It’s with a certain amount of sadness that I watch today’s
episode because it’s the last time that we see Nicholas Courtney in Doctor Who.
It’s his 107th episode and the original plan was to kill him off and
I am glad that they didn’t because it would have totally killed the vibe of the
story. This is the episode where the Doctor finally gives up the idea that he’s
Merlin although he does do a cheeky in-joke note from himself.
Mordred uses the end my life line which is what the Doctor
used in The Happiness Patrol. It seems to carry more wait when its directed
towards the Doctor because we all know that he wouldn’t do it even if he had
to. Morgaine’s willingness to see let Mordred be killed was a great thing for
the character to do. It just made her seem more like a loathsome person but
there is always something that reminds me that its Jean Marsh so I do find her
loathsome at all.
There’s a great moment where Lethbridge-Stewart knocks the Doctor
out to destroy the destroyer. It’s a nice little moment because it means he
gets to be the military hero. The moment where the Doctor thinks that
Lethbridge-Stewart is dead is a lovely moment before Lethbridge-Stewart reveals
he is ok. There is something quite impressive about Lethbridge-Stewart being
the one that destroys the destroyer.
The big finale scene comes with the Doctor stopping the
nuclear bomb from being set off. It leads to a great scene which allows
Sylvester McCoy and Jean Marsh to shine and fight over an umbrella. It’s
another example as to why McCoy is an underrated Doctor. The Doctor talks
Morgaine into stopping the nuclear bomb from being detonated. Morgaine reaction
when she learns that Merlin is dead is superb and Marsh makes us feel sorry for
her.
The final scene set at Lethbridge-Stewart’s house is a
lovely one. Doris goes out ‘with the girls’ as she, Ace, Bambera and Shou Yuing
go off in Bessie. It’s a men doing the house work and the women having fun thing
which is quite amusing. This has been a rather entertaining episode and it’s
memorable because of several outstanding performances. This is the first story
for quite sometime that has gone up in my estimation. It’s still not a classic
by any means but I think that it’s a stronger start to the twenty-sixth season
that I thought.
On a separate note. The character of Brigadier
Lethbridge-Stewart has been on our screens for close to thirty years. He is arguably
one of the greatest character (apart from the Doctor of course) in the shows
history. He has been an ally of the Doctor whilst keeping a militaristic point
of view. It’s impossible to say that the character wouldn’t have lasted as long
if it had been played by another actor but I don’t think that anyone else would
have bought the charm to the role. It would have been nice to see
Lethbridge-Stewart in New Who.
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