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Time Meddler is the one with the panda joke, the notorious fluff about climbing from William Hartnell, and the very first indication that The Doctor is not the only one of his kind. For its time, the Time Meddler is a quite sophisticated idea. It builds up slowly but manages to engage the viewer all the same as the Meddling Monk’s plan to change the history of Earth with one simple action on the coast of Northumbria is interesting. The idea that we would all be different if the Normans had not won the Battle of Hastings is a brilliant paradox. The Doctor’s eventual solution, trapping the Monk without his technology is a perfect example of his pacifism. The scene of the Monk looking into his reduced size TARDIS is iconic. 10/10
Commentary This was Verity Lambert’s last commentary. I’m
not altogether sure how many more Peter Purves, Donald Tosh or Barry
Newbury might have in them, either. They all sounded old and frail.
It is amusing to hear Clayton Hickman of Doctor Who Magazine introduce
the commentary with ‘Hello, faithful viewer’, a phrase
Russell T. Davies used in his commentaries occasionally until somebody
wrote to him saying it was irritating and asking him to stop. At which
point he used it EVERY time and The commentary was interesting especially because it highlights the different ways a series like Doctor Who is made now compared to the 1960s. In particular the way each episode was blocked, rehearsed and filmed less than three weeks before broadcast. Now, of course, three episodes at once are filmed in a block, rehearsals and read-throughs are minimalised and it is much more like feature film making. And much more location work happens, of course. The contrast is interesting to long term Doctor Who fans and to people interested in the film and TV business at any level. The various anecdotes by Peter and Verity especially are of interest to fans purely for nostalgia value. 10/10
Extras Verity Lambert Obituary – this is in the form of still pictures and comments and acclamations by friends and colleagues. I get the impression there was no time before the DVD release for a documentary style piece. But the DVD makers wanted to acknowledge her huge, iconic association with Doctor Who. 8/10 Verity Lambert Gallery – A separate gallery of photographs of Verity through the years. 9/10 Stripped for Action – The First Doctor in the TV Comic cartoon strips. Enthusiasts and the original writers and artists discuss the shortcomings and the nostalgia value of the strip stories which went away from the canon of the TV series. 10/10 The Lost Twelve Seconds. Audio reconstruction of twelve seconds missing from the existing print. Interesting in its way, but it would have been better to have more discussion of why it was cut. 7/10 Restoration. Several before and after sequences showing how the DVD release is so very well restored from original prints. 10/10 Radio Times Listings – standard fare Pure nostalgia value. 7/10 Production Subtitles. – loaded with extra information for the die hard fan with an interest in production techniques. 10/10 Photo Gallery – As standard. Some good stills from the episode. 8/10 Coming soon - The Five Doctors 25th anniversary special. 7/10 9 out of 10
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so
did everyone else. 
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