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Editorial Reviews
A terrifying clash between the past and future threatens the entire human race and plunges the Doctor and Sarah into a chilling race against time. When top scientists begin to mysteriously vanish, Doctor Who finds himself headed back in time to the middle ages and not-so-merry England. Linx, a war-loving Sontaren fleet commander, has crash-landed near a medieval castle and is supplying the feuding Irongron with advanced weapons that could totally change the course of human evolution. He is also using the kidnapped scientists to repair his ship. Linx is determined to return to his squadron - and nothing will stop him. As Irongron gets ready for battle, the Doctor makes his move. Can he save the doomed scientists, outwit Irongron and stop Linx from completing his catastrophic plan? The future of mankind is in his hands...
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
With the success of the BBC's Sarah Jane Adventures (UK series targeted for younger viewers)and the pending 2008 return of the Sontaran's to the 4th season of Doctor Who it is a great time for the DVD release of the "Time Warrior." Not only was the story a season opener and the 3rd Doctor's final season played by the groovy Judo-chopping Jon Pertwee, but it introduces one of the Doctor's finest companions Sarah Jane Smith as played by Elisabeth Sladen. Sarah returned to say her farewells in season 2 of the 2006 Dr. Who only to get her own CBBC spin-off.
The Story: England's scientists are being snatched and transported to the middle-ages by a stranded alien. UNIT asks the Doctor to sort it out, while the lovely and plucky young reporter Miss Sarah Jane Smith stows-away on the TARDIS as the Doctor tracks the scientists into the past. Ultimately, Sarah ends up at odds with the Doctor believing he is the time-napping villain and teaming-up with a local King and Queen to storm the baddies castle. Eventually, the two ally themselves to face the true foes, including the war-mongering armored Sontaran supplying the locals with centuries advanced weaponry.
Some neat moments are the introduction of a "fighting mechnical-man" to the middle-age tyrant in which an archer stays his execution by pumping arrows in to the machine as it continues to march ever forward. A scene which is repeated later with sword and axe-play as the Doctor is disquised as the robot.
The action in this one is typical of Pertwee's years, as is the over-the-top writing for the late great Robert Holmes, especially dialogue for Bloodaxe and his minions, who in one scene refer to the Doctor as a "Long-shanked rascal with a mighty nose!" The strength of the original series has always been the great location work giving the long running sci-fi fantasy series a grounding in the real world, the nearly 35 year old episode was filmed at a real castle, Peckforton Castle. The on-screen chemistry between the Doctor and Sarah certainly foreshadows the highlights to come in the shows future, even in these formative stages of character development Sladen is a joy to watch and is my favorite companion (follow closely by Billie Piper ofcourse). New fans of the series will appreciate this "historic" meeting between Doctor and sidekick.
The DVD has lots of extras and easter eggs, including OPTIONAL CGI SPECIAL EFFECTS to bring the 1973 story visually up-to-date, if you chose. Since the History of the Sontarans Documentary was included in the Sontaran Experiment DVD, "Beginning the End" talks with cast, producers and script editors on location at Peckforton. Extensive interviews include guest star Jeremy Bulloch who played Hal the Archer, Star Wars fans may not know his face, but are surely familiar with his name as Emipire and Jedi's original Boba Fett.
The Story: England's scientists are being snatched and transported to the middle-ages by a stranded alien. UNIT asks the Doctor to sort it out, while the lovely and plucky young reporter Miss Sarah Jane Smith stows-away on the TARDIS as the Doctor tracks the scientists into the past. Ultimately, Sarah ends up at odds with the Doctor believing he is the time-napping villain and teaming-up with a local King and Queen to storm the baddies castle. Eventually, the two ally themselves to face the true foes, including the war-mongering armored Sontaran supplying the locals with centuries advanced weaponry.
Some neat moments are the introduction of a "fighting mechnical-man" to the middle-age tyrant in which an archer stays his execution by pumping arrows in to the machine as it continues to march ever forward. A scene which is repeated later with sword and axe-play as the Doctor is disquised as the robot.
The action in this one is typical of Pertwee's years, as is the over-the-top writing for the late great Robert Holmes, especially dialogue for Bloodaxe and his minions, who in one scene refer to the Doctor as a "Long-shanked rascal with a mighty nose!" The strength of the original series has always been the great location work giving the long running sci-fi fantasy series a grounding in the real world, the nearly 35 year old episode was filmed at a real castle, Peckforton Castle. The on-screen chemistry between the Doctor and Sarah certainly foreshadows the highlights to come in the shows future, even in these formative stages of character development Sladen is a joy to watch and is my favorite companion (follow closely by Billie Piper ofcourse). New fans of the series will appreciate this "historic" meeting between Doctor and sidekick.
