The Time Monster (TV story): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 19:38, 11 September 2011

The Time Monster was the fifth and final story of Season 9.

Synopsis

The Master, in the guise of Professor Thascalos, has constructed at the Newton Institute in Wootton a device known as TOMTIT - Transmission Of Matter Through Interstitial Time - with which to gain control over Kronos, a creature from outside time. The creature is summoned but the effect proves uncontrollable.

Plot

Part one

The Doctor is sitting before the Master, who stands next to a crystal, laughing. Explosions resound all around.

In UNIT HQ, Jo wakes the Doctor up and he enquires if there have been any reports of volcanic eruptions of earthquakes lately.

The Master - or Professor Thascales, as he calls himself - is holding the crystal the Doctor saw in his dream. He's in a laboratory at the Newton Institute, working with Dr. Ruth Ingram. The crystal, the Master claims, is no different than any other piece of quartz yet it is. Stuart Hyde then enters. He is also working with pair. The Master leaves them to conduct further experiments. After he has left, Ruth comments that she doesn't know what is more annoying: "his dictatorial manner or that infernal courtesy of his."

At UNIT HQ, Mike Yates points out the Thera group of islands where the quakes have been. Jo mentions Atlantis, telling the Doctor that Thera is reputedly its location.

The Doctor talks to the Brigadier on the phone and tells him to put out a world wide warning to every section of UNIT, all the UNIT HQs. He explains it is due to a dream he had about a half hour ago. The Brigadier joins him and the Doctor explains that he is too busy to see the TOMTIT demonstration at the Newton Institue, so Benton is asked to go instead.

At the institute, the Master hypnotises the Director, Dr. Charles Percival into believing him about his TOMTIT experiments and his credentials. In the lab, Ruth and Stu decided to run the test without "the Professor". Outside, a window cleaner observes their efforts, having been distracted from his work.

The Master apologises to Ruth Ingram and Stuart Hyde for his outburst.

At UNIT HQ, the Doctor is using a time sensor to detect the Master. It activates, showing that a TARDIS is in use. The experiment as the institute shows that the jar at one end is disappearing and then appearing at the other. Looking at the clock outside his window, the master notices that it has slowed down. The experiment is causing an overload, but Ruth and Stu manage to contain it. Outside, the window cleaner falls from his ladder.

Meanwhile, the Doctor and Jo decide to follow their signal to find the source. They set off in Bessie. Back at the institute, the Master confronts Ruth and Stu, berating them for being so foolish. They tell him about the overload and he in turn tells them they were drawing power from outside of time itself. Stu looks out the window; a convoy is approaching with a UNIT Jeep among their number. The Master tells Ruth and Stu to leave him to his work.

The Doctor and Jo realise that the signal must be coming from Wootton, where the institute is. Using Bessie's super-drive function, they speed along. UNIT arrive at the institute and find the window cleaner, alive but injured.

The Brigadier, Benton, Dr. Cook and his aide Proctor, and Percival come into the control room with Ruth at the research station. Cook complains about pheasant lunch and expenditures. The Master enters in a radiation suit, to his himself.

The test goes begins and Ruth warns the Master that the power is overloading. Stu is in the crystal room. He gets too much power and can't hold it. He yells at them to switch off. Ruth yells at the Professor to turn it off. The Master only yells out, "Come, Kronos, come!!!"

Cast

The Doctor - Jon Pertwee
Jo Grant - Katy Manning
Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart - Nicholas Courtney
Sergeant Benton - John Levene
Captain Mike Yates - Richard Franklin
The Master - Roger Delgado
Dr. Ruth Ingram - Wanda Moore
Stuart Hyde - Ian Collier
Dr. Percival - John Wyse
Dr. Cook - Neville Barber
Proctor - Barry Ashton
Window cleaner - Terry Walsh
Krasis - Donald Eccles
Hippias - Aidan Murphy
Neophite - Keith Dalton
UNIT Sergeant - Simon Legree
Kronos - Marc Boyle
Dalios - George Cormack
Knight - Greg Powell
Roundhead Officer - Dave Carter
Farmworker - George Lee
Galleia - Ingrid Pitt
Crito - Derek Murcott
Lakis - Susan Penhaligon
Miseus - Michael Walker
Guard - Melville Jones
Minotaur - Dave Prowse
Face of Kronos - Ingrid Bower

