Customer Reviews

Doctor Who - Battlefield [VHS]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Doctor as Merlin? Well, that's what he's called by Ancelyn ap Gwalchmai, Knight General of the Britons from an Earth where magic is more prevalent over technology. If the Doctor doesn't do something, the "Earth could be in the center of a war that doesn't belong in this dimension." That is a war fought between forces loyal to Arthur and those loyal to Morgaine of the Fay, Battle Queen of the S'Rax and her son Mordred.

Nearby, are two other parties who become involved in this war. The first is Peter Warmsley and Shou Yuing, archaeologists working on a dig sponsored by the Carbury Trust. Warmsley's a dedicated archaeologist, believing that "history has to be eased out of the Earth one painstaking layer at a time." After ten years, he has unearthed the scabbard belonging to Excalibur, but where is the sword?

The other party is UNIT, led by Brigadier Winifred Bambera, who is supervising a convoy carrying a nuclear missile. For the first time, we see UNIT for what it's supposed to be, as soldiers from Russia, Czech Republic, and France are seen. However, as the Russian Zbrigniev tells Bambera, "whenever this Doctor shows up, all hell breaks loose." And when the Doctor shows up at this time, Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart has to redon the uniform, take the baton and service issue revolver, and become reunited with his friend and former scientific advisor. Nicholas Courtney's (Lethbridge-Stewart) a familiar and welcome presence in Who, and this show succeeds mostly due to him.

As UNIT shows up, this does reinforce series continuity, as past monsters are mentioned, and a certain yellow Roadster makes a welcome final appearance, though Ace and Shou Yuing's mockery of it--"zero to sixty in twenty minutes" is short-lived.

There are few moments in Who that are embarrassingly cringing, and unfortunately, this story suffers from it in Episode 2, when Mordred, in summoning his mother, goes over the top with some demonic laughter. Whenever I see this segment, I look for something soft to throw at the TV screen. And the concept of the more magical Earth isn't surprising, as the Doctor says the reverse of Arthur C. Clarke's law, "Any advanced from of technology is indistinguishable from magic" is applicable.

Jean Marsh's portrayal of Morgaine makes her a complex villain. Resplendent in battle armour and crown, she clearly believes in an honourable war--"what is victory without honour?"--at one point scolding her son for fighting on Earth without first paying their respects to Earth's fallen soldiers. Her conversation with the Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart is one of fellow foes showing mutual respect. She tells him calmly that she bears him no malice, but at their next meeting, she will kill him.

The Destroyer, which apart from its bluish skin, is a dead ringer for the Devil in the Tom Cruise movie Legend, is an example of animatronics operating the jaws and saliva dripping from its mouth. And its description by Morgaine, "Lord of Darkness, Eater of Worlds," is a reference to Robert Oppenheimer quoting from the Bhagavad-Gita: "I am become death, the shatterer of worlds; waiting that hour that ripens to their doom." And guess when Oppenheimer quoted that?

Which leads to the metaphor of the Destroyer and nuclear war. The Doctor's horrific description: "All over the worlds, fools are poised, ready to let death fly machines of death...of light brighter than the sun. Not a war between armies, nor a war between nations, but death, death gone mad. A child looks up in the sky, his eyes turn to cinders, no not tears, only ashes. Is this honour? Is this war?"

Part Arthurian legend, UNIT action story, Battlefield does waver a bit unevenly into comedic moments when such moments aren't called for, but prevails with a strong story, characters, and a never to be forgotten theme.

That the Doctor will, in his personal future, be the renowned Merlin of Arthurian legend, is the premise of this episode of the beloved and long-running science fiction series.

The first time I saw "Battlefield" was while sitting cross-legged on a hotel room floor with members of the "Legion of Rassilon" during a science fiction convention. Fast-forward five, maybe 10 years later, and in my second viewing the story lost none of its campy charm. By this time, I was more familiar with the Doctor and his universe, and so, while the story was still just as fresh, I found more to appreciate.

When the Doctor shows up near an archaeological site (and a UNIT exercise) near Lake Vortigern, all hell is sure to break loose, and Sylvester McCoy doesn't disappoint. Bring Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart out of retirement to clash with a younger, female brigadier named Winnifred Bambera and throw in Morgaine and her knights for good measure, and the producers of Doctor Who created a sure winner.

Bambera is an intriguing character who deserved to be brought back in future episodes -- alas, her appearance was late in the show's life.

What can I say about the elder Brigadier, except that he is one of my favorite characters. He is also a character who has weathered the series, from his blood 'n' thunder days with Jon Pertwee to the more reflective man we see coming out of retirement to face one last threat.

The acting is campy, but with great lines of wry, catchy and quotable dialogue. Yes, the special effects are low-budget, but that has always been part of the Doctor's appeal. This episode combines its science fiction and medieval elements skillfully, with well-placed humor.One of my personal favorite episodes, I am sure that I will view "Battlefield" again and again. I am also sure that I will find something new to apprecate each time.

This story which is pretty good will be released on dvd in the uk in december 2008 , with a release elsewhere in 2009. So wait to grab that when it gets here.

In a word, this is a typical McCoy, cloudy plot, uninteresting characters, no rewatch value, and some ridiculous revelation about the Doctor being Merlin the Magician, once again tampering with the Doctor's background, or future-ground... The only redeeming quality is the return of the Brigadier, the REAL ONE, not the forced-upon-us politically correct version, who by the way is horrible. If I hear her cry "Oh Shame" once more I'll...I'll...well, you get the picture. Winifried Bambera is so nauseating in episode one, running around giving everyone orders, advancing on caves, yelling "freeze"... Luckily, the old school Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart arrives and usurps some of her authority, reducing her to merely running around dodging knights in shining armour, and not figuring as prominently as in the first episode.

