The first 'pseudo-historical', and the first encounter with another person of the Doctor's species.

The Watcher opens with a welcome surprise for Vicki and the Doctor - Steven survived the end of The Chase and found his way on board the TARDIS. Peter Purves is excellent in these first few moments, as Steven accepts that the TARDIS can travel in space, but scoffs at the idea that it can travel through time. After the TARDIS lands, on a beach, the Doctor heads off on his own, and soon encounters Edith in a Saxon village - he strikes up a good rapport with her, and Alethea Charlton is well suited in the role of Edith, giving her a strong will.

Others are around as well; a mysterious monk who watches from the cliffs, and other Saxon villagers. Steven and Vicki encounter some, and discover a twentieth century wrist watch on one of them. The Doctor heads for the monastery, and soon discovers a gramaphone record playing the monk's chanting, but soon it is the mysterious monk with the upper hand as the Doctor gets trapped... An excellent first episode that sets up the mystery of the story quite effectively, and also pairs Steven and Vicki off quite well, with the two forming a good partnership here.

It's the next day in The Meddling Monk, with the breakfast prepared for the Doctor being rather rudely flung back at the Monk. We see more of the Saxon villager's life, with their leader Wulnoth coming off a quite a good character - wise and not quick to judge like Eldred. The sets for the exterior scenes and the Saxon village look quite good, with the back projection used on the cliff scenes quite realistically adding a sky in the background. Steven and Vicki arrive at the monastery, and Steven quite cleverly tricks the Monk into revealing that he has seen the Doctor.

A forward party of Vikings has arrived, and while the men are out, they attack the Saxon village, with Edith being particulary brutalised; there is also an indication that she may have been raped. The Vikings have a very one-note characterisation compared to the more rounded Saxons. The Saxons attack the Viking party, but two escape in a sequence that is well filmed and choreographed, with the percussion played by Charles Butterill adding the the dramatic nature of the scene. Vicki and Steven gain entrance to the monestary, as do Wulnoth and an injured Eldred; Vicki and Steven discover the gramaphone, but miss the trap - they also find the Doctor's cell, which is empty...

Vicki characterisation is good in The Time Meddler, and in A Battle of Wits she comes across very well, suggesting that the Doctor may have used a secret passage to escape the cell - which they find. The Doctor has made it back to the Saxon village, and while talking to Edith, lets knowledge about the Viking invasion slip out. The two surviving Vikings decide to hide in the monastery, holding a monk hostage to ensure their safety. Barry Newberry's sets for the ruined monastery look excellent, full of all sorts of surprising details.

At the monastery, the Doctor manages to capture the Monk, as the Steven and Vicki discover the tide has come in at the beach, so they to head back to the monastery, entering via the secret passage. The scenes between the Doctor and the Monk are well written by author Dennis Spooner and well acted by William Hartnell and Peter Butterworth, but it comes to an end too soon as the Vikings arrive and take the Doctor hostage. The Doctor soon escapes this, knocking out Sven, while the Monk asks the Saxons to prepare beacon fires; but Edith has taken note of what the Doctor said, raising Wulnoth's suspicions. The Doctor once more takes the Monk prisoner as Vicki and Steven discover that the Monk has a TARDIS...

The appropriately titled final episode, Checkmate opens with the Monk revealing his plans, and his TARDIS - reuniting the TARDIS crew. The Monk also reveals why he is doing this - he wants to make history 'better', and Europe a more peaceful place; compared to his other schemes of leaving money in the bank for 200 years and then collecting the interest this seems to be unbelievable to me - he must have an ulterior motive, but it isn't revealed on screen. The Monk escapes the TARDIS crew and runs straight into the Vikings, who then capture the TARDIS crew.

As the tied up TARDIS crew philosphise about what happens if history gets altered, the Saxons prepare to invade the monastery and kill the Vikings, arriving at the monastery in time to free the TARDIS crew. The Monk evades capture whilst the Vikings get killed. Before the TARDIS crew leave 11th century England, the Doctor leaves a surprise for the Monk - he removes the dimensional stabiliser from the Monk's TARDIS, shrinking the interior down so that it's the same size as the exterior dimensions...

Dennis Spooner's script for The Time Meddler is three quarters brilliant; what's letting it down is the poor charactersiation of the Viking characters, especially when compared to how well-rounded the Saxons are. The best scenes are those involving the Doctor and the Monk, with William Hartnell and Peter Butterworth bringing the script to life with perfet timing. Separating the TARDIS crew for three episodes works well, as it allows Steven to develop a friendship wth Vicki, with the two characters working well together; it also gives the Doctor a chance to shine on his own. Overall, The Time Meddler is a pretty good end to Season Two, with the credits rolling over the TARDIS crew's faces superimposed over a starscape as the theme music begins.

7.9/10

Next time: All is not as it seems as the TARDIS encounters beauty and beasts...

Return to the First Doctor review index
Return to review index