Crew

Assistant Floor Manager - Rosemary Hester
Costumes - Barbara Lane
Designer - Tim Gleeson
Film Cameraman - Peter Hamilton
Film Editor - Martyn Day
Incidental Music - Dudley Simpson
Make-Up - Joan Barrett
Producer - Barry Letts
Production Assistant - Marion McDougall
Script Editor - Terrance Dicks
Special Sounds - Dick Mills
Studio Lighting - Derek Hobday
Studio Sound - Tony Millier
Theme Arrangement - Delia Derbyshire
Title Music - Ron Grainer
Visual Effects Designer - Michealjohn Harris

References

The Doctor

The Doctor's reaction times are ten times faster than those of a human.
The Doctor talks to Jo (while they're tied up) about his home; "When I was a little boy, we used to live in a house that was perched halfway up the top of a mountain. Behind our house, there sat under a tree an old man. A hermit, a monk. He'd lived under this tree for half his lifetime, so they said, and had learned the secret of life. So, when my black day came, I went and asked him to help me.'"

The Doctor's items

Bessie has brakes that absorb inertia, resulting in an instant, safe stop, even at high speeds.

Earth locations

Atlantis is destroyed.

Governments

The Seventh Enabling Act allows the Brigadier to take over from government forces.

Individuals

Kronos knows of the Doctor.
The Chronovore spares the Master.

The Master

The Master is capable of flawlessly imitating the voice of another, such as the Brigadier.

TARDISes

Jo uses The Master's TARDIS to time ram the Doctor's (both the Doctor and the Master hesitated to start the time ram).

Temporal theory

The Doctor makes a Time flow analogue from a Moroccan burgundy bottle, spoons, forks, corks, keyrings, tea leaves and a mug.
The Doctor gets ejected into the time vortex and speaks to Jo through the TARDIS telepathic circuits.
The Doctor has built a time sensor which detects disturbances in the time field.
The effect of the crystal ages Stuart by over fifty years. Despite this, his nails and hair do not grown out to match his rapid aging.

Transport technology

The TOMTIT machine works with assistance from the Master.

Story notes

During the Doctor's vision, the volcano stock footage used in the title sequence of the parallel Earth story DW: Inferno is re-used.
This is the only appearance of the "washing up bowl" interior for the TARDIS (designed by Tim Gleeson).
Dave Prowse, later to play (but not voice) the masked Darth Vader in the Star Wars films, features in an equally incognito role as the Minotaur. He was also well-known for playing the Green Cross Code man in 70's ITV public information films.

Ratings

Episode 1 - 7.6 million viewers
Episode 2 - 7.4 million viewers
Episode 3 - 8.1 million viewers
Episode 4 - 7.6 million viewers
Episode 5 - 6.0 million viewers
Episode 6 - 7.6 million viewers

Myths

Well-known actress Susan Penhaligon, making an early television appearance as Galleia's handmaiden Lakis, was originally to have been credited as Virginia Mull. (Virginia Mull was a different actress who had a small uncredited walk-on role as a serving girl in the Atlantis scenes of this story. Susan Penhaligon, who was a late replacement for actress Ann Michelle, was always to have been credited under her own name.)
The Master's alias is 'Thascales'. (The majority of printed and online episode guides say this. Unfortunately, (a) 'Thascales' isn't the Greek for 'Master', and (b) no-one in the story says 'Thascales'. They all say 'Thascalos', which is the Greek for 'Master'. The error first appears in the second edition of Terrance Dicks and Malcolm Hulke's The Making of Doctor Who, and presumably has been taken from there by all subsequent episode guides, without checking against the broadcast episodes. Terrance Dicks, however, has the correct spelling in the novelization.)

