Who Review: The Time Monster
The Newton Institute at Cambridge University is experimenting with time. Under the direction of Professor Thaskalos, Dr. Ruth Ingram and Stuart Hyde are using TOMTIT, Transmission Of Matter Through Interstitial Time, to move objects from one location to another. Key to the experiments is a trident crystal belonging to Professor Thaskalos. While the Professor’s assistants see great potential benefit in TOMTIT, Thaskalos has only one goal: calling Kronos, thought by the Ancient Greeks to be a god, but which is, in fact, a mighty Chronovore that devours time. With Kronos in his control, Thascalos believes he would have limitless power.
Meanwhile, the Doctor is picking up disturbances in time, tracing them to a location that recent studies suggest is the location of the lost city of Atlantis. When the Brigadier informs the Doctor that he has been invited to witness a demonstration of TOMTIT, the Doctor’s interest is piqued. Even more so when he discovers the name of the Professor in charge. Thascalos is Greek for Master. Suddenly, TOMTIT takes on a deadly importance. The Doctor and Jo must hunt down the Master, even to Atlantis itself, to stop him before he releases Kronos, and brings about the end of all creation.
SPOILER ALERT!! My comments may (and likely will) contain spoilers for those that haven’t seen this serial. If you want to stay spoiler-free, please watch the story before you continue reading!
“The Time Monster” is the last story in Doctor Who’s ninth season, Jon Pertwee’s third as the Third Doctor. Robert Sloman is listed as the writer, though, as with all his stories, producer Barry Letts was his uncredited co-writer.
The story is not a fan favorite, though I think it’s not bad. Not the best, but entertaining enough. The device the Doctor constructs Magyver-fashion to block the Master’s attempt to call Kronos is quite far-fetched. Forks stuck in a cork balanced on something with a disc on top, and a cup with tea leaves placed on top of it all, spinning around of its own volition? It should at least be powered by the sonic screwdriver–something that makes it a little less like a Blue Peter project. And the acting by the support cast in Atlantis is very wooden, and comes across like a second-rate Greek tragedy. These scenes are saved by the creative set and costume designs, and good performances by George Cormack and Ingrid Pitt.
Yes, Ingrid Pitt, famous Hammer Horror actress. I’m sure that was a coup for the Who team–a sure fire way to boost the adult audience, even if she is slightly more attired than she would normally be in a Hammer movie. Slightly. Her flirting with the Master is fun (and I bet Roger Delgado enjoyed that immensely), but even better are her put-down lines. The Master has never been so wonderfully dissed as he is by Queen Galleia, and King Dalios (Cormack) for that matter.
Once again, the production team are anxious to get the Doctor away from Earth. This time they accomplish it by having his TARDIS follow the Master’s. First he dematerializes inside the Master’s TARDIS. This is not a good idea, as he soon learns–and maybe this is why later, in the Fourth Doctor story “Logopolis,” he recognizes the dangers inherent in such a maneuver. The Doctor eventually manages to follow the Master to Atlantis, but I get the feeling script editor Terrance Dicks is so frustrated with the situation, he would go to almost any lengths to get the TARDIS off of Earth. And with the methods used here, I think we’re scraping the barrel of ideas.
This is the first Doctor Who story that really plays around with time, having localized slow down of time, as well as characters made to grow very old, or become very young (baby Benton!). For a show about a time traveler, it’s strange that it has taken nearly ten years to do this.
We also get our strongest hints about the sentient nature of the TARDIS. Jo comments that the Doctor talks about it as if it’s alive, to which the Doctor replies that it is, in a way. He also references the TARDIS’s telepathic circuits, and we see its ability to tap into the Doctor’s mind and relay his thoughts.
Bessie gets an upgrade in this story. The Doctor fits a “Super Drive” feature, making the car travel incredibly fast. The Doctor assures Jo that his reflexes are better than human reflexes, so he is able to control Bessie even at high speed. And the brakes have been modified so they absorb the inertia even of the passengers, preventing people from flying into the windshield when he stops the car.
As I said, it’s not a bad story, and worth watching for some of the better scenes I mentioned above. I was particularly glad to get it on DVD since my VHS version had bad sound, and not long after I purchased it on VHS, the price shot up beyond what I was willing to pay to replace it.
