The Time Meddler

Story Title: The Time Meddler
Episode Count: 4 Series: 1 Story No: 9
Doctor: 1st Companions: Vicki & Steven
Date(s) Watched: Monday 1st June 2009

So we get to the final story of a rather long season. The Time Meddler sees the series go out with a bang. Steve instantly fits into the show with ease & considering he’s replacing two companions, of which both Ian & Barbara were excellent, he has a tough job. However Peter Purves manages to pull this off very well indeed.

The story itself is virtually flawless, with an excellent cast, including the late Peter Butterworth as The Monk, who plays the part as the lovable roguish Time Lord with great aplomb. It’s such a shame that after this story his only other appearance is not only partially existing (Daleks Master Plan) but also seems to be tacked on to that story as comic relief. However thankfully the character has a wonderful balance of sneakiness & humour in this story.

The villages are well played as well, especially Alethea Charlton as Edith who bonds with the Doctor and is also in the implied rape scene in episode 2, which is a rather dark implication for a show like Doctor Who, which at the time was aimed more at kids than families it seems.

Steven & Vicki themselves bounce of each other very well & it’s a shame that this is the only adventure with them to together to survive. The Doctor & Vicki also have a nice opening scene, which again illustrates a more realistic Grandfather/Granddaughter relationship between the two than The Doctor & Susan had. The Doctor & The Monk have the greatest scenes together though, with some excellent interaction between Butterworth & Hartnell.

Everything else is spot on, the music including the slightly haunting “Monk Choir”, the sets especially the Monastery which looks like an actually monastery and not a set & the “clouds” move in a realistic way even though I imagine their just been pulled along on a basic pulley system.

A superb end to a great season, a thoroughly enjoyable story.

Overall Rating: 4.75/5 – Hugely enjoyable, great all round story & a fantastic end to Season 2