The Time Meddler
Encyclopedia
The Time Meddler is a serial in the British
science fiction television series Doctor Who
, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 3 July to 24 July 1965. The story is set on the North-Eastern coast of England
in late summer, 1066 and sees Steven Taylor
(Peter Purves
) become a companion
to the First Doctor
(William Hartnell
) after having stumbled into the TARDIS
during the events of the previous serial, The Chase
. This story introduces recurring
villain the Meddling Monk (Peter Butterworth
).
. In a disorientated state on Mechanus, he stumbled aboard the ship and has stowed away. They are grateful he survived the collapse of the Mechanoid city and help nurse him back to health, but when the TARDIS lands on a rocky beach and they all step outside Steven takes some convincing that the TARDIS has really been able to travel in space and time.
They have in fact arrived in 1066 on the coast of Northumbria
, and their arrival has been witnessed by a Monk
who does not seem fazed by the materialisation. The TARDIS is soon after spotted by a Saxon
villager called Eldred who runs to tell the headman of his village, Wulnoth, about it. The Doctor establishes the century from a discarded Viking
helmet and heads off to the village while Steven and Vicki explore the cliffs above. The Doctor encounters Edith, Wulnoth’s wife, and convinces her he is a harmless traveller while probing her for more information. He soon finds out it is 1066, since Harold Godwinson
is on the throne and has not yet faced Harold Hardrada at Stamford Bridge
let alone William the Conqueror in the Battle of Hastings
. He then turns his attention to the nearby monastery, at which monks are chanting despite only one of them ever being seen, especially after the chanting seems to slow down as if played back from a recording at the wrong speed. He determines to visit the building. When he gets there the Monk lets him in without revealing himself and then allows the Doctor to prowl around. He finds a gramophone
playing the monastic chanting, and the Monk also has modern conveniences such as a toaster and a manufactured teapot. The Monk soon has the upper hand and manages to trap the Doctor in a makeshift cell.
Steven and Vicki have meanwhile encountered Eldred and noticed his possession of a wristwatch that the Monk dropped earlier. They spend the night in a clearing and the next morning head off back to the TARDIS, little realising Wulnoth has overheard them. Within minutes they are ambushed by the Saxons and taken to the village council. After a heated discussion they convince Wulnoth they are but travellers and are given some provisions to travel on, though Vicki is equally heartened to hear from Edith that the Doctor passed by her hut on his way to the monastery. Steven and Vicki decide to visit the monastery next to try and find their missing friend. The Monk tries to dissuade them from entering but gives himself away deliberately by describing the Doctor too accurately, and so Steven and Vicki decide he must be a prisoner inside the monastery. They decide to break in after dark, which delights the Monk as he prepares the same trap for them that caught the Doctor.
The Monk has meanwhile been surveying the seas with binoculars
and is pleased to finally sight a Viking ship on the horizon. Soon the Vikings land and two small groups are sent to search the area, with one group of three heading toward the Saxon village. One of the Vikings finds and attacks Edith, leaving her traumatised, and in response some of the Saxons go hunting for the invaders. The three Vikings are drunk when they are found and the giant that attacked Edith is cut down, though his companions Sven and Ulf manage to flee. Eldred too has been badly wounded and Wulnoth takes him to the monastery for help.
At the Monk’s lair Steven and Vicki have stolen in under cover of darkness. They too find the gramophone and are stunned. The Monk has his trap prepared but cannot spring it due to the arrival at the door of Wulnoth and the injured Eldred, whom Wulnoth insists be taken into the Monk’s care. Steven and Vicki have meanwhile found the cell empty bar the Doctor’s cloak and they then manage to leave the monastery via a secret passage.
The Doctor has actually taken the same passage himself and returns to Edith in the Saxon village. He soon hears of the Viking invasion scouting party and, upon leaving Edith’s house, decides to head back to the monastery to track down Steven and Vicki, having learned they have gone there. Steven and Vicki have meanwhile found to their dismay that the TARDIS has been submerged beneath the incoming tide. Afraid that the Doctor may have had to leave in it, they resolve to check for him at the monastery anyway, especially after they discover an atomic bazooka trained out to sea from the clifftop near where the TARDIS was.