Filming locations

Swallowfield Park, Swallowfield, Berkshire
Stratfield Saye Park, Stratfield Saye, Hampshire
Old Church Farm (road), Hartley Wintney, Hampshire
Park Lane, Fair Cross, Berkshire
School Lane, Heckfield Heath/Riseley, Hampshire
Ealing Television Film Studios, Ealing Green, Ealing
BBC Television Centre (Studio 3 & 4), Shepherd's Bush, London

Production errors

If you'd like to talk about narrative problems with this story — like plot holes and things that seem to contradict other stories — please go to this episode's discontinuity discussion.

In episode one, the interior of the police box prop is visible.
The V1 footage is black and white.
The Doctor's supposedly backwards dialogue when played backwards is still gibberish.

Continuity

PDA: The Quantum Archangel is a sequel to this story.
Another Chronovore appears in NA: No Future.
This features (another) explanation of how Atlantis was destroyed; DW: The Underwater Menace and DW: The Dæmons also featured explanations of this.
The Doctor goes for another 'dip' in the time vortex in DW: Shada / WC: Shada / BFA: Shada and BFA: Seasons of Fear.
The Doctor builds a device similar to his time sensor in DW: Blink.
The Doctor mentions a "crack in time", which appears again in DW: The Eleventh Hour.

Timeline

For the Doctor and Jo

This story occurs after: TVA: Who is the Stranger
This story occurs before: DWA: The House That Jack Built

For the Brigadier

This story occurs after: DW: Day of the Daleks
This story occurs before: DW: The Three Doctors

For the Master

This story occurs after: DW: The Sea Devils
This story occurs before: DW: Frontier in Space

Home video and audio releases

DVD releases

This story was first released on DVD in the UK on 29th March 2010 as part of the Myths And Legends Boxset. The one disc set includes a restored version of the story, as well as the following special features:

Commentary by John Levene (Benton), Susan Penhaligon (Lakis), Barry Letts (Producer), Marion McDougall (Production Assistant), Graham Duff (Fan/Writer), Phil Ford (Fan/Writer), Joe Lidster (Fan/Writer), James Moran (Fan/Writer) and Toby Hadoke (Moderator).
Between Now… And Now!
Restoration Comparison
Coming Soon Trailer
Radio Times Billings
Production Subtitles
Photo Gallery

Editing for DVD release completed by Doctor Who Restoration Team.

UK DVD 2010 Cover
UK DVD 2010 Boxset
AUS DVD cover
AUS DVD Box Set cover
US DVD cover

VHS releases

Released in the UK as Doctor Who: The Time Monster in November 2001 (As part of the Master box set which also contains Colony in Space)

367px-Limited edition colony in space time monster tin vhs.jpg

UK & AUS Box Set
UK VHS cover
US VHS cover
AUS VHS cover

Novelisation and its audiobook

Main article: The Time Monster (novelisation)

Novelised as The Time Monster in 1986 by Terrance Dicks.

