The Time Meddler (TV story)

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Summary

The Doctor, Vicki, and new companion Steven Taylor arrive in Saxon Northumbria on the eve of the Viking and Norman invasions. It is 1066, a pivotal moment in British history, and the hand of a mysterious Monk is at work in the nearby monastery. (Click here for more information)

Cast & Characters

Uncredited Cast

Crew

Notes

  • The Time Meddler is the first example of what is known in Doctor Who as the "pseudohistorical" story, as opposed to the pure historical stories, which are set in the past but have no science fictional elements attached to them
  • This is the first story in which the acronym TARDIS is said to stand for "Time and Relative Dimensions in Space", rather than the singular "Dimension" as had been used in An Unearthly Child. This was an error made by Maureen O'Brien during recording, and was retained throughout much of the series' history
  • The working title for this story was The Monk
  • The working title of episode one was The Paradox
  • All episodes exist as 16mm telecine recordings
  • A print of episode 2 is held in the Film & TV Library
  • Incomplete prints of all episodes were found in Nigeria in 1985
  • Complete prints of episodes 1 and 3 were returned to the archive in 1992
  • Sequences showing a saxon being stabbed in episode 4 are still missing from the print
  • Telesnaps for this episode are held by a private collector
  • During production of this story, new producer John Wiles began taking over production duties.
  • William Hartnell, displeased at the number of changes undergoing the production, play-acted throwing a temper tantrum during the rehearsal of this story
  • William Harntell does not appear in the Meddling Monk as the actor was on holiday
  • No next episode caption is present on episode 4
  • Some versions of this story especially those distributed in the US cut the first few minutes of the story in which the Doctor and Vicki find Steven hiding in the TARDIS

Influences

Ratings

  • The Watcher - 8.9m viewers
  • The Meddling Monk - 8.8m viewers
  • A Battle of Wits - 7.7m viewers
  • Checkmate - 8.3m viewers

Myths

  • That Peter Butterworth was chosen because of his roles in Carry on Films (He did not appear in a Carry On films until August 1965)
  • The Doctors race are identified as Gallifreyans (The word Gallifrey is not used until the Third Doctor story The Time Warrior)

Location Filming

To be added

Continuity

  • This is the first time we meet another member of the Doctor's race, from a time fifty years after the Doctor left his homeworld (which is not named in this story)
  • The Meddling Monk again returns during The Daleks Master Plan and in No Future
  • Steven stowaways onboard the TARDIS at the end of the previous story The Chase
  • Vicky refers to their visit to New York during the events of The Chase

Discontinuity

To be added

Quotes

The Doctor - (upon finding a Viking helmet) "'What do you think it is, a space helmet for a cow?"

Story Arcs

Time Travel Arc

Similar stories

References

To be added

More Info

Public Releases

  • DVD Release - This story has not yet been released on DVD.
  • Video Release - Released as "Doctor Who: The Time Meddler"
UK Release: June 2000 / US Release: October 2003
PAL - BBC Video BBCV7275
NTSC - Warner Video E1854
Released as part of The First Doctor Collection in the UK
Released as part of The End of the Universe Collection in the US

External Links

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