The Monk is intent on using the Vikings for his own ends and, once Wulnoth has departed his monastery, produces an elaborate checklist that builds to a meeting with King Harold himself. There is another knock at the monastery door and this time it is the Doctor who has the upper hand when the door is answered. Fooled into thinking he is being held at gunpoint, the Monk is marched back inside and is about to answer a few questions when there is yet another knock at the door. When the Doctor and Monk answer, they are overpowered by the two Vikings, Sven and Ulf. In the ensuing confrontation the Monk is able to slip away, leaving the Doctor as the Viking prisoner. It is a state of play that does not last long. The Doctor knocks out Sven and elsewhere the Monk does the same to Ulf and securely ties him up.
The Monk uses his freedom to persuade the villagers to light beacon fires on the cliff tops, lying that he is expecting materials by sea to enhance the monastery, when in fact he wishes to lure the Viking fleet to land nearby. Wulnoth says he will light the fires, but does not do so as he realises the danger.
Steven and Vicki return to the monastery via the secret passage and investigate the crypt, where a heavy power cable emanates from a sarcophagus
. When they look inside, they discover that it is a TARDIS of the Monk's very own – he must come from the same place as the Doctor (though the term Time Lord
is not used). The Monk has meanwhile returned to the monastery and is once more under the Doctor’s control. He reveals his plan is not to help the Vikings but to lure them to the coast where he hoped to destroy the invasion fleet with atomic bazookas. This would prevent the Viking invasion and thereby shore up King Harold to such an extent he would not then lose the Battle of Hastings. In short, the Monk is a Time Meddler who left his and the Doctor’s own planet some fifty years after the Doctor himself. Steven and Vicki have found further evidence of his meddling in his TARDIS: a journal recording his meeting with Leonardo da Vinci
to discuss powered flight, providing anti-gravitational discs to help the ancient Celts build Stonehenge
, and using time travel to collect a fortune in compound interest from a bank. The Doctor denounces the Monk for seeking to alter history and forces him to reveal his TARDIS, where they find Steven and Vicki. Together the time travellers piece together the Monk’s immoral plot, which the Monk insists is intended to stabilise England and benefit Western civilisation.
The Vikings have meanwhile freed themselves from their bonds and decide to avenge themselves on the monks who have imprisoned them. Eldred spots them and, despite his injuries, flees to the village where he raises Wulnoth and a squad of Saxons to deal with the marauders.
At the monastery the tables have turned. Ulf and Sven have formed a contrived alliance with the Monk and have tied up the Doctor’s party while the three of them take the bazooka shells down to the cannon on the beach. The scheme is foiled however when the Saxons arrive and engage the fleeing Vikings in a nearby clearing, killing Sven and Ulf in battle.
The Monk hides while this fighting rages, little knowing that the Doctor and his friends have been freed and are tampering with his TARDIS. With his scheme in ruins, the Monk decides to leave and returns his TARDIS, though the Doctor has gone and left a note assuring the Monk his meddling days are ended. When the Monk looks inside his TARDIS he realises the Doctor has taken the dimensional control and the interior of his ship has shrunk beyond use, leaving him stranded in 1066 with an angry band of Saxons nearby. The tide having gone out, the Doctor and his friends are free to leave this primitive time in their TARDIS, and journey onward to the stars.
, was published by Target Books
in October 1987.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
science fiction television series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 3 July to 24 July 1965. The story is set on the North-Eastern coast of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in late summer, 1066 and sees Steven Taylor
Steven Taylor (Doctor Who)
Steven Taylor is a fictional character played by Peter Purves in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A space pilot from Earth in the future, he was a companion of the First Doctor and a regular in the programme from 1965 to 1966.-Character history:Steven first...
(Peter Purves
Peter Purves
Peter Purves is an English television presenter and actor.Purves was born in New Longton, near Preston, Lancashire, and was educated at the independent Arnold School in Blackpool, he had originally planned to go into teaching, training at Alsager College of Education, but began to act with the...
) become a companion
Companion (Doctor Who)
In the long-running BBC television science fiction programme Doctor Who and related works, the term "companion" refers to a character who travels with, and shares the adventures of the Doctor. In most Doctor Who stories, the primary companion acts as both deuteragonist and audience surrogate...
to the First Doctor
First Doctor
The First Doctor is the initial incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by the actor William Hartnell from 1963 to 1966. Hartnell reprised the role in the tenth anniversary story The Three Doctors in 1973 - albeit in a...