External links

Template:Season 9

Template:Wikipedia

@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 ==Plot==
-[[The Doctor]] has a foreshadowing dream in which he sees [[the Master]], a trident-shaped crystal, and images of ancient Atlantean culture.
+===Part one===
+The Doctor is sitting before the Master, who stands next to a [[crystal]], laughing. Explosions resound all around.
-The Master, adopting the alias of Professor Thascalos, uses his cover to tap into the resources of the Newton Research Unit at Cambridge University to conduct time experiments. His [[TOMTIT]] (Transmission of Matter through Interstitial Time) experiment, assisted by Ruth Ingram and Stuart Hyde, is focused around transmitting matter by breaking it down into light waves. Having hypnotized Dr Percival, the Director of the Institute, into doing his bidding, the Master’s cover is maintained. He is particularly interested in examining a trident-shaped crystal in his possession, which he uses to power the TOMTIT device, attempting to summon an entity called [[Kronos]].
+In [[UNIT HQ]], Jo wakes the Doctor up and he enquires if there have been any reports of [[Volcano|volcanic]] eruptions of [[earthquake]]s lately.
-The Doctor and [[Jo Grant]] visit the Institute following a signal from a time-field detector. He finds time moving slowly as the TOMTIT experiments disrupt the normal flow while Hyde, who is caught in the field of the experiment, ages to more than eighty years. [[Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart]], who also witnessed the TOMTIT experiment, has the project evacuated and begins to hunt for the Master, whose cover has now been blown. The Doctor explains to Ruth and Jo that Kronos is a powerful [[Chronovore]], a creature from outside time that feeds on time itself, who was once attracted from the vortex to ancient [[Atlantis]] using a crystal trident larger than the one used by the Master. That one remains in Atlantis. The Doctor suspects capturing the Chronovore is the Master’s aim too, forecasting such a step to be a danger to the entire created universe.
+The Master - or Professor Thascales, as he [[Aliases of the Master|calls himself]] - is holding the crystal the Doctor saw in his dream. He's in a laboratory at the [[Newton Institute]], working with Dr. [[Ruth Ingram]]. The crystal, the Master claims, is no different than any other piece of quartz yet it is. [[Stuart Hyde]] then enters. He is also working with pair. The Master leaves them to conduct further experiments. After he has left, Ruth comments that she doesn't know what is more annoying: "his dictatorial manner or that infernal courtesy of his."
-Meanwhile [[Krasis]], Atlantean High Priest of Kronos, is transported through interstitial time by the Master to the present. The Master seizes the Seal of Kronos from the priest and uses it to summon the chronovore. A white, feathered, bird-like figure, Kronos exudes power and devours Percival without compunction. It is contained briefly by the Master, but breaks free and Krasis surmises this is because the Master only has the smaller fragment of the original crystal.
+At UNIT HQ, Mike Yates points out the Thera group of islands where the quakes have been. Jo mentions [[Atlantis]], telling the Doctor that Thera is reputedly its location.
-The Doctor and his allies have been alerted by the actions of the Master and he builds a [[time flow analogue]] to interrupt his rival’s experiments. The two enemies attempt to outwit each other, often with strange consequences: historical characters (and a V1 flying bomb) are transported into the present; Stuart Hyde is restored to youth, though [[Sergeant Benton]] is reverted to a baby when he is caught in TOMTIT’s flow; and several [[UNIT]] troops, led by the Brigadier, are frozen in a time bubble. The two Time Lords even pit their TARDISes against one another, and the Doctor is ejected into the vortex, but survives thanks to Jo and his TARDIS.
+The Doctor talks to [[the Brigadier]] on the phone and tells him to put out a world wide warning to every section of [[UNIT]], all the UNIT HQs. He explains it is due to a dream he had about a half hour ago. The Brigadier joins him and the Doctor explains that he is too busy to see the [[TOMTIT]] demonstration at the Newton Institue, so [[John Benton|Benton]] is asked to go instead.
