Doctor Who
Checkmate (The Time Meddler, Part Four)
TV Flash files “Checkmate (The Time Meddler, Part Four)” as the last listed hour of season 2 — Doctor Who (1963–) on BBC, season 2, episode 39, aired 1965-07-24, 25 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S02E39: listed hour 81 of 700 in the Doctor Who guide, last listed hour of season 2. It aired 1965-07-24 (25 min). The listed hour before it is “A Battle of Wits (The Time Meddler, Part Three)” (S02E38). Next is “Four Hundred Dawns (Galaxy 4, Part One)” (S03E01). Broadcast log — titles and dates, not a plot bible.
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
The Doctor, Vicki, and new companion Steven Taylor arrive in Saxon Northumbria on the eve of the Viking and Norman invasions. It is 1066, a pivotal moment in British history. The hand of a mysterious Monk is at work in the nearby monastery, intending that history takes a different course.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Checkmate (The Time Meddler, Part Four) sit in the Doctor Who guide?
S02E39 is listed hour 81 of 700 — last listed hour of season 2, season 2 episode 39.
When did Doctor Who S02E39 air?
Checkmate (The Time Meddler, Part Four) aired 1965-07-24 and is listed at 25 minutes.
Where should I start with the 1960s serials?
William Hartnell's First Doctor is the origin of the TARDIS-and-companions contract. Patrick Troughton's Second Doctor is the proof that regeneration works. Start at a serial whose surviving episodes interest you; missing-episode gaps are part of the classic-era weather.
In the series
Why this series still plays
A Time Lord, a police box bigger on the inside, and regeneration as infinite franchise life: Doctor Who launched from the BBC in 1963 and never really parked. Early black-and-white serials built the mythology; Hartnell-to-Troughton proved the lead could change without ending the show. The longest experiment in serialized reinvention — woolly, weird, endlessly renewable.
November 23, 1963, is a drop that never really parked. BBC's *Doctor Who* launched a Time Lord and a blue police box bigger on the inside, then treated the lead as renewable inventory. **Regeneration is the window.** Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber, and Donald Wilson were among the early architects. Early black-and-white serials built the mythology; companions, sonic screwdrivers, and cliffhangers became ritual. Rex wants woolly national inheritance. Fine. The business model is recasting without ending the show.
Filed against
- William Hartnell as The First Doctor
William Hartnell’s First Doctor launched Doctor Who from the BBC in 1963 — a Time Lord, a police box bigger on the inside, regeneration as infinite franchise life. Early black-and-white serials built the mythology; Hartnell-to-Troughton…
- Patrick Troughton as The Second Doctor
Patrick Troughton played the Second Doctor on Doctor Who, the 1960s BBC proof that a Time Lord could change faces without ending the franchise. Police box bigger on the inside, regeneration as infinite life, early black-and-white serials…
- Jon Pertwee as The Third Doctor
Jon Pertwee’s Third Doctor kept Doctor Who’s police box moving — a Time Lord, a box bigger on the inside, regeneration as infinite franchise life. BBC serials launched in 1963 and never really parked; Hartnell-to-Troughton proved the lead…
Also in season 2
- S02E01 Planet of Giants (Planet of Giants, Part One)
- S02E02 Dangerous Journey (Planet of Giants, Part Two)
- S02E03 Crisis (Planet of Giants, Part Three)
- S02E04 World's End (The Dalek Invasion of Earth, Part One)
- S02E05 The Daleks (The Dalek Invasion of Earth, Part Two)
- S02E06 Day of Reckoning (The Dalek Invasion of Earth, Part Three)