dw: the time meddler
Thursday, 19 June 2008 13:08![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
usuallyhats
I was off sick from work yesterday (again! fail in the health department, there) so I watched The Time Meddler. According to the production subtitles it was repeated in 1992 so I have probably seen it before, but all I remember of that repeats run is a) the scary bits of Genesis and b) the TERRIFYING documentary about the missing episodes that ran with Planet of the Daleks to explain why some of it was in black and white.
- STEVEN STEVEN STEVEN, I love him so much, even if I have to look up his name all the time to see if it's spelt with a "v" or a "ph". He got the TARDIS-reaction the wrong way round, he couldn't believe it was smaller on the outside, I loved that! And he had a cloak, and there was a shot of him and Vicki standing in the forest wearing their cloaks and he looked all noble and stuff and I have to make a screencap of that. He is lovely.
- Vicki I like a little less, but she is rather adorable at times, especially in her first scene with the Doctor. I also liked the bit where she's on the cliff, looking at the sea covering the beach where they left the TARDIS. And the little bit of tension between her and Steven, newcomer/experienced traveller, at times was very realistic and nicely done, it was great that they seemed to come off more or less even in terms of arguments won/being right. That scene where they both say "follow me!" and head off in opposite directions, fab.
- Oh, and the final bit where they're all on the cliff, and Vicki says that the Doctor's the crew and she and Steven are just passengers, and the Doctor says they're very welcome ones, just lovely. Aw.
- There were lots of great lines that I wanted to quote but sadly I have forgotten them all.
- The sets were excellent, I was surprised to hear on the commentary that it was all done in the studio, it looked so realistic that I was sure they must have filmed on location. It all looked great, especially the clifftops.
- When they were talking about the chameleon circuit on the Monk's TARDIS, it made me think of that short story where the Doctor and Romana visit the TARDIS's shell room and see all the exteriors that the ship made and couldn't use, being stuck in police box shape. I love how huge this canon is, that I can make connections between a TV serial and a short story written forty years later, by a different author, with different characters. ♥
- I did wonder for a while if the rock our heroes were leaning against on the beach was going to be the Monk's TARDIS, given he was hiding behind it and they were talking about the chameleon circuit, but apparently the Irony Fairy had taken the day off.
- The Monk was a great, well, not really a villain at all. He wanted to bring peace and stability to Europe! OK, he also wanted to meddle and have all the power and influence from guiding humanity to greatness, but as reasons to change history go, it's a pretty good one. Also, he had a to-do list! And he was ticking things off! And he made the Doctor toast and fried eggs for breakfast.
- I could look at that shot of the Monk peering into his tiny TARDIS all day, it was great. I love miniature things: see also, any shot where the TARDIS is obviously a model.
- Hee, the incredibly well spoken Saxons! Though, credit where credit's due, the woman seemed to have a bit of a vaguely northern accent at times in her first scene with the Doctor. The Vikings made a bit more of an effort, but sadly veered wildly between slightly Germanic, Monty Python-esque Swedish and BBC English.
- The starfield/faces over the credits looked very good.
- The commentary was nice, too. I was amused by how long they spent discussing Steven's fake beard and the fact that they wouldn't have had a recording break just for him to shave it off in if it had been real... only for the production text to inform me that that's exactly what they did do! I will also admit to getting something in my eye a bit at the end of the last episode when they were all talking to Verity Lambert about how it was her last ever Dr Who credit they were watching.
- STEVEN STEVEN STEVEN, I love him so much, even if I have to look up his name all the time to see if it's spelt with a "v" or a "ph". He got the TARDIS-reaction the wrong way round, he couldn't believe it was smaller on the outside, I loved that! And he had a cloak, and there was a shot of him and Vicki standing in the forest wearing their cloaks and he looked all noble and stuff and I have to make a screencap of that. He is lovely.
- Vicki I like a little less, but she is rather adorable at times, especially in her first scene with the Doctor. I also liked the bit where she's on the cliff, looking at the sea covering the beach where they left the TARDIS. And the little bit of tension between her and Steven, newcomer/experienced traveller, at times was very realistic and nicely done, it was great that they seemed to come off more or less even in terms of arguments won/being right. That scene where they both say "follow me!" and head off in opposite directions, fab.
- Oh, and the final bit where they're all on the cliff, and Vicki says that the Doctor's the crew and she and Steven are just passengers, and the Doctor says they're very welcome ones, just lovely. Aw.
- There were lots of great lines that I wanted to quote but sadly I have forgotten them all.
- The sets were excellent, I was surprised to hear on the commentary that it was all done in the studio, it looked so realistic that I was sure they must have filmed on location. It all looked great, especially the clifftops.
- When they were talking about the chameleon circuit on the Monk's TARDIS, it made me think of that short story where the Doctor and Romana visit the TARDIS's shell room and see all the exteriors that the ship made and couldn't use, being stuck in police box shape. I love how huge this canon is, that I can make connections between a TV serial and a short story written forty years later, by a different author, with different characters. ♥
- I did wonder for a while if the rock our heroes were leaning against on the beach was going to be the Monk's TARDIS, given he was hiding behind it and they were talking about the chameleon circuit, but apparently the Irony Fairy had taken the day off.
- The Monk was a great, well, not really a villain at all. He wanted to bring peace and stability to Europe! OK, he also wanted to meddle and have all the power and influence from guiding humanity to greatness, but as reasons to change history go, it's a pretty good one. Also, he had a to-do list! And he was ticking things off! And he made the Doctor toast and fried eggs for breakfast.
- I could look at that shot of the Monk peering into his tiny TARDIS all day, it was great. I love miniature things: see also, any shot where the TARDIS is obviously a model.
- Hee, the incredibly well spoken Saxons! Though, credit where credit's due, the woman seemed to have a bit of a vaguely northern accent at times in her first scene with the Doctor. The Vikings made a bit more of an effort, but sadly veered wildly between slightly Germanic, Monty Python-esque Swedish and BBC English.
- The starfield/faces over the credits looked very good.
- The commentary was nice, too. I was amused by how long they spent discussing Steven's fake beard and the fact that they wouldn't have had a recording break just for him to shave it off in if it had been real... only for the production text to inform me that that's exactly what they did do! I will also admit to getting something in my eye a bit at the end of the last episode when they were all talking to Verity Lambert about how it was her last ever Dr Who credit they were watching.