The Time Monster

This, along with "Claws of Axos", is one of the most re-watched stories I pop into my VCR from Seasons 8 to 11! I know that makes little sense to the Pertwee fans since both those stories are considered two of the worst from those seasons, so I'll explain why:

Doctor Who in season seven was great stuff. Even some of the blatantly-padded seven-episode material was, overall, largely enjoyable. In fact, having such long stories really allowed the show to explore some neat directions that it would normally never have the time to go in (except, possibly, in the case of "Ambassadors of Death" which resorted a bit too much to endless captures and escapes). This was very creative and inventive Who. And I liked what Pertwee was doing with his character. 

But then, along came Season Eight. And with it, came what I feel is some of the most formulae-driven storytelling the show has ever produced. Some of these tales are so paint-by-numbers that you can start making bets on the predictability (ie: "Ten bucks says Mike Yates is going to walk into the scene in a second and say something cheeky" or "Twenty bucks says the last ten minutes of the story will be spent with UNIT fighting the aliens to little or no effect while the Doctor does something scientific to save the day"). 

So now, here's why I like these two supposed "clunkers". Although they don't stray too much from this formulae I'm bemoaning, they use it more effectively than most. 

While I won't go into "Claws of Axos" here, I will say that part of what makes "Monster" so effective is that it uses the concept of the "UNIT family" very comfortably. It knows we're familiar with Benton, Yates and the Brig and gives each of them a nice bit of attention without creating too great of a detriment to the plot. In fact, unlike a lot of other UNIT adventures where these characters just get a bunch superficial scenes glossed on to the story (ie: endless scenes of the Doctor stopping in at UNIT headquarters for a few minutes merely to have a quick little chat with Mike or Benton or get in an argument with the Brig and then roaring off again in Bessie) each character is given something functional to do. Some members of the family get more attention and functionalism than others. But that, to me, is actually good writing. Each member of UNIT getting perfectly equal screen time smacks a bit too much of cheesy American sitcom. I like that Mike is used somewhat sparingly while Benton is virtually the hero of the day (even if he does fall for the worst trick in the book!). 

Another strongpoint to this tale, I feel, is that it is a story that deals quite heavilly in the abstract. Though some of those abstracts are a tad gimmicky or not particularly well-explained. It is still nice to have something a bit more high-browed than the usual "evil aliens and/or homegrown baddies are here to take over the world" plotline that we get through most of these years. We don't understand much about Kronos but we can see that he's dangerous. That if he's released into our dimension, with or without the Master able to control him, he's going to make some trouble. The very fact that he's linked to Atlantis gives us a clue of his might. That, more than likely, he's the key reason the place was destroyed (even if Azal boasted the way he did about it just a season ago!). Like the Mandrigora Helix a few seasons later, I like a good conceptual monster. One that doesn't just sneak up behind you and maul you to death with claws and teeth or lasers it can shoot from its horns. But rather, does something wierd and abstract to you that ends up terminating or, at least, ruining your life. And Kronos, overall, is well-achieved in that respect. Even the visual aspects of him/her aren't all that horrible as far as I'm concerned. In fact, I felt that the production team knew that they only had so good of a budget to realise the creature and were smart to shoot it the way they did with overexposure and tight angles. Yes, it still looks cheap. But "Who" was a cheap show back then. I'm sure the new series would realise Kronos with some amazing CGI. But they didn't have that back then. And I think they did well with what they did have. 

The various notions put forward regarding the nature of time in this story are a blend of clever and hoaky. The time-scoop stuff to stop Yates' convoy being, of course, the hoakiest. While both the timeflow analogue and the TARDIS-within-a-TARDIS battle seeming quite clever to me. Even the emergency switch on the Doctor's console makes sense. Obviously, the Doctor understood the dangers of being in a vehicle that travelled through the Time/Space Vortex and set up some sort of device that would enable the TARDIS to home in on him and bring him back to the console room if ever he accidentally spilled out into the fourth dimension. It's not entirely a dumb idea and only smacks so much of "deus ex machinae" in my book. But then, maybe that's just me.

Yes, there's some blatant padding here. But welcome to most six-parters of the 70s. Only as we move into the Tom Baker era does the plotting for this format improve. Most of Pertwee's stuff has this kind of thing in it. And I do feel that some of the material is better written than some of the more blatant padding we've seen in other stories. Particularly, of course, the Doctor recalling his old friend, the Hermit. A good example of filling time with something meaningful. 

I also actually enjoyed the change of emphasis in the plotting as things shift to Atlantis. It does slow down the momentum the story has built up considerably, I'll agree. But I actually think such a move also has its merits. The attempt to creat a more "classical" feel to the series is done somewhat admirably and adds a touch of sophistication to the whole production. Better than just a bunch of running around in corridors more intensely than the characters did in the first four episodes cause we're nearing the story's climax. Something that is strong evidence in the story just before this one. So, although the move to Atlantis had detrimental effects to the plot - it also enhanced it in some ways too. So my feelings are mixed on this point. Rather than just hating it outright as many of you did. 

Do I have some very definite complaints? Oh yes. Jo (my all-time least-favourite companion) and Ruth's mustachioed assistant whose name currently eludes me seem to be having a "dorky dialogue" competition. And, though the ending with Kronos in the limbo dimension is real cool, Delgado's performance as he begs for his life is far too out-of-character in my book. These are some of the bigger complaints I have. But none of them are quite big enough for me to put this story in the category most of fandom does. In fact, I'll take this story over "Terror of the Autons", "Sea Devils" or "The Daemons" any day. Those are far "clunkier" than this tale. 

In my book, at least.