OOO6 - The Time Monster 6

In any other story, the scene where The Doctor reminisces about his youth and meeting an old hermit in the hills of Gallifrey would be a magical scene, worthy of high praise. It's a scene that allows The Doctor to stop and pause to think about the basis of his philosophy in life. However, coming as it does towards the end of a story filled with scenes that stop, pause, and, at times, reverse the flow of the story, the Pertwee/hermit scene is just another stopgap in the way of getting this long, turgid mess over with. You can almost make out the cue cards that Pertwee must surely be reading off of in some shots.

The last scene in the episode takes the cake - a Scooby-Doo ending to a Scooby-Doo story, far too sure of itself with so little to be sure about. The Time Monster is Doctor Who at its most smug, where it's apparent that everyone on screen was having a ball, and thus it was generally understood that the audience would equally have as good a time. It's almost as if the production team felt that they didn't have to try anymore - just open the doors and watch the people roll in.

I really wanted to like The Time Monster more than my memories have allowed me to, but it turns out that there was a reason I had rarely watched this story again growing up. A sad end to what started off as a brilliant season of Doctor Who.