-In ancient Atlantis the aged and wise King [[Dalios]] is troubled by the disappearance of Krasis and the threat to the true crystal of Kronos, which is guarded by the [[Minotaur]] at the heart of a maze. The Master has traveled to Atlantis in search of the true crystal and soon inveigles himself at the Atlantean court, wooing the vain and gullible Queen [[Galleia]] and embroiling her in plots and schemes. Dalios warns of the dangers of the time when Kronos served Atlantis, but his wife is not moved by his pleas or his suspicions of the Master, whom he knows not to be an emissary of the gods. When the Doctor and Jo arrive, the old King – far older than he looks, since Kronos gave him the power of longevity – forms a bond of trust with the Doctor. The Doctor then faces the Minotaur to rescue Jo, duped into the maze by Krasis, and the creature is destroyed. The crystal is now produced from the maze – but the Master’s plotting with Galleia has borne fruit and he has usurped the throne, with Dalios deposed and arrested. Jo and the Doctor are soon detained too, and witness Dalios' sad death after mistreatment and torture.
+At the institute, the Master [[Hypnosis|hypnotises]] the Director, Dr. [[Charles Percival]] into believing him about his TOMTIT experiments and his credentials. In the lab, Ruth and Stu decided to run the test without "the Professor". Outside, [[Window cleaner (The Time Monster)|a window cleaner]] observes their efforts, having been distracted from his work.
-When the Council of Atlantis meets, Galleia's faith in the Master is broken when the Doctor informs her of Dalios' death. Krasis, however, is still in his thrall and uses the great crystal to summon Kronos to Atlantis once more. In the resulting melee the Master flees in his TARDIS with Jo Grant in tow. The Doctor heads off in his TARDIS in pursuit while Kronos destroys the city and people of Atlantis.
+[[File:Scientists.jpg|left|thumb|150px|[[The Master (UNIT years)|The Master]] apologises to [[Ruth Ingram]] and [[Stuart Hyde]] for his outburst.]]
+At UNIT HQ, the Doctor is using a [[time sensor]] to detect the Master. It activates, showing that a TARDIS is in use. The experiment as the institute shows that the jar at one end is disappearing and then appearing at the other. Looking at the clock outside his window, the master notices that it has slowed down. The experiment is causing an overload, but Ruth and Stu manage to contain it. Outside, the window cleaner falls from his ladder.
-In the Vortex, the Doctor threatens their mutual destruction by causing a [[time ram]] by which both TARDISes would occupy the same space/time co-ordinates. The Master, knowing the Doctor could never cause Jo's death, calls his bluff. Jo, however, has no such hesitation, and initiates the time ram. Kronos is set free and, thankful for this action, saves the Doctor and Jo and returns them to their TARDIS. Kronos intends to subject the Master to endless torment for his imprisonment, and the Master begs for mercy. The Doctor appeals successfully for the Master's life, who then flees in his own TARDIS. The Doctor and Jo return to the Institute as Ingram and Hyde operate the TOMTIT machine one last time, thereby returning the UNIT men to normality, albeit leaving Benton in a nappy. The machine then overloads, its time experiments at an end.
+Meanwhile, the Doctor and Jo decide to follow their signal to find the source. They set off in [[Bessie]]. Back at the institute, the Master confronts Ruth and Stu, berating them for being so foolish. They tell him about the overload and he in turn tells them they were drawing power from outside of time itself. Stu looks out the window; a convoy is approaching with a UNIT Jeep among their number. The Master tells Ruth and Stu to leave him to his work.
+The Doctor and Jo realise that the signal must be coming from [[Wootton]], where the institute is. Using Bessie's super-drive function, they speed along. UNIT arrive at the institute and find the window cleaner, alive but injured.
+The Brigadier, Benton, Dr. Cook and his aide Proctor, and Percival come into the control room with Ruth at the research station. Cook complains about [[pheasant]] lunch and expenditures. The Master enters in a [[radiation suit]], to his himself.
+The test goes begins and Ruth warns the Master that the power is overloading. Stu is in the crystal room. He gets too much power and can't hold it. He yells at them to switch off. Ruth yells at the Professor to turn it off. The Master only yells out, "Come, Kronos, come!!!"
 ==Cast==
@@ Line 53: / Line 61: @@
 *Dr. [[Humphrey Cook|Cook]] - [[Neville Barber]]
 *[[Proctor]] - [[Barry Ashton]]
-*Window Cleaner - [[Terry Walsh]]
+*[[Window cleaner (The Time Monster)|Window cleaner]] - [[Terry Walsh]]
 *[[Krasis]] - [[Donald Eccles]]
 *[[Hippias]] - [[Aidan Murphy]]

Anonymous

Search