The Time Warrior
| 070 – The Time Warrior | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Doctor Who serial | |||
| Cast | |||
Others
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| Production | |||
| Directed by | Season 11 | ||
| Running time | 4 episodes, 25 minutes each | ||
| First broadcast | 15 December 1973 | ||
| Last broadcast | 5 January 1974 | ||
| Chronology | |||
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The Time Warrior is the first serial of the
In the serial, the Sontaran Commander Linx (Kevin Lindsay) crash-lands his spaceship in medieval England. He agrees to give futuristic weaponry to the warrior Irongron (David Daker) and his men, in exchange for Linx being given shelter to perform repairs on the damaged spaceship.
Plot
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In the Middle Ages, the bandit Irongron and his aide Bloodaxe, together with their rabble of criminals, find the crashed spaceship of a Sontaran warrior named Linx. The alien claims Earth for his Empire, then sets about repairing his ship, offering Irongron “magic weapons” that will make him a king in return for shelter. Linx sends himself forward to the 20th century and kidnaps scientists from a top secret scientific research complex, then hypnotises them into making repairs on his ship.
The Third Doctor and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart are investigating the disappearance of the scientists. The Doctor meets an eccentric scientist called Rubeish and journalist Sarah Jane Smith. Later that evening Rubeish disappears and the Doctor uses the data he has gathered to pilot the TARDIS back to the Middle Ages, not realising that Sarah has stowed away on board.
Sarah is captured and brought before Irongron, along with an archer, Hal, who has been sent to kill Irongron. The Doctor sets Hal and Sarah free and they head for Wessex Castle.
The next morning Irongron and his troops assault the castle using rifles supplied by Linx, but the attack is repelled by the Doctor's cunning. The failure further sours the relationship between Linx and Irongron.
The Doctor decides to lead an attack on Irongron's castle. He makes contact with Rubeish and finds the human scientists in a state of extreme exhaustion. Linx catches the Doctor in the laboratory once more, but this time is rendered immobile when a lucky strike from Rubeish hits his probic vent – a Sontaran refuelling point on the back of their necks which is also their main weakness. Rubeish and the Doctor send the scientists back to the 20th century. Sarah now invites herself into Irongron's kitchen, using the opportunity to drug the food, thereby knocking out Irongron's men.
Linx determines his ship is repaired enough to effect a departure. A crazed and half drugged Irongron arrives and accuses Linx of betraying him; the Sontaran responds by killing him and is in turn shot by Hal. Linx falls dead over his controls, triggering the launch mechanism. Knowing the place is about to explode when the shuttle takes off, Hal awakes Bloodaxe, who rouses the remaining men and tells them to flee, while the Doctor hurries the last of his allies out of the castle. It explodes moments before the Doctor and Sarah depart in the TARDIS.
Production
Working titles for this story included The Time Fugitive and The Time Survivor. The original outline for the serial was humorously submitted to the production office in the form of a "Field report from Sontaran Field Marshal Hol Mes, to Terran Cedicks".
Location shooting of both Wessex Castle and Irongron's castle was done at Peckforton Castle, in Cheshire, utilising different views.
The serial also stars Kevin Lindsay as Commander Linx. Lindsay reappeared as Cho-je in Jon Pertwee's last episode, Planet of the Spiders, and again as two Sontarans in Tom Baker's third story The Sontaran Experiment.[1]
The story introduces a new opening sequence that includes a
Broadcast and reception
| Episode | Title | Run time | Original air date | UK viewers (millions) [3] | Archive [4] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Part One" | 24:15 | 15 December 1973 | 8.7 | PAL 2" colour videotape |
| 2 | "Part Two" | 24:10 | 22 December 1973 | 7.0 | PAL 2" colour videotape |
| 3 | "Part Three" | 23:30 | 29 December 1973 | 6.6 | PAL 2" colour videotape |
| 4 | "Part Four" | 24:57 | 5 January 1974 | 10.6 | PAL 2" colour videotape |
The BBC Audience Research Report taken for the fourth episode was positive, particularly the climax. However, there was a minority that felt it was too far-fetched or slapstick.[5]
In The Discontinuity Guide (1995),
The A.V. Club's Christopher Bahn praised the characterisation of Linx and Sarah.[8] DVD Talk's Stuart Galbraith gave The Time Warrior four out of five stars, highlighting the "clever writing" and actor David Daker's performance.[9] In 2009, SFX listed the cliffhanger where Linx removes his helmet as the seventh scariest Doctor Who moment, praising the monster design and idea.[10] In the book Doctor Who: The Episode Guide, Mark Campbell awarded it eight out of ten, concluding the serial was "a clever hybrid of history and science fiction. Linx is a chilling creation and, despite the hammy acting, there are some great moments."[11]
Commercial releases
In print
ISBN 0-426-20023-3 | | |
A novelisation of this serial, written by Terrance Dicks, was published by Target Books in June 1978.
The Target novelization, Doctor Who and the Time Warrior, features a prologue written by Robert Holmes involving Linx at war with a group of Rutan Fighters. He is given the first name of Jingo. The Sontaran home planet is named Sontara. It also suggests that the Earth had never been surveyed, which would eventually happen in the following Sontaran story The Sontaran Experiment.
Holmes was initially commissioned to novelise his own story, but wrote only the book's prologue, sending it to Dicks with a note telling him to finish the rest himself. Holmes was not credited for his contribution. An unabridged reading of the Target novel was released by BBC audio on CD in February 2009. It is read by Jeremy Bulloch who played Hal the archer in the TV story.[12][13]
Home media
In 1989, the story was released in an omnibus format on VHS. This version omits a slightly extended scene of Sarah's capture from the beginning of episode two. The Time Warrior was released on region 2 DVD on 3 September 2007, commercially available in its original episodic format for the first time.[14]
It was also released as part of the Bred for War DVD boxset along stories
Along with a few other selected serials of the Second and Third Doctor's runs, this serial has been offered for sale on the iTunes Store as of August 2008.
References
- ^ "The Sontaran Experiment ★★★★".
- ^ "BBC - Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide - The Time Warrior - Details". www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "Ratings Guide". Doctor Who News. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
- ^ Shaun Lyon; et al. (31 March 2007). "The Time Warrior". Outpost Gallifrey. Archived from the original on 12 December 2004. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-563-40588-7.)
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ISBN 0-426-20442-5.
- ^ Mulkern, Patrick (21 February 2010). "Doctor Who: The Time Warrior". Radio Times. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
- ^ Bahn, Christopher (14 August 2012). "The Time Warrior". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
- ^ Galbraith, Stuart (25 April 2008). "Doctor Who - The Time Warrior". DVD Talk. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
- ^ "21 Scariest Doctor Who Moments 5". SFX. 1 February 2009. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
- ISBN 978-1842433485. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
- 2 entertain. Event occurs at 8:05–9:35. Retrieved 29 March 2007.
- ^ Neal, Tim. "Doctor Who and the Time Warrior". On Target. University of Leeds. Archived from the original on 17 March 2005. Retrieved 29 March 2007.
- ^ "The Time Warrior DVD". BBC. 20 August 2007. Archived from the original on 5 March 2008. Retrieved 22 August 2007.
External links
Target novelisation
- Doctor Who and the Time Warrior title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database