Peter Davison and William Hartnell may be my least favorite Doctors, but “Black Orchid” and “The Time Meddler” are two of the better episodes during their runs. Sure, ‘Orchid’ is a quick, slight two part episode that amounts to little more than a filler episode, but it’s a fun mystery of sorts set in a 1920’s English countryside. I personally found it refreshing to see a lighter episode in which we see a more laidback side of the Doctor as he plays cricket and mingles with various characters. As for the story, it is not much of a whodunit, but the main “villain” of the piece is a nice throwback to classic monsters like “The Hunchback Of Notre Dame.”

“The Time Meddler” could have easily been trimmed one part as there is simply too much walking shown, but that doesn’t stop it from being one of the most memorable first Doctor adventures. The villainous Timelord the Meddling Monk is one of the most underrated enemies in “Doctor Who” history. His sneaky, overly confident, trickster persona and his evil plan to alter history by changing the fate of the Battle of Hastings really makes him stand out. The real treat here, however, is William Hartnell’s performance. Yes, his constant rambling, ranting and mumbling wears thin at times, but we thankfully get to see a darker side of the Doctor when he punishes the Monk for his crimes.

The 4:3 fullscreen picture quality on ‘Orchid’ looks fairly clean, while ‘Meddler’ contains a rather grainy B&W print with some distracting lines here and there.

The Dolby Digital Mono audio tracks are solid. ‘Orchid’ sounds better as it isn’t as old, while ‘Meddler’ has some hisses and poor sound recordings.

Black Orchid Extras:

* 7 minutes of deleted scenes.

* A 4 minute photo gallery, “Doctor Who” season 3 ad, 2 minutes of info on film restoration, Radio Times Listings, info text, easter egg, coming soon trailer for “Trial Of A Timelord.”

* “Now And Then” is an 8 ½ minute featurette on various locations (the railway, the house, etc.).

* The “Blue Peter” segment is a 7 ½ minute tour of a costume company that worked on “Black Orchid.”

* “Points Of View” is a 2 ½ minute segment from an old show in which letters are read about “Doctor Who” time changes.

* Commentary by Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Matthew Waterhouse, Sarah Sutton. This all actor track is actually an enjoyable listen. It’s a very laid back track in which the cast recall their experiences on set and criticize the episode.

* “Stripped For Action” is without question my favorite extra on the disc. This 16 minute featurette on the 5th Doctor comics is a must see for any fan of the medium. 

The Time Meddler Extras:

* “Doctor Who” series 3 ad, Radio Times Listings, info text, a 2 minute Verity Lambert photo gallery, a Verity Lambert Obituary, a 4 ½ minute featurette about the restoration, a 2 minute photo gallery.

* “The Lost Twelve Seconds” contains an audio clip of the lost Viking death scene.

* Commentary by Clayton Hickman, Barry Newbery, Donald Tosh, Peter Purves. Clayton does a good job of moderating this commentary by asking interesting questions and receiving interesting answers that give some behind-the-scenes information.

* “Stripped For Action- The First Doctor” is another fascinating 16 minute documentary about the TV COMIC “Doctor Who” strip. Having never seen or read these strips, it was a treat to learn about them.