(William Hartnell
William Hartnell
William Henry Hartnell was an English actor. During 1963-66, he was the first actor to play the Doctor in the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Early life:...
) after having stumbled into the TARDIS
TARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...
during the events of the previous serial, The Chase
The Chase (Doctor Who)
The Chase is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 22 May to 26 June 1965. The story is set on multiple locations including the Mary Celeste, the Empire State Building, and the planet Aridius...
. This story introduces recurring
Recurring character
A recurring character is a fictional character, usually in a prime time TV series, who appears from time to time during the series' run. Recurring characters often play major roles in an episode, sometimes being the main focus...
villain the Meddling Monk (Peter Butterworth
Peter Butterworth
Peter William Shorrocks Butterworth was an English comedy actor and comedian, best known for his appearances in the Carry On series of films. He was also a regular on children's television and radio and appeared in seven early episodes of Doctor Who in 1965 as the 'The Meddling Monk'...
).
Plot
The Doctor and Vicki are surprised to find Steven Taylor aboard the TARDISTARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...
. In a disorientated state on Mechanus, he stumbled aboard the ship and has stowed away. They are grateful he survived the collapse of the Mechanoid city and help nurse him back to health, but when the TARDIS lands on a rocky beach and they all step outside Steven takes some convincing that the TARDIS has really been able to travel in space and time.
They have in fact arrived in 1066 on the coast of Northumbria
Northumbria
Northumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now Northern England and South-East Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory, the Humber Estuary.Northumbria was...
, and their arrival has been witnessed by a Monk
Meddling Monk
The Meddling Monk, or simply The Monk, was a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Played by the British comic actor Peter Butterworth, the character appeared in two stories: as an adversary of the First Doctor.Other than the...
who does not seem fazed by the materialisation. The TARDIS is soon after spotted by a Saxon
Saxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
villager called Eldred who runs to tell the headman of his village, Wulnoth, about it. The Doctor establishes the century from a discarded Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
helmet and heads off to the village while Steven and Vicki explore the cliffs above. The Doctor encounters Edith, Wulnoth’s wife, and convinces her he is a harmless traveller while probing her for more information. He soon finds out it is 1066, since Harold Godwinson
Harold Godwinson
Harold Godwinson was the last Anglo-Saxon King of England.It could be argued that Edgar the Atheling, who was proclaimed as king by the witan but never crowned, was really the last Anglo-Saxon king...
is on the throne and has not yet faced Harold Hardrada at Stamford Bridge
Battle of Stamford Bridge
The Battle of Stamford Bridge took place at the village of Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire in England on 25 September 1066, between an English army under King Harold Godwinson and an invading Norwegian force led by King Harald Hardrada of Norway and the English king's brother Tostig...
let alone William the Conqueror in the Battle of Hastings
Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings occurred on 14 October 1066 during the Norman conquest of England, between the Norman-French army of Duke William II of Normandy and the English army under King Harold II...
. He then turns his attention to the nearby monastery, at which monks are chanting despite only one of them ever being seen, especially after the chanting seems to slow down as if played back from a recording at the wrong speed. He determines to visit the building. When he gets there the Monk lets him in without revealing himself and then allows the Doctor to prowl around. He finds a gramophone
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
playing the monastic chanting, and the Monk also has modern conveniences such as a toaster and a manufactured teapot. The Monk soon has the upper hand and manages to trap the Doctor in a makeshift cell.
Steven and Vicki have meanwhile encountered Eldred and noticed his possession of a wristwatch that the Monk dropped earlier. They spend the night in a clearing and the next morning head off back to the TARDIS, little realising Wulnoth has overheard them. Within minutes they are ambushed by the Saxons and taken to the village council. After a heated discussion they convince Wulnoth they are but travellers and are given some provisions to travel on, though Vicki is equally heartened to hear from Edith that the Doctor passed by her hut on his way to the monastery. Steven and Vicki decide to visit the monastery next to try and find their missing friend. The Monk tries to dissuade them from entering but gives himself away deliberately by describing the Doctor too accurately, and so Steven and Vicki decide he must be a prisoner inside the monastery. They decide to break in after dark, which delights the Monk as he prepares the same trap for them that caught the Doctor.
