The Time Meddler (TV story)
The Time Meddler was the ninth and final story of Season 2 of Doctor Who. This story was the first pseudo-historical - a historical story with sci-fi elements other than the regular characters and the TARDIS. (Although there were sci-fi elements mixed with historical facts in a portion of The Chase, this was the first full story to combine the two.)
The Monk, the first Time Lord other than the Doctor and Susan Foreman to be seen in the series, also became the show's first recurring individual villain, and is notable for the fact that for the first time the Doctor's face appears on the credits, as well as the companions.
The Time Meddler also saw Leonardo da Vinci mentioned for the first time. Despite never appearing on television, da Vinci will be frequently name dropped. This is also the first real reference to the non-interference policy. Although the Doctor never mentions it directly, he clearly shuns those who meddle with time. As in The Space Museum, time is shown to be malleable, a fact that will later be doubted in other stories. This is also the first story to see a companion call the Doctor, "Doc". On this occasion it's Steven.
It is made quite evident here that the show is made for the 1960s. All the Monk's possessions are contemporary to that era and he refers to the TARDIS as a modern police box. Only his gramophone is old fashioned, and that was a tape recorder in the script. Although it had only been two months since his last holiday, William Hartnell takes episode two off. This leaves the Monk to occupy centre stage for that time. This was an odd time to be off the screen seeing as Peter Cushing was appearing as his version of Dr. Who in the movie, Dr. Who and the Daleks.
Synopsis
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.
Plot
The Watcher (1)
The Doctor and Vicki are surprised to find Steven Taylor aboard the TARDIS. In a disorientated state on Mechanus, he stumbled aboard the ship and has stowed away. They are grateful he survived the collapse of the Mechanoid City and help nurse him back to health. When the TARDIS lands on a rocky beach and they all step outside, Steven takes some convincing that the TARDIS has really been able to travel in space and time.
They have in fact arrived in 1066 on the coast of Northumbria, and their arrival has been witnessed by a Monk who does not seem fazed by the materialisation; they have also been seen by a Saxon villager called Eldred who runs to tell the headman of his village, Wulnoth, what he has seen. Once outside, the Doctor establishes the century from a discarded Viking helmet and heads off to the village while Steven and Vicki explore the cliffs above.
The Doctor encounters Edith, Wulnoth's wife, and convinces her he is a harmless traveller while probing her for more information. He determines it is 1066, since Harold Godwinson is on the throne and has not yet faced Harold Hardrada at Stamford Bridge, let alone William the Conqueror in the Battle of Hastings. He then turns his attention to the nearby monastery, at which monks are heard chanting despite only one of them ever being seen. He decides to visit the building once he hears the chanting become strangely—electronically?—distorted.
Steven and Vicki are lost, and hide when a local trapper comes by. The man stops to pick up something, and Steven's appearance is treated as a threat; the man knocks Steven to the ground before fleeing. Steven manages to grab what the hunter had found: it is a 20th-century wristwatch. Steven is even more doubtful of the claims of time-travel.
Arriving at the monastery, the Monk lets the Doctor in without revealing himself and then allows the Doctor to prowl around. He finds a gramophone playing the monastic chanting, but the Monk traps the Doctor, laughing almost in recognition.
The Meddling Monk (2)
The Monk makes the Doctor breakfast with his toaster, electric griddle, and teapot.
Steven and Vicki have spent the night in a clearing and the next morning head off back to the TARDIS, little realising Wulnoth has overheard them. Within minutes they are ambushed by Wulnoth, Eldred, and a band of Saxons and taken to the village council. After a heated discussion they convince Wulnoth they are but travellers and are given some provisions to travel on, though Vicki is equally heartened to hear from Edith that the Doctor passed by her hut on his way to the monastery. Steven and Vicki decide to visit the monastery next to try to find their missing friend. The Monk denies having seen anyone, but gives himself away by describing the Doctor too accurately, and so Steven and Vicki decide he must be a prisoner inside the monastery. They decide to break in after dark.
The Monk has meanwhile been surveying the seas with a telescope and is pleased to finally sight a Viking ship on the horizon. Soon the Vikings land and two small groups are sent to search the area, with one group of three heading toward the Saxon village. One of the Vikings finds and attacks Edith, leaving her traumatised, and in response the Saxons round up a posse and go hunting for the invaders. The three Vikings are drunk when they are found and the giant that attacked Edith is cut down, though his companions Sven and Ulf manage to flee. Eldred has been badly wounded and Wulnoth takes him to the monastery for help.
At the monastery Steven and Vicki steal in under cover of darkness. They too find the gramophone and are stunned. Meanwhile the Monk spies them but is prevented from dealing with them by the arrival of the Saxons at the door bearing the injured Eldred, whom Wulnoth insists be taken into the Monk's care. Steven and Vicki find the Doctor's cell—empty, bar the Doctor's cloak.
