On February 11th, you can get your hands on some classic Doctor Who. Yep, the Beeb is releasing a new shiny spangly DVD of Doctor Who The Time Meddler, retailing at £12.99. Starring the original Doctor, William Hartnell, The Time Meddler was the first story to feature a Time Lord other than the Doctor. Big stuff!

The Doctor, Vicki and a surprise stowaway arrive on an English coastline in the year 1066 (why does that date ring a bell?). Whilst investigating a ruined monastery The Doctor encounters an electric toaster, a gramophone playing ecclesiastic chants and a mysterious Monk. The Monk is conspiring to wipe out the Viking fleet and thus allow King Harold to face the forces of William of Normandy with a full strength army at the Battle of Hastings. Can The Doctor succeed in thwarting the Monk’s plans or will English history be re-written?

Doctor Who The Time Meddler features the following great extras:

• Commentary – stereo. With actor Peter Purves, producer Verity Lambert, script editor Donald Tosh and designer Barry Newbery. Moderated by Clayton Hickman.

• Stripped for Action – The First Doctor – a look at the First Doctor’s comic strip adventures. Featuring interviews with artist Bill Mevin, comics historians Jeremy Bentham and John Ainsworth, former Doctor Who Magazine editors Gary Russell and Alan Barnes.

• The Lost Twelve Seconds – twelve seconds of episode four are still missing, excised by overseas censors prior to recovery of the print. This short item uses off-air audio recording and the original script to place the cut in context within the story.

• Restoration – a short featurette showing ‘before and after’ examples of techniques used during the restoration of this story.

• Photo Gallery – production and publicity photos from the story.

• Coming Soon – a trail for the forthcoming DVD release of ‘The Five Doctors – 25th Anniversary Edition’.