The classic adventure ‘Time-Flight’ is sometimes overlooked, and often criticised. But is there anything to enjoy in this classic Doctor Who story from the Peter Davison era?
There was one fairly significant problem looming over ‘Time-Flight’ when it went into production: the team had run out money. The adventure came at the very end of Season 19, which had transpired to be a rather costly series, and the reality was there was very little money left by the time this particular Doctor Who story went before the cameras.
This was always a problem with Doctor Who, but particularly for ‘Time-Flight’ which made big demands of its production team. The adventure centred around the disappearance of a super-sonic passenger jet (Concorde, for those who remember it.) It had been caught in a time contour and had been dragged back to the Pleistocene era, or thereabouts, and it was up to the Time Lord and his friends to retrieve it.
On paper, this is a great idea for a Doctor Who story, and if you’ve never seen ‘Time-Flight’ before, then go and watch it now, and watch it for its premise. The adventure was penned by Peter Grimwade, who was no stranger to the series and had directed the previous story ‘Earthshock.’
At a script level, there is much to commend this Doctor Who story. The idea of the Doctor travelling back in time to recover a missing plane and its passengers, only to find himself confronted with shape-shifting monsters and the return of an old enemy, is quintessential Doctor Who.
And what of these shape-shifting monsters? Well, the ‘baddies’ in this particular Doctor Who story are the Plasmatons – amorphous blobs that resemble bubble bath (and indeed were realised using bubble bath, but we’ll skip past that.) The Plasmatons were generated using psychic energy and had the ability to morph into any shape, and indeed to completely engulf and imprison people with their deadly foam, and teleport them to other places.
And whilst it’s true that the Plasmatons weren’t the most stunningly-realised Doctor Who monster of all time, that’s hardly a problem specific to ‘Time-Flight.’ The budget was tight on many a classic Doctor Who story, and it’s fair to say that few adventures would win prizes for their visual effects. And that is no slight on the production teams involved; it’s simply a consequence of the series’ lack of money, at least in the 80s.
So yes, in reality the Plasmatons do look somewhat slow and distinctly un-menacing, but it falls to the viewer to look past these imperfections and admire the strength of the ideas beneath. There was great potential in a psychically-generated, shape-shifting villain, and one could argue that this Doctor Who story only scratched the surface of what the Plasmatons could do.
Moreover, as mentioned previously, the Plasmatons weren’t the only threat facing the Doctor. ‘Time-Flight’ also saw the return of the Time Lord’s old enemy the Master, staying true to form and concealing his true identity behind many layers of latex, and a dodgy accent. The production team were keen to keep the return of the Master a surprise, and even credited him as Leon Ny Taiy in attempt to throw fans off the scent (Leon Ny Taiy being an anagram of the actor Tony Ainley.)
In this Doctor Who story, the Master is at his evil, deranged best: he’s trapped on Earth with a broken TARDIS, and has generated the time contour in order to collect human slaves from passing Concordes – slaves who can break open a citadel he’s discovered, which contains an alien power source which he hopes can repair his ship. Are you with me so far?
Granted, it might not be the strongest premise, and it may seem a little elaborate, but it’s worth remembering that the Master is a madman. And you should keep this in mind when you watch this particular Doctor Who story, as you’ll also have to wrap your head around the fact that he spends half the adventure dressed up as a mysterious wizard called Kalid for no obvious reason. Certainly, this disguise gives us a great cliffhanger in episode two when the Master finally tears off his disguise and reveals his true identity, but it does leave one asking ‘why?’
And speaking of cliffhangers, ‘Time-Flight’ should also be credited for its surprise climax. Apparently, the producer John Nathan-Turner was a fan of the BBC sci-fi series Blake’s 7, and enjoyed its season cliffhangers. He therefore decided to try the same thing with Doctor Who, and ended ‘Time-Flight’ with the Doctor unexpectedly taking off in the TARDIS without his companion Tegan, leaving her stranded at Heathrow Airport. One of the characters remarks, “Hello, I thought you were going with the Doctor,” and she replies, teary-eyed, “So did I…”
Of course, there was never any intention of making this Tegan’s last Doctor Who story, and this moment was only meant for dramatic effect, and to hook people into returning for Season 20. But it was a powerful scene, and completely unexpected, even if it doesn’t make complete sense. Why on earth would the Doctor leave without Tegan, and so willingly? It’s a question that is never really answered.
Therefore, in order to get the most out of this Doctor Who story, the viewer is required to overlook a few things. At times, ‘Time-Flight’s internal logic doesn’t hold up to close scrutiny; we may never know why the Master spent so much time pretending to be Kalid, even when there was no one around for him to fool. And we may never know why he concocted such an elaborate scheme to repair his TARDIS. And we may never know why the Doctor so casually abandoned Tegan at Heathrow Airport.
You will also have to accept the visual effects for what they are. Yes, the shots of Concorde taking off from prehistoric Earth are hardly Oscar-worthy. And yes, those are tiny toy planes you’re looking at. And yes, those really are polystyrene rocks, and bubble bath monsters.
But if you focus on the originality and creativity of the ideas involved, and allow yourself just to be carried along with the adventure, illogical as it might seem, then you’ll have a great ride. ‘Time-Flight,’ with a couple of tweaks and a bigger budget, could have been a truly epic Doctor Who story.
But over to you, reader. What do you like most about ‘Time-Flight’? And why do you think the Doctor abandoned Tegan at Heathrow? Let us know in the comments below.
Leave a Reply