The Time Meddler (TV Story) Review

Title: The Time Meddler
Writer: Dennis Spooner
Original Broadcast Date: 3 July 1965 - 24 July 1965

After almost two seasons, Doctor Who had shared little to no information of The Doctor's planet and people, that is until The Time Meddler, a pitch perfect ending to Hartnell's best season.

Among other firsts, The Time Meddler is also the show's very first Pseudo-Historical, a genre that would eventually outlive the basic historical, with a meddling monk threatening to change the course of history, situated in England, 1066. The first episode opens with The Doctor and Vicki mourning the departure of Ian and Barbara, only to find another member onboard: Steven Taylor. This opening has some wonderful dialogue as The Doctor explains the TARDIS to Steven, including probably my favourite Hartnell quote:

That is the dematerializing control, and that over yonder is the horizontal hold. Up there is there is the scanner; those are the doors; that is a chair with a panda on it. Sheery poetry, dear boy! Now please stop bothering me!

The first episode is extremely atmospheric thanks to a wonderful echo-y chorus of singing monks, setting a gloomy, mysterious and slightly creepy mood. Vicki and Steven, separated from The Doctor most of the story, are brilliant together and have great chemistry. Its a definite shame there are no more surviving stories of these two. 

Peter Butterworth, in the role of the Monk, is a star, playing a perfect counterpart to Hartnell's mischievous Doctor, and their relationship reminds me of The Master's with The Doctor. The side characters are abnormally good in this story, with developments I genuinely cared about!

The Time Meddler is a masterpiece, with a great plot, wonderful characters and a perfect villain. Dennis Spooner has done it again!

10/10

The Chase (TV Story) Review

Title: The Chase
Writer: Terry Nation
Original Broadcast Date: 22 May 1965 - 26 June 1965

Season 2's penultimate story tragically is the final adventure for Ian and Barbara, two of the very best companions Doctor Who has seen! Fabulously interwoven with hilarious scenes, The Chase offers up a great mix of comedy and thriller, with a touch of human emotion.

Similar to The Keys of Marinus, one of of Terry Nation's previous stories, The Chase takes place over a vast selection of different alien planets and cities, as the Daleks chase the Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Vicki throughout time and space. This format offers up something new (sometimes twice) each episode, which allows for fast-paced action to match the frantically busy plot, with a huge array of species popping in and out including Daleks, weird-half-man-half-fish-things, Texans, Dracula, Sailors and croaky robots, to name a few. As it is all a little silly, The Chase is best when not taken seriously.

At the very end of the story, we say goodbye to Ian and Barbara, which is pulled off with wonderful effect (Hartnell's performance is astounding) and you genuinely do feel a strong sense of loss as the credits roll up. I must admit I cried quite a bit in the closing scenes. (RIP the best TARDIS team of the Hartnell era)

Overall, The Chase is a little silly, but is nonetheless a thrilling, riveting last hurrah for the unforgettable schoolteachers, kidnapped by the Doctor oh so long ago!

8.5/10

The Space Museum (TV Story) Review

Title: The Space Museum
Writer: Glyn Jones
Original Broadcast Date: 24 April 1965 - 15 May 1965

After jumping a time track and seeing into their future, The Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Vicki attempt to change their fate, but how do you know if the next thing you do will deter your path or lead you to your death?

After two seasons Doctor Who had yet to really touch on the fourth dimension (time). The Space Museum does just that and yet simultaneously perfects the basic Hartnell episode formula.

The first episode of The Space Museum is hands down phenomenal, perfect from start to end and incredibly clever, which seems to have inspired Steven Moffat's timey-wimey scripts.The second, third and fourth episodes aren't nearly as good, but are none-the-less great. There is some fantastic incidental music, something I'd not really noticed before, and all four of our travelers are fantastic, Vicki especially who has a slight love interest in this story.

The idea of not knowing what will bring you closer to your fate is well handled, and adds its lovely own spin of the typical revolution-type plot of the Hartnell era and is resolved wonderfully with a lovely twist I didn't expect. My only issue is after one episode of no other talking parts other than the TARDIS crew, the introduction of the other races is slightly jarring and drags a bit. Other than that this serial a well-structured typical Hartnell story, with an untypical twist blended in.

