Trivia / Doctor Who S22 E5 "Timelash"

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• Creator Backlash:
  • Nicola Bryant hated the story because Peri spent a lot of time being tied up and it seemed like a step backwards. She named it as her least favourite Doctor Who story that she appeared in.
  • Colin Baker felt that it didn't quite gel with him.
  Colin Baker: [introducing the story on "The Colin Baker Years"] Perhaps not a classic...
  • Director Pennant Roberts thought this was the weakest of the Doctor Who stories he had worked on, and particularly disliked the amount of bickering between the Doctor and Peri.
• Edited for Syndication: This story, like the rest of Season 22, was produced in forty-five minute episodes, but when sold to other countries such as Australia and America, the episodes were re-edited into twenty-five-minute episodes. Part One ends with the Doctor and Peri arriving on Karfel and exiting the TARDIS, while Part Three ends with Peri being attacked by the Morlox.
• Troubled Production: As a result of the money eaten up by the previous two serials, John Nathan-Turner ordered Eric Saward to put the script into production next, as it could be done on a low budget. Saward objected to this, as he had wanted to move it back to the following year (where it would have never been made thanks to both the hiatus and Trial of a Time Lord arc). He saw writer Glen McCoy as glaringly inexperienced, but Nathan-Turner overruled him. Making things worse, Saward didn't have much time to mentor the writer as he himself was busy writing "Revelation of the Daleks", and further budget cuts to "Timelash" ended up resulting in an infamously cheap, poorly-regarded story. Then, just to really stick the knife in, The BBC told the production team that they were pulling the plug on the show, as they felt it had gone too far off the rails...
• Wag the Director:
  • John Nathan-Turner wanted Paul Darrow to play Tekker as Avon. Darrow refused and instead played him as Richard III.
  • Robert Ashby (the Borad) was given leeway to rewrite his own lines.
• What Could Have Been:
  • In the original script, the necklace was given by the First Doctor, and thus had a picture of Susan. Eric Saward replaced this with a picture of Jo Grant from a publicity photo taken during "Day of the Daleks".
  • The script gave an explanation for the destruction of the Bandril (then called "Gurdel") missile. Turns out the bendalypse was stopped thanks to the TARDIS's own time field. Saward replaced it with the Doctor saying he would explain it to Peri later (and off-screen).
  • Lance Parkin and Jonathan Morris pitched a novel to the Past Doctor Adventures line that would have been the Third Doctor adventure this serial is an imaginary "sequel" to. The meta-joke would be that the novel would be a better version of the same basic plot, as if "Timelash" was actually another derivative Continuity Porn story like "Attack of the Cybermen". The pitch was turned down. Parkin and Morris suspect it was because editorial thought it was a practical joke and not a real pitch.
  • Maylin Tekker was supposed to stay evil and be later murdered by the Borad.
  • The original script had the Borad reject his earlier inclination of mating with Peri because he can now make as many clones of himself as he desires.
  • Michael Sheard was considered for Bruner and Kendron.
  • Steven Berkoff and David Warner were considered for Tekker.
  • Philip Madoc was considered for the Borad.
• You Look Familiar:
  • Paul Darrow was Captain Hawkins.
  • Denis Carey played an old man version of Borad. He had already had other major roles as Professor Chronotis and the Keeper.

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