The Time Meddler

This is a good article. Click here for more information.
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
Monk (Doctor Who)
)

017 – The Time Meddler
Doctor Who serial
The Monk (right) looks eagerly to the left of the camera. In the background is the Doctor (dressed in monk clothing), Vicki, and Steven. They are standing in the Monk's TARDIS at the main console; the roundel walls can be seen in the far background, and the doors are open.
In his TARDIS, the Monk (Peter Butterworth) explains his plan to the First Doctor (William Hartnell), Vicki (Maureen O'Brien), and Steven Taylor (Peter Purves). Butterworth and Hartnell's performances were praised.[1][2][3]
Cast
Others
  • Peter Butterworth – The Monk
  • Alethea Charlton – Edith
  • Peter Russell – Eldred
  • Michael Miller – Wulnoth
  • Michael Guest – Saxon Hunter
  • Geoffrey Cheshire – Viking Leader
  • Norman Hartley – Ulf
  • David Anderson
    – Sven
  • Ronald Rich – Gunnar the Giant
Production
Directed by
Season 2
Running time4 episodes, 25 minutes each
First broadcast3 July 1965 (1965-07-03)
Last broadcast24 July 1965 (1965-07-24)
Chronology
← Preceded by
The Chase 		Followed by →
Galaxy 4
List of episodes (1963–1989)

The Time Meddler is the ninth and final

William of Normandy and the Norman soldiers at the Battle of Hastings
.

Spooner, who was leaving his role as

stock music and some percussive drumbeats played by Charles Botterill. The Time Meddler was the first serial to feature Purves in his main role as Steven, having been introduced in The Chase. Filming for the serial took place at Television Centre
from June to July 1965.

The Time Meddler received a smaller audience than The Chase, with an average of 8.42 million viewers across the four episodes; the Appreciation Index also saw a drop. Contemporary and retrospective reviews were generally positive, with praise directed at performances of Hartnell and Butterworth, Spooner's script, and Camfield's direction, though the depiction of the villagers was criticised. The story was novelised and released on VHS, DVD, and as an audiobook. In 2020, it was voted the second-best First Doctor story by readers of Doctor Who Magazine.

Plot

The

gramophone
playing the chant. He stops the gramophone and the Monk traps him in a cell.

Steven and Vicki encounter Eldred and notice he has a wristwatch, dropped by the Monk. The next morning, they are ambushed by the Saxons and taken to the village council. They convince Wulnoth they are travellers and are given provisions to travel on. Vicki is heartened to hear from Edith that she encountered the Doctor on his way to the monastery. Steven and Vicki visit the monastery, where the Monk tries to dissuade them from entering but gives himself away by describing the Doctor too accurately. Steven and Vicki break in after dark. A Viking attacks Edith, and the Saxons go hunting for the invaders. One is struck down, while his companions, Sven (David Anderson) and Ulf (Norman Hartley), flee. Eldred is badly wounded and Wulnoth takes him to the monastery for help.

While the Monk is occupied with the Saxons, Steven and Vicki find the gramophone. They discover that the Doctor has escaped through a secret passage and returned to the village. The Doctor heads back to the monastery and gains the upper hand when the Monk answers the door; the Doctor begins to question the Monk. Sven and Ulf ambush the Doctor and the Monk but are overpowered, but the Monk slips away during the confrontation. He tries to persuade the villagers to light beacon fires on the cliff tops, secretly wishing to lure the Viking fleet to land; Wulnoth tells the Monk that he agrees, but admits to Edith that he suspects danger.

Steven and Vicki return to the monastery and investigate the crypt, where a heavy power cable extends from a

William of Normandy at the Battle of Hastings
. He boasts that his plan would accelerate mankind's development by centuries. The Doctor denounces the Monk for seeking to alter the course of history and forces him to reveal his TARDIS, where they find Steven and Vicki. The time travellers piece together the Monk's plot, which he insists is intended to stabilise England and benefit Western civilisation.

Ulf and Sven form an alliance with the Monk and tie up the Doctor's party while the three of them take the neutron bomb shells to the cannon on the beach. The scheme is foiled, however, when Wulnoth and the Saxons arrive and engage the fleeing Vikings in a nearby clearing. The Monk hides while the fighting rages, little knowing that the Doctor and his friends have been freed by Edith and are tampering with his TARDIS. With his scheme in ruins, the Monk decides to leave and returns to his TARDIS. When the Monk looks inside, he realises the Doctor has taken the dimensional control and that the interior of his ship has shrunk beyond use, leaving him stranded in 1066. The Doctor, Vicki, and Steven return to the TARDIS and leave.

