Timelash [TV/1985.3.9 ~ 3.16]

★★★☆☆

  Timelash gets a bad rap, but honestly, it's a bundle of fun. Does it have a clunky sort of charm? Sure, everything is so high-concept and futuristic that the BBC budget restrictions bleed out occasionally... but in the most charming of ways. Due to its studio-bound nature, and because the story required so much attention to detail on the part of the production team, every set is oozing with imagination and craftsmanship. The Borad's chamber, the council room, the actual inside tunnel of the Timelash... it's like a child's imagination run amok, realised by talented professionals with a particularly DIY sensibility that makes the obviously staged sets look oddly realistic and lived in, in their own way. Timelash, alongside The Twin Dilemma, is what I'd call a comic-book story told through the TV medium, and I find the result an endearing, often highly entertaining funride of a serial.

  With an extremely confident Colin Baker at the helm (with Nicola Bryant sadly somewhat sidelined as Peri is literally dragged through the mud here, so to speak), and a hammed up hammy hamformance by none other than good ol' Avon himself, Paul Darrow, a visually horrendous (and therefore delightful) villain in the shape of the half-Karfelon, half-Morlox Borad and a surprisingly funny appearance by H.G. Wells as a one-off companion, there's a lot to enjoy. It all depends on whether you find dialogue scenes between these oddball characters entertaining or not; if you find them boring, Timelash is probably not getting your sympathies anytime soon. If you're like me, however, and love these characters, how they're portrayed and written (insane prospect, I know), you're in for a really fun time. As soon as I felt that this was a comic strip made real with a bunch of imagination, kisses and prayers, and most importantly enthusiasm (to make it the best they possibly can), Timelash was always going to be more than just all right to me. It's one that I have no problem revisiting, even with Pennant Roberts' static direction, whose stationary nature (and Darrow's "Shakespearean" performance) lends the serial the feeling of a particularly imaginative and creative science fiction play you'd find being performed in your local theatre. You can see the sticky tale along the linings sometimes, but it's all made with love.