‘Timelash’ from Season 22 is one of those poor adventures which frequently finds itself at the bottom of ‘most popular episode’ polls. It may not be a fan favourite, but here are five reasons why you should sit down and watch this classic adventure tonight…
1) The lore
Doctor Who fans love the lore (as do we) and ‘Timelash’ throws a couple of unexpected curveballs when it comes to the Doctor’s complicated past. It all begins when the Time Lord’s companion Peri is shown a locket which contains a photo of the Doctor’s former companion Jo Grant. But how did it fall into the hands of underground rebels from the planet Karfel?
Well, there are even more surprises in ‘Timelash’ when it is revealed that one of the rooms also contains a rather impressive artist’s impression of the Third Doctor which has been hiding behind one of the walls. It turns out that he visited the planet Karfel in a previous, unseen adventure, and one that (to our knowledge) has yet to be told, either in the worlds of Big Finish or BBC Books, although the Doctor Who novel ‘Speed of Flight’ is technically a ‘Timelash’ prequel.
2) H.G. Wells
And speaking of lore, ‘Timelash’ makes some interesting adjustments to planet Earth’s history with the inclusion of the famous science fiction writer H.G. Wells. He is waiting at the end of the Timelash (the planet’s time tunnel which people are thrown into as a punishment for their crimes.) Naturally, he soon becomes the story’s guest companion and it’s not long before he’s journeying to Karfel to battle against the Borad and tinsel.
And it’s over the course of this adventure that Wells is inspired to write a number of his most famous works – first (unsurprisingly) is The Time Machine, after experiencing the Doctor’s TARDIS and meeting a race of creatures known as the Morlox; he adopts this name for the monsters that later feature in his novella. And then of course there is the fascinating moment where the Doctor makes himself invisible, inspiring another of Wells’ great works, The Invisible Man.
And then there is another piece of lore which threatens to turn Doctor Who canon on its head. (Perhaps we should blame the Celestial Toymaker…?)
3) The Borad
The Borad is the main villain in ‘Timelash’ and (spoiler alert) he is defeated in the story’s conclusion by being thrown into the eponymous time tunnel. He arrives in Scotland in the late 19th century, and just so happens to be within spitting distance of the famous Loch Ness. Do you see where this is going?
Thus, ‘Timelash’ heavily implies that the Borad is none other than the Loch Ness monster itself, with the Doctor cheekily remarking that the Borad might be sighted “from time to time.” And if this is true, it does put Doctor Who canon into something of a spin, as the canonical Loch Ness monster is in fact the robotic beast deployed by the Zygons in 1975’s ‘Terror of the Zygons.’ Unless both the Borad and Zygon monster are living together in Loch Ness, which would make it one of the deadliest lakes in the whole of Scotland.
Canon-bending aside, the Borad is a wonderfully-realised villain, with impressive prosthetics and a wonderfully creepy performance from actor Robert Ashby.
4) Paul Darrow
And speaking of wonderful performances, the next of ‘Timelash’s villains is none other than Malin Tekker played by Paul Darrow, best known to SF fans as Avon from Blake’s 7. This may be his most scenery-eating performance to date, which (love it or hate it) is certainly one of the most memorable moments from ‘Timelash.’
According to Darrow, he based his interpretation of Malin Tekker on Sir Laurence Olivier’s Richard III, complete with zany hair and melodramatic flourish. The producer John Nathan-Turner was none-too-happy with this performance and asked Darrow to desist, but it’s possible that the actor never got the memo.
Certainly, it’s characteristic of Paul Darrow’s innate ability to breathe life into his parts, and whilst it might not be to everyone’s taste, it has stuck in the minds of viewers. Darrow certainly brings much fun and energy to ‘Timelash,’ and it’s well worth watching the story to judge his performance for yourself. You’re certainly going to have an opinion on it!
5) The famous Timelash tinsel
‘Timelash’ has received much criticism over the years for being ‘the one with the tinsel.’ Due to budgetary constraints, the story’s eponymous time tunnel was ultimately realised using Christmas decorations, and sadly this is often used as a reason to mock the adventure.
Certainly, it is hard to ignore the fact that the Timelash is realised with twinkly festive decor, and it can at times seem odd to have actors quaking in fear as they are thrust towards lashings of tinsel. But this is certainly not the first Doctor Who adventure to face budgetary constraints; in fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find a classic Doctor Who story that wasn’t.
So perhaps the best way to view the tinsel is as a testament to the creativity of the design department, who did their best with what was available to them at the time. And if you’ve never seen ‘Timelash’ before, maybe now is the time to go and see what all the fuss is about. Just how jarring are Karfel’s deadly Christmas decorations?
And if the tinsel really puts you off, you can always watch the story’s special edition on the Season 22 Blu-ray box set, which offers a (mostly) tinsel-free viewing experience thanks to its updated visual effects.
So have we tempted you to give ‘Timelash’ a watch, or a rewatch? And does this Sixth Doctor adventure really deserve to be at the bottom of so many episode polls? Let us know in the comments below.
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