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I like "The Twin Dilemma". I can look on the bright side of "Time and the Rani". I think "Warriors of the Deep" in fantastic. I still find "Timelash" nearly unwatchable... Even though the story clearly has the short-end of Season 22's budget, the elements are here for a good story.
The script has a nice, straightforward narrative, with a reliable "dictator versus rebels" framework, and a good old-fashioned mad scientist villain. It even manages to add a nice fannish touch, in the form of The Doctor having visited Karfel in his third incarnation, without adding confusion (it actually eliminates the usual padding about who The Doctor is), and has a nice bit of politics going on, thanks to the edgy post-war situation with Bandril, and Tekker's boo-able antics. The only real problem with the script is the overlong TARDIS scenes before The Doctor and Peri dovetail into the events on Karfel, and the dodgy ending, first with the Borad's dodgy resurrection, and then with the casual violation of the laws of time.
However, the execution is lackig in most other areas. On the plus side, it doesn't look especially cheap - the tinsel and polystyrene isn't any worse than is seen in several other stories, and seems to have gained notoriety as a stick to beat the story with (as if there weren't enough...), and the Borad looks rather good. There are some decent details about Karfel and Bandril, giving both cultures a little depth, even if some of the exposition is breathtakingly bad. Paul Darrow's also not bad, choosing to play Tekker as a pantomime villain. Looking around him, this is the best possible route to take, and while Tekker's not remotely credible, at least he's fun.
The central problem is that "Timelash" is horribly drab. Darrow aside, no-one in the guest cast puts any effort in at all, with Jeananne Crowley and Neil Hallet especially lifeless. David Chandler is downright sickening as Herbert, and it's probably not too smart for a writer as limited as Glen McCoy to portray H.G. Wells as a simpering cretin. The result is rather unedifying, and very irritating. The stodgy dialogue only accentuates the wooden performances. Colin Baker gives the sort of cardboard bolshy performance his detractors always pin on him, and Nicola Bryant also hits her nadir, doing nothing but whine all story. The Borad's excellent design is enhanced by Ashby's vocal work, but then undermined by the questionable decision to have him whizzing around on rails... That Ashby's prosthetic-coated face is more mobile than the vision of dopey old Denis Carey on the screen epitomises the uninterested guest cast.
As with "Warriors of the Deep", Pennant Roberts' direction is leaden, and he once again decided to floodlight everything. The sets in 19th century Scotland are especially bad. Everyone is also plastered with make-up, and there's only really an hour's worth of action, the rest being dull dialogue scenes as the early intrigue bogs down. It's hard to care about any of the protagonists, especially the identikit rebels.
"Timelash" had the potential to be either a workable, if non-descript, slice of Doctor Who, and having failed on that score, could have been campy fun. However, it's far too dull to merit the "so bad it's good" tag, and is probably best avoided all together.
Review
written: 09/09/2006
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