It's baffling how many people like this one. Maybe it's something to do with the Master trying to score with 70's-era Ingrid Pitt because, let's be honest, who wouldn't? Or maybe some people truly enjoy "all that Cretan jazz". In any case, The Time Monster is a six-parter, and it's one of those six-parters that you feel every single second of while watching it. The pacing is ditchwater slow, and most of it is taken up with a bunch of timey-wimey nonsense. The Master's attempt to ensnare Kronos, the most dangerous of the Chronovores, results in some of the few interesting tidbits, and that's just because of the person in a giant white chicken outfit. The Master, meanwhile, is back to his old trick of hiding in plain sight. Honestly, by this point it's like the guy wants to be caught again - even down to using a pseudonym that translates as "Master," a move that's meant to be taken as clever but it's actually just plain careless. And please, let's not start on the Atlantis stuff. Please. Ingrid Pitt is at least entertaining - far more so than in Warriors From The Deep, even with the hai karate - and her interactions with Delgado are even a bit steamy. The bits about the Doctor's background are interesting, too, as is the whole Time Ram concept. But any story that ends with the Master literally on his knees begging for mercy simply can't be considered a good Master story. It's a good thing they had Frontier In Space coming the next season to remind fans that the Master could actually still be menacing.
Tony Whitt has previously written TV, DVD, and comic reviews for CINESCAPE, NOW PLAYING, and iF MAGAZINE. His weekly COMICSCAPE columns from the early 2000s can still be found archived on Mania.com. He has also written a book of gay-themed short stories titled CRESCENT CITY CONNECTIONS, available on Amazon.com in both paperback and Kindle format. Whitt currently lives and works in Chicago, Illinois.
