By Jessica Holmes

Hello, everyone! Following the harrowing experience inflicted upon me earlier this month, with The Chase proving to be a disappointment, and the affront to my very soul that was Dr. Who And The Daleks, I had begun to fear that I would never recover. However, The Time Meddler has been a balm for my poor soul. Dennis Spooner, thank you. Thank you for giving me some Doctor Who that I can genuinely enjoy.

THE WATCHER

The TARDIS feels a lot emptier without Ian and Barbara, that’s for sure. However, Vicki and the Doctor soon realise they aren’t alone, and find Steven Taylor from the previous serial in their living quarters.

The Doctor doesn’t look one bit impressed with his stowaway. It doesn’t help that Steven keeps referring to the Doctor as ‘Doc’. Who does he think The Doctor is? One of the seven dwarfs?

I love their choice of tools for self-defence.

The TARDIS materialises at the base of a coastal cliff, its arrival spotted by a monk up on the clifftop, who regards the box with a strange sense of understanding.

Before we can get to that, however, the Doctor and Vicki had better show Steven the ropes, the Doctor rattling off the names of every bit of kit in the control room, including the furniture for the sake of facetiousness.

Steven accepts that the TARDIS is bigger on the inside, but refuses to believe that it’s a time machine. Mate, you literally just came from a planet populated by walking mushrooms where you were held captive by Christmas tree baubles until a bunch of angry pepperpots turned up. Does time travel sound any more absurd to you?

Ticked off, the Doctor decides to prove to Steven that his ship really can time travel.

Meanwhile, in a village nearby, a bunch of unwashed peasants are discussing the mysterious box that just washed up on the beach. A couple of the men decide to go and look for it.

On the beach, Vicki finds an affront to history. Sorry, I mean she finds a Viking helmet. With horns on.

The Doctor sarcastically asks Steven if he thinks it’s actually a space helmet for a cow, seeing as he still refuses to accept it as an authentic Viking helmet.

Frankly, he’s absolutely right for the wrong reasons. Vikings did not wear horned helmets – not to battle, at the very least. Just think how impractical it would be.

I think the Space Cow explanation is quite a bit more likely.

The group decide to go exploring a bit and see if they can prove to Steven that they really have time-travelled, because apparently an actual Viking helmet wasn’t good enough.

I rather enjoy Steven and the Doctor taking sarcastic jabs at each other. It’s quite funny. I’m really warming to Steven in general, actually.

Once the group moves off, the Doctor going one way and Steven going another with Vicki, the monk from the clifftop approaches the ship and attempts to get inside, thankfully to no avail.

The Doctor eventually arrives at the village and meets a woman, Edith, who gives him a horn of mead once her initial caution wears off. Through a little discussion, the Doctor manages to glean that King Edward died earlier this year, making Harold Godwinson the new king. Much to the Doctor’s delight, he realises that must mean it’s 1066.

And the absence of a history teacher doesn’t mean we don’t get History Lesson Time, as the Doctor talks to himself (while mugging into the camera) about the soon-to-come invasion of Harald Hardrada, and then William the Conqueror.

The village is not far from the Monk’s monastery, the rhythmic chanting easily audible from Edith’s house. However, as the Doctor listens, the singing slows, distorting as it stops…rather like stopping a record.

Well, something dodgy is going on here.

He asks Edith, and she tells him she’s never actually seen the monks at the monastery, which had been abandoned for years until recently, but she hears them often.

Could it be that the Doctor isn’t the only one around here that doesn’t belong?

Steven and Vicki stop to rest, having got themselves lost. They spot a man, who finds something shiny on the ground, and against Vicki’s advice Steven jumps up and tackles him, having apparently forgotten his manners after two years of isolation. I wouldn’t have thought ‘rugby-tackling people is considered impolite’ would be an easy thing to forget, but I’ve never been marooned anywhere.

Steven manages to wrest the mysterious shiny object from the man’s hands, and makes an interesting discovery: it’s a wristwatch.

The Doctor travels up to the monastery and follows the sound of the singing, tracing it to a gramophone record player. However, he pays for his curiosity as a cage door comes down on him, trapping him as the Monk arrives to laugh at his misfortune.

This is pretty interesting so far. Consider my curiosity piqued.

