The Time Monster

You are like a child trying to control an elephant.

I'm a little sad to be posting this. Although I have three stories remaining for me to cover, this is the last of the classic era stories that I have not seen. When I first started this, I'm sure The Time Monster was not the story that I would have picked to finish on, but things just always seem to divert to other stories. My preference for watching four-part stories or longer stories from the black and white era did keep pushing this one further and further down the list. But now the list is empty and here we are.

My expectations for this story are low. Boring is the word I've heard most often to describe it but that's a matter of preference. Of course, it's also a Barry Letts and Robert Sloman script and that gives me pause. I really liked The Green Death but I think my patience for The Dæmons was lower than the standard Doctor Who fan so those balance each other out. I don't think I minded Planet of the Spiders that much the first time I watched it but I need to reserve judgment until I go for the re-watch. So we shall just have to see if this either lives down to its reputation or if I am pleasantly surprised.

Plot Summary

The Doctor wakes from a nightmare where there were a great number of natural disasters and the Master taking command of the Earth using a three-pronged crystal. Unsettled by this dream, he ask Jo to look for any news of recent earthquakes or volcanoes. Jo scoffs a bit as she had read him a news article on such activity happening in Greece only yesterday. He again doesn't pay much attention until Jo notes that the site was in the vicinity where archaeologists believe that the island that inspired Atlantis was. Upon hearing that, the Doctor alerts the Brigadier, though the Brigadier notes that UNIT is already on high alert looking for the Master.

The Brigadier prepares to leave for a meeting at a university near Cambridge to observe experiments being done with time and the transport of matter. The Doctor begs off, wanting to work on looking for the Master so the Brigadier pulls Sargent Benton in. At the university, the experiments are being done by the Master, who is going under the pseudonym Professor Thascalos. He prepares to meet with the observing delegation and leaves the equipment to his two colleagues: Dr. Ingram and Stuart Hyde. While the Master is hypnotizing Dr. Percival, the head of the department who has become suspicious of the Master, Ingram and Hyde conduct a test run of the equipment. They successfully transport an object from one terminal to the other but cause a strange phenomena with time. This phenomena causes a window washer to fall off his ladder though he is not killed.

The tests register on a detector that the Doctor has managed to put together. However, the range is too broad to hone in on the signal. The Doctor and Jo get into Bessie and drive around in the range zone, hoping for another signal that will allow them to locate the Master.

Though he is displeased by Ingram and Hyde's experiments without him, the Master plays it off. Seeing that UNIT has come along on the inspection, the Master sends Ingram off to meet them while he tinkers with the equipment. When they arrive after lunch for the experiment, the Master has donned a radiation suit to hide his appearance from the Brigadier. The Master activates the equipment, alerting the Doctor to his location. The Doctor and Jo race to the college while the Master throws the equipment into overdrive, calling out for the appearance of Kronos.

Ingram rushes to shut down the machine after Hyde collapses. The Master rushes out of the room as the Doctor rushes in, having noticed that time has slowed down outside the room. They manage to deactivate the machine but find that Hyde has aged from his twenties to his eighties in only a few minutes.

After leaving Hyde in the care of Jo, the Doctor and Ingram return to the lab to investigate the equipment. The Brigadier returns to a makeshift headquarters where he takes command of the place, requests that additional munitions be brought up and that all non-essential personnel leave the college. In the lab, the Doctor examines the equipment and discovers the Master’s TARDIS. He also examines the crystal but believes it’s only a temporal projection of the real crystal. The Doctor explains to Ingram that Kronos, as called for by the Master, is a creature known as a cronovore and was trapped in the crystal by the people of Atlantis. This eventually gave rise to the legend of Cronos, father of the Greek gods.

The Master retreats to Dr. Percival’s office where he reinforces his hypnotic control. After working out some calculations, the Master pretends to be the Brigadier to lure Benton out of the lab where he is standing guard. Suspecting the ruse, Benton leaves but doubles back to get the drop on the Master. However, the Master knocks Benton out and reactivates the machine. As it ramps up, a man from Atlantis begins to appear next to the crystal.

The man is Krasis, high priest of Poseidon in Atlantis and is rather put out at the Master's cavalier attitude towards being able to control Kronos. Benton comes to and rushes out to warn the Doctor. The Master lets him go, being more interested in the medallion Krasis gives him when speaking of Kronos. Realizing that the medallion has information imbedded in it, the Master begins to encode that into his machine.