The Monk has meanwhile been surveying the seas with binoculars
Binoculars
Binoculars, field glasses or binocular telescopes are a pair of identical or mirror-symmetrical telescopes mounted side-by-side and aligned to point accurately in the same direction, allowing the viewer to use both eyes when viewing distant objects...
and is pleased to finally sight a Viking ship on the horizon. Soon the Vikings land and two small groups are sent to search the area, with one group of three heading toward the Saxon village. One of the Vikings finds and attacks Edith, leaving her traumatised, and in response some of the Saxons go hunting for the invaders. The three Vikings are drunk when they are found and the giant that attacked Edith is cut down, though his companions Sven and Ulf manage to flee. Eldred too has been badly wounded and Wulnoth takes him to the monastery for help.
At the Monk’s lair Steven and Vicki have stolen in under cover of darkness. They too find the gramophone and are stunned. The Monk has his trap prepared but cannot spring it due to the arrival at the door of Wulnoth and the injured Eldred, whom Wulnoth insists be taken into the Monk’s care. Steven and Vicki have meanwhile found the cell empty bar the Doctor’s cloak and they then manage to leave the monastery via a secret passage.
The Doctor has actually taken the same passage himself and returns to Edith in the Saxon village. He soon hears of the Viking invasion scouting party and, upon leaving Edith’s house, decides to head back to the monastery to track down Steven and Vicki, having learned they have gone there. Steven and Vicki have meanwhile found to their dismay that the TARDIS has been submerged beneath the incoming tide. Afraid that the Doctor may have had to leave in it, they resolve to check for him at the monastery anyway, especially after they discover an atomic bazooka trained out to sea from the clifftop near where the TARDIS was.
The Monk is intent on using the Vikings for his own ends and, once Wulnoth has departed his monastery, produces an elaborate checklist that builds to a meeting with King Harold himself. There is another knock at the monastery door and this time it is the Doctor who has the upper hand when the door is answered. Fooled into thinking he is being held at gunpoint, the Monk is marched back inside and is about to answer a few questions when there is yet another knock at the door. When the Doctor and Monk answer, they are overpowered by the two Vikings, Sven and Ulf. In the ensuing confrontation the Monk is able to slip away, leaving the Doctor as the Viking prisoner. It is a state of play that does not last long. The Doctor knocks out Sven and elsewhere the Monk does the same to Ulf and securely ties him up.
The Monk uses his freedom to persuade the villagers to light beacon fires on the cliff tops, lying that he is expecting materials by sea to enhance the monastery, when in fact he wishes to lure the Viking fleet to land nearby. Wulnoth says he will light the fires, but does not do so as he realises the danger.
Steven and Vicki return to the monastery via the secret passage and investigate the crypt, where a heavy power cable emanates from a sarcophagus
Sarcophagus
A sarcophagus is a funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek σαρξ sarx meaning "flesh", and φαγειν phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarkophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos...
. When they look inside, they discover that it is a TARDIS of the Monk's very own – he must come from the same place as the Doctor (though the term Time Lord
Time Lord
The Time Lords are an ancient extraterrestrial race and civilization of humanoids in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, of which the series' eponymous protagonist, the Doctor, is a member...
is not used). The Monk has meanwhile returned to the monastery and is once more under the Doctor’s control. He reveals his plan is not to help the Vikings but to lure them to the coast where he hoped to destroy the invasion fleet with atomic bazookas. This would prevent the Viking invasion and thereby shore up King Harold to such an extent he would not then lose the Battle of Hastings. In short, the Monk is a Time Meddler who left his and the Doctor’s own planet some fifty years after the Doctor himself. Steven and Vicki have found further evidence of his meddling in his TARDIS: a journal recording his meeting with Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
to discuss powered flight, providing anti-gravitational discs to help the ancient Celts build Stonehenge
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks...
, and using time travel to collect a fortune in compound interest from a bank. The Doctor denounces the Monk for seeking to alter history and forces him to reveal his TARDIS, where they find Steven and Vicki. Together the time travellers piece together the Monk’s immoral plot, which the Monk insists is intended to stabilise England and benefit Western civilisation.
