Will Brooks’ 50 Year Diary - watching Doctor Who one episode a day from the very start...
Day 332: The Time Monster, Episode Two
Dear diary,
It looks as though it must have only been Episode One of this story that I've seen before, because I don't remember any of this episode. It's a shame, in a way, because this one has been better than the last was! It starts very early on, with the discovery of Stuart having ages sixty years in a matter of seconds - surely this would have been a better cliffhanger than the Master calling out for Kronos? Certainly, it's the most striking image of the story so far, and I think it's what helped to draw me in a bit more today.
Aside from this, I'm finding myself completely captivated - once again - by Jon Pertwee and Rodger Delgado. As ever, they both seem right at home in this story, and they each get their chance to really impress me. The Doctor's at his very best when trying to find out what's happened to Stuart. While everyone else around him is trying to let the man rest, the Doctor is adamant that he needs the information, and bellows at Stuart to answer him.
In some ways, this should be counted as one of those scenes where I think the Doctor is just being a bit of a jerk, frankly, and I should be using it to highlight everything that's wrong with the Pertwee incarnation… but it works! If anything, I'd almost go so far as to say that he's rarely been closer to the Doctor's character than we see in this scene. Yes, he wants Stuart to relax and get some rest, but first he needs this information, and he's going to make sure that he gets it.
He continues to be great throughout the rest of the episode, too. In the same way that I was surprised people didn't make more of Troughton battling with Medusa being akin to a confrontation with a Weeping Angel, I'm surprised to see that people haven't edited Pertwee's description of Kronos into one about these Lonley Assassins. 'They can swallow a life as quickly as a boa constrictor can swallow a rabbit,' he muses, and describes them as being creatures from outside time itself.
For the Master, it comes in the form of him imitating the Brigadier's voice down the phone. Usually, trying to lip-synch to another actor's voice like this looks ridiculous, but Delgado gets away with it, through a combination of being a bloody good actor and hiding his mouth partially behind the telephone prop. He's in his natural habitat again today, with a cigar sticking out of his mouth as he sits in a high-backed leather chair and does his calculations in front of a roaring fire. This incarnation really can only be described as suave in a way that him successors never quite can, and he's really managed to endear himself to me over the last two seasons.
I also have to call out special praise today for John Levene as Sergeant Benton. He's not someone I often find myself discussing - as a member of the UNIT family, he's always just sort of… there - but he gets a chance to shine today when given the opportunity to confront the Master and avoid being tricked by his fake telephone call. It's just a shame that he gets himself knocked out so soon after, though!
6/10 