Production

Conception and writing

Outgoing story editor Dennis Spooner was commissioned by producer Verity Lambert to write a story introducing new companion Steven Taylor; as story editors commissioning themselves was discouraged,[8] Lambert justified his involvement to head of serials Donald Wilson, citing complications with contracts and budgets, and insufficient time to brief an uninvolved writer, as none of the regular writers were available.[9] Spooner was approved to write the serial on 15 March 1965.[8] Spooner wanted the show to move away from "pure" historical stories like The Reign of Terror (1964) and The Romans (1965), instead hoping to blend them with the show's more futuristic serials.[10] The Time Meddler was the first serial under new story editor Donald Tosh, having been offered to work on either 199 Park Lane or Doctor Who after the cancellation of Compact. He joined the show in April 1965, and was provided with a document titled The History of Doctor Who, outlining the show's story to date (including some upcoming).[11] Tosh enjoyed Spooner's idea of blending historical and futuristic stories.[12] He edited little of Spooner's work.[13]

The serial's working title was Doctor Who and the Monk;

stock music.[4][a] Set designer Barry Newbery constructed the Saxon's hut in the style of a cruck, painting the studio floor black to resemble ox blood.[16]

Casting and characters

A 71-year-old man with white hair and glasses smiling at the camera.
Peter Purves, 2010
A 71-year-old woman with white hair smiling to the right of the camera.
Maureen O'Brien, 2014
A black-and-white image of a man smirking behind the camera.
William Hartnell, 1946
The Time Meddler was the first serial to feature Purves as part of the regular cast, joining O'Brien and Hartnell.[15]

Spooner studied the background of the Doctor as originally stated in the writers' guide developed for the programme in 1963 by Sydney Newman, Donald Wilson, and C. E. Webber, and created the Monk as the antithesis of the Doctor; while the Doctor was serious about interfering with the past, the Monk finds it amusing. He envisaged the characters as a schoolboy prankster from the Billy Bunter books;[11] in the script, he was described as "mischievous, sly and cunning ... with a 'naughty boy' look".[12] Lambert suggested the casting of Butterworth as the Monk, having seen his previous work; he was enjoyed by the cast and crew on set, and was friendly with Hartnell.[17] Anderson was hired to choreograph the forest battle in the second episode, and to portray a Viking named Sven; he was previously noted by Camfield for his work as an extra on Marco Polo, and had returned to work on The Aztecs and star in The Crusade. Cast as Ulf, Hartley was an old friend of Camfield's.[18]

The Time Meddler was the first serial to feature Steven Taylor as a full companion. The role of Steven—originally named Michael in the scripts—had not been filled by 13 May, the month before filming began. After witnessing Purves's role as Morton Dill in the recording of The Chase the following day, Lambert and Spooner approached him and offered him the role.[15] Purves accepted the role within days. On 21 May, he was contracted for three stories (13 episodes), with an option for a further 20 episodes by 10 September and another 26 by 4 February 1966.[19] He grew a beard for his role as Steven in the final episode of The Chase,[15] but he wore a fake beard for the first episode of The Time Meddler as Steven becomes cleanshaven partway through.[20] His role as a companion on the show was announced on 18 June 1965.[21] Purves quickly bonded with Hartnell and O'Brien, and they would occasionally have dinner together after rehearsals. Purves was pleased with Spooner's scripts and the development of Steven's character, though O'Brien was unimpressed.[22]

Filming

The minimal filming required for The Time Meddler allowed additional allocation of production for The Chase.

ad-libbed a comment about converting kilometres to miles.[24] The final episode was recorded on 2 July 1965.[27]

Reception

Broadcast and ratings

EpisodeTitleRun timeOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions)		Appreciation Index
1"The Watcher"24:053 July 1965 (1965-07-03)8.957
2"The Meddling Monk"25:1710 July 1965 (1965-07-10)8.849
3"A Battle of Wits"24:1017 July 1965 (1965-07-17)7.753
4"Checkmate"24:0024 July 1965 (1965-07-24)8.354

The serial was broadcast on

Henley Regatta and Wimbledon Championships final.[1] The final broadcast accidentally omitted Camfield's directing credit by fading out early; Camfield complained to Wiles, who issued a memo requesting that this not be allowed in future.[1] The following three episodes broadcast at the usual time.[28] The summer season and lack of Daleks led to smaller audience numbers than The Chase,[1] with 8.9 and 8.8 million viewers for the first two episodes and a drop to 7.7 and 8.3 million for the final two.[28] The second episode was the highest-rated BBC show of the week South West region; the third episode dropped out of the top 20 programmes of the week, but garnered a larger audience share than ITV.[1] The Appreciation Index score also saw a drop, with scores of 57, 49, 53, and 54 across the four weeks.[28]

The

BBC2 from 3 to 24 January 1992, garnering an average of 2.59 million viewers across the four episodes.[28][b]

Critical response

The serial received generally positive reviews. Television Today's Bill Edmund enjoyed the character of the Monk and Butterworth's performance, but was disappointed by the lack of monsters in the serial.[1] An audience report prepared following the first episode's broadcast was generally positive, with several viewers finding the anachronistic items a fascinating twist on the time travel theme, though some failed to understand their purpose;[32] Steven's character was also praised, though some viewers missed Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright, who departed in the previous serial. J. C. Trewin of The Listener enjoyed the serial, "partly because no mechanical monsters arrived and partly because the logical consequences of time-meddling were faced".[29] In a review for the BBC series Hereward the Wake, The Observer's Maurice Richardson found it difficult to "suspend disbelief" for the show's time setting after watching Doctor Who's "remarkable essay in this period".[33]

