We watched with the DVD with the commentary with Colin, Nicola and Paul. Colin resents the new series' success, Nicola complains about the script and the costumes, and Paul points out the plot problems... and noticeably stops watching after he dies..
"This is dreadful. It's so dreadful I can't resist watching it." Paul Darrow.
"Switch off when I'm dead. It's boring (after that)" Paul Darrow
Well there is:
- the lighting
- the Borad
- the Guardolier (the blue robot)
But there is tinsel, Paul Darrow's acting and the Bandril Ambassador.
Timelash was panned by Doctor Who critics.
Graham Sleight has 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 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 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 a season which contained "derivative, incomprehensible and inappropriately violent stories".
In 2013, The Daily Telegraph's Tim Stanley claimed: "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 said 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".
Paul Darrow has described Timelash as "the most disliked and also one of the most liked, which is fascinating".
"Timelash is an anagram of Lamesith" Colin Baker ....(or something) .
ABM Rating 0.80/4.00
LJM Rating 0.82/5.00
SPJ Rating 0.75/10
No. 140 (out of 141)
Link to Cumulative Rankings
Rankings Scoreboard
Legendarily lame. We watched wit the commentary up.... just to get through it.
ReplyDeleteThe star if the show openly calls it L-a-m-e-s-h-i-t on the DVD commentary... the guy who wrote it says that it was his 3rd ever script. The Borad is creepy but is so out of step with the rest of the show.
From Quickflix
ReplyDeleteThis is one the most lacklustre DW efforts ever. I'm a rolled gold DW super-fan but I can't stand this one. It's dull, stupid, witless, and boring. Pail Darrow's performance as Malin Tekker is indescribable. He must have been taking drugs, bad ones!!! The only good bits are the Borad's makeup and costume and the intriguing design of the Android Guardoliers. Notable on this dvd is the commentary and the 'making of' interviews where the participants in this 'waste of time' are invited to speculate about just how awful it is and what went wrong. Please don't choose this if you want to impress your friends about how good Dr Who can be.