Timelash and More

[meddow]

Poor Timelash. You’ve just got to feel sorry for it since the making of documentary on the DVD sole function seems to be answering the question of why is Timelash crap? I didn't think it that bad. If I was a Doctor Who fan during the 1980s, I'd probably be mortified by it. But watching it know knowing that the DVD practically comes with a warning

Comments

[ragdoll]

I haven't seen Timelash in forever, but yes, it's absolute crap. I remember watching it and wondering what kind of drugs the writers had been on. It also bizarrely makes reference to the Third Doctor without any real explanation iirc, and of course, it stars Paul Darrow who just chews up the scenery as he's want to do. It's just...bad.

I am not a big Peri fan. She falls just short of Mel in terms of Worst Companion Ever, which is a big point of contention between me and my best friend, who worshipped her at the time. (Nicola Bryant's a bitch in her own right which only makes my dislike of Peri stronger. I will admit I haven't listened to any of the Peri-centric audios, but I've heard she's less annoying there)

[meddow]

Those Third Doctor references are a bit odd. I wondered at first if there was some Third Doctor serial set on the same planet - but no. But, I'm used to the New Who's 'Nine did not exist' attitude, so a reference to a past Doctor was a nice surprise.

I'm not a huge fan of Peri either, I find her boring though, rather than irritating. And me and my best friend have been known to get into Rose vs. Martha fights ;)

[lefaym]

My theory is that by the time the 80s came around, they were so many people who had an idea of what a companion "should" be, that the role was narrowed down significantly, so that their relationship with the Doctor had to be explicitly asexual, they had to play up the screaming and girliness, and the Doctor's role as "authority figure" etc. As a result you get companions who are wooden and unlikeable until Ace, where they seem to have realised that the role of companion needs to evolve, rather than be set in stone.

[meddow]

I think you're right. There is this stereotype of the companion as the girl who asked the Doctor questions and screams. Anyone who watches enough of the classic series can list off Companions that are nothing at all like this from the 60s and 70s. But in the 1980s, it becomes true.

[londonkds]

Most of it was John Nathan-Turner's fault: he put it on record that when he came in he thought the Four-Romana-K9 regular cast were too powerful for villains to be threatening to them, and too intellectual for the average audience person to relate to. He thought for a long time that companions had to be msotly useless or they drew attention away from the Doctor.

[airie_fairy]

I have not seen Timelash yet, but what I've seen of Six and Seven's eras can range, sometimes in the same story, from awesome to painfully eighties. And Six and Peri from awesome to painful (Mark of the Rani made me a bit sad after I liked them in Vengeance on Varos and Attack of the Cybermen). What is the Three and Jo reference it makes? Is it just the locket picture thing

[ide_cyan]

The Sixth Doctor smashes the Third Doctor's face in!

[airie_fairy]

...? I NEED ELABORATION!

[meddow]

Tis true. The Sixth Doctor smashes a portrait of the Third Doctor to reveal a mirror, which saves the day.

[selenak]

Timelash was my first Six serial, and it took me eons to get back to the poor guy, because Timelash... yeah. However, the audios really give Colin Baker a chance to shine - fabulous scripts, and both a great new companion - the one and only Dr. Evelyn Smythe, 55 years old historian - and adventures with the old companions where the writing for them is way better as well (which is nice for Nicola Bryant and Bonnie Langford, as it allows them to show what they're made of as well. So now I love Six as much, if not more, than many another version of the Doctor, but it really needed the audios to accomplish that. andrastewhite wrote a great Six defense here:

http://andrastewhite.livejournal.com/283950.html

[meddow]

I love Big Finish so very much for giving Six some decent stories. I can see the Doctor Colin Baker's going for during his era, but the writing really lets him down and the dynamic with Peri should have been given much more thought. Thanks for pointing me to that defense. Many of andrastewhite's recs I haven't check out yet and I'll be sure to do so.