of repeats of archived Doctor Who serials; producer Teresa Griffiths allowed BBC technician and Doctor Who fan Steve Roberts to restore The Time Meddler to represent its original broadcast. Roberts used complete 16mm prints of the first and third episodes being held by a private collector to restore most of the cuts; they were transferred to digital D3 tape on 20 December 1991. The repeats were broadcast weekly on BBC2 from 3 to 24 January 1992, garnering an average of 2.59 million viewers across the four episodes. Critical response The serial received generally positive reviews. Television Today Bill Edmund enjoyed the character of the Monk and Butterworth's performance, but was disappointed by the lack of monsters in the serial. An audience report prepared following the first episode's broadcast was generally positive, with several viewers finding the anachronistic items a fascinating twist on the time travel theme, though some failed to understand their purpose; Steven's character was also praised, though some viewers missed Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright, who departed in the previous serial. J. C. Trewin of The Listener enjoyed the serial, "partly because no mechanical monsters arrived and partly because the logical consequences of time-meddling were faced". In a review for the BBC series Hereward the Wake, The Observer Maurice Richardson found it difficult to "suspend disbelief" for the show's time setting after watching Doctor Who "remarkable essay in this period". Retrospective reviews were also positive. In The Discontinuity Guide (1995), Paul Cornell, Martin Day, and Keith Topping described the serial as "an atmospheric story" and praised the performances, particularly that of Hartnell and Butterworth. In The Television Companion (1998), David J. Howe and Stephen James Walker lauded Butterworth's "deft, understated performance", especially in his scenes with the Doctor, and applauded Camfield's direction as "very polished and features some nice touches", though they felt that the conclusion was simple and that the Vikings and Saxons "are sketched in merely as caricatures". In 2008, Den of Geek Simon Brew praised Butterworth's performance, noting that the serial "really hits its stride" with the sparring between the Doctor and the Monk, but felt that the story was not enough to cover four episodes. Writing for Total Sci-Fi Online, Jonathan Wilkins described the serial as "an often forgotten gem", praising Hartnell's "remarkable performance"—particularly his scenes alongside Butterworth—and enjoyed the performances of Purves and Charlton, though felt that the other villagers were the "weakest