TotalTelly.co.uk

Devoted to Popular, Cult and Retro TV

Doctor Who - Timelash [1985]


RRP: £12.99
Our Price: £5.40 (subject to change)

Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

Believe the vocal Doctor Who fanbase, and you’d have Timelash’s card marked as a story to steer clear of. But thanks to the perspective of time, and another smashing DVD, this really is a whole lot better than you may be expecting.

Timelash is a tale from the undercooked Colin Baker era in the TARDIS, and on face value, there are lots of problems that were symptoms of this period of the show: hammed up acting, unconvincing monsters and a script that could have used a good deal more work are all present and correct here.

But--whisper it--Timelash is actually good fun. Really. There’s the always-likeable Peri, H G Wells, an overarching sense of entertainment and ultimately a breezy 90 minutes to enjoy. Even those who don’t usually warm to Colin Baker will find him in a calmer state here, although perhaps that’s more to do with the hideously over-the-top performance from Paul Darrow.

There’s never likely to be a revisionist call to instate Timelash as a classic piece of television, but time has at least proven that it’s an enjoyable one. Factor in a DVD that features a commentary track (including Darrow!), a 25-minute documentary and assorted notes and listings, and it’s hard to feel shortchanged. --Jon Foster


the not very good, the bad, and the ugly
Review date: 2008-09-07 Rating: 6 out of 10

a doctor who story made in 1985. It comes on a single disc dvd, and the story runs for two episodes of forty five minutes in duration. it stars colin baker as the doctor and nicola bryant as his companion peri.

it involves a rather typical tale of the doctor helping rebels on a planet fighting their nasty leader. the borad. he has a weapon called the timelash which involves all his enemies being thrown into it. they will land somewhere and somewhen else in time. and it's a one way trip. when one such rebel lands in nineteenth century britain and a man from the time period ends up on the planet as a result, things get a little more complicated.

a script with some nice idea, but as a story it is no more than average. and like a lot of doctor who from the time, it is really let down by the quality of the production. an obvious budget saving effort, it is entirely studio bound, with some very dull sets and costumes, the directing is very lacklustre, and some of the guest actors really are not very good. added to which there's a twist at the end that is only there to get the story up to the right running length, and the script cheats outrageously at one point by getting the doctor out of trouble and never telling you how. guest actor paul darrow is watchable because he goes completely over the top in his role. colin baker and nicola bryant are very good, but the latter does not get enough to do.

this story has never had a good reputation, and it deserves to have a bad one.

but:

extras wise, and the thing that pushes the rating of this up from a two out of five to a three, the dvd contains an excellent half hour long documentary called 'the good, the bad, and the ugly' which is all about the making of the story. and it's a refreshingly honest no holds barred look at the whole thing which will make you feel a bit more forgiving towards it.

there's not a lot else on the disc. there's a commentary from colin baker nicola bryant and paul darrow, all of whom are generally worth listening to.

the radio times listings for the story are on the disc as a PDF file [put it on a computer to look at them]

there are the usual production information subtitles, which are subtitles that give you information about the story and production whilst you watch if you have them on, a photo gallery showing images from the story and it's production, english language subtitles, and a trailer for the story that followed this in release dvd wise.

an easter egg can be found by watching this on a computer and moving the pointer over the special features screen till it highlights a hidden doctor who logo, but it's only of the title sequence with no text so it's not very interesting

the dvd is like the story. cheap and not that cheerful, but as whole it may make you slightly reappraise the story.

Similar Products

Reviews


Absolute pantaloons!
Review date: 2008-06-19 Rating: 4 out of 10

No no no no no! This story should have had John Nathan Turner in his superior's offices, nervously explaining why it is so bad. Followed up by his immediate sacking. Why has Doctor Who still, even though it has returned with such a swagger, with such confidence and with such an ability to entertain at all levels are there those members of society who still associate the name with rubbish tv? Look no further than here. Uniformally terrible, with the exception of some of the cast (Baker and Bryant, obviously, who must have been pulling their hair out at this point, such was the quality of the scripts and effects they had to deal with). Stay away unless you enjoy really badly conceived and executed television. It get 2 stars for making one imagine what the first visit by Jon Pertwee's Doctor would have been like. Timelash? More like the writer's been out on the lash!