A Battle of Wits (3)
Steven and Vicki discover a secret passage, and assuming the Doctor has taken the same passage himself, try to follow him. The Doctor has returned to Edith in the Saxon village. He soon hears of the Viking invasion scouting party (the Monk pumps Eldred for the same information while treating him) and, upon leaving Edith's house, decides to head back to the monastery to track down Steven and Vicki, having learned they have gone there. By chance this is the same course of action the Doctor's companions decide upon, having first discovered an atomic bazooka pointing out to sea at the beach near the TARDIS, though the ship has now been submerged beneath the incoming tide.
The Monk is intent on using the Vikings for his own ends and, once Wulnoth has departed his monastery, produces an elaborate check list that builds to a meeting with King Harold himself. There is another knock at the monastery door and this time it is the Doctor who has the upper hand when the door is answered. Fooled into thinking he is being held at gunpoint, the Monk is marched back inside and is about to answer a few questions when there is yet another knock at the door. When the Doctor and Monk answer they are overpowered by the two Vikings, Sven and Ulf. In the ensuing confrontation the Monk is able to slip away, leaving the Doctor as the Viking prisoner. It is a state of play that does not last long. The Doctor knocks out Sven and then ensures Ulf is securely tied up.
The Monk has meanwhile used his freedom to persuade the villagers to light beacon fires on the cliff tops, lying that he is expecting materials by sea when in fact he wishes to lure the Viking fleet to land nearby. Wulnoth says he will light the fires, but is very suspicious.
Steven and Vicki return to the monastery via the secret passage and investigate the crypt, where a heavy power cable emanates from a sarcophagus. When they look inside, they are flabbergasted: the Monk has his own TARDIS.
Checkmate (4)
The Monk has meanwhile returned to the monastery and is once more under the Doctor's control. He reveals his plan is not to help the Vikings but to lure them to the coast where he hoped to destroy the invasion fleet with atomic bazookas. This would prevent the Viking invasion and thereby shore up King Harold to such an extent he would then not lose the Battle of Hastings. In short, the Monk is a Time Meddler who left the Doctor's own planet some fifty years after the Doctor himself. Steven and Vicki have found further evidence of his meddling in his TARDIS: a journal recording his meeting with Leonardo da Vinci to discuss powered flight, providing anti-gravity lifts to help build Stonehenge, and using time travel to collect a fortune in compound interest from a bank. The Doctor denounces the Monk for seeking to alter history and forces him to reveal his TARDIS, where they find Steven and Vicki. Together the time travellers piece together the Monk's immoral plot, the Monk insisting the plan will stabilise England and benefit Western civilisation.
The Vikings have meanwhile freed themselves from their bonds and decide to avenge themselves on the monks who have imprisoned them. Eldred spots them and, despite his injuries, flees to the village where he raises Wulnoth and a squad of Saxons to deal with the marauders.
At the monastery the tables have turned. Ulf and Sven have formed a contrived alliance with the Monk and have tied up the Doctor's party while the three of them decide to take the neutron grenades down to the cannons on the beach. The scheme is foiled however when the Saxons arrive and engage the fleeing Vikings in a nearby clearing, presumably killing Sven and Ulf in battle.
The Monk hides while this fighting rages, little knowing that the Doctor and his friends have been freed and are tampering with his TARDIS. With his scheme in ruins, the Monk decides to leave and returns his TARDIS. The Doctor has gone and left a note assuring the Monk has meddling days are ended. When the Monk looks inside his TARDIS he realises the Doctor has disabled the dimensional stabiliser and the interior of his ship has shrunk beyond use, leaving him stranded in 1066 with an angry band of Saxons nearby. The tide having gone out, the Doctor and his friends are, however, free to leave in their TARDIS, and journey onward to the stars.
Cast
- The Doctor - William Hartnell
- Vicki - Maureen O'Brien
- Steven Taylor - Peter Purves
- The Monk - Peter Butterworth
- Edith - Alethea Charlton
- Eldred - Peter Russell
- Wulnoth - Michael Miller
- Saxon Hunter - Michael Guest
- Ulf - Norman Hartley
- Viking Leader - Geoffrey Cheshire
- Sven - David Anderson
- Gunnar the Giant - Ronald Rich
Crew
- Writer - Dennis Spooner
- Director - Douglas Camfield
- Producer - Verity Lambert
- Script Editor - Donald Tosh
- Designer - Barry Newbury
- Assistant Floor Manager - Gillian Chardet
- Costumes - Daphne Dare
- Fight Arranger - David Anderson
- Make-Up - Monica Ludkin
- Make-Up - Sonia Markham
- Percussion - Charles Botterill
- Production Assistant - David Maloney
- Special Sounds - Brian Hodgson
- Studio Lighting - Ralph Walton
- Studio Sound - Brian Hiles
- Studio Sound - Ray Angel
- Theme Arrangement - Delia Derbyshire
- Title Music - Ron Grainer
References
- The monk is from a time fifty years after the Doctor left his homeworld.
- The Monk, unlike the Doctor, has control of both the landings of his TARDIS and its exterior; his TARDIS is a Mark IV.
- The Doctor removes the dimensional control unit from the Monk's TARDIS, shrinking its interior and leaving the meddler marooned.
Story 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 another member of the Doctor's race appears, although they are not yet identified as Time Lords.
- 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 1 was The Paradox.
- All episodes exist as 16mm telerecordings, though a sequence showing two Saxons being stabbed in episode 4 is still missing from the print.
- 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.
- 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 the production underwent, play-acted throwing a temper tantrum during the rehearsal of this story.
- No next episode caption is present on episode 4. Instead, an extended version of the theme music is heard as images of the three lead actors appear on screen.
- 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.
Ratings
- The Watcher - 8.9 million viewers
- The Meddling Monk - 8.8 million viewers
- A Battle of Wits - 7.7 million viewers
- Checkmate - 8.3 million viewers
Myths
- Peter Butterworth was chosen because of his roles in Carry On films. (He did not appear in a Carry On film until August 1965.)
- The Doctor's race are identified as Gallifreyans. (The word Gallifrey is not used until the Third Doctor story The Time Warrior.)
- Due to the fact Episode 4 ends with no lead-in to the next serial and instead ends with a unique sign-off showing closeups of the three leads, it's been suggested that perhaps this was at one point expected to be the final episode of the series. (The ending is rather similar to The Reign of Terror, and there is no indication the series was in danger of cancellation at this point, given it was still the height of Dalekmania.)
Filming locations
Production errors
- A deadbolt lock can be seen in the monastery door in episode one, albeit without any handles attached to it.
- The blankets seen at the beginning of episode three don't match those seen in episode two.
- When Steven acquires the watch, after the fight in the first episode, he asks Vicki "still think this is 10th century England?". The year is 1066, so therefore it's the 11th century. This could be a character mistake, not a production error. It's neither. At this point in the story, only the Doctor knows the year for certain, so Steven only has the Viking helmet and the Doctor's musings at the beginning of the story to go on. Call it an estimation.
Continuity
- At the outset of the story, The Doctor and Vicki discuss the departure of Ian and Barbara in The Chase, and the Doctor mentions his granddaughter Susan. Later, the Doctor regrets that Barbara could not be there to see (and, no doubt, fill in the facts of) this period of history.
- The Meddling Monk again returns during DW: The Daleks' Master Plan, in the novel NA: No Future, and in the audio story BFA: The Book of Kells.
- Steven stows away onboard the TARDIS at the end of the previous story, The Chase.
- Vicki refers to their visit to New York during the events of The Chase, including the Empire State Building.
- The Doctor's handwriting is completely different from DW: The Sensorites.
Timeline
- This story takes place after DW: The Chase
- This story takes place before DWM: Are You Listening?
Home video and audio releases
DVD releases
- Region 2 4th February 2008
- PAL -
- PAL -
- Region 1 5th August 2008
- NTSC -
Contents:
- Verity Lambert Obituary - A concise essay looking back at the career of one of Doctor Who's co-creators
- The Lost Twelve Seconds - A small part of Episode Four is still missing, and this short item uses an off-air audio recording and an original script to place the missing 12 seconds in context
- Restoration - Featurette showing the techniques used in the restoration of this story
- Stripped for Action - The First Doctor - A look back at the First Doctor's colorful comic strip adventures
- Verity Lambert Photo Gallery
- Radio Times Listing (PDF)
- Production Notes Subtitles
- Photo Gallery
- Audio Commentary by producer Verity Lambert, Peter Purves (Steven Taylor), story editor Donald Tosh and designer Barry Newbury, moderated by Clayton Hickman
Rear Credits:
- Starring William Hartnell with Peter Purves and Maureen O'Brien
- Written by Dennis Spooner
- Produced by Verity Lambert
- Directed by Douglas Camfield
Notes:
- Restored for DVD release by Doctor Who Restoration Team
VHS releases
Released as "Doctor Who: The Time Meddler"
- Released as part of The First Doctor Collection in the UK
- Released as part of The End of the Universe Collection in the US
- Editing for VHS and DVD releases completed by Doctor Who Restoration Team.
Novelisation and its audiobook
- Main article: The Time Meddler (novelisation)
- Novelised as The Time Meddler by Nigel Robinson in 1988.
See also
External links
- The Time Meddler at the BBC's official site
- The Time Meddler at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
- The Time Meddler at Shannon Sullivan's A Brief History of Time (Travel)
- The Time Meddler entry at Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film and Television
