Doctor Who: 10 Best First Doctor Stories

To a viewer watching in 1965, The Time Meddler must have been an astonishing instalment of Doctor Who. For the first time, a member of the Doctor's species (excluding Susan) was introduced, and the mystery surrounding the Doctor would only become clearer from here onward.

Before landing in England in 1066, not long before the Battle of Hastings, the Doctor and Vicki discover that Steven Taylor, who had been introduced in the previous serial, had stowed away on the TARDIS, and essentially made himself a new companion of the Doctor's. Once the TARDIS lands, the three explore medieval England, noticing a number of anachronistic objects littered all over the place. This is the work of The Monk, a rogue Time Lord that is intent on ruining human history by introducing knowledge and technology hundreds of years before it was initially discovered, mainly for his own amusement.

Years before the names "Time Lord" and "Gallifrey" were established, the Meddling Monk was created to be the perfect foil for the Doctor. Where the Doctor was serious, noble and keen to ensure that time flowed correctly despite his visits, the Monk was flippant, childish and wanted nothing more to throw history off its course for the sake of humour. The character proved so popular, that it would only be a matter of months before he was brought back as a secondary antagonist in "The Daleks' Master Plan", aiding the Daleks in their plans to activate the Time Destructor, once again breaking the Time Lords' no-interference policy (to a much more dire extent than the Doctor ever did)

Although the Time Lords have appeared numerous times since this episode, with their history and lore being more fleshed out with every new appearance, it's important to view this episode as it would have been watched in 1965, where very little knowledge of the Doctor's past existed, and there was absolutely no clear answer to the question, Doctor who?