Inspirations - Timelash

The writer of Timelash is Glen McCoy, his only contribution to the series. He was working as an ambulance driver but wanted to get into writing for television. Naturally, he had some success with medical themed dramas such as nursing soap Angels. He submitted an unsolicited script to the Doctor Who production office which featured the Daleks, unaware of the usual commissioning process, and especially of the separate conditions around the use of the Daleks.

Eric Saward rejected the submission, but saw some merit in the scripts and so decided to give him a chance to submit a fresh storyline - one without any Daleks in it.

McCoy was probably unaware that one of the principal inspirations for the first Dalek story was the works of writer H G Wells (1866-1946) - in particular 1895's The Time Machine. The Daleks (aka The Mutants) features a pacifist race of beautiful blond-haired people (the Thals) who are at risk from subterranean monsters (the Daleks in their underground city), just as the Eloi are at risk from the Morlocks in Wells' tale. 

The 1966 story The Ark is also heavily influenced by Wells.

McCoy elected to base his new storyline on a number of Wells' stories, and to include the author himself in the narrative as a young man, Herbert, who will be inspired to write his famous works after an encounter with the Doctor.

Once again The Time Machine is the primary inspiration - unsurprising when you consider that the series is about a traveller with a time machine. We don't get any equivalent of the Eloi in Timelash, unless you want to count the generally wet people of the planet Karfel. The first Karfelon young Herbert meets is a woman named Vena, named after The Time Machine's Weena. 

The Morlocks are present, but here they are simply large reptilian creatures with no intelligence, called Morlox.

Another obvious Wellsian inspiration is The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896). This tells of a mad scientist who conducts unethical medical experiments on animals to create human / animal hybrids - the inspiration for Timelash's villain the Borad, aka the scientist Megelan. Moreau has exiled himself on his island after being denounced for cruel experiments, just as the Doctor had denounced Megelan. The story has been filmed on more than one occasion. By far the best is the 1933 version starring Charles Laughton (Island of Lost Souls). Not quite so good but okay is the 1977 one with Burt Lancaster. The Marlon Brando version of 1996 is best avoided.

The scenes where the Doctor uses a Kontron crystal to briefly travel forward in his own time stream, rendering him invisible to observers, is - of course - inspired by The Invisible Man (1897).

Vena's appearance to Herbert following a session with a Ouija board is probably inspired by The Wonderful Visit, as he believes her to be an angel. The Wonderful Visit was published in 1895, and tells of an angelic visit to a village vicar.

When Maylin Tekker provokes an armed response from the neighbouring planet of Bandril, we are presented with a potential War of the Worlds (1898). The Master had previously been seen reading this book in Frontier in Space.

For Herbert, all of this represents The Shape of Things to Come (1933), as he finds himself on a planet not unlike A Modern Utopia (1905). By stowing away in the TARDIS for a second time, as the Doctor attempts to use it to intercept a Bandril missile, Herbert gets a taste of a futuristic version of The War in the Air (1908).

Paul Darrow plays Tekker in an over the top fashion, apparently intended to show Colin Baker how this should be done, after Baker had gone OTT in his guest appearance on Blake's 7 (playing the psychopathic Bayban the Butcher in the episode City at the Edge of the World). 

Darrow based his performance on that of Olivier portraying Richard III.

Ever since the second episode of Doctor Who was broadcast on 30th November, 1963, we've had references to unseen adventures, as Susan describes previous disguises for the TARDIS. Whilst these were from before we joined the Doctor on his travels, since then there have been a great many references to unseen adventures which must have occurred since then, in gaps between televised stories. It's not always possible to work out which incarnation the Doctor was in, but here we get mention of an unseen story which is highly significant for the current storyline. We see a portrait painting of the Doctor as he was on his previous visit to Karfel, and he's in his Third incarnation. 

We also know that he was travelling with Jo Grant at the time, as Peri is wearing a locket with her picture in it, which stops the rebels from killing her. What is odd is that Tekker was expecting the Doctor to have a second companion with him, something the Third Doctor never had. Fan speculation has settled on this second companion being Captain Mike Yates, on one of his doomed dates with Jo.

The painting is actually a copy of a publicity photo of Pertwee from The Invasion of the Dinosaurs, and it was the work of a US fan who became a friend of JNT through the convention circuit.

The first version of the script actually had the previous visit to Karfel being by the First Doctor, travelling with Ian, Susan and Barbara, so Darrow's line about only one companion this time is probably just a leftover from that version.

The Borad is eventually forced into his own Timelash, which the Doctor thinks will take him to Scotland but centuries before he met Herbert there. The implication is that he will be seen occasionally and taken for the Loch Ness Monster, but we all know that that is the Zygons' pet Skarasen.

Behind the scenes, this was the last story to be directed by Pennant Roberts. Everyone reported that the story was under-rehearsed as the main cast were simultaneously rehearsing for one of JNT's annual pantomimes during production.

Next time: the Daleks meet Evelyn Waugh's The Loved One, as the Doctor pays his respects at Tranquil Repose...