Review of The Time Meddler (#17)
DVD Release Date: 05 Aug 08
Original Air Date: 03 – 24 Jul 1965
Doctors/Companions: One, Vicki Pallister, Steven Tayler
Stars: William Hartnell, Maureen O’Brien, Peter Purves
Preceding Story: The Chase (One, Ian, Barbara, Vicki, Steven)
Succeeding Story: Galaxy 4 (One, Vicki, Steven)
When I looked at my calendar to see which story was slated as the last entry in my 2020 series of Hidden Gems, I was at first taken aback. “How could a gem like The Time Meddler be considered hidden?” I wondered. But my surprise turned quickly to satisfaction; I got to rewatch one of my favorite Hartnell stories.
You see, I’ve always had a particular soft spot for The Time Meddler. When I first started watching Classic Who, I went in chronological order as I could. Since only maybe half of the DVD range had been released at the time, that made The Time Meddler the seventh Classic story I had seen.
Aside from the boxset The Beginning (which included An Unearthly Child, The Daleks, and The Edge of Destruction), my other experiences with Hartnell’s Doctor were The Aztecs, The Dalek Invasion of Earth, and The Web Planet. The version of the Doctor who landed in Northumbria in 1066 was thus the least crotchety I’d yet seen (and also the first without Ian and Barbara). He was practically bubbly by comparison, and the story quickly caught my attention.
While it’s clear that the show was still leaning heavily into its remit to teach children about science and history, the idea that someone would actively try to subvert the known timeline was still fresh. Even more significant, though, is the fact that this time meddler—this Monk—is one of the Doctor’s own people. How amazing the reveal at the end of the third episode must have been at the time!
The plot revolves around the Doctor and his Companions (Vicki, initially alone with the Doctor after Ian and Barbara’s departure, and Steven, the surprise stowaway still with them after the end of the previous adventure) stumbling upon a plot by the unscrupulous Monk to change Earth’s (specifically Europe’s) entire history by ensuring that King Harold wins the Battle of Hastings instead of William the Conqueror. Of course, first Steven has to be convinced of the reality of their whereabouts (whenabouts?), but once he buys into his new worldview, he is an asset to the team.
I’m particularly fond of how the story plays out. The various reveals feel natural and just surprising enough (at least one’s first time through) to be delightful. The stakes don’t feel super high as they often do in modern Who, even though Vicki and Steven have a discussion about how if the Monk succeeds, it would change human history as they know it. (I suppose that might have felt like pretty high stakes 55 years ago, when it hadn’t yet become a trope.)
Saying more than I have already would likely spoil any further surprises that might remain for someone who had not yet seen it, so I will just say that Vicki is a delight, Steven is a breath of fresh air, and the Monk is a fabulous foil who should totally come back in the modern show. If you have not yet had the pleasure of watching this Hidden Gem (likely “hidden” mostly because some fans ignore Hartnell; it came in at 79 of 254 on the io9 list), I highly recommend it as slow, mellow approach to a timey-wimey problem—just the sort of thing we could use in the chaos of 2020.
For me it’s one of Dennis Spooner’s best stories. I think Peter Butterworth was a splendid casting choice and an excellent comedic foil to Hartnell but with cunning, guile and when necessary a steely hardness. A fully rounded character. Perhaps the best written and acted scene is that of Edith after she was attacked by the invading Vikings. I inferred from the acting that a serious assault had taken place but it was handled, I thought, quite deftly and subtly.
It must have been a revelation to see another member of The Doctor’s race but it’s really playing a long game when it’s another four years before the name of The Doctor’s people is revealed in The War Games and then another four years before the home planet’s name is revealed in The Time Warrior.
Given the special effects available at the time I liked the end where we see The Monk looking inside his Tardis.
Not many faults, although I do wonder why The Monk would use a wind up gramaphone to make people think the monastery was inhabited. Something less prone to changing speed would have made more sense.
Nonetheless a solid story, well written, well performed and one I am glad that it was never permanently lost.
I’m really fond of this one for many of the reasons you outlined. I’m really glad it was one of my early Hartnell experiences, too. I think it kept me from dismissing him entirely!