The Time Monster | Doctor Who Marathon From The Beginning | Yates Fans - Look Away Now! 

This is not one of my favourite stories. Every time the phrase "TomTit" is uttered takes me out of the story and I find it quite jarring. However I would agree with your comments on the Dr's tale of the hermit. It's delivery by Pertwee is excellent and I don't think could be bettered by any of the actors who preceeded/followed him in the role.

I didn't even know this was a hated episode until you said so tbh. My biggest issue about the episode is the Doctor acting like he had never been to Atlantis before. I actually ranked this within my top 10 favourite Third Doctor stories

You were waiting for it to go TomTits up! ( I love this story too!)

I too thoroughly enjoy ‘The Time Monster’. So many fun moments.

I avoided The Time Monster For years. Then watched episode 1 and couldn't go any further. Many years later I decided to watch it and was surprised it wasn't as bad as I expected it too be. It's not great but one I would watch again.

I found it boring on first watch (which is crazy) but on my most recent watch I actually really enjoy it. It’s just bonkers and I think it’s a brilliant ride :)

The writing is actually pretty good, particularly when we get to Atlantis... I was surprised.

The Tardis redesign here is unique to this story with its "washbowl" roundels🎩

I think this script has all the strengths and weaknesses of the other Sloman/Letts scrips - great ideas, great scenes, good stuff for the regulars to do, absolutely dire plotting and all over the place narratively. Some of this stuff is very clever and funny, some is very self-indulgent, some is torturous! Planet of the Spiders is probably the apotheosis of these stories, a very frustrating watch because of how it doesn't seem to understand what its strengths are - but more on that when we reach it!

I'm honestly indifferent to Mike Yates, but I will absolutely fight you over the wine bottle! Seriously, back in the mid-1970s, my local public television station, WGBH, was the first in the US to carry "Doctor Who," and they started with "Doctor Who and the Silurians," so Pertwee has always been my standard for what makes the Doctor the Doctor, and the wine bottle is something I've remembered, not just fondly, but with adoration for all those decades. But, here's the thing for me: in that original run, the last "Who" story I saw was "The Time Monster" -- up to the point where the Chronovore devours the Doctor before Jo's horrified eyes. Then I lost access to "Who" for literally years. It hadn't registered for me how silly the creature itself looked, just that the Doctor had been snatched from the very console room of the TARDIS by a monster, stranding his human companion with no way back! And it was decades later, after the series triumphant 2005 return, that it occurred to me that I could find "The Time Monster" online and download it, and finally learn how the story came out. I remembered it from what I'd seen, as a rough-and-tumble UNIT story with the Master and "Action by Havoc," and the wonderful moment with the wine bottle. So I burned the story to DVD and brought it to a long-time friend's place to watch it. And seeing Chronos appear looking like something out of a Junior High School play was a little cringe-inducing... but then we arrive in an Atlantis overflowing with well-mucled, long-haired, oiled-up, shirtless men in louncloths and heavy eye makeup, and it suddenly feels like a "Doctor Who" story filmed in the middle of a community theater production of "Caligula," and the simple act of watching the show -- never mind with a friend with whom I'd talked about my decades of unrelieved suspense -- unbearably embarrassing. But I do still enjoy the UNIT sections, and I'm incapable of failing to enjoy Jon and Katy and Roger, and the wine bottle never fails to delight me.

Is it episode four or five that the entire UNIT "Family" all appear (the Master included)🎩

A story with many great moments that somehow, dosen't seem to totally add up at the end!

Obviously, this can't have been intended at the time, but it's an interesting coincidence that Pertwee tells the story about the hermit in this one where King Dalios is played by George Cormack...

I just remember this one being mad but fun. Didn’t know the fans didn’t like it. But then I’m also a fan of The Underwater Menace, Timelash and the twin dilemma Don’t like underworld though

I also like The Time Monster, I must admit! Regarding Yates, Chris, do you think that the issue is more with the character as written or Richard Franklin's portrayal? If the latter, imagine a parallel universe where Ian Marter was cast instead, though then a season further down the line would have been a bit different. Swings and roundabouts.

you can not be 'too hard' on yates. having sat through this when first broadcast... it was fun. in the context of the time - there was a lot of silly, trippy, weird, experimental, and 'cool' stuff making it to screen, it was not just not out of place, it was decent stuff, esp when aimed at 'the youth.' cynical 21st century self consciously adult critique needs to sit down and shush tbh. if you want terrible, I present season 12 opener The Robot. see you there...

This is a good example of how Doctor Who can do campy well. Not like in the current series. Campy is fine but the actors need to take it serious. It is never poking you in the ribs saying get it wink wink.

It’s a really great story in paper, and is actually full of great moments and imagery. However it’s clearly struggling to fill the runtime, so they padded it out with a lot of silliness.

It’s a really great story in paper, and is actually full of great moments and imagery. However it’s clearly struggling to fill the runtime, so they padded it out with a lot of silliness.

Benton in a nappy,no thanks

Its in my top 5

I'm glad to be part of the Yates hater club. He is not good lol. Luckily season 11 actually does something with him. Always will prefer Benton.