THE MEDDLING MONK

The Monk takes the Doctor prisoner, but he’s nice enough to bring the Doctor quite a decent breakfast in the morning, prepared with some very anachronistic kitchen appliances, like a toaster. Elsewhere, Vicki and Steven come under attack in the woods, the Anglo-Saxon men springing from the bushes to capture these strangers.

To be fair, there is the looming threat of invasion. In fact, the first party of Vikings is already approaching. The Monk seems to have been anticipating their arrival.

The Saxons take Vicki and Steven, who is finally starting to believe that he really has travelled back in time, back to their village, where the headman, Edith’s husband, stops them doing anything rash for long enough for Edith to inquire if they’re looking for an elderly man with long white hair.

Vicki and Steven answer in the affirmative, and the headman lets them go, satisfied that they’re just travellers, sending them on their way with a pack of provisions.

Do you think he knows how silly he looks? Also, I can't find any similar helmets in my research, so this may be silly AND inaccurate.

A band of Vikings come ashore close by. Strictly speaking, we should call them Norsemen, seeing as they’re here to scout ahead for the rest of the fleet, and not to go viking, which is more of a job than a culture. Being pedantic is a hobby of mine.

Vicki and Steven reach the monastery, where they meet the Monk, who claims to have seen no sign of the Doctor. If that’s true, then, how is it that he rattles off a perfect description of the man when nobody has even told him what the Doctor looks like?

Vicki is suspicious, however, thinking that he gave himself away far too easily. Steven wants to break into the monastery right then and there, but Vicki cautions him that that is probably exactly what the Monk wants them to do, so they wait until nightfall.

With nightfall comes the arrival of the Vikings to the little village, and poor Edith, alone at home, bears the brunt of their brutality. They don’t kill her, and it’s not shown on screen what they did to her, but her husband finds her virtually catatonic from the trauma, so I think we can make an educated guess as to the implication.

Hopefully it will just fly over the younger viewers’ heads.

Edith manages to come around a bit and tells the others that it was the Vikings, and the men ready themselves to track Edith’s attackers down. It doesn’t take long, and a very unconvincing brawl ensues, killing one and driving the others off.

Vicki and Steven break into the monastery. It’s quite funny how they keep trying to vie for the leadership of their little group, trying to boss each other around. I say that seeing as Vicki’s been at this time-travelling lark for far longer than Steven, she gets to be in charge.

The headman brings one of the wounded Saxons to the monastery, distracting the monk as Vicki and Steven snoop about, soon finding the record player. They manage to find the Doctor’s cell, and Steven picks the lock, only to discover that the cell is empty, the shape on the bed they had assumed was the Doctor revealed to be nothing but a bundle of rags. He’s vanished!

A BATTLE OF WITS

Vicki and Steven soon discover that the Doctor has escaped through a tunnel hidden behind a loose stone in the cell, prompting Steven to remark, “Who’s a clever girl, then?” For goodness’ sake, Steven, she’s a young woman, not a well-trained poodle. No need to be so patronising.

The pair follow the passage, and the Monk returns to an empty cell, much to his confusion.

The Doctor, meanwhile, has safely made his way back to the village and meets up with Edith, who tells him about the Viking attack. He rushes off in a hurry, pausing, however, to let Edith in on a little secret: the king will defeat the Vikings.

He doesn’t mention the Normans who turn up a few weeks later, though. Got to have some surprises, I suppose.

Vicki and Steven emerge from the tunnel, Steven finally believing that he has time-travelled, but he still can’t stop thinking about the anachronistic things they’ve seen. The pair decide to find the Doctor and investigate further.

Back at the monastery, the Monk continues to be a curious individual. I very much enjoy his character. He’s the antagonist of the serial, that’s for sure, but I don’t think I’d characterise him as a villain. Yes, he did kidnap the Doctor, but then the Doctor’s no stranger to a little kidnapping from time to time. He gives the wounded Saxon some penicillin, telling him that it’s just a special herb. The headman leaves his friend with the monk to recover, to the monk’s reluctance, and leaves to prepare for the arrival of the very badly-dressed Vikings.

Really though, they look dreadful. They’re practically wearing potato sacks! By this point in history a Norseman and a Saxon would look pretty much alike on the battlefield, save for the shape of their shields. This lot look as if they just raided a rubbish fancy dress shop.

A couple of the Vikings find themselves isolated from the group, and decide their best option is to request sanctuary at the monastery. After all, it’s not as if the Monk can refuse, but the Monk already has a surprise guest: the Doctor, cane in hand and demanding answers.

Vicki and Steven struggle to track the Doctor down, but they stumble across something interesting in their search. Atop the cliffs, they find some sort of advanced weapon pointing out to sea. Figuring this has something to do with the mysterious Monk, they start heading back to the monastery via the secret tunnel.

Back at the monastery, the Doctor and the Monk are in something of a battle of wits, as the Doctor tries to coax information from the Monk, who keeps dodging his questions and trying to get rid of him. There’s a knock at the door, and the Doctor agrees to keep up the Monk’s ruse a little longer if it’ll get him answers, so dons the appropriate robes and invites the Vikings inside. I say ‘invites’, but really the Vikings just went straight for the death threats, which is rather rude of them.

By morning, the Viking on guard finds the Doctor’s cell apparently empty, and rushes to the secret exit, which has been left wide open. As he looks into it, the Doctor emerges from behind the cell door where he was hiding, and clobbers him.

The Monk gets down to the village, where he tries to enlist the men to help him light signal fires. However, the Saxons are suspicious, and Edith tells her husband about the Doctor’s warning of an impending invasion.

Vicki and Steven finally make it into the monastery as the Doctor confronts the Monk. In the monastery’s chapel, Vicki and Steven find a large stone sarcophagus, which for some reason has a power cable plugged into it.

Upon investigating further, they find that the sarcophagus is big enough to climb inside. It looks a bit of a snug fit at first sight, but wouldn’t you know it’s bigger on the inside? That’s right. It’s a TARDIS.

The Monk has a TARDIS.

I really enjoyed this episode. The reveal at the end honestly made me gasp. We know of course that there are other ships that can time travel in the Doctor’s universe, but more TARDISes? What is the plural of TARDIS? Tardises? Tardii? Tardodes? Or is it like ‘sheep’ where the plural of TARDIS is TARDIS?

The whole dynamic between the Doctor and the Monk is delightful to me. The pair have a real chemistry with each other, making them a joy to watch.

Let’s see how it all turns out, shall we?

CHECKMATE

The Monk reveals to the Doctor that he’s going to lure the Vikings to the cliffs, where he’ll destroy them.

Inside the Monk’s TARDIS, Vicki and Steven find the Monk’s ‘collection’ of pilfered artifacts from various cultures and time periods.

Oh, so it’s like a time travelling version of the British Museum?

That’s not all he’s been getting up to, though. As he tells the Doctor, he gave Leonardo da Vinci the idea to try making a flying machine, and also had the rather clever idea to put a few bob in the bank, hop forwards a couple hundred years, then collect on the compound interest.

The Doctor vehemently disapproves, of course, but the Monk insists that time travel is more fun this way. And it’s not as if he hasn’t put his footprint on history before. After all, could the ancient Britons really have built Stonehenge without the assistance of anti-gravity devices?

The Monk explains his plan to help Harold Godwinson beat William of Normandy. It’s simple enough at its core: just make sure he doesn’t have to fight Harald Hardrada.

He’s come to the site of Hardrada’s landing, and positioned an atomic cannon on the cliffs. When the invasion fleet shows up, he’ll blow them sky-high, so that Harold Godwinson doesn’t have to fight Harald Hardrada. That’ll save him thousands of casualties weakening his army, and his troops won’t be exhausted from weeks of marching and fighting when they get to Hastings. With any luck, he’ll be able to drive the Normans back, and Britain will remain Anglo-Saxon.

If nothing else, maybe English spelling would be a bit more consistent in the future.

The knocked-out Viking comes around and releases his comrade, the pair deciding to stick around for the sake of safety (but probably realising they need to be a lot more wary of the old men).

The Monk shows the Doctor to his TARDIS, teasing him about being unable to fix the cloaking device of his own. As he’s doing that, the wounded Saxon sneaks out of the monastery.

The Doctor notes that the Monk has a newer, shinier TARDIS than he does. Jealous, Doc?

They find Vicki and Steven, who themselves have discovered the Monk’s checklist. The Doctor confirms that the Monk is from the same place as him (wherever that is), but probably from about 50 years in the future from the point the Doctor left home, going by his TARDIS.

