Doctor Who Club of Australia

[ADAMK]

What do people make of this (Season 22) 1985 story written by Glen McCoy?

This is the analysis from the official BBC website (WARNING! SPOILERS): http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/timelash/analysis.shtml

[Greg]

This story's title is not an anagram of 'lame shit' for no reason.

It's pretty dire. The story is full of pointless and wrong continuty references (like many stories this season!), teh story doesn't make a lot of sense, much of the acting is woeful (with a special Christmas ham award to Paul Darrow!) and I guess they must have spent all the money before making this story with its tinsel, glitter and sequins sets and the evil sock-monsters from outer space!

The Borad, though, looked quite good. Pity to put it in a story that otherwise looks pretty shoddy.

I won't complain about the 2nd explanation for the Loch Ness Monster because this, after all, in in a series that has previously explained the destruction of Atlantis three different ways.

[Theta Sigma]

Since Colin Baker and Paul Darrow had previously worked together in the Blake's 7 episode City at the Edge of the World, I just posted a thread about it:
http://doctorwhoaustralia.org/board/viewtopic.php?t=536

I trying to find out how many people have seen that Blake's 7 episode just as the ABC will soon show Timelash.

[SharazJek]

Well I like it. Once again though, the most woeful moment is Nicol Bryant screaming at her 'other half' to be!

I enjoyed the HG connection, and there's no reason the Loch Ness Monster can't be both the Borad AND the Skaressen, just seen at different times.

[Wester]

I really need to relook at this story before making a final comment, but from distant memory it wasnt one of my favorites.

[Kerr Avon]

I quite enjoyed the first half - it felt like any number of mediocre Fourth Doctor stories, but with a better TARDIS crew

and Paul Darrow is always fun*









*as are my posts, wot with him being my in my avatar pic

[Wester]

Well after looking at the first half, I can honestly say i LOVED it. I really liked the reference to the 3rd Doctor and Jo Grant.

[Theta Sigma]

Having previously appeared as Captain Hawkins in The Silurians in 1970, Paul Darrow makes a return appearance to the series as Tekker in Timelash following on from The Two Doctors featuring her Blake's 7 co-star Jacqueline Pearce. This means that when The Two Doctors & Timelash originally aired, viewers saw a Blake's 7 star for five weeks in a row.
Paul Darrow and Colin Baker had previously worked together when Colin appeared as Bayban the Butcher (he was much better as Bayban than as the Doctor) in the Blake's 7 episode City At the Edge of the World. Now here in Timelash the hero-villain role is in reverse as Paul plays the villain. In fact Paul's appearance as Tekker was meant to be payback to Colin's campy performance as Bayban on Blake's 7.
In some respects Timelash is similar to Vengeance on Varos just three stories ago, an oppressed society being monitored by authority. Peri even got say in Timelash , "corridors all look the same" just like she did in Varos.
The Third Doctor and Jo were mentioned as they previously visited Karfel in an untelevised adventure. This previous visit would have probably had taken place sometime during season 10 when the Doctor got back his memory of piloting the TARDIS in The Three Doctors and when Jo says goodbye to the Doctor in The Green Death. Could also be possible that it took place earlier between the season 8 story Colony In Space, when Jo first travelled in the TARDIS and The Three Doctors, if Karfel was a mission for the Time Lords.

[meglos]

I like it. Very good from me

[Greg]

[charlie]

[Theta Sigma]

[Wester]

I still think the Doctor could have explained what happened previously, just as he showed photos of Jo?

[Greg]

[Theta Sigma]

Some interesting things came out from the DVD commentary and on-screen notes during Part 1.

The notes:
For the part of Gazak it was originally offered to an actor who had appeared in a 1984 episode of Juliet Bravo as a policeman's son which was directed by Graeme Harper (also a Doctor Who director including for the current TV series). The name of the actor was not revealed and the only information I can come up with is that according to IMDb there were two Juliet Bravo episodes that Harper had directed titled Strike the Father & Alibi. For whatever reason the actor did not get the part and it went to Steven Mackintosh.

A BAFTA-nominated actress (name not revealed in the notes) from the mini-series The Jewel In The Crown (1984) was offered the role of Vena but turned it down. The role was ultimately given to Jeananne Crowley.

There was a funny technical mistake in which the notes were presented on-screen. It mentioned that Eric Deacon (Mykros) later became a writer by saying he had written "episodes of episodes" of TV shows.
As I say a funny mistake.

Tracy Louise Ward (Katz) is now the Marchioness of Worchester. Had to look up what Marchioness means (as I had not seen that word before) and it means that she is married to a Marquess.

The commentary:
The commentary featured Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant and Paul Darrow. As I mentioned before in this thread Darrow and Baker had worked together before when Baker guest starred on Blake's 7 in the episode City at the Edge of the World (they basically played reverse roles to their Timelash characters). In the commentary Darrow mentioned another Timelash guest star Dicken Ashworth (Sezon) had also appeared in Blake's 7 (in the episode Power) which led to him remarking how everybody ended up being on Blake's 7. Nicola Bryant responded that she hadn't appeared on Blake's 7 and Darrow said that if he had any say in it she would be there in a shot!

[FredDag]

I liked the story, looked like one of the cheeper ones of the season, but still, good story.

[Theta Sigma]

In the DVD notes for Part 2, it quoted director Pennant Roberts saying to Denis Carey (the Old Man) "I have every hope we will finish this one". The notes says it was in reference to the last Doctor Who they did which was aborted due to the strike. The notes did not mention the name of this particular serial. (It's Shada written by Douglas Adams).

It briefly mentioned Roberts having directed on Blake's 7. The notes for Part 1 mentioned Paul Darrow had been Avon on Blake's 7 but when it came to mentioning Roberts directing on that show it did not remind viewers about Darrow being in it.
It would have shown that Darrow and Roberts had worked together before Timelash and it is inconsistent with the fact that it mentioned Roberts having worked with other members of the Timelash cast before on other things.
The notes also did not mention about Colin Baker and Darrow working together before when Baker was a guest star on Blake's 7. However Baker and Darrow does mention it in the commentary so not a total remiss.

The notes mentioned that Timelash was Roberts fifth and last Doctor Who serial. Timelash was the fifth to be shown but was Roberts' sixth overall due to the fact that the aforementioned Shada was not broadcast.

The notes mentioned that BBC management had decided not to renew the
series for the planned 1986 series. However it did not mention that it was actually on an 18 month hiatus resulting in Doctor Who being returned for a new season in the latter instead of the former half of 1986. The omission of the fact about the hiatus would give a misleading impression, to people relatively new to Doctor Who who are reading the notes, that the classic series ended in 1985 instead of 1989.

Finally the notes mentioned that Timelash (which is a 2 x 45 minute serial) was also sold around the world as a four part edit revealing where Part 3 ended but not Part 1. Probably because Part 1 was not really a cliffhanger as it was just the Doctor and Peri in the TARDIS just before they stepped out into Karfel.

[Theta Sigma]

In The Good, The Bad and The Ugly documentary in the Timelash DVD, narrator Terry Malloy (Davros in the 1980s Dalek stories) said that Timelash has been compared unfavourably with the story that came before it The Two Doctors & the one that came after Revelation of the Daleks.

Personally I find Timelash to be better than The Two Doctors. Timelash at least attempted something new while The Two Doctors was about bringing back past elements (most notably the Second Doctor) which I don't think translated well on-screen.

[feez]

I wish I could throw my VHS copy of Timelash into the timelash. Why did I never buy the War Games. Thanks goodness we're getting that in October