(685) Battlefield - Part 4

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 107^th 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.

(684) Battlefield - Part 3

This is the episode where I think that it makes slightly more sense. I don’t quite know why but it felt more like a Doctor Who story than a Merlin story. It might have something to do with the fact there is less stuff about Merlin in it than normal. The beginning of this episode see the infamous moment with Sophie Aldred. It occurs when the glass cracks under the pressure of the water and as she is ‘ejected’ from the pod she is in fact being pulled out by members of the crew. It’s a rather worrying thought about what could have happened had Sylvester McCoy not told the crew to pull her out.

The sight of Ace coming out of the water with the sword is something that Aaronovitch must have thought of from the very beginning. It must have been quite hard to resist the temptation of having the Doctor appear with the sword. The first good thing that happens in this episode is how the snake thing is dealt with. I like that its Lethbridge-Stewart that saves the Doctor which isn’t the first time that’s happened. The first meeting of the two Brigadier’s is rather amusing though Bambera is the more active one. I suppose as she is the younger of the two, then it would make sense for her to be the one doing the shooting. Her comedy double act with Ancelyn is still quite amusing.

Morgaine does a wonderful job of being the strong threat that she is. I still think that Jean Marsh is fantastic. Firstly she stops a bullet and then grinds it into dust before killing Lavel and then resorting Elizabeth’s sight which is sending mixed signals in my opinion. If you want to come across as menacing then restoring someone’s sight isn’t the best thing to do. I think that the character Lavel was poorly served in this episode, she was quite good in the scenes with Lethbridge-Stewart so it seemed rather sad that she suffered such a disappointing death.

This episode marks the return of Bessie although I don’t think that this story really merited this. They even went to the trouble of changing the licence plate to WHO 7.

The best scene comes when the Doctor storms in between Ancelyn and Mordred. I don’t think that I have seen Sylvester McCoy’s Doctor be like this before. He has got close but never like this. It’s a great moment for McCoy. Despite nearly being killed, Sophie Aldred does a good job in this episode despite being asked to stand inside a chalk circle. I could still see Shou Yuing as a companion and that’s mainly due to her interaction with Ace.

The Destroyer is a very impressive creation. The mask is one of the finest that I can remember seeing in the show. I liked that we didn’t see it properly until the end because at first all we see is the silhouette and so the build up to what it looks like is done well. The revelation is a good cliffhanger and I am slowly starting to like this story much more than I use to.

(683) Battlefield - Part 2

After appearing to not get that he was Merlin in the previous episode, he is acting like its true in an attempt to fool Mordred. Later on there is an inscription in the ground which the Doctor says he put there. This is more implication that he has a secret identity. I don’t know whether I completely buy the whole idea that the Doctor could be Merlin. This is probably what is going to stop me from totally embracing the story. But as was shown in Remembrance of the Daleks, Ben Aaronovitch can write a good story so there is going to be enough on screen to maintain my interest.

Something that stood out from this episode is that it doesn’t waste anytime in getting going. It starts quickly and doesn’t really stop until the very end of the episode. Another thing that stood out to me is the humour that I don’t remember noticing in the past. There is a nice bit of comedy coming from Bambera and Ancelyn. This seems like Aaronvitch’s nod to Robert Holmes because this is an amusing double act.

Lethbridge-Stewart starts the episode in the helicopter and makes the oh so hilarious joke asking the pilot whether Bambera is a good chap. Lethbridge-Stewart does start the episode appearing to be an old fossil which isn’t how the Brigadier should be portrayed. Ok so I don’t expect him to be like he was during the Pertwee era but he should have been written better than this. I didn’t mention in yesterdays entry that it had been 80 episodes since Nicholas Courtney had last appeared in Doctor Who. After the helicopter has crashed, Lethbridge-Stewart encounters Morgaine and that is about all that he does in the episode. Morgaine (Jean Marsh) gets to become involved in the story and one of the first things she does is to shoot down Lethbridge-Stewart’s helicopter. She might not appear to be a nice person but there is one scene where she has a go at Mordred for dishonouring people. I found it amusing where Jean Marsh and Nicholas Courtney face each other because of course they played brother and sister in The Daleks Master Plan.

The Doctor and Ace find themselves underground and the sets used are very impressive because the lighting is rather low. They walk into a room where Arthur from another dimension and Ace pulls the sword out (sigh). This leads a weird snake like thing following them around the room. This story is somewhat infamous because of one scene where there is an accident that happens at the end of the episode where Ace walks into a tank and it is filling up with water (more on the accident in the next episode) but as a cliffhanger its rather good because there is no clear way of Ace being rescued because the Doctor is knocked out. I have commented on how I don’t like it when the regulars are put in peril because they are always going to be ok in the next episode but I think that this is a rather good cliffhanger and if I were watching in 1989 then I would have definelty tuned in for the next episode.

This has been a strong episode with the best thing being that Jean Marsh and Nicholas Courtney get into the story and more screentime. There are still things that I like about this story but I still think that things won’t go well for much longer. That pessimism isn’t a great as it was at the end of the previous review but it’s still there. As for ratings, this story is currently the fourth best McCoy story.

 

(682) Battlefield - Part 1

Battlefield marks the beginning of the final season in the classic era. The beginning of the end so to speak. If you’re a regular reader of my blog then you will know that I love stats and the gap between the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth seasons is the shortest since the season fifteen and sixteen break. That’s 245 days if you’re interested. Back to the episode and this episode marks the final appearance of Nicholas Courtney in Doctor Who. No I am not counting the 1993 Dimension in Time special or the 2008 Sarah Jane Adventures story. The Brigadier was last seen in the twentieth anniversary special and has now left UNIT.

Battlefield is another story that I think has a bit of a bad reputation. I for one have had many problems with this story over the years. Only watching it because it’s the last Brigadier story. I think that one of the problems that I have is all the business with the Doctor being Merlin or the suggestion of such a thing. This episode also sees the final TARDIS scene in the classic era and it’s very dimly lit which is what makes the scene atmospheric. The Doctor is in less than a humorous mood at the beginning of this episode. This is confirmed with the line of “It has a graveyard stench is which he gives when he looks at the UNIT site. Sylvester McCoy has really become very good as delivering.

When the Brigadier realises that the Doctor is around, you can almost see the sparkle in his eye. It really doesn’t take long for him to get back into his uniform. There is a nice scene between him and Doris where she basically says that he cares more about playing soldier than the home they have. It’s weird seeing the Brigadier’s wife Doris. After years and years of her name been mentioned it’s nice to be able to put a face to the name.

It would be wrong of me not to mention the return of Jean Marsh who played Sara Kingdom in The Daleks Master Plan in 1965. We don’t see much of her sadly but I think she is such a good actress that even when she is just a face on a screen she can act just as good as everyone else. Angela Bruce has the unenviable task of playing the new Brigadier. Although she is sharing the role later on she is the one in charge and I think that she does a sound job in this episode. I like how she uses the word shame to clearly hide an expletive that couldn’t be used even when everyone is watching Corrie. Ling Tai plays Shou Yuing who for all intents a purposes seems to be a ready-made companion. She gets on well with Ace from the get go, has the same attitude and she has very good on screen presence.

The cliffhanger is quite good as it comes after an intriguing scene about the Doctor being thought of as Merlin.  Overall it’s a perfectly good opening episode. There is plenty to like but I get the feeling that things wont keep going well for long. Maybe that’s the pessimist in me but time will tell.