Really, the Doctor and the Monk are a lot more alike than the Doctor would probably like to admit. Both are eccentric and mysterious time-travelling old men, and like the Doctor, the Monk does actually want to help the people he comes across. He just has a different way of going about it. Whereas the Doctor tends to avoid interfering too much with recorded historical events, the Monk sees no problem with it. He figures that a few changed history books is worth keeping Harold on the throne, and keeping French nobility away from the English crown might avoid the subsequent centuries of wars over succession.

I’m already very doubtful, but it gets worse.

With a little nudging, the English might have aeroplanes by the 14th century, and perhaps rather than at the Globe, Shakespeare might be putting his plays on television. I’m sorry, but no. You can’t change possibly the most significant historical event in English history and expect there to be no massive ripples.

Sorry, Monk, but I’m with the Doctor on this one. You can’t possibly predict the end results of a change that big. The Doctor wastes no time in telling the Monk exactly what he thinks of his plan, but the Monk isn’t really open to constructive criticism, choosing to make a break for it. He doesn’t get far before running into the Vikings, who he gets away from by hailing King Harald and pointing out the other three as enemies of the Vikings.

In the village, Edith and her husband tell the other villagers about the impending invasion, and share their suspicions about the monk. The wounded Saxon makes a timely appearance, and tells everyone that there are already Vikings at the monastery. With no time to lose, the whole village takes up arms (yes, even Edith!) and heads up to the monastery.

They find the Vikings en-route to set signal fires for the Monk, who told them that they would aid the invasion fleet. Successfully chasing them off, Edith enters the monastery and frees the travellers, before heading out again, spear in hand, to chase down the invaders. I heartily approve, and I think the Doctor does, too. He seems quite taken with her, in fact.

The Monk continues to flee with the Vikings, and distracts them so that they get delayed and captured, enabling him to slip away. Little does he know, however, that back at the monastery the Doctor is tampering with his TARDIS. Satisfied with his handiwork, the Doctor leaves a note for the Monk, and leads the others back to his own TARDIS. Job done?

Back at the cliffs, the gang find the TARDIS safe and sound, undamaged by its time underwater.

We’ve also got a nice moment of character development, as the Doctor cheerfully declares he’s quite happy to have Steven along for the ride with Vicki. He’s come a long way from threatening to abandon his companions for annoying him.

But what of the Monk?

Rather the worse for wear and with his plan in ruins, the Monk decides he’d better be moving on. He finds the note left for him, saying that the Doctor might release him at some point if he’s a good boy. But what does he mean by that? Well, when the Monk looks into his TARDIS, he gets a nasty shock– it’s the same size on the inside as it is on the outside. The Doctor’s nicked the dimensional control, and marooned the Monk!

That’s karma for you. Perhaps he’ll learn his lesson?

Final Thoughts

Needless to say, I really enjoyed this serial. It was a fun twist on the pure historicals we usually see, blending that fantastical element into the historical setting in a fun way. I hope to see more experiments like this.

I think I can confirm I definitely like Steven. Peter Purves is funny and charming, and Steven reminds me of a lot of blokes I know. That could just be Purves’ Lancashire accent, though.

A special mention has to go to Peter Butterworth for his portrayal of the Monk. It’s not often that an antagonist on Doctor Who delights me so much, but he gives a thoroughly entertaining performance. His entire demeanour is very Doctor-like, though a bit more mischievous, and with a self-serving streak. He’s like how I imagine the Doctor might have turned out if he didn’t have anyone around to keep him in check. Not particularly malicious, but definitely a law unto himself. He plays very well opposite Hartnell, and I’d enjoy seeing him again at some point.

Additionally, going over my notes I’ve just realised that Edith’s actress, Alethea Charlton, has been in Doctor Who, all the way back in The Firemakers. She was Hur, the cavewoman. I’ve really no memory for faces.

I can go on at some length when I’m not particularly impressed with a serial, but it’s quite hard when it’s the other way around. What can I say? I’m English. We like complaining.

There really isn’t much to complain about, though. I suppose if I did have to nitpick, I’d have liked the Vikings to be a bit more fleshed-out. They’re the weakest part of the serial, not being especially interesting to me. They serve a purpose, but not much beyond that. And the helmets are still a travesty.

I suppose the same goes for the Anglo-Saxons. I can’t remember the names of any of them except Edith, and she was the only one I really cared about, because of her extra screen-time.

Even so, that’s really a minor quibble. It’s simply a well-written, well-acted serial which doesn’t overstay its welcome and doesn’t rush itself either. What more could you ask for, except for more serials like this?

4 out of 5 stars