The DVD has lots of extras and easter eggs, including OPTIONAL CGI SPECIAL EFFECTS to bring the 1973 story visually up-to-date, if you chose. Since the History of the Sontarans Documentary was included in the Sontaran Experiment DVD, "Beginning the End" talks with cast, producers and script editors on location at Peckforton. Extensive interviews include guest star Jeremy Bulloch who played Hal the Archer, Star Wars fans may not know his face, but are surely familiar with his name as Emipire and Jedi's original Boba Fett.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
"A straight line may be the shortest distance between two points, but it is by no means the most interesting."
April 3, 2008
By Crazy Fox
Amazon Verified Purchase
First things first, "Time Warrior" is a story of many firsts. The Doctor identifies his home planet as "Gallifrey" for the first time, adding another fragment to the ever-developing mythos of the show's mysterious main character. One of the Doctor's most memorable human traveling companions, Sarah Jane Smith, makes her first appearance here, instantly adding a lively spark to the show and bringing the women's lib movement (still in its early stages as of 1973) into its overall equation with understated grace and a dash of wit. Next, the Doctor and Sarah Jane come up against the militaristic Sontarans for the first time in the person of Commander Linx. The Sontarans make for great villains, single-mindedly militant and delightfully arrogant, their sleek black-leather battle armor oddly juxtaposed with their almost humorously pudgy potato heads. It makes sense then that they've shown up in several stories over the years (and yet again soon this year), but arguably this their first appearance is also their best. Often they come across merely as cruel bully thugs, but the character of Linx, while including all of that in spades, is complicated just a bit by hints of a sincere code of honor and a sense of fair play, not to mention boyish curiosity. Then too, just in terms of make-up and costume, Linx wins out as the most visually convincing Sontaran so far, and Kevin Lindsay's performance enlivens the character perfectly. Finally, "Time Warrior" also sees the first appearance of the iconic opening sequence with the multi-colored time vortex that would continue to be used throughout most of the Tom Baker years and in many ways could be said to be the inspiration for the current version as well.
What's more, "Time Warrior" also presented viewers of the time with the first pseudo-historical tale in quite a while. That's bound to strike us as a bit odd today since this format, cleverly mixing historical settings with science fiction elements, seems quintessentially "Doctor Who" as nothing else. Typical, possibly even prototypical. And this is a fine example somewhat vaguely reminiscent of the first (Doctor Who - The Time Meddler (Episode 17) of 1965), taking place in medieval times and involving an alien arming the locals with technologically advanced weaponry, only in this case in exchange for shelter and materials with which to repair his damaged spacecraft and rejoin the ever ongoing war between the Sontarans and the Rutans. The tense and obviously temporary self-interested relationship between Linx and the robber-baron type Irongron is well depicted. Indeed, the story includes a few nods towards the colonialist repercussions of this kind of exchange, and the early scene where Linx steps out of his ship and plants a Sontaran flag in the soil, claiming the planet and its possessions for his empire right in front of the bewildered inhabitants is simply priceless.
And yet it wouldn't do to go reading too far into these sorts of things, for above all this story is an unabashedly lightweight adventure. A meandering one at that, escaping and infiltrating and generally hopping about back and forth from one castle to the other again and again--but in a way that never drags or gets old. A wonderfully crafted script by Robert Holmes continually keeps things fresh and entertaining, mixing humor and any number of classic little moments with lots of thrilling action sequences (by the standards of the day, certainly, and still holding up reasonably well). This one's a real showcase for Jon Pertwee, perhaps one of the more active and athletic actors to play the role of the Doctor, and here we have him sword-fighting and dodging arrows and repeatedly busting moves with his Venusian martial arts and swinging from chandeliers and so on and so forth--never a dull moment. Aye, verily, 'tis classic Doctor Who at its most merry and vigorous. Miss it not!
What's more, "Time Warrior" also presented viewers of the time with the first pseudo-historical tale in quite a while. That's bound to strike us as a bit odd today since this format, cleverly mixing historical settings with science fiction elements, seems quintessentially "Doctor Who" as nothing else. Typical, possibly even prototypical. And this is a fine example somewhat vaguely reminiscent of the first (Doctor Who - The Time Meddler (Episode 17) of 1965), taking place in medieval times and involving an alien arming the locals with technologically advanced weaponry, only in this case in exchange for shelter and materials with which to repair his damaged spacecraft and rejoin the ever ongoing war between the Sontarans and the Rutans. The tense and obviously temporary self-interested relationship between Linx and the robber-baron type Irongron is well depicted. Indeed, the story includes a few nods towards the colonialist repercussions of this kind of exchange, and the early scene where Linx steps out of his ship and plants a Sontaran flag in the soil, claiming the planet and its possessions for his empire right in front of the bewildered inhabitants is simply priceless.
And yet it wouldn't do to go reading too far into these sorts of things, for above all this story is an unabashedly lightweight adventure. A meandering one at that, escaping and infiltrating and generally hopping about back and forth from one castle to the other again and again--but in a way that never drags or gets old. A wonderfully crafted script by Robert Holmes continually keeps things fresh and entertaining, mixing humor and any number of classic little moments with lots of thrilling action sequences (by the standards of the day, certainly, and still holding up reasonably well). This one's a real showcase for Jon Pertwee, perhaps one of the more active and athletic actors to play the role of the Doctor, and here we have him sword-fighting and dodging arrows and repeatedly busting moves with his Venusian martial arts and swinging from chandeliers and so on and so forth--never a dull moment. Aye, verily, 'tis classic Doctor Who at its most merry and vigorous. Miss it not!
