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had never seen the first Doctor in action. That
is until 1992 when the BBC aired an adventure
from each Doctor running up to the thirtieth
anniversary of the programme in 1993. The
story I saw was The Time Meddler, written by
Dennis Spooner and it is that story that I think
really shows off this era of the programme.
By this point, William Hartnell has clearly settled into the role of the Doctor and the writers
have also learned to roll with the format of the
show. Hartnell’s Doctor is more playful by this
point, countering his (very much still present)
irascibility. On top of this much more grandfatherly Doctor, we are presented with Vicki
(who was introduced a few stories previous to
replace Susan), played by Maureen O’Brian.
Vicki is young and intelligent without being
as…well, irritating as Susan was. The crew of
the TARDIS is rounded out with new comer
Steven Taylor, played by Peter Purves, who
takes on the role of the heroic lead.
The story itself is the first of what would become the norm for Doctor Who historical stories. While exploring Earth’s past, the travellers
discover that an alien or another time traveller is influencing events. Previously, historical
adventures were just that – the TARDIS arrived
in history and its crew became caught up in
events.
The Doctor meets The Monk - a fellow Time Lord
The Time Meddler introduces a character I wish
had made more appearances. Peter Butterworth (later to become famous for his roles in
the Carry On films), stars as the eponymous
meddler. Butterworth plays another time traveller – one with a TARDIS of his own. Back in
1965, there were no “Time Lords” and there was
no “Gallifrey”. All we know of the meddler is
that he is from the Doctor’s home but is “fifty
years after” the Doctor. His TARDIS is newer
than our hero’s – as evidenced by the central
console being raised on a pedestal!
Space Pilot Steven Taylor takes his first steps to the past
It’s important to realise something about the
series at this point: the Doctor wasn’t the hero
of the show. The old man was simply the catalyst for adventure. He would try and get his
companions home, failing each time. Stories
were resolved, usually, by the entire crew (and
their allies) working together, each bringing
something different to the mix. This is what
made a recurring cast of three or four people really work, whereas later on, this amount
people made the TARDIS feel crowded.
44
The meddler has come to Earth to change history so that Harold’s Saxons can defeat William’s invasion force at Hastings. It is a matter
of history that one of the factors behind Harold’s loss in 1066 was that his army had literally
just come from fighting another battle against
a Norwegian horde and then marched for six
days from near York to Hastings to fight William. If the Danish fleet was sunk before it arrived...our meddler, disguised as a Monk seeks
to do just that. Essentially, for his own amusement and to be able to meet for a post-match
chat.