The Time Meddler
The Time Meddler is the ninth and final serial of the second season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Dennis Spooner and directed by Douglas Camfield, the serial was broadcast on BBC1 in four weekly parts from 3 to 24 July 1965. Set in Northumbria in 1066, before the Battle of Stamford Bridge, the serial features the time traveller the First Doctor and his companions Vicki and Steven Taylor as they attempt to outwit the time traveller the Monk, who is plotting to change the course of European history by wiping out King Harald Hardrada's Viking invasion fleet, leaving Harold Godwinson and the Saxon soldiers fresh to defeat William of Normandy and the Norman soldiers at the Battle of Hastings.
Former story editor Spooner was commissioned to write The Time Meddler by producer Verity Lambert. He wanted the show to move away from full historical stories, instead blending them with futuristic topics. He studied the Doctor's background in the writers' guide to create his antithesis, the Monk. The Time Meddler was the first serial under new story editor Donald Tosh, and the crew was joined during production by John Wiles, who was soon to replace Lambert as producer. The serial was produced at a low cost to offset the increased budget of the previous serial, The Chase; Camfield opted to forgo a traditional incidental score. The Time Meddler was the first serial to feature Purves in a 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 First Doctor and Vicki find Steven Taylor aboard the TARDIS after he stumbled in during a disoriented state on Mechanus. The TARDIS lands on a rocky beach, watched by a monk. It is soon spotted by a Saxon villager, Eldred, who runs to tell the headman of his village, Wulnoth. The Doctor establishes the century from a discarded Viking helmet and heads off to the village. Steven and Vicki explore the cliffs above, witnessed by the Monk. The Doctor encounters Edith, Wulnoth's wife, and convinces her that he is a harmless traveller while probing for more information. He discovers that it is 1066, since Harold Godwinson has not yet faced Harald Hardrada at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. At a nearby monastery, monks are heard chanting; arriving at the monastery, the Doctor finds a 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 and Ulf, 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 sarcophagus. Looking inside, they discover that it is the Monk's TARDIS, and that he must originate from the same place as the Doctor. The Doctor overpowers the Monk upon the latter's return to the monastery. The Monk reveals his plan to destroy the Viking fleet, which would prevent the Battle of Stamford Bridge and leave the Saxon soldiers completely fresh to defeat 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, 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. Spooner was approved to write the serial on 15 March 1965. Spooner wanted the show to move away from "pure" historical stories like The Reign of Terror and The Romans, instead hoping to blend them with the show's more futuristic serials. 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. Tosh enjoyed Spooner's idea of blending historical and futuristic stories. He edited little of Spooner's work.The serial's working title was Doctor Who and the Monk; the title of The Time Meddler was not final until early June 1965. Production assistant David Maloney joked that the story was referred to as The Vikings during production until the realisation that it had more Saxon extras, upon which it was called The Saxons. The first episode was originally called "The Paradox", changed to "The Watcher" on 20 May. The serial was produced at a low cost to offset the expense of the previous serial, The Chase. Douglas Camfield was assigned as director in April, having recently finished work on The Crusade ; he was pleased with Spooner's scripts, finding them among his best. Due to the limited expenses allocated to the serial, Camfield forwent an incidental score, instead opting for percussive drumbeats played by Charles Botterill, who had previously played percussion on Tristram Cary's score for Marco Polo. Botterill recorded eight minutes of music for the second through fourth episodes at Lime Grove Studios in Studio R on 9 June. The remainder of the score was sourced from stock music. Set designer Barry Newbery constructed the Saxon's hut in the style of a cruck, painting the studio floor black to resemble ox blood.
Casting and characters
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; in the script, he was described as "mischievous, sly and cunning... with a 'naughty boy' look". 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. 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.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. Purves accepted the role within days. On 21 May, he was contracted for three stories, with an option for a further 20 episodes by 10 September and another 26 by 4 February 1966. He grew a beard for his role as Steven in the final episode of The Chase, but he wore a fake beard for the first episode of The Time Meddler as Steven becomes cleanshaven partway through. His role as a companion on the show was announced on 18 June 1965. 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.