The Vikings have meanwhile freed themselves from their bonds and decide to avenge themselves on the monks who have imprisoned them. Eldred spots them and, despite his injuries, flees to the village where he raises Wulnoth and a squad of Saxons to deal with the marauders.
At the monastery the tables have turned. Ulf and Sven have formed a contrived alliance with the Monk and have tied up the Doctor’s party while the three of them take the bazooka shells down to the cannon on the beach. The scheme is foiled however when the Saxons arrive and engage the fleeing Vikings in a nearby clearing, killing Sven and Ulf in battle.
The Monk hides while this fighting rages, little knowing that the Doctor and his friends have been freed and are tampering with his TARDIS. With his scheme in ruins, the Monk decides to leave and returns his TARDIS, though the Doctor has gone and left a note assuring the Monk his meddling days are ended. When the Monk looks inside his TARDIS he realises the Doctor has taken the dimensional control and the interior of his ship has shrunk beyond use, leaving him stranded in 1066 with an angry band of Saxons nearby. The tide having gone out, the Doctor and his friends are free to leave this primitive time in their TARDIS, and journey onward to the stars.
Continuity
- The Time Meddler is the first example of what is known in Doctor Who as the 'pseudo-historical' or 'ahistorical' story, which is one that uses the past as a setting for a science fiction story, as opposed to the pure historical stories, which are set in the past but have no science-fictional elements attached to them besides the presence of the regular characters and the TARDIS.
- This is the first time we meet another member of the Doctor's race besides his granddaughter (although they are not yet identified as Time Lords). The Monk's name is not revealed in the story, in which he is called simply "The Monk", "The Meddling Monk" or "The Time Meddler". Later spin-offDoctor Who spin-offsDoctor Who spin-offs refers to material created outside of, but related to, the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who....
novel, the canonicity of which is debatable, give the name as Mortimus and establish that the Monk and the Doctor attended the Academy as schoolmates. - The character would make one return appearance on television in the epic The Daleks' Master PlanThe Daleks' Master PlanThe Daleks' Master Plan is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The twelve episodes were aired from 13 November 1965 to 29 January 1966...
. - Due to an error by Maureen O'BrienMaureen O'BrienMaureen O'Brien is an English actress of Irish descent and author best known for playing the role of Vicki in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, although she has appeared in many other television programmes as well.She played the part of Vicki in 38 episodes of Doctor Who from 2...
during recording, the acronym TARDIS is said to stand for "Time and Relative Dimensions in Space" (rather than the singular 'Dimension' as in An Unearthly ChildAn Unearthly ChildThe serial that became An Unearthly Child was originally commissioned from writer Anthony Coburn in June 1963, when it was intended to run as the second Doctor Who serial. At this stage, it was planned that the series would open with a serial entitled The Giants, to be written by BBC staff...
), an error which was retained throughout much of the series' history, with occasional exceptions. The original 'Dimension' was re-established in the first episode of the revived 2005 series, "RoseRose (Doctor Who)"Rose" is the first episode of Series One of the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by show runner Russell T Davies and directed by Keith Boak, the episode was first broadcast on 26 March 2005....
" and so far maintained thereafter. - Vicki and the Doctor discuss Ian ChestertonIan ChestertonIan Chesterton is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and a companion of the First Doctor. He was played in the series by William Russell, and was one of the members of the programme's very first regular cast, appearing in the bulk of the first two...
and Barbara WrightBarbara Wright (Doctor Who)Barbara Wright is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and a companion of the First Doctor. She was one of the programme's very first regulars and appeared in the bulk of its first two seasons from 1963–65, played by Jacqueline Hill. In the film version...
's departure as seen in The ChaseThe Chase (Doctor Who)The Chase is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 22 May to 26 June 1965. The story is set on multiple locations including the Mary Celeste, the Empire State Building, and the planet Aridius...
and the Doctor refers to SusanSusan ForemanSusan Foreman is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The granddaughter and original companion of the First Doctor, she was played by actress Carole Ann Ford from 1963 to 1964, in the show's first season and the first two stories of the second season...