Retrospective reviews were also positive. In

Total Sci-Fi Online, Jonathan Wilkins described the serial as "an often forgotten gem", praising Hartnell's "remarkable performance"—particularly his scenes alongside Butterworth—and enjoyed the performances of Purves and Charlton, though felt that the other villagers were the "weakest element" of the story.[36] IGN's Arnold T. Blumberg highlighted the chemistry between Hartnell and Butterworth, the competency of Vicki and Steven, and the visual atmosphere, but felt that the plot contained some clichés.[3] In 2009, Patrick Mulkern of Radio Times called the serial "an utter delight" and "the Doctor Who equivalent of comfort food", praising Butterworth's performance and Camfield's direction.[37] In 2012, The A.V. Club's Christopher Bahn enjoyed the Monk and the introduction of Steven, and lauded the pacing of Spooner's script and Camfield's direction.[38] The Time Meddler was voted the second-best First Doctor story by Doctor Who Magazine readers in 2020; writer Emma Reeves cited the conflict between the Doctor and the Monk, and the serial's reinvention of several elements that would later define the show.[39]

Commercial releases

The Time Meddler
ISBN
0-491-03337-0

A novelisation of this serial, written by

Tales of the TARDIS, released on BBC iPlayer on 1 November 2023, with new scenes starring O'Brien and Purves.[44]

Notes

  1. ^
    Roberto Gerhard.[6]
  2. ^ The 1992 repeat broadcast of the serial achieved viewing figures of 2.37, 2.79, 2.58, and 2.63 million viewers, respectively.[28]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Ainsworth 2016, p. 141.
  2. ^ a b Cornell, Day & Topping 1995, pp. 27–43.
  3. ^ a b Blumberg, Arnold T. (11 November 2008). "Doctor Who: The Time Meddler Review". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d Ainsworth 2016, p. 133.
  5. ^ Ainsworth 2016, pp. 135–136.
  6. ^ Ainsworth 2016, pp. 137–138.
  7. ^ Muir 1999, p. 439.
  8. ^ a b c Ainsworth 2016, p. 124.
  9. ^ Howe, Walker & Stammers 1994, pp. 194–195.
  10. ^ Ainsworth 2016, pp. 124–125.
  11. ^ a b Ainsworth 2016, p. 125.
  12. ^ a b c Ainsworth 2016, p. 126.
  13. ^ a b Ainsworth 2016, p. 129.
  14. ^ a b c Ainsworth 2016, p. 130.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g Ainsworth 2016, p. 131.
  16. ^ a b Ainsworth 2016, p. 134.
  17. ^ Ainsworth 2016, pp. 132–133.
  18. ^ a b Ainsworth 2016, p. 135.
  19. ^ Ainsworth 2016, p. 96.
  20. ^ Hickman et al. 2008, 5:39.
  21. ^ Ainsworth 2016, p. 104.
  22. ^ a b Ainsworth 2016, p. 132.
  23. ^ Ainsworth 2016, pp. 130–131.
  24. ^ a b Ainsworth 2016, p. 137.
  25. ^ Ainsworth 2016, p. 136.
  26. ^ Ainsworth 2016, pp. 136–137.
  27. ^ Ainsworth 2016, p. 138.
  28. ^ a b c d e f g h Ainsworth 2016, p. 143.
  29. ^ a b Ainsworth 2016, p. 142.
  30. ^ Ainsworth 2016, pp. 142–143.
  31. DoctorWho.tv. BBC Studios. Archived
    from the original on 17 January 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  32. ^ Ainsworth 2016, pp. 141–142.
  33. Newspapers.com
    .
  34. ^ Howe & Walker 1998, pp. 96–97.
  35. ^ a b Brew, Simon (25 January 2008). "Doctor Who: The Time Meddler DVD review". Den of Geek. Dennis Publishing. Archived from the original on 8 October 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  36. Titan Magazines. Archived from the original
    on 12 September 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  37. BBC Magazines. Archived
    from the original on 17 January 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  38. ^ Bahn, Christopher (4 March 2012). "Doctor Who (Classic): "The Time Meddler"". The A.V. Club. io9. Archived from the original on 9 January 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  39. ^ Reeves 2020, p. 48.
  40. ^ a b c d Ainsworth 2016, p. 144.
  41. DoctorWho.tv. BBC Studios. Archived
    from the original on 25 September 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  42. ^ Jeffery, Morgan (16 August 2022). "Doctor Who's Maureen O'Brien reprises Vicki role after almost 60 years". Radio Times. Immediate Media Company. Archived from the original on 16 August 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  43. ^ "The Collection: Season 2". The TARDIS Library. Archived from the original on 14 November 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  44. ^ Mellor, Louisa (31 October 2023). "Doctor Who Anniversary: What Actually IS Tales of the TARDIS?". Den of Geek. Dennis Publishing. Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 1 November 2023.

DVD resources

  • 2 Entertain
    .

Bibliography

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to First Doctor.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Time_Meddler&oldid=1216530709"