Doctor Who (1963) 2.09.01

The Time Meddler

Part 1: The Watcher

The Doctor and Vicki are in the TARDIS when they hear a noise. It turns out to be Steven Taylor. They are surprised to see him. They thought he was dead. He doesn't believe it when they tell him what they are in is a time machine. Steven cleans up, shaves his beard, and gets dressed in some clean clothes just in time for them to leave the TARDIS and see where and when they have landed.

It turns out to be England in the 11th century CE. Steven is disappointed to learn that the TARDIS is broken. It is difficult to control where it will land and it doesn't disguise itself like it is supposed to do. The Doctor goes for a walk on the beach. He tells Vicki and Steven to stay there. None of them see the man who watches them and overhears their conversation.

The Doctor winds up in a dwelling where he meets a woman. He asks her questions about the nearby monastery and recent events. He is able to deduce, based on her responses that the year must be 1066 and that there is a Viking invasion coming.

Steven and Vicki don't follow the Doctor's instructions. They go for a walk themselves. They see a man stop to pick something up. Steven goes to confront the man. The two men fight until the other runs away. Steven picks up the item that caught the man's eye. It is a wristwatch.

The Doctor goes to the monastery. There doesn't seem to be anyone there. The singing that the doctor heard is coming from a record player. He takes the needle off the record. He turns around only to discover that the man who was watching them earlier has trapped him.

Thoughts

I don't think I've seen this one before. The only First Doctor story that I can recall seeing before is The Aztecs.

The pace at which this story moves is slow, to say the least. The Doctor and his companions get separated by the middle of the episode. That seems to be a recurring theme with this show.

I chose to watch this episode because I have not seen it before and because the bad guy is seen as a precursor to The Master. So far I'm not terribly impressed. Maybe it will get more interesting or impress me in some way in the next episode or two.

Notes

The episode opens with The Doctor and Vicki talking about the departure of Ian and Barbara, two of the Doctor's original companions. They left at the end of The Chase, the previous story.

Vicki first appeared in The Rescue, which was the 3rd story in the second season of Doctor Who (1963). This is the 7th of 9 stories of the TV show in which Vicki appeared. Maureen O'Brien plays the part of Vicki. She later reprised the role of Vicki in some of the Big Finish audio dramas. She participated in some commentary tracks but she is not on the one for this story.

Steven Taylor first appeared in The Chase. This is the 2nd story of 10 in which Steven appeared. Peter Purves plays the part of Steven. He is part of the group on the audio commentary for this story. He went on to do some Big Finish audio dramas reprising the role of Steven Taylor and also providing the voice of the First Doctor.