor says... "I do know the medium."
He's got to be stopped. Season Two. Another amusing gem from the prolific Dennis Spooner. This is regarded as the first of the Pseudo-Historicals, and is one of my favourite season two stories. I can never feel anything but sorrow for the Monk at the end of this story as he's left stranded. I know he was a rogue, as witnessed by his Tardis full of stolen art treasures, but he did help the ancient Britons build Stonehenge with the aid of his anti-gravitational lift, after all. "Carry on" film star Peter Butterworth plays the part of the monk with amusing relish. I would have loved to have seen him as a regular recurring.....I hesitate to use the word villain, so I'll say character instead. And by being "shades of grey" in temperament, as opposed to the "black and white" pantomine personality of another Time Lord renegade from the seventies and eighties, makes the Monk a far more interesting and entertaining character in the process. Here's an example, when the Doctor asks him why he behaves the way he does, the Monk replies with glee, "Doctor it's more fun my way...". No heavy intellectual reasoning, just, it's more fun. That made a refreshing change from the pretentious reasons of some other sci-fi shows. This story was the first for the series to undergo a format change, as the Doctor takes a more pro-active role, and the actions of the companions had a lesser impact on the outcome of the stories. As for The Monk, he is the kind of character that would go back in time just for fun, and etch some contemporary comment on some ancient artifact just to give future archaeologists headaches. Not an evil character as such, just extremely naughty. Although there's no worlds to save, (just a particular time-line) and no companions die this is still an enjoyable slice of early Who. From the season with the highest overall ratings ever. ~~~~ DVD extras. Commentary:~ Verity Lambert, Peter Purves, Donald Tosh, Barry Newbury. Verity Lambert Obituary. Photo Gallery Subtitle Production Notes. English subtitles. pdf files of Radio Times billings. "The Lost Twelve Seconds" - 12 lost seconds recreated using off-air audio recording and the script. Stripped for action - a look at the first Doctor's comic strip adventures. Restoration featurette. Coming soon trailer. Originally aired:~3 july - 24 july 1965.
The Mythology Expands After The Unearthly Child and The Daleks, the Time Meddler adds to the modern mythology of the show with the 1st appearance of another member of the Doctor's race with his own TARDIS.
This pacing of the story is of it's time, and feels completely different than the modern show, but I feel that that just show how strong the format is to endure throw the generations.
The one super highlight of the DVD is the mini documentary on Doctor Who in Comics: The 1st Doctor. I hope to see the continuation of the series with future releases for other Doctors, since one may be surprised about the talent that has worked in Doctor Who comics in the pass would make a amazing set of documentaries.
Again this is story that should be in any fans collection, but I wouldn't use the story as a jumping point for fans drawn in from the modern series.
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