Broken Frontier

In 1066 the face of England was destined to change… or was it? The Doctor and his companions discover someone is out to alter history.

When "The Time Meddler" aired in 1965, finishing off Doctor Who’s second series, actress Carole Ann Ford (Susan) had been gone for months, replaced by Maureen O’Brien (Vicki) and both William Russell (Ian Chesterton) and Jacqueline Hill (Barbara Wright) had just taken their leave. In addition to those departures the woman who had shepherded the series from its birth – producer Verity Lambert – also decided to move on and "The Time Meddler" was her last story. In the midst of all this upheaval the show went on and added to its mythology.

For years this serial was lost – a victim of the BBC’s tape wiping practice. In 1984, though, a film print was discovered overseas where it had been sold into syndication. Keen-eyed viewers will notice this looks different from the stories shot on videotape.

The Doctor and Vicki along with skeptical new companion Steven land in England along the coast. They soon discover that history is in the making – the year is 1066 and very soon there will be a series of battles which will culminate in William the Conqueror taking the throne of England. The Doctor detects something odd here though. There is a strange monk with mysterious ways and access to anachronistic items. The TARDIS crew soon realizes that if they do not act then the very fabric of history may be torn apart and rewoven in a new pattern.

This story may not resonate as deeply with American audiences as it did to English ones where 1066 was a marked turning point in history. Still, anyone who has taken a world history class should at least get the references. For those who have not had their European History the Doctor has a nice monologue where he provides a thumbnail explanation of the pertinent events.

The show had a tradition of doing historical stories but this would be the first story to mix some science-fiction elements in with the history. Eventually these "Psuedo-Historicals" would replace regular historical stories in the show’s schedule but for now this was something different and exciting.

Another area where Americans may be in the dark is with the actor playing the Monk. Peter Butterworth was well known in Great Britain as a comedic actor and his guest appearance was a feather in the cap for Doctor Who at the time. Even without this knowledge, Butterworth’s consummate skill shines and his performance can be enjoyed on its own merits. He makes the Monk a clever, crafty, and witty fellow and mingles unscrupulousness with humor.

For the Doctor; after two years in the role William Hartnell had perfected the mannerisms, the voice, and the mercurial mood swings from impish humor to righteous anger. Hartnell’s performance here shows the Doctor matching wits with a cunning and clever opponent and rising to the challenge. This serial also contains one of the more famous examples of Hartnell flubbing lines. He was plagued by health and memory problems and the complexities of the scripts along with the grueling shooting schedule often caused him to forget or fluff his lines. With videotape and time expensive, and the show’s small budget, no reshoots were allowed unless the actor said something that would not get past the censors. As a result when actors messed up lines they recovered as best they could, continued on and the mistakes were retained. Many fans have accepted these bloopers and even consider them endearing.

Maureen O’Brien had joined partway through the second series and her character of Vicki was a replacement for Susan. While Vicki shared Susan’s curiosity the writers tended to make her a bit spunkier, intelligent and far less of a screamer than Susan was. "The Time Meddler" does not show off her character at its best, though, as the new character, Steven, understandably takes center stage. Still, O’Brien made the most of her lines, giving her delivery a bit of an edge so that viewers clearly see that Vicki is a bit exasperated at this big lummox who won’t listen to her common sense ideas (at least at first).

The last and latest member of the regular cast was Peter Purves as Steven Taylor. A young actor with not much experience, Purves had little character building to do here. Steven had been introduced in the previous serial ("The Chase") but it is here that he meets the Doctor’s madcap lifestyle. For this story Purves focused the character on a fast arc from skepticism to dawning realization to full acceptance and even happiness with the situation. It would be in later stories that he would get the chance to flex some dramatic acting muscles.

There are a range of extras here as well including the usual photo gallery of production stills, onscreen trivia track, and commentary track. The commentary consists of moderator Clayton Hickman (writer, and former editor of Doctor Who Magazine), Verity Lambert, Peter Purves, story editor Donald Tosh and designer Barry Newberry. While they provide insights into the workings of British Television Industry at the time there is nothing extremely entertaining or compelling here.

There is no "Making of" documentary nor are there any interviews with cast or crew which makes the DVD feel a little thin; particularly since the story itself is a four-parter. There is a short but interesting look at the work done by the restoration team and a quick look at the First Doctor’s comic book appearances called "Stripped for Action". This is a rather superficial piece, though, and even comic book fans may find it mildly interesting at best.

Producer Verity Lambert passed away in November of 2007 and the commentary was her last work for Doctor Who. The entire DVD is dedicated to her memory and two of the extras on the disc are a photo gallery of her at all stages of her life and career and a reprint of her obituary.

In the end "The Time Meddler" may not be the stuff of high drama or fear but it is a very clever lark with just enough weight to give it substance. The usual Shakespearian tinged speeches are here replaced with rapier verbal sparring and quick crosses, double crosses and even triple crosses! So go ahead and see what happens when you go meddling in time…