Benton warns everyone as they are outside, loading Hyde on to an ambulance to be taken away. The Brigadier, Benton and Dr. Ingram rush forward to stop him just as the Master reactivates the machine. The Doctor notices that Hyde is regressing back to his normal age while the Brigadier, Benton and Ingram are now running in slow motion. The Doctor runs up and pulls each of them back to the ambulance, out of the bubble of the machine where they snap back to normal time.

Inside the lab, Kronos is released from the crystal and flies about as a glowing humanoid-birdlike creature. It consumes Dr. Percival but is unable to escape the lab. The Master is able to hold off Kronos by using the medallion, which it seems to fear. He steadily powers down the machine and Kronos is sucked back into the crystal. Using this new information, the Master reprograms the machine to allow him to bring other small objects from outside of time.

Unable to get to the lab, the Doctor orders the Brigadier to bring up his TARDIS, to which the Brigadier orders Captain Yates to do. To buy time, the Doctor constructs a device from refuse that interferes with the time bubble the Master is creating. This causes the crystal to power up again but the Master sends a surge of energy which destroys the device.

Aware that the Doctor is having his TARDIS brought up, the Master brings forward things from the past to slow Captain Yates' convoy down. First an Arthurian knight and then a squad of Roundheads. Yates radios about the distractions and the Doctor, Jo and the Brigadier ride out to grab the TARDIS directly. Seeing this, the Master pulls forward a V-1 rocket which bombs Yates' convoy. Yates and his men survive but their trucks are damaged and the TARDIS lands on its side in a pit. Yates and his men begin to haul it upright again while the Doctor, Jo and the Brigadier assess the damage.

The Master makes preparations to leave for Atlantis in his TARDIS, telling Krasis to wait inside. This activation sends a signal to the Doctor's original detector device and he and Jo decide to try and trap the Master within the Doctor's own TARDIS. The Brigadier takes the rest of the men and takes them back to the college.

As the Master grabs the last bit of equipment, he notices the Brigadier and his men preparing to storm the building. The Master activates the device and the Brigadier and his men are caught in a frozen bubble. Just as he is about to leave, Dr. Ingram, Hyde and Benton get the drop on the Master. He manages to throw Hyde in Benton's path, dash into his TARDIS and take off. Ingram and Hyde activate the remaining equipment to at least unfreeze the Brigadier and his men but something goes wrong and instead of them being unfrozen, Benton is age reversed into a baby.

As the Master takes off, Krasis points out the Doctor's TARDIS. The Doctor had made a slight mistake and the two TARDISs are now situated inside each other. The Doctor communicates to the Master via the scanner but the Master turns the sound off. The Doctor tries another way but the Master scrambles the signal. With no other alternative, the Doctor comes out of the TARDIS to try and warn the Master. The Master ignores him and instead extracts Kronos from the crystal. Kronos envelops the Doctor, who disappears. The Master then pushes Kronos back into the crystal.

He informs Jo that the Doctor has been cast into the time vortex and he then disengages his TARDIS from the Doctor's. Jo passes out briefly only to hear the voice of the Doctor. He tells her that the TARDIS has linked with him and can bring him back. He instructs her to pull a lever on the control panel and he materializes within the TARDIS.

The Master arrives in Atlantis as King Dalios is holding court. The Master emerges and claims to be a messenger from the gods with Krasis supporting him. Dalios takes the Master back to his private chambers to question him. The Master attempts to hypnotize him but Dalios is unaffected and laughingly dismisses the Master as a trickster. The Master is further shocked to see the Doctor and Jo being escorted to the king, having been arrested by the guards upon landing next to the Master's TARDIS.

Dalios takes to the Doctor immediately, perceiving his honesty. He sends Jo to the company of his wife, Queen Galleia. Galleia accepts Jo and has her change to more customary attire. She then sends her handmaiden to summon the Master, whom she is attracted to. After the Master arrives, Jo and the handmaiden eavesdrop on their conversation.

The Master convinces Galleia that he should get the crystal and allow her to assume power, taking over from her husband. He also promises to stay and rule by her side. She tells him that while Krasis has a key to the vault, the crystal is also guarded by a monster. King Dalios informs the Doctor that this monster was a friend of his but was transformed into a minotaur. The Master and Galleia devise a plan to send the acolyte Hippias in as a distraction.

