The Time Meddler
(DVD)

 

Starring William Hartnell
4 Episodes
1965
100 minutes (black & white)
Single Disc




 

 

Production Notes
Doctor Who
William Hartnell

Vicki
Maureen O'Brian

Steven Taylor
Peter Purves

Written by
Dennis Spooner
Directed by
Douglas Camfield

Produced by
Verity Lambert

Original Airdate
July 3 - July 24, 1965

Region 1 DVD Release Date
August 2008

Warner Home Video
#3000016633

U.K. Cover


 



Cover Blurb

The TARDIS lands on the Northumbrian coast, where new companion Steven discovers a Viking helmet and the Doctor deduces they must have arrived in the 11th century.  Steven remains skeptical, especially when he and Vicki encounter what appears to be a Saxon hunter with a modern wristwatch.  Investigating a monastery, the Doctor discovers further anachronisms.  Who is the mysterious monk observing the time travelers' every move, and why is he so interested in the outcome of the Battle of Hastings?



 

 

 

DVD Features

  • Verity Lambert Obituary:

 A written tribute to the first producer of Doctor Who, Verity Lambert, who died shortly before the release of this DVD.  It features several quotes from those who worked with Verity Lambert as well as an extensive description of her pioneering work in television.
 

 
  • Verity Lambert Photo Gallery:
 An additional photo gallery, without music, featuring images of Doctor Who's first producer throughout her life.
 

 

  • Stripped for Action - The First Doctor:

 A fourteen minute featurette detailing the comic strip adventures of the First Doctor.  Interviews are conducted with Doctor Who comics experts John Ainsworth and Jeremy Bentham.  Also contributing is artist Bill Mevin as well as former Doctor Who Magazine editors Alan Barnes and Gary Russell.
 

 
  • The Lost Twelve Seconds:
 Off air audio recordings are used along with the original script to recreate the missing twelve seconds that were removed by overseas censors when "The Time Meddler" was shown.  Understandably, this featurette runs only slightly over one minute.
 

 
  • Restoration:
 A brief five minute featurette highlighting some before and after comparison shots from the restoration of this story.
 

 
  • Photo Gallery:
 Lots of rare and never before seen photos taken during the production of this story.  Very nice.
 

 
  • Information Text:
 An incredible amount of trivia and tidbits of Whovian detail are provided.  The text appears intermittently along the bottom of the screen and is written by members of the Doctor Who Restoration Team.
 

 
  • Radio Times:
 Accessible from any computer with a DVD drive, a PDF of some of the original Radio Times press clippings.
 

 
  • Audio Options:
 Commentary is provided by  Peter Purves (4th Doctor), Barry Newbery (designer), Donald Tosh (script editor) and  Verity Lambert (producer).  Moderated by Clayton Hickman

*Note - this is original producer Verity Lambert's last commentary recording before her death.
 

 
  • Coming Soon:
 For some reason, the obligatory "Coming Soon" featurette is missing from this release.
 

 
  • Easter Eggs:
 No easter eggs are included in this release.  For a full list of known Easter Eggs and screen grabs of them click HERE.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Additional Notes

  • "The Time Meddler" is an overlooked classic (in my opinion).  Author Dennis Spooner offers up a fair amount of humor while still maintaining a balance with good story telling.
     

  • This is the final story of the second season of Doctor Who and also the first story for companion Steven Taylor (who was introduced in the last episode of the previous story "The Chase."
     

  • For the first time in the show's history another character from the Doctor's own planet is introduced, the Meddling Monk (played to perfection by Peter Butterworth).  The Monk would return again for two episodes of the third season epic "The Dalek's Masterplan."
     

  • Actress Alethea Charlton makes her second and final appearance in Doctor Who.  She also played the character Hur in "An Unearthly Child."
     

  • William Hartnell took a one week vacation during the filming of episode two.  He can be seen briefly in the previous week's recap, and then again with only his voice as he yells from his cell.  Hartnell recorded his off screen dialogue prior to his vacation, and his lines were then fed live into the studio during the second episode's recording.
     

  • Originally thought lost forever, a print was returned to the BBC from Nigeria in the mid 80's.  Unfortunately, the opening scenes in the TARDIS involving Steven's discovery and his joining of the crew were edited out.  As luck would have it, a complete copy of this episode (including the TARDIS scenes) was returned in 1992.   Even with this recovery, there are a further 12 seconds of lost material - originally removed by overseas censors.  The 12 second scene was part of the Viking battle seen later in the story.
     

  • As well as the usual high quality of restorative work done by the Doctor Who Restoration Team, the typical "videoising" effect (called VidFIRE) normally used on old black and white stories was not possible for this release.  Originally shot on videotape, then transferred to 16mm film for overseas sales, all 60's Who stories have a film look to them.  The VidFIRE process restores the sharper, more "live" feel of videotape (and what would have been seen by the public when originally screened).  Unfortunately, the poorer video quality of this story meant that this process would not work for "The Time Meddler".