The Time Meddler

'The Time Meddler' is extremely underrated. It is well-written, well-acted and well-directed, but more than this, it ends season two in style, with what must at the time have been something of a shock revelation for the viewer... 

Firstly, 'The Time Meddler' looks great, thanks to the superb direction of Douglas Camfield and excellent sets and costumes – the use of stock location footage blends in with the studio footage remarkably well, and adds an air of realism to the story. The monastery in particular looks very good, as do the woods around the Saxon village. The costumes too look fairly authentic. Secondly, the plot, whilst meandering along at a fairly sedate pace, never feels padded or slow, in part thanks to the witty script. As in Dennis Spooner's previous scripts, the humour is mixed with grim and gritty realism, in this case the rape of Edith by the Vikings and the Vikings' subsequent death at the hands of the Saxons, but unlike in 'The Reign of Terror', these brutal aspects are kept to a minimum, which is perhaps wise as they do not sit well with the light-hearted tone of the rest of the story. The Saxons and Vikings do not get much to do, but fill their roles adequately enough, especially the afore-mentioned Edith who comes across as very likeable. The actors playing the Vikings through themselves into their sparse roles too, and manage to compensate for looking like Swedish porn stars with cheesy names (Sven and Ulf!). 

The main guest character however, is of course the Monk. Peter Butterworth is perfect in the role, and makes the character immediately memorable. But then of course, as the first member of the Doctor's own people to appear in the series apart from Susan, he would stick in the mind anyway. He's a great character, taking obvious glee in his interference, but refreshingly never seeming really evil. Even when he admits that his plan involves blowing up the Viking fleet, he seems troubled by the fact, which makes a change from the black-and-white villainy of the Daleks in the previous story. Indeed, it is interesting that he claims to have the best motivations for his time meddling, telling the Doctor, Steven and Vicki that he wants to improve things. The Monk is a delight from the start, and steals the show in episode two, whether he's making preparations for the arrival of the Vikings, or dealing with Steven and Vicki with an expression of wide-eyed (and totally fake) innocence as they try to find the Doctor. But it is the scenes between Hartnell and the Butterworth that really make 'The Time Meddler' great, as they engage in a battle of wits in episodes three and four. As in 'The Romans', Spooner aims for comedy, but the comedy this time is less slapstick based than in that earlier story. Here, the humour arises from the Monk, whether it is his rather endearing journal entries as read by Vicki, or his interaction with the Doctor. The Doctor alternates between indignation, smugness and glee as he confronts and ultimately strands the Monk, and it is a further reminder of the unusual nature of this story and its villain, that he actually bothers to leave a note for the Monk at the end. Perhaps he genuinely believes that the Monk has the potential to recognise the folly of his actions, or perhaps he just can't resist gloating…

Steven and Vicki get a fair amount of screen-time, even though in plot-terms they do little more than run around looking for the Doctor and reveal to the audience things that the Doctor already knows. Steven's character gets to shine here in his first full story; he's more cynical than Ian, refusing to believe that the TARDIS is a time machine even when he is forced to admit that it is bigger inside than out, and can travel through space. He also seems more hotheaded, attacking the Saxons unprovoked in search of answers, despite Vicki's attempts to stop him. I like the way in which he gradually comes to respect the Doctor, initially gently mocking the old man about the TARDIS exterior and his inability to steer his craft, but slowly changing his assessment of the old man as the story progresses. Since much of this time is spent with Vicki, it is clear that it is her faith in the Doctor which rubs off on Steven and by the time they leave 1066, he seems keen to be traveling in the TARDIS – the fact that none of the current TARDIS crew want to return home makes quite a difference to the feel of the show. Vicki continues to show her independent streak, happily bossing Steven around as they explore separately from the Doctor. Steven seems happy to humour her in this, immediately creating a friendly atmosphere between the two. With the Doctor telling them at the end that they are both very welcome passengers, this ends the season on a high, as the new crew goes off into the unknown together, with their faces superimposed on a starry backdrop for added effect as the end credits roll. 

It is not this new status quo aboard the TARDIS however, which so changes the emphasis of the series at the end of season two. It is of course, the cliffhanger to episode three, as Vicki announces in stunned disbelief "It's a TARDIS! The Monk's got a TARDIS!" When originally broadcast, this must have been something of a shock as for the first time we see that the Doctor's ship is not unique. Neither for that matter is he, since at least one other member of his race is out there in time and space. More importantly however, we learn that the Monk is "a time meddler", and that he has already changed history on at least two previous occasions. This is a huge development, since in the past the Doctor has claimed that this cannot be done, most notably during 'The Aztecs'. We now learn that in fact it can be done, but that the Doctor considers it to be hugely irresponsible (interestingly, no dangers of altering history are actually discussed at this point) and will not allow it. This adds a new dimension to the idea of future historical stories. These revelations make 'The Time Meddler' stand out in Doctor Who's history, and the high production standards give the story added bonus. It is a fine end to the season. 

Overall, season two maintains the high quality established by season one, whilst starting to stretch the format of the series through a miniscules story ('Planet of Giants'), the series' first alien invasion of Earth complete with hugely impressive location filming ('The Dalek Invasion of Earth'), a comedy ('The Romans'), a flawed but ambitious attempt to create a really alien world ('The Web Planet'), and surrealism ('The Space Museum' episode one), amongst others. As with season one, we're lucky that so much has survived, with only two episodes from 'The Crusade' missing from this season. Unfortunately, the next season has fared far less well, forcing to me to turn to my trusty CD player.