The handmaiden, smitten with Hippias, and agrees to help Jo warn him. They follow Hippias in the dark as he approaches the vault where the crystal is held. Jo goes to warn him but Krasis grabs her and shoves her into the vault. The handmaiden runs back and tells the Doctor who knocks Krasis out of the way and runs into the vault.

The Minotaur moves to attack Jo but Hippias attacks it. However, the Minotaur kills Hippias and resumes its attack on Jo. The Doctor however draws its attention and lures it into a wall, knocking the creature out. In the center of the vault, they find the original crystal and go to warn the king. But when they emerge, they find that the Master and Galleia have performed a coup and taken over. The Doctor and Jo are sent to the dungeon.

In the dungeon, the Doctor comforts Jo with a story of his youth when King Dalios is brought in. He resists and the guard knocks him to the floor. Dalios warns the Doctor of visions he has had of Atlantis being destroyed before he dies.

In the morning the Doctor and Jo are brought before the Master and Galleia to be executed. The Doctor asks where most of the council is and if they have been killed like Dalios. Galleia is shocked to learn that Dallios was killed and accuses the Master of betraying her as he had promised that he would be allowed to live. The Master then orders Krasis to activate the machine, releasing Kronos who begins to destroy Atlantis.

The Master grabs the original crystal and runs for his TARDIS. Jo manages to get herself free and jumps on his back. He drags her into his TARDIS and disappears. Galleia frees the Doctor and the Doctor runs to his TARDIS to chase them down while Atlantis crumbles. In the time vortex, he contacts the Master and threatens to conduct a time ram, the merging of their two TARDISs to stop him. The Master doesn't believe he will do it as long as Jo is there but Jo grabs the controls and forces the merger when the Doctor hesitates.

The Doctor and Jo wake to find themselves on the edge of reality. Kronos appears to them as a woman as the time ram destroyed the crystal and freeing her. In exchange, she offers them whatever they want. The Doctor opts to return to Earth with Jo and the TARDIS. Kronos agrees and promises to keep the Master where he will be tormented for eternity. The Master begs mercy and the Doctor asks for him to be freed to the Doctor's custody. Kronos agrees but the Master shakes the Doctor lose and flees in his TARDIS. Kronos refuses to stop him as the Doctor had asked for him to be freed to the Doctor.

The Doctor returns to the lab just as Dr. Ingram and Hyde are finishing repairs to the machine. They manage to free the Brigadier and his men from the bubble as well as return Sargent Benton to his normal self. But without the crystal to stabilize it, the machine is destroyed.

Analysis

If I had to pick a single word to describe this story, I think I would pick "meandering". It's not to the point of being bad, in fact in many ways the story is fairly entertaining, but it lacks focus and just seems to drift from point to point without much thought to its direction.

Although filled with rather obvious padding, the first four episodes are a fairly direct line of adventure with the Master fooling around in his lab and the Doctor and UNIT trying to breach it. It's actually a reverse base-under-siege story which is somewhat refreshing. There is good interaction between the Doctor and the various UNIT personnel and although peppered with a bit of silliness here and there, it slowly progresses towards an ultimate breach.

The last two episodes leave something to be desired. None of the events in Atlantis make much sense and what little plot there is there seems rushed and poorly developed. Everything in the first four episodes is banished as it just becomes a race for the original crystal which is something you think the Master should have been aware of from the beginning. The intrigue of court politics and battles with mythological beasts is both uninteresting and unengaging.

From an emotional standpoint, this is one of the Third Doctor's best stories. His intimate moment about his childhood in Episode Six is still seen as one of his best moments. He also doesn't go either over-the-top or off-the-handle with the Brigadier as he so often does in other UNIT stories. He has a nice rapport with Jo and seems to have fully developed into a fatherly, caring figure for her. It is rather telling that the Master is correct and that the Doctor is unwilling to complete the time ram because he doesn't want to hurt Jo. There's also very little martial arts from the Doctor which is a nice change of pace, forcing him to think his way out of problems rather than forcing the issue.