As bad as the PC Brig was, she is not the worst character in Battlefield. That distinction goes to Young Shoe or whatever her name was, by far the worst guest character and actress in Doctor Who history. The phrase to best describe this character is utterly useless. She had no bearing on the story, seemingly added simply to give little Ace someone to play with when she's not blowing things up. Speaking of Ace, she gets my vote as the worst assistant ever. The cliffhanger to episode two has her trapped in a tube filling with water. It's the only time in Doctor Who I've ever hoped the companion gets killed. One irritating scene has the Brigadier telling Bambera to get Ace a blanket because she is drenched in water, a caring, chivalrous thing to do. Yet, they look at him like he has the plague, still giving orders. That scene alone shows how Doctor Who drastically changed for the worse during the McCoy years. Even Young Shoe looks at the poor Brigadier and shakes her head. How dare they mock a Doctor Who legend. Rightfully, the show got cancelled after this season.

Admittedly, however, Jean Marsh as Morgraine is very commendable as a somewhat sympathetic villain. One minute she is disintegrating a helpless UNIT soldier, but the very next she restores the sight of a blind woman. She even leads a ceremony to pay homage to Britain's war casualties. Ms. Marsh is very old school Doctor Who, and it shows.

Speaking of UNIT, this story displays PC at its most gut-wrenching. Check out all the nationalities represented by UNIT soldiers, Russian, French, etc. Why? Do we really need to go there? As the Brigadier asks one of the soldiers, "You're not English, are you?"

On a final positive note, one of the very few positives in this sea of misery, we finally get to see Doris, the Brigadier's wife, who was referred to in The Daemons, a real classic story. Only watch this one for the return of Alistaire Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. The scenes of him and Doris are by far the best in the story.

This story needs absolutely no introduction. Ben Aaronovith's second script for Doctor Who is a "classic". Aside from this being the last season of the program, Aaronovith was becoming the new Robert Holmes, with his streamlined, revisionlist continuity. I never thought about it before this adventure, but the Doctor does make a great Merlin. The regular cast and guests are outstanding. The Brigadier returns in style. Even though UNIT had been out of the scene for some while, it's the best one since "The Green Death". Ancelyn, Mordred, and of course Jean Marsh as Morgaine are all in fine form. Nice effects, a little sloppy swordplay, and all around fun. Love the ending with the Brig, Ancelyn and the Doctor: "You any good witha lawnmower, Ancelyn?" the Brig asks. The Doctor replies "I'll cook supper..."

A book I read recently told me something which didn't come as a great surprise - that 'Battlefield' was originally a 3-part story.

It's true that it starts off very promisingly. There are Arthurian knights, the Brigadier is called out of retirement and we are presented with a host of interesting characters. But after a while it all falls apart - the characters disappear into the background and are replaced by one padded chase scene and action sequence after another. And didn't I hear the Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker doctors condemning the possibility of magic? So why all of a sudden is McCoy's doctor battling wicked witches?

What stands out from the naff special effects, unconvincing fight scenes and bland, feeble music in this story is the Destroyer, a superb creation which is unfortunately wasted in a minor role. And Morgaine is a well-acted and complex character who destroys a helicopter and reduces a soldier to ashes, and yet restores a pub landlord's wife's eyesight as payment for some drinks. She is also ultimately not unsympathetic. So it seems a shame there isn't a stronger plot to do the character justice.

I had heard a lot of bad things about Battlefield. Fortunately, they were all wrong.

Battlefield is a very light, fluffy Doctor Who adventure. It isn't as much 'Who for 9 year olds', as someone claimed. The writer tries to have a bit of fun with the characters, and in doing so makes a interesting, and even sometimes dark, story.

So ignore those nay-sayers. Battlefield is a treat.

The Doctor and Ace come across the mysteries and magic of Camelot and are re-joined by the Brigadier. Though this is undenighably a good story, it is rather padded-out in Part 3 with endless fight scenes and Ancelyn and Bambera seeming to form to comedy double-act. You can't help feeling this should have been a three-part episode. However, there are some great scenes, some excellent pieces of dialogue and some good images. It just often comes across as quite silly, however, with knights crashing into one another. And how could Morgana be stopped just by locking her up? And why do some characters like Warmsby etc just fizzle out rather than developing?

If you're a fan of medieval/sci-fi fantasies like Krull and Willow then this will be of great enjoyment. It's just a shame that the Destroyer, an awesomely impressive monster, was so under-used and came across as more of a mere irritation than the world-eating beast it was meant to be.

Probably the highlight of the final season, Battlefield is an excellent story. James Ellis steals the show as Peter Warmsly (who is unceremoniously bundled off during episode 3), but Nicholas Courtney and Jean Marsh turn in good performances as well. Only marred by the wooden acting of Sophie Aldred as Ace and Ling Tai as Shou Yuing.

Although I am not a great fan of Sylvester McCoy's "Doctor Who", "Battlefield" must rank as among its finest installments. This is an intriguing look at the Arthurian legend; Jean Marsh is splendid as the evil Morgaine. And of course, it is wonderful to have Nicholas Courtney return one last time as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. Diehard "Doctor Who" fans will find "Battlefield" an enjoyable pleasure of Arthurian proportions.