's departure as seen in The Dalek Invasion of EarthThe Dalek Invasion of EarthThe Dalek Invasion of Earth is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in six weekly parts from November 21 to December 26, 1964....
. The Doctor later misses Barbara's knowledge of history. - Footage of the Doctor from this story appears in the projection from the Cybermen'sCybermanThe Cybermen are a fictional race of cyborgs who are amongst the most persistent enemies of the Doctor in the British science fiction television series, Doctor Who. Cybermen were originally a wholly organic species of humanoids originating on Earth's twin planet Mondas that began to implant more...
datastamp in "The Next Doctor".
Production
- The working title for this story was The Monk.
- During production of this story, new producer John WilesJohn WilesJohn Wiles was a television writer and producer, now best known for being the second producer of the popular science fiction serial Doctor Who, succeeding Verity Lambert...
began taking over production duties. - William Hartnell, displeased at the number of changes undergoing the production, play-acted throwing a temper tantrum during the rehearsal of this story.
- Episodes one, three, and four were reported missing from the BBC Film and Videotape Library following an audit in 1978 (see Doctor Who missing episodesDoctor Who missing episodesThe Doctor Who missing episodes are the instalments of the long-running British science-fiction television programme Doctor Who that have no known film or videotape copies. They were wiped by the BBC during the 1960s and 1970s for economic and space-saving reasons...
). Edited telerecordings of all four episodes were returned to the BBC from NigeriaNigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
in 1985, and complete copies of episodes one and three were returned in 1992. A short sequence from episode four, depicting an act of violence, remains missing from the otherwise complete prints of all four episodes, as it was removed by censorsCensorshipthumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
. The 2008 Region 2 DVD release includes as an extra, called The Missing 12 Seconds, the audio for this missing sequence with original script excerpts and explanatory text – it appears that the two Vikings were seen on screen to be run through by the sword-wielding Saxons via the use of dummies.
Cast notes
- Features a guest appearance by Peter Butterworth - see also Celebrity appearances in Doctor WhoCelebrity appearances in Doctor WhoThis is a list of actors who have made guest appearances in Doctor Who.-First Doctor stories:-Second Doctor stories:-Third Doctor stories:-Fourth Doctor stories:-Fifth Doctor stories:-Sixth Doctor stories:-Seventh Doctor stories:...
. - William Hartnell does not appear in episode 2 as he was on holiday. A pre-taped recording of his voice is played when the Doctor is locked in a cell.
- Alethea Charlton also appeared in An Unearthly ChildAn Unearthly ChildThe serial that became An Unearthly Child was originally commissioned from writer Anthony Coburn in June 1963, when it was intended to run as the second Doctor Who serial. At this stage, it was planned that the series would open with a serial entitled The Giants, to be written by BBC staff...
as the cavewoman, Hur.
Broadcast and reception
The serial was repeated on BBC2 in January 1992 on consecutive Fridays - 03/01/92 to 24/01/92 at 7.20pm/6.50pm, as part of a season of stories to represent each of the (then) seven Doctors adventures.In print
A novelisation of this serial, written by Nigel RobinsonNigel Robinson
Nigel Robinson is an English author, known for such works as the First Contact series.Nigel was born in Preston, Lancashire and attended St Thomas More school....
, was published by Target Books
Target Books
Target Books was a British publishing imprint, established in 1973 by Universal-Tandem Publishing Co Ltd, a paperback publishing company. The imprint was established as a children's imprint to complement the adult Tandem imprint, and became well known for their highly successful range of...
in October 1987.
VHS and DVD releases
- The story was released on VHSVHSThe Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
in November 2002. - On 4 February 2008, it was released on DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
. The quality of the surviving prints of the later episodes was deemed low enough that the typical VidFIREVidFIREVidFIRE is a restoration technique intended to restore the video-like motion of footage originally shot with television cameras now existing only in formats with telerecording as their basis...
process was not applied to the story. The DVD was dedicated to the late Verity Lambert.
Reviews
- The Time Meddler reviews at Outpost GallifreyOutpost GallifreyOutpost Gallifrey was a fan website for the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was active as a complete fan site from 1995 until 2007, then existing solely as a portal to the still-active parts of the site, including its news page and forums Outpost Gallifrey was a fan website...