Again, from an emotional standpoint, this was quite a good story for Jo. She does very little otherwise but as this is less of an action story, that sort of fits. She is also shown as less dumb than in other stories, needing to ask questions for the audience purposes but also being a bit more intuitive about the answers. There are at least a couple of instances where she gets the answer before other "smarter" people and the Doctor's pleasure at her understanding is quite obvious. Jo is just very pleasant in this story, although I'm not a fan of her yellow go-go boots but you can't have everything.

Most of the rest of the regular cast hits their normal notes. The Brigadier plays dumb and is interested in shooting things, Yates does his "aw shucks" routine and Benton is the loveable doofus. I prefer it when the Brigadier is much more intelligent, as shown in Season 7 stories, but by this point its a pretty standard format for the Brig to be more interested in blowing things up and you just get used to it.

The guest cast of this story left a lot to be desired. Ingram and Hyde are very shallow characters with Ingram being the standard middle-aged white male view of a feminist (man-hater) while Hyde is a late-style hippie. Although, as shallow as their characters are, they are played well. The same cannot be said for nearly all of the Atlantean cast. Both Hippias and Galleia are extremely wooden in their delivery and attempts to flesh them out or give them the remotest sense of character just fall flat on their face. Dallius and Krasis are played better by their actors but they are also dropped after about one episode. Krasis is the assistant in Episode Four but aside from a couple of menial tasks, he is forgotten about. Similarly, Dallius refutes the Master while becoming friendly with the Doctor in Episode Five but then dies early in Episode Six. They are just not given enough to work with to make a stronger impression.

I do like the Master in this story, though he does indulge in a bit of over-the-top-ness. For once, he has a plan that actually works. He successfully manages to unlock Kronos from its prison and manages to control it through the use of the medallion. He also manages to get the original crystal as well as defeat the Doctor twice. It is only Jo's push of his TARDIS into the Doctor's and the resultant Deus Ex Machina that defeats him. Had the TARDIS not seen fit to rescue the Doctor in Episode Five or Kronos not been freed and grateful for it at the end of Episode Six, the Master would have triumphed.

And then there is Kronos. I don't know who came up with the design for Kronos but I'm not sure a dumber one could have been imagined. Greek myth has Cronos as a humanoid titan from whom the Greek gods came. At no point does that inspire the thought of a radioactive, humanoid pigeon. I also don't care for how the freeing of Kronos by destroying the crystal at the end is the magic solution. Everything given about Kronos to that point is that Kronos is a destroyer, feasting upon time. It consumes everything it comes in contact with and yet we are to believe that it was actually a benevolent creature, willing to live peacefully in the voids between time? If that is the case, why was it trapped in the crystal and why did it manifest as a glow-in-the-dark chicken? Something more humanoid and forced to do the Master's bidding because of the medallion would have made so much more sense in the overall context of the story.

From a production standpoint, this isn't a bad story. There was some nice location footage and enough background detail to make it appear that it wasn't completely on a stage. I didn't even mind the bowls used to decorate the TARDIS, though that was a touch jarring when first observed. The overall direction was a bit pedestrian as a few shots seemed badly framed and others did nothing to catch the eye.

The other point that was jarring to me were the moments of silliness that kept cropping up throughout the story. I've already mentioned Kronos but even beyond that there were wild swings in mood. You open the story with this dream the Doctor has of doom and destruction and yet later Bessie zooms off like Benny Hill or the Munsters. The Master poses a dire threat but the Doctor builds a device to thwart him out of junk and makes a joke about tea being the missing ingredient. The Brigadier and his men are frozen in time but we'll make a joke about Benton being turned into a baby. Jo is threatened by a creature yet the Doctor turns into a bullfighter and defeats the monster in the same manner as Bugs Bunny when he faced off against a bull. It's all these little things peppered in where you can't decide if this is supposed to be a dramatic, tension-filled story or a comedy romp. It creates emotional whiplash and satisfies neither side.

Overall, I'm not going to say that this is bad but neither is it particularly good. There are good moments and even with the obvious padding, the success of the Master and the rapport between him and the Doctor draw you in. I just wish this story could have decided what it wanted to be. Once that is down, the rest of it would have popped into place with greater ease. It's not the horrible dreck that I've heard some folks try to make it out to be, but neither is it something I would gravitate towards. I certainly would not select it as something to introduce a newbie to the Third Doctor era as their confusion would probably only irritate them beyond what a regular fan would take.

Overall personal score: 2.5 out of 5