(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.