TIMELASH
Review date: 2008-03-29 Rating: 2 out of 10

This is the worst dr who ever, i can not understand why the bbc and 2entertain spent their time and money in making this DVD. It has possibly the worst story line and 'not everones best dr' (colin baker). To sum up this story in word word it would be 'RUBBISH'. Do not buy this it is not worth it(if you have to RENT IT instead).

I rate this dvd overall 0.5 out of 10!!!!!

Prepare the Timelash!!!!!
Review date: 2008-03-17 Rating: 6 out of 10

Often regarded as the worst Dr Who story ever made, Timelash is actually not half bad if you're in the right mood for it. The script is actually fairly good, it's just in terms of production that it falls down. The sets are very bland and non-descript, some of the acting is woeful and there's a fair bit of padding and bickering scenes in the TARDIS that just go on and on and on...Paul Darrow's performance as Tekker is a joy to watch - completely hammy and over the top but never, ever boring. Colin Baker is as good as ever while Nicola Bryant is very pleasing on the eye. The main villain, The Borad, is an excellent creation, possessing possibly the most chilling voice ever heard on Dr Who and the make up is outstanding. The extras on this DVD are rather minimal - a 25 minute documentary that makes no bones about the fact that the story is no classic, and a wonderfully entertaining commentary. Timelash is nowhere near as bad as it's reputation. Watch with a few beers and an open mind and you'll probably find yourself really enjoying it.

"Plan 9 from Inner Space"
Review date: 2008-02-28 Rating: 8 out of 10

I lked this story when it was 1st shown and gave it a positive review in a fanzine. Having seen it again more recently, boy have the years been spiteful to it!
Part 1 has some dialogue to establish the world of Karfel that is so dull it's like acoustic wallpaper.
The Timelash of the title is a punishment that's meant to be worse than death. As it results in a quick trip along the 4th dimension to Scotland, it doesn't seem too scary. I mean come on a trip to Neasden Lane would be scary but Scotland? There's supposed to be some specious dialogue about the tardis deflecting a victim off course but it's not well explained.
The Doctor is well played as ever by Colin Baker and the fact he didn't like this 1 much never comes across in the performance. He benefits from having the annoying Herbert to bounce off of.
Peri doesn't fare so well being tied up by a villain and left at the mercy of a monster!
The main villain the Borad is well played by Robert Ashby and a great design, the face having a touch of Two-face from Batman about it. the silly business is that the Borad was a scientist (the Doctor visited him when he was Pertwee)who mucked about and became a half fish man. He falls for Peri (but not having met her it's got to be her looks) and then proposes to turn her into a half fish woman. Nonsense of epic proportions!
Paul Darrow has a supporting villain's role and plays it fairly Avon (from Blake's 7 )like.
The H G Wells parallels Vena-Weena, Morlock-Morlox are well thought out and add a lot to the story. The puppets for the Morlox (making the Drashigs from Carnival of Monsters look like Jurassic Park) and the Bandril Ambassador (which looks like it was intended for a pre-school educational show)are pathetic and show all the signs of a thin budget.
The story is far better than its reputation suggests but never quite recovers from an extra 10-15 minutes of tacked on material due to under-running with a cloned second Borad.
What has earned this a 4/5 score which seems I'm sure over generous to many? The extras which are really top notch for a budget relaese of a Golden Turkey adventure! We get a making of "The Good, the bad and the Ugly" with Colin, Nicola, Robert Ashby, Paul Darrow and writer glen McCoy plus others which makes no bones about the story's shortcomings, but does stress it's not all failure.

Colin, Paul and Nicola's commentary is not especially chummy but moments such as Paul's misunderstanding of how the Doctor inspired H G Wells are priceless.

When this story's good it's pretty good, but when it's bad it's funny. Not for current Dr only fans!

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Colin Baker

Creators:
Colin Baker (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: 2 Entertain Video
Manufacturer: 2 Entertain Video
EAN: 5014503233327
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2007-07-09
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Audience rating: Universal, suitable for all
Region code: 2
Running time: 89 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1985

Add to Cart

© 2006 Darren Hester, DesignsByDarren.com, Some Rights Reserved.
Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional