62-597: Timelash is the fifth serial of the 22nd season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who , which was first broadcast in two weekly parts on BBC1 on 9 and 16 March 1985. In the serial, the Borad ( Robert Ashby ), the mutated leader of the planet Karfel, plots to start a war with the Bandril race which would wipe out both the Bandrils and Karfel's population so that
124-557: A Bandril nuclear strike prompts the Doctor to take drastic action. He materialises the TARDIS in the path of the incoming warhead, risking his own life to save Karfel. He does so successfully and returns to Karfel to find Megelen returned from the dead and threatening the Council Chamber – or rather the other one was a clone of this original. Megelen is made unbalanced by the image of himself in
186-399: A Cockney/Kentish accent, and is interested in spiritualism ). In The Discontinuity Guide , Timelash was criticised for "tacky sets and some dodgy acting" but was also said to be "nowhere near as bad as its reputation". Doctor Who: The Television Companion noted that the serial was not popular with fans of the show, but was at least "a reassuringly traditional Doctor Who adventure" in
248-507: A Time Lord symbol signifying exile, removed once the Doctor's exile was formally ended following the events of The Three Doctors . The Third Doctor stories were the first to be broadcast in colour. The early ones were set on Earth because he had been exiled there when the Second Doctor was banished to Earth by his people, the Time Lords , and forced to regenerate. On Earth, he worked with
310-537: A UNIT scientist named Liz Shaw were to face the Autons for the first time. The Autons were to be one of the Doctor's recurring foes. At the conclusion of this adventure, the Doctor became UNIT's scientific advisor. After facing Silurians , the so-called Ambassadors of Death and the Inferno project, Liz was replaced as the Doctor's assistant by a feisty but slightly scatter-brained young woman named Jo Grant . After meeting Jo,
372-548: A boarded up mirror, revealing the reason he hid himself away, and in this state is pushed into the Timelash by the Doctor, where he may have ended up as the Loch Ness monster (The Doctor says "he may be seen from time to time"). As they depart, the Doctor shows Herbert's calling card to Peri, which gives Herbert's name as Herbert George Wells . The Doctor's previous visit to Karfel is explicitly placed as an off-screen adventure during
434-498: A book in the Big Finish Short Trips series nevertheless features a sequel to it). All releases are for DVD unless otherwise indicated: Third Doctor The Third Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor , the protagonist of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who . He was portrayed by actor Jon Pertwee . Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from
496-479: A difficult time removing him from somewhere when he did not want to be removed ( The Mind of Evil ). The Third Doctor was a skilled diplomat (keeping talks going in The Curse of Peladon , for example) and linguist, as well as having a penchant for disguises. When asked to attend a Radio Times photo-call in 1969, Jon Pertwee arrived in what he thought was "a suitably eccentric outfit" from his family wardrobe, and
558-611: A good working relationship with Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart , whom he had first encountered, in his previous incarnation, as a Colonel in command of troops fighting Yeti and the Cybermen . As well as the Brigadier, he developed friendships with other regular UNIT colleagues including Sergeant Benton and Captain Mike Yates . When meteors were seen falling to Earth in Essex, the Doctor together with
620-505: A liking to Peri and wishes to mutate her like himself. The Doctor arrives to confront Tekker and the Borad, recognising the latter as Megelen, a crazed scientist he encountered on his previous visit to Karfel and exposed to the Council for unethical experiments on Morloxes. Megelen wishes to replicate its effects to create a partner. His plan has been to provoke a war with the Bandrils that will result in their use of warheads which will wipe out all
682-639: A remote control, dramatically increased speed capabilities and inertial dampers. He also maintained a hovercraft-like vessel that fans nicknamed the Whomobile. The First Doctor , upon meeting the Third, described him indignantly as a " dandy ", while the Second Doctor , with whom the Third had something of an antagonistic relationship on the occasions they encountered each other, referred to him as "Fancy Pants". While this incarnation spent most of his time exiled on Earth—grudgingly working as UNIT 's scientific advisor—he
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#1732851372890744-502: A role that continued into his future incarnations. In general, this incarnation of the Doctor was more physically daring than the previous two and was the first to confront an enemy physically if cornered (both of his previous incarnations nearly always attempted to dodge, flee or negotiate rather than attack). This often took the form of quick strikes, with the occasional joint lock or throw — usually enough to get himself and anyone accompanying him out of immediate danger, but usually not to
806-404: A season which contained "derivative, incomprehensible and inappropriately violent stories". In Doctor Who: The Complete Guide , Mark Campbell awarded Timelash seven out of ten, describing it as "an unfairly maligned homage to HG Wells and bad 'B' movies , Timelash is good, old-fashioned entertainment in a season brimming with macho portentousness. It all goes pear-shaped towards the end, but on
868-464: A working relationship with the British contingent of UNIT , an international organisation tasked to investigate and defend the Earth against extraterrestrial threats. It was a partnership initially born out of convenience — the Doctor required facilities to try to repair his TARDIS to break the exile, and UNIT needed his expertise to combat the threats they encountered. There is some disagreement about when
930-605: Is UNIT scientist Liz Shaw ( Caroline John ), who unceremoniously leaves the Doctor's company between episodes to be replaced by the more wide-eyed Jo Grant ( Katy Manning ), who then continues to accompany the Doctor after he regains use of his TARDIS. His final companion is intrepid journalist Sarah Jane Smith ( Elisabeth Sladen ). After the Doctor was found guilty of breaking the Time Lord laws of non-interference and forced to regenerate, he began his third incarnation in exile on 20th century Earth. The Third Doctor immediately formed
992-660: The Brigadier and the rest of the UNIT team. However, as his tenure progressed he had reasons to leave Earth, on occasion being sent on missions by the Time Lords. Eventually, after his defeat of the renegade Omega in The Three Doctors , he was granted complete freedom by the Time Lords in gratitude for saving Gallifrey . The Third Doctor's era introduced adversaries including the Autons,
1054-540: The Third Doctor 's ( Jon Pertwee ) travels with Jo Grant ( Katy Manning ). A likeness of the Third Doctor is revealed behind a section of wall panelling in the Timelash control room, while Peri recognises a photograph of Jo. In the 2010 The Sarah Jane Adventures story Death of the Doctor , Jo describes her visit to the planet. This serial makes several references to Wells' novels: The Time Machine , The War of
1116-496: The Borad could repopulate it with his own kind to rule the planet. The TARDIS is ensnared by a Kontron tunnel (similar to a time corridor ) and is drawn to its source on the planet Karfel, which the Doctor has previously visited. Its population is now ruled by the Borad, a sadistic ruler never seen in person, only via security monitors which reveal him to be an old man. His law is enforced by blue androids ; and all rebels are dealt with either by summary execution or dispatch via
1178-540: The Borad's rule, the Maylin is executed and Mykros sentenced to exile via the Timelash. Before he can be dispatched however, Vena - Renis' daughter and Mykros' lover - intervenes to plead for his life. When this fails, she steals an amulet conferring the power to the new Maylin - a sycophant named Tekker - and accidentally falls into the Timelash herself. The arrival of the TARDIS presents Maylin Tekker with an opportunity to retrieve
1240-701: The Daleks in Attack of the Cybermen . David Banks makes his third of four appearances as a Cyber-leader in Attack of the Cybermen . Michael Kilgarriff reprises his role of the Cyber-Controller from The Tomb of the Cybermen (1967). The series moved back to once-weekly Saturday broadcasts. All episodes were 45 minutes long, though 25-minute edits were produced for foreign markets. Although there were now only 13 episodes in
1302-603: The Doctor ", the Eleventh Doctor invokes the phrase when confronting a time portal with the Tenth Doctor, suggesting that they both "reverse the polarity" with their sonic screwdrivers (which merely neutralizes each other's efforts). In " The Girl Who Died ", the Twelfth Doctor tells Clara Oswald he is "Reversing the polarity of the neutron flow", followed by "I bet that means something. It sounds great." Clara herself uses
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#17328513728901364-450: The Doctor stranded on Earth in exile, where he worked as a scientific advisor to the international military group UNIT . Within the story, the Third Doctor came into existence as part of a punishment from his own race, the Time Lords, who forced him to regenerate and also disabled his TARDIS. Eventually, this restriction is lifted and the Third Doctor embarks on more traditional time travel and space exploration stories. His initial companion
1426-593: The Doctor's new companion after stowing away in his TARDIS. The Third Doctor's final adventures saw them defeating the Sontarans in medieval England and the Daleks on the planet Exxilon. The Third Doctor contracted radiation poisoning on the planet Metebelis 3, during the events of Planet of the Spiders . When the TARDIS brought him back to UNIT headquarters, he collapsed, regenerating into the Fourth Doctor . The Third Doctor
1488-502: The Karfelons – but leave the Morlox and himself alive – allowing him to repopulate the world in his own image. This revelation prompts Tekker too to rebel, but he is aged to death. The Doctor then uses a Kontron Crystal to deflect Megelen's beam back at him, killing the mutant in his wheelchair. Herbert helps the Doctor rescue Peri. They return to the Council Chamber where the imminent threat of
1550-569: The Master and an even older enemy — the Daleks . Although the Master was a criminal genius, the Doctor was always able to outwit him in all his schemes. Whilst facing the ecological destruction wrought by Global Chemicals and the super computer BOSS, Jo met and fell in love with Dr. Clifford Jones. Marrying Jones and following him to the Amazon on an expedition, Jo left a saddened Doctor. The fiercely independent investigative journalist Sarah Jane Smith became
1612-599: The Master, Omega, the Sontarans , the Silurians and the Sea Devils . The Daleks returned after a five-year absence about halfway through Pertwee's run. The Third Doctor was the only one from the classic series not to have a story featuring the Cybermen (although they were seen briefly in The Mind of Evil and Carnival of Monsters ), but he did eventually encounter them during " The Five Doctors ". A catchphrase devised during
1674-530: The Third Doctor encountered his greatest nemesis (next to the Daleks) — the Master . A renegade Time Lord, the Master plagued the Third Doctor with his diabolical schemes, including the summoning of an ancient Dæmon, and unleashing the terrifyingly powerful Kronos, a Chronovore. The Doctor's exile continued until it was lifted by the Time Lords after he helped save them from destruction at the hands of Omega. The Third Doctor, free to roam space and time again, soon ran into
1736-421: The Third Doctor genuinely cared for his companions in a paternal fashion, and even held a thinly veiled but grudging admiration for his nemesis, the Master , and for UNIT's leader, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart , with whom he eventually became friends. In fact, even when his much-resented exile was lifted, the moral and dashing Third Doctor continued to help UNIT protect the Earth from all manner of alien threats,
1798-600: The Third Doctor titled The Third Doctor Adventures , with Tim Treloar voicing the role. Visions of the Third Doctor appear in The Brain of Morbius , Mawdryn Undead , and Resurrection of the Daleks . A portrait of him is seen in Timelash . A brief clip of the Third Doctor taken from Terror of the Autons appears in " The Next Doctor ", another appears in The Sarah Jane Adventures serial The Mad Woman in
1860-416: The Third Doctor's UNIT stories were set, with some evidence that they were contemporary stories set at the same time they were broadcast (the early 70s), and some evidence that they were set in the near future. According to the production team, there was an intention to set the stories in the near future, but the writers did not always remember this and set the stories in the present. The Doctor also developed
1922-409: The Third Doctor's era was "reverse the polarity of the neutron flow". Terrance Dicks recalls that he had used the line in a script, and Pertwee approached him about the line. Knowing that Pertwee struggled with technobabble in the role, Dicks had feared that he would have to remove the line, but Pertwee stated that he found it manageable and wanted to see it more often. The Third Doctor only said
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1984-507: The Timelash - exiled down a corridor of Time and Space . At the time of the Doctor's return, the neighbouring planet of Bandrils are posed to invade after the Borad rescinds the grain supply treaty which underpinned the relationship between the two civilisations. Acting as a proxy for the Borad, the Maylin is the most senior of the five councillors of Karfel. When one of these fellow councillors, Mykros, actively plots with Maylin Renis to overthrow
2046-789: The Worlds , The Invisible Man , and The Island of Doctor Moreau . The music for this story was provided by Elizabeth Parker , who had formerly contributed special sound for Blake's 7 . Paul Darrow had previously appeared in Doctor Who and the Silurians as Captain Hawkins. Denis Carey previously played Professor Chronotis in the incomplete serial Shada and the Keeper in The Keeper of Traken . Darrow has acknowledged that producer John Nathan-Turner
2108-452: The amulet and a young man named Herbert. All return to Karfel, where the amulet is seized and the travellers rounded up with the rebels to await sentencing. They fight back and seal the chamber doors. The Doctor retrieves two kontron crystals from the Timelash, which he uses to create a time manipulator that allows him to slip out of the Chamber. Tekker has meanwhile fled to the Borad, and blames
2170-399: The amulet. When the Doctor refuses to help, Tekker explains that Peri has been taken hostage to ensure his co-operation. She has been taken to a cave of Morlox, large lizards indigenous to Karfel, but is rescued by some Karfelon rebels. However, they are soon captured by guards. To protect Peri, the Doctor follows the Timelash tunnel back to Scotland in 1885. When he arrives he finds Vena with
2232-554: The case of Hines) " The Five Doctors " in 1983. Anthony Ainley returns in The Mark of the Rani as The Master . Kate O'Mara makes her first appearance as the Rani in The Mark of the Rani . Terry Molloy returns to play Davros in Revelation of the Daleks and also played Russell in Attack of the Cybermen . Maurice Colbourne returned as Lytton from the story Resurrection of
2294-509: The colour scheme changed from story to story, though the basic look was maintained. In his first episode, when the Doctor evades capture by taking a shower, a tattoo of a serpent can be seen on his arm. Whereas Pertwee obtained it during his service in the Royal Navy , an in-universe reason for it was eventually provided in the New Adventures novel Christmas on a Rational Planet as being
2356-568: The end of the production run, by Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor ). In 1993, he played the role again for the 30th Anniversary charity special Dimensions in Time , and in the audio drama The Paradise of Death . Months before his death, he played the Doctor for the final time in the audio drama The Ghosts of N-Space . From 2015, Big Finish had produced a new series of audio drama adventures featuring
2418-490: The extent of a brawl, in keeping with the Doctor's non-violent nature. He only used his fighting skills if he had no alternative, and even then generally disarmed his opponents rather than knocking them unconscious. Indeed, his martial prowess was such that a single, sudden strike was usually enough to halt whatever threatened him, and at one point he reminded Captain Yates of UNIT (physically as well as verbally) that Yates would have
2480-454: The first four seasons of Pertwee's tenure would later be used again, in modified form, as the logo for the 1996 Doctor Who TV movie . This version subsequently became the official Doctor Who logo, most notably with regards to products connected to the Eighth Doctor . With the introduction of a new official series logo in 2005, the 1996 logo continued to be used by Big Finish Productions as
2542-412: The flamboyant image stuck with producer Barry Letts . Through the first two seasons, he wore a flowing, crimson-lined cape over a black velvet smoking jacket and a ruffled shirt with a variety of neckties such as jabots , bow ties or cravats . Beginning in the 1971 season, when the look was refashioned by Ken Trew, Pertwee wore a red jacket and a cloak with purple lining. In the final two seasons,
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2604-505: The full phrase "reverse the polarity of the neutron flow" twice on screen – in The Sea Devils (1972) and the 20th Anniversary special " The Five Doctors " (1983), with numerous other examples of "reverse the polarity" and earlier instances of "fusing the control of the neutron flow" and "change the polarity". Pertwee used the phrase when he acted in the stage play Doctor Who – The Ultimate Adventure in 1989. When Colin Baker took over
2666-469: The logo for all pre-2005 series material including books and audio dramas, and by the BBC on DVD releases of episodes from the 1963–89 series, books and audio. The Third Doctor appeared again in the 20th anniversary special " The Five Doctors ", broadcast in 1983. A stage play, Doctor Who – The Ultimate Adventure , was produced in 1989, starring Jon Pertwee (occasionally replaced by an understudy then later, until
2728-466: The most liked, which is fascinating". Graham Sleight noted that Timelash is "widely regarded as one of the worst series ever broadcast as part of Doctor Who ", claiming the story has "a weak script, cheap-looking design, unimaginative direction, laughable special effects and some appalling performances". However, Sleight also praises Robert Ashby's performance as the Borad, claiming Ashby's performance "elevates his menace to an entirely different level to
2790-725: The neutrons ). The full phrase was used in several Target novelisations. It was subsequently used by the Fourth Doctor (in City of Death ) and the Fifth Doctor (in Castrovalva and Mawdryn Undead ). Together with "The Five Doctors", this resulted in the phrase being used as a nostalgic reference. In the Tenth Doctor episode " The Lazarus Experiment ", the Doctor, while hiding in Lazarus' machine, comments that it had taken him too long to reverse
2852-483: The phrase, saying she "reversed the polarity" of a mind-wiping device to prevent the Doctor from erasing her memories of him from her mind (" Hell Bent "). In " It Takes You Away ", Yaz Khan suggests that the Thirteenth Doctor reverse the polarity on the sonic screwdriver in order to (successfully) open a locked inter-universe portal. The original title sequence for the Third Doctor's seasons introduced colour and
2914-668: The planet Gallifrey who travels in time and space in the TARDIS , frequently with companions . At the end of life, the Doctor regenerates . Consequently, both the physical appearance and personality of the Doctor changes. Preceded in regeneration by the Second Doctor ( Patrick Troughton ), he is followed by the Fourth Doctor ( Tom Baker ). Pertwee portrays the Third Doctor as a dapper man of action, in stark contrast to his wily but less action-orientated predecessors. While previous Doctors' stories had all involved time and space travel, for production reasons Pertwee's stories initially depicted
2976-536: The polarity due to being out of practice. The Tenth Doctor uses the full phrase in " Music of the Spheres ". During the episode " The Almost People ", a clone of the Eleventh Doctor speaks the phrase while reliving the memories of all his predecessors. He goes on to conflate it with his regeneration-spanning love of jelly babies , remarking that they need to "reverse the jelly baby of the neutron flow". In " The Day of
3038-509: The rest of the story". Tat Wood described it as "a grindingly dull story only memorable for being made as a school panto with belated New Romantic 80s fashion errors". Wood singled out the story's script, production and costumes for particular criticism. Wood also pointed out the H.G. Wells depicted in Timelash is different from the real-life Wells (the Wells depicted in Timelash is not blond, lacks
3100-403: The role in the play he amended the line to "Reverse the linearity of the proton flow." In the radio play The Paradise of Death , the Brigadier asks "Reverse the polarity of the neutron flow?" and the Doctor proceeds to explain that the phrase is meaningless (though in reality neutrons can be polarized by a magnetic field, such that reversing the magnetic field's direction reverses the polarity of
3162-451: The season, the total running time remained approximately the same as in previous seasons since the episodes were almost twice as long. A specially written segment produced for the BBC children's programme Jim'll Fix It featuring Colin Baker in character as the Sixth Doctor . It was broadcast on 23 February 1985. It is not generally considered to be canonical by Doctor Who fans (although
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#17328513728903224-411: The serial Attack of the Cybermen and ended with the serial Revelation of the Daleks . The season returned to the traditional Saturday transmission for the first time since Season 18 , but for the first and only time in the series' first run it featured 45-minute episodes in its entirety. During transmission, BBC1 controller Michael Grade announced an 18-month hiatus for the series, partly citing
3286-501: The serial one star from five, describing it as "a turkey that's also a hoot". In his view, the serial was "codswallop served cold: boring Tardis scenes are intercut with stultifying political machinations on Karfel, a drab planet ruled by a lethargic lizard-man and about to be obliterated by glove-puppet Bandrils". A novelisation of this serial, written by Glen McCoy , was published by Target Books in December 1985. A book length study of
3348-634: The serial, written by Phil Pascoe, was published as part of The Black Archive series from Obverse Books in 2019. Timelash was released on VHS on 5 January 1998, and on DVD on 9 July 2007 with a commentary provided by actors Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, Paul Darrow, and Robert Ashby along with a selection of other features. It was released as part of the ‘Doctor Who The Collection: Season 22’ blu-ray box set on 20th June 2022. Doctor Who (season 22) The twenty-second season of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 5 January 1985 and ended on 30 March 1985. It opened with
3410-427: The setback on the last remaining loyal Counsellor, Kendron, whom the Borad executes. Tekker remains with the Borad, now revealed to be a hideous amalgam of human and Morlox. They watch on a screen as Peri is brought into a cave and strapped down while Morlox gather to feed. A canister of the chemical Mustakozene-80 is placed nearby, which has the ability to fuse together the tissue of different species. The Borad has taken
3472-467: The violence depicted in the stories of the season. John Nathan-Turner produced the series with Eric Saward as script editor. Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant continue their roles as the Sixth Doctor and Peri Brown . Patrick Troughton and Frazer Hines return to play the Second Doctor and his companion Jamie McCrimmon in The Two Doctors . Their last on-screen appearance was (briefly in
3534-422: The way there's plenty of fun to be had." In 2013, The Daily Telegraph ' s Tim Stanley wrote of the serial: "The sets are bad, the acting is bad, the script stinks, the effects are laughable and – most importantly – Colin's Doctor is simply unlovable." Den of Geek 's Andrew Blair selected Timelash as one of the ten Doctor Who stories that would make great musicals. Patrick Mulkern of Radio Times awarded
3596-426: Was a suave, dapper, technologically orientated and authoritative man of action who practised Venusian Aikido . A keen scientist, he maintained a laboratory at UNIT where he enjoyed working on gadgets in his TARDIS. In his spare time, he was fond of motoring, handling all manner of vehicles. His favourite car was a canary-yellow vintage roadster that he nicknamed "Bessie", a machine which featured such modifications as
3658-412: Was an extension of the "howlround" kaleidoscopic patterns used for the previous Doctors. It features red, black then green flaming hands, then shows Jon Pertwee's face followed by a series of swirling lines to represent the time vortex. As the vortex turns red it speeds up only to start reversing, and in some cases it is seen turning pink and yellow. In the Third Doctor's final season, a new title sequence
3720-427: Was initially unhappy with his performance, which he based on Richard III , and he was accused of "sending it up". However, he claims Nathan-Turner later praised him, saying: "You were absolutely right to do it that way - the script wasn't that good and you made something of it." Timelash was not well received by Doctor Who critics. Guest star Paul Darrow described Timelash as "the most disliked and also one of
3782-584: Was introduced using a full-body picture of Pertwee, designed by Bernard Lodge. Partially inspired by the slit-scan hyperspace sequence in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey , one portion of this sequence is the prototype for the time tunnel sequence of the Fourth Doctor's seasons. The Third Doctor's final season also introduced the diamond logo which would remain in use until 1980 and be revived in 2022. The series logo introduced in 1970 and used for
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#17328513728903844-489: Was occasionally sent on covert missions by the Time Lords, where he would often act as a reluctant mediator. Even though he developed a fondness for Earthlings with whom he worked (such as Liz Shaw and Jo Grant ), he jumped at any chance to return to the stars. Though he had a somewhat patrician and authoritarian air, he was quick to criticise authority, and often exclaimed "Now listen to me!" when dealing with people seeking to obstruct him. Despite his occasional arrogance,
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