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The Doctor and Peri are, as usual, arguing over where to go
next when the Tardis is trapped in a time corridor. Unable
to break free the Doctor arrives on the planet Karfel which
is groaning under the tyrannical yoke of the Borad. Forced
by the insane Tekker to follow Vena into the Timelash, the
Doctor arrives in nineteenth century earth where he meets
H.G. Wells...
Timelash (1985) was originally transmitted between 09
March and 16 March and was part of the longer running 45 minute
two parters. Lets be honest, Timelash was one of those
stories whose reputation for being dire has grown to legend
proportions over time, and to some extent it deserves its
reputation. That said, I never felt that Colin Baker and Nicola
Bryant got either the great scripts or sets to do either of
them justice - and the acid trip coat was a mistake of monumental
proportions.
Let's get the kicking in out of the way. It's generally accepted
that Timelash was, shall we say, not very good. Poor
Nicola had almost nothing to do in the show, with her companion
status hijacked by David Caulder as Herbert. She runs, she
screams and she gets menaced by a monster that looks suspiciously
like an over large penis with teeth. Most of the supporting
actors' performances range from poor to bemused, especially
the bee keepers - who must have wondered, to themselves, why
an advanced civilisation was defended by bee keepers at all.
On
the plus side you get Paul Darrow acting his socks off as
an over the top Richard III character, throw this against
Colin Bakers natural exuberance and you have a delicious slice
of unintentional hilarity. Time has not been kind either for
cultural references. It's not good when you find yourself
just dying to have Borad ask Peri to do the big sexy with
him, very nice or to sing Throw the Jew Down the Well as the
convicts are chucked into the Timelash.
One thing you can never gripe about with the Doctor Who
DVD releases is the number of extras on offer. Timelash
comes with a very entertaining full length commentary from
Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant and Paul Darrow, which is delivered
with compulsive humorous warmth, making it well worth a listen
to. There is also production notes in the form of subtitles.
Next up is the documentary The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
(25 mins) which acts as an apology for the show, explaining
the limitations of the writer Glen McCoy - it was only his
third script - the ten pence they spent on the show and the
frustration that all involved felt. You get a photo gallery,
a few trailers for forthcoming releases and the Radio Times
listings as a PDF.
The disc comes with either episode selection or chapter selection,
but the best way to view it is as one long story. There is
a not very well hidden Easter Egg that allows you access to
the continuity announcements for the show.
In the end the story still holds up as a bit of entertaining
piffle. It was never going to be seen as the greatest story,
but then I'm no longer convinced that it deserved so much
invective. Sure it's too long and the Timelash looks
suspiciously like it's made from Christmas tinsel, but its
worth a watch if only to see Paul Darrow and Colin Baker trying
to out act each other, both performances are full of bombast
verging on madness, which misses being camp by a hairsbreadth.
Charles
Packer
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