The Time Monster - Episode 3

As I approach the half way mark of this story I can’t help but feel good about this marathon which is the opposite way that I felt during the previous story. Nice stat comes with this episode and its that this is the 100^th episode that Terrance Dicks has been responsible for as script editor. This is the 67^th episode for Nicholas Courtney and the 30^th to feature Roger Delgado.

Despite finding a lot of positives in this story, I am afraid to say that the appearance of Kronos is the first thing that has appeared in this story that troubles me. I know that Doctor Who has prided itself on the fact it pushes the boundaries of technology and effects but sometimes its hard to argue with the sight of someone flapping their arms/wings. Thankfully its kept to a minimum in this episode which is perhaps the saving grace of this character.

On the positive side there are things to like in this episode which take away the rather silly Kronos costume. The first is that the episode flows along rather well without much to speak of in the way of eye catching stuff. The Doctor has clearly been watching Blue Peter before this episode because he’s making something out of a wine bottle with cutlery and bits and pieces attached to it. There is a fun and slightly barmy portion of the episode where a knight and an army of roundheads are attack Yates and the UNIT soldiers. Only in a Doctor Who story could this occur and not seem out of place. I like this part of the episode because it maintained my attention for the entire course.

The performances are all really good with Roger Delgado being the best of the regular cast. It’s odd talking about Delgado as the regular cast but when you consider his episode count, its shouldn’t really be that much of a surprise. He feels like is having a whale of a time as he gets to show off to Krasis. Speaking of Krasis, I found him to be a silly yet entertaining presence in the episode. He’s not scared of his current surroundings but still finds them enthralling. Jon Pertwee and Katy Manning are on good form as usual with Manning getting to be a bit more productive than usual.

I have to say that the end of the episode was a wonderful ending because all the drama is etched on Nicholas Courtney’s face. I think that it was a clever idea not to show the action from Yates’ point of view for some reason. It makes the potential loss feel even greater and it’s one of the finest build ups to the end of an episode that I can recall for sometime. I am enjoying this story but I can’t say that I am loving it. I don’t really care about the Atlantis stuff but I am still interested in the story and look forward to the second half of the serial.