The Time Monster

A new device called TOMTIT – the Transmission of Matter Through Interstitial Time – is being developed at the Newton Institute at Wootton. TOMTIT is the creation of the enigmatic Professor Thascales.  A “life-long pacifist,” Thascales refuses on principle to dine with a party of invited observers that includes Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart of UNIT.

The Doctor soon suspects that TOMTIT is another one of the Master’s dastardly schemes. This time the Master hopes to use the device to gain control over Kronos – the legendary chronovore that feeds on time itself.

The secret of TOMTIT’s power is a fragment from an ancient trident-shaped crystal used by the High Priests of Atlantis. When TOMTIT proves too weak to harness Kronos, the Master journeys back to ancient Atlantis to retrieve the main crystal. While UNIT forces are kept busy repelling invaders the Master has sent from past eras, the Doctor and Jo pursue the Master back to the dangerous last days of the doomed civilization.

• This story has got everything.  It's got the lost city of Atlantis (again), a minotaur, crystals, wide eyed priests, silly anagrams, aging 20 year olds, and a baby Sergeant Benton.  Just sit back and enjoy the ride...

• "The Time Monster" is part of the Master Box Set due for U.K. release this November.  The other Master story included in the box set is "Colony in Space."  Let's face it, any story with Delgado as the Master in it is worth watching/owning.  

• "The Time Monster" was the last story of Jon Pertwee's third season as Doctor Who.  It sees the return of the Master and is a kind of tour de force of all that was good and sometimes a bit silly about the Pertwee era. 

• Watch for a rather humorous scene early in the story as the Doctor lashes together a jamming device using a tea cup, fork and other spare items in the room.

• Also watch for an interesting scene near the end of the story as the Doctor recounts to Jo his memories of being on his home planet Gallifrey as a child.  Neat scene.

• George Cormack (Dalios) returns to Doctor Who 2 years later when he plays K'Anpo in Pertwee's final story "Planet of the Spiders."

• The TARDIS console room gets a bit of a revamp in this story.  The slightly remodeled design doesn't stick, however, and is only seen in this story.

• This is the second time that the destruction of Atlantis is part of a Doctor Who adventure.  It also was seen in the Patrick Troughton story "The Underwater Menace."  No mention of that previous story is made in "The Time Monster", nor are the contradictions between the two.