9/10

The Web Planet (TV Story) Review

Title: The Web Planet
Writer: Bill Strutton
Original Broadcast Date: 13 February 1965 - 20 March 1965

The Web Planet is ambitious - one of the most of the Hartnell era (and that is saying a lot). But that isn't necessarily a good thing. The Web Planet is an example of how sometimes high ambition and low budgets don't mix very well.

After a pretty decent first episode, this serial is genuinely terrible and probably one of the worst Doctor Who stories... ever. Yes - I said it! This ugly, offensively bad atrocity, sticking out like a sour thumb amongst the brilliance that is the rest of Season 2 is possibly the worst Doctor Who story ever. Yes: even worse than Love and Monsters. At least in that episode you only have the Absorbaloff for 5 minutes or so at the end; in this one you have six 25 minute episodes of that crap. If you thought the Sensorites were bad, you've got another thing coming!: there are not one, not two, but three different races in this serial and their all Doctor Who costume design at its lowest.

Away from the issue of the aliens, the plot is so very dull, and I almost fell asleep on multiple occasions whilst watching, the sound design is poor to say the least (the Zaarbi make a noise that I assume is so annoying to wake you up), the sets are uninteresting and the single only redeeming factor is Hartnell's performance, which is wasted on this drawn-out, poorly written, chaotic monstrosity.

2/10

The Romans (TV Story) Review

Title: The Romans
Writer: Dennis Spooner
Original Broadcast Date: 16 January 1965 - 6 February 1965

I always struggle with writing reviews for something that is utterly perfect, and that is why I have had so much trouble writing one for The Romans, a masterful example of how comedy and Doctor Who mix rather well.

This story opens on the TARDIS falling off a cliff, but almost immediately cuts away to a month later, with Barbara, Ian, the Doctor and Vicki enjoying the luxuries of ancient Rome in their very own villa. Vicki, in her second ever story, is fantastic and proves to be just as good and perhaps an even better match for Harnell's cheek and charm. Ian and Barbara's relationship is especially well developed in this one, and Russell and Hill (as usual) play the parts wonderfully.

The plot takes all four travelers on enthralling trips around Rome, that'll leave you at the edge of your seat with everyscene and the joke of them barely avoiding each other as they go about their own adventures is fantastically pulled off, echoed years later with the Tenth Doctor and Donna in Partners in Crime. The Romans benefits most of all from its humor, that made me laugh out loud on multiple occasions, with a hilarious take on Emperor Nero and our lovable TARDIS team, proving comedy can be right at home on Doctor Who.

Dennis Spooner's second script is perfect, and so cleverly written; it'll leave you wiping tears of laughter away until the very end.

10/10

The Rescue (TV Story) Review

Title: The Rescue
Writer: David Whitaker
Original Broadcast Date: 2 January 1965 - 9 January 1964

After the departure of Carole Ann Ford, who played the Doctor's grandaughter, Susan Foreman, Doctor Who received its first ever change in companion with this short but sweet introduction to Vicki Pallister, a severely underrated companion.

I didn't remember much about this story. I remembered some plot points but I think I zoned out the first time I watched it, so when I rewatched The Rescue I was struck with surprise that I enjoyed it as much as I did. Despite the plot being drawn up rather quickly to act as a introduction to the character of Vicki, I was thoroughly intrigued throughout, probably due to its short length which allows the story to be told but not stretched thin like other stories were (notably The Sensorites and The Dalek Invasion of Earth).

The story features some highlight acting for the entire cast, notably Vicki and The Doctor, the latter with a brilliant confrontation scene towards the end which is pulled off with flying colours. I enjoyed the references to Susan as it made her feel as if she had a genuine impact on the Doctor but Vicki filled her role cleanly and proved herself to be better than just a Carole Ann Ford replacement.

Overall this is hugely underrated gem suited to a just as underrated companion, who too should not be overlooked.

9/10