The Time Warrior
In the past of mideval England, while the King is away at the Crusades, captain Irongron and his band of cutthroats rampage unchallenged across the land, stealing and pillaging as they will. Even as local nobility try to band together to stop him, he finds himself with an ally to his cause; a Sontaran warrior named Linx who has crash landed and needs to repair his space craft. The mideval age does not afford Linx the facilities he needs, and he reaches forward in time to kidnap twentieth century scientists to do his work for him. Alerted to the disappearance of the scientists bu the Brigaider, the Doctor tracks Linx back through history and attempts to stop him from providing Irongron and his men with modern weapons that will make them unstoppable and ruin the course of human history. Along for the ride is journalist Sarah Jane Smith, who has stowed away in the TARDIS after suspecting that the Doctor was involved in the kidnappings.
BRILLIANT. My friend Dan raves about this story, and he has yet to say exactly why, but I think there are two essential reasons. Maybe three. The first would be the script, penned by the late Robert Holmes. I have always envied the British their extensive history and the many periods that have passed over their land, but British writers for Doctor Who get the pleasure of taking viewers back into those days, and Robert Holmes did a job par excellence, capturing every of the period characters to perfection. Credit along those lines also go to the actors who portrayed them, and the costume department for their attention to accuracy when designing and dressing the characters. The other reason would be the introduction of the Sontarans, who never made it to as many televised stories as they should have (4 in the classic series and none so far in the new one). Linx is not an essentially evil or corrupt character, despite his species' love of war and their ongoing hostilities with the Rutans; he is trapped far from home and must return and he does whatever it takes to get there. Other aliens or villains like the Master have worked to change history for their own needs but Linx's plan to supply weapons to Irongron is merely his payment for the services he needs; he doesn't care what happens to Earth, it is beneath his concern. The last reason for this one being so good is the Doctor's new take on companions; after Jo's abrupt departure he has been without anyone to make him his coffee and pretty much pander to his ego. Sarah Jane Smith has always been referred to as a departure for the companions, being the first "modern" woman to come into the show; she has a career, she is agressive, and she's not going to make the Doctor coffee or tea at his whims (how many times did we see Jo toting about trays of beverages for everyone?). The Doctor does not take offence to her spunk any more than he enjoyed Jo performing as the true assistant in his lab; he sees her as an individual and comes to respect her for her resourcefulness by the time they are set to return to their own time.
The question comes up though, why is the Doctor lingering on Earth now? He's been free for a year and is still working for the Brigadier and UNIT. With Jo having left him he could have slung his hook and just gone; he was keen enough to try and leave when he thought the TARDIS was fully functional back in Inferno, but now he's not too eager, returning to Earth as his home base between adventures. I have never heard anyone question this before, but there has been a lot of moaning about why the ninth Doctor was always on Earth and especially why was he so keen to keep returning to his companion, Rose's, home. Same reasons maybe? The Doctor-companion relationship between the third Doctor and Jo is in many ways the same as it became with the ninth Doctor and Rose; but with the third Doctor and Sarah one gets the impression that he enjoys having her around, but just not the same as he did with Jo.
Sarah, for the uninitiated, is in it for the long haul and is fondly remembered as one of the most popular companions on the series; although her tenure with the third Doctor was short, it does get a bit of a beefing up with the addition of some extra material in the form of books and radio plays...
NEXT EPISODE : THE PARADISE OF DEATH
BRILLIANT. My friend Dan raves about this story, and he has yet to say exactly why, but I think there are two essential reasons. Maybe three. The first would be the script, penned by the late Robert Holmes. I have always envied the British their extensive history and the many periods that have passed over their land, but British writers for Doctor Who get the pleasure of taking viewers back into those days, and Robert Holmes did a job par excellence, capturing every of the period characters to perfection. Credit along those lines also go to the actors who portrayed them, and the costume department for their attention to accuracy when designing and dressing the characters. The other reason would be the introduction of the Sontarans, who never made it to as many televised stories as they should have (4 in the classic series and none so far in the new one). Linx is not an essentially evil or corrupt character, despite his species' love of war and their ongoing hostilities with the Rutans; he is trapped far from home and must return and he does whatever it takes to get there. Other aliens or villains like the Master have worked to change history for their own needs but Linx's plan to supply weapons to Irongron is merely his payment for the services he needs; he doesn't care what happens to Earth, it is beneath his concern. The last reason for this one being so good is the Doctor's new take on companions; after Jo's abrupt departure he has been without anyone to make him his coffee and pretty much pander to his ego. Sarah Jane Smith has always been referred to as a departure for the companions, being the first "modern" woman to come into the show; she has a career, she is agressive, and she's not going to make the Doctor coffee or tea at his whims (how many times did we see Jo toting about trays of beverages for everyone?). The Doctor does not take offence to her spunk any more than he enjoyed Jo performing as the true assistant in his lab; he sees her as an individual and comes to respect her for her resourcefulness by the time they are set to return to their own time.
The question comes up though, why is the Doctor lingering on Earth now? He's been free for a year and is still working for the Brigadier and UNIT. With Jo having left him he could have slung his hook and just gone; he was keen enough to try and leave when he thought the TARDIS was fully functional back in Inferno, but now he's not too eager, returning to Earth as his home base between adventures. I have never heard anyone question this before, but there has been a lot of moaning about why the ninth Doctor was always on Earth and especially why was he so keen to keep returning to his companion, Rose's, home. Same reasons maybe? The Doctor-companion relationship between the third Doctor and Jo is in many ways the same as it became with the ninth Doctor and Rose; but with the third Doctor and Sarah one gets the impression that he enjoys having her around, but just not the same as he did with Jo.
Sarah, for the uninitiated, is in it for the long haul and is fondly remembered as one of the most popular companions on the series; although her tenure with the third Doctor was short, it does get a bit of a beefing up with the addition of some extra material in the form of books and radio plays...
NEXT EPISODE : THE PARADISE OF DEATH
Labels: Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart, Sarah Jane Smith, Sontarans, The 3rd Doctor
posted by Sean Hoover @ 8:27 PM
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