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Anyone who says that plots from the old Doctor Who series are slow-moving and stodgy in comparison to the stories featured in the revival of the show should look to THE TIME WARRIOR for correction; the old series could move quickly when it wanted to. Here we have an alien crash-landing in medieval England; the aforementioned alien warrior entering into an agreement with and providing advanced weaponry for the local feudal lord; scientists going missing from the twentieth century; and the Doctor and UNIT getting involved. All in the first nine minutes.
By a complete coincidence I watched this serial not long after the new series tried its hand at a Sontaran episode. The comparison smiled on the original. For just one aspect of this, compare the characters who align themselves with the Sontarans in the respective stories. THE TIME WARRIOR gives us Irongron, one of the series' best villains: a powerful and ruthless feudal lord whose rich and witty dialog is the equal of any fictional bad guy. The new series gives us a whiny, annoying and easily-bamboozled teenager. Old school Who wins this round.
Getting back to THE TIME WARRIOR, this serial never seems to rate very highly with fans, but I've never been quite sure why. This story features two things that writer Robert Holmes was particularly apt at creating: excellent dialog and memorable, fun characters. The plot itself is a really nice blending of the historic setting being touched by the fantastic. And it's an extremely intelligent script. Even with all the different factions and characters, everyone's motivation makes perfect sense. While the story and dialog are often very much over the top, everything still logically fits together.
As for the DVD itself, the first thing I must report is that the picture and sound quality are excellent. This won't come as news to purchasers of earlier cleaned-up Doctor Who DVDs, but the image quality seemed especially good this time. Kudos to the Restoration Team.
The DVD commentary with star Elisabeth Sladen, script editor Terrance Dicks and executive producer Barry Letts is a lot of fun and informative although it (and the production note subtitles) fizzle out towards the end. I, for one, was amused that even though production ended for this serial over thirty-four years ago, Barry Letts is still in charge of the other two participants.
While I was watching, I started jotting down memorable lines of dialog to use for the title of this review. I was forced to stop fairly early on for fear of simply copying the entire script verbatim into my notebook. I have no doubt that if you were to print out this script, pin it to the wall and then throw ten darts at random, you'd end up hitting at least nine excellent quotes. If you want to see how the old series got by with great writing and no money, look no further.
By a complete coincidence I watched this serial not long after the new series tried its hand at a Sontaran episode. The comparison smiled on the original. For just one aspect of this, compare the characters who align themselves with the Sontarans in the respective stories. THE TIME WARRIOR gives us Irongron, one of the series' best villains: a powerful and ruthless feudal lord whose rich and witty dialog is the equal of any fictional bad guy. The new series gives us a whiny, annoying and easily-bamboozled teenager. Old school Who wins this round.
Getting back to THE TIME WARRIOR, this serial never seems to rate very highly with fans, but I've never been quite sure why. This story features two things that writer Robert Holmes was particularly apt at creating: excellent dialog and memorable, fun characters. The plot itself is a really nice blending of the historic setting being touched by the fantastic. And it's an extremely intelligent script. Even with all the different factions and characters, everyone's motivation makes perfect sense. While the story and dialog are often very much over the top, everything still logically fits together.
As for the DVD itself, the first thing I must report is that the picture and sound quality are excellent. This won't come as news to purchasers of earlier cleaned-up Doctor Who DVDs, but the image quality seemed especially good this time. Kudos to the Restoration Team.
The DVD commentary with star Elisabeth Sladen, script editor Terrance Dicks and executive producer Barry Letts is a lot of fun and informative although it (and the production note subtitles) fizzle out towards the end. I, for one, was amused that even though production ended for this serial over thirty-four years ago, Barry Letts is still in charge of the other two participants.
While I was watching, I started jotting down memorable lines of dialog to use for the title of this review. I was forced to stop fairly early on for fear of simply copying the entire script verbatim into my notebook. I have no doubt that if you were to print out this script, pin it to the wall and then throw ten darts at random, you'd end up hitting at least nine excellent quotes. If you want to see how the old series got by with great writing and no money, look no further.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Doctor Who: The Time Warrior (Story 70)
Sarah Jane Smith's FIRST time on Doctor WHO
She Sneeks aboard the TARDIS & they go back to the Middle Ages.
of course - The Doctor Saves the Day! Read more
She Sneeks aboard the TARDIS & they go back to the Middle Ages.
of course - The Doctor Saves the Day! Read more
Published 28 days ago by Granny ;-D
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Doctor and Sir William Wallace types
Those Scottish Lords, they are always fighting. So what if a Time Warrior lands his spacecraft and starts a Star Trek style guns for work plan