Doctor Who: The Time Meddler
by Douglas Camfield
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Maureen O'Brien, Peter Butterworth, Peter Purves, William HartnellDirector: Douglas Camfield
Brand: Warner Brothers
Producer: Verity Lambert
Writer: Dennis Spooner
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Stereo; English (Original Language), Stereo
Format: Black & White, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 100 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-08-05
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: BBC Worldwide
Movie Reviews of Doctor Who: The Time Meddler
Movie Review: "The whole course of history changed in one single swoop."
Summary: 5 Stars
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!
Summary of Doctor Who: The Time Meddler
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?Similar DVD Movies
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