Episode 69 (Q2): The Dimensions of Time

This serial has a particular reputation, and unfortunately I was aware of that reputation when I first saw it. This meant I was viewing it through a particular lens, regardless of whether I was pushing against the prevailing opinion or going along with it; there was little opportunity to consider it from a different angle. Which is one reason I'm a bit of a spoilerphobe.

So I was pleasantly surprised to find that - even though this is my third viewing - there were several spontaneous laugh-out-loud moments during this episode. The wonderful bit with the Doctor and Lobos at the end, of course, but also the Doctor in the Dalek, Ian trying to unknit Barbara's cardy, and Vicki getting bored waiting for Iananbarbara to make up their mind (I've a feeling there was one more, but I can't think what it might have been). Watching it with an enthusiastic ten-year-old (who is actually the owner of the DVD, as it happens) certainly helps; but in any case this is a funny episode.

I should probably mention the script editing here. Writer Glyn Jones says repeatedly in the commentary that he was not happy with Dennis Spooner's changes, and his main complaint is that a lot of the humour was cut out. Well, that's probably true, and he gives examples of how the script was changed; but there's a lot left in, too!

It's fairly obvious where this episode's reputation for dullness comes from, though: the first scene after the recap. Which does bring your expectations down with quite a thud. This was one of the changes Jones mentioned specifically - he had opened with a scene containing more action. It's not even as if we then move on to the action, though, because there is more exposition from the Xerons straight after (though the youngsters are a bit more animated).

According to Maureen O'Brien, part of what makes it so bad is that the actors were given almost no direction, and so had to make all the creative decisions themselves (which may not sound that bad, but you really do need an outside viewpoint - it's as hard as writers proofreading their own work). That's not the worst of it, though; there's a general uncertainty of tone, as if the production doesn't quite know what it is supposed to be, which must be laid chiefly at Mervyn Pinfield's feet. Last week's blend of humour and suspense was very effective, but here we've lost that. The script is certainly providing the humour, but it's shot completely "flat", draining the life out of it. It's fortunate that events turn quite farcical in places, because this allows the fun to push its way through anyway, and those moments sometimes manage to cover for the dry periods in between.

To be fair to Pinfield, he does make occasional imaginative use of the sets in the camera direction, and there are other good moments such as the close-up of hands examining the thread; but it's not enough.

One final comment. Watching the Xerons - and knowing the Moroks' attitude to them - I was reminded of a card from the game Junta:

Students Protest Oppression! No Effect.

Says it all, really.

Broadcast:
Date: Saturday, 1st May 1965
Viewers: 9.2 million
Chart Position: 23
Appreciation Index: 53

Rating:
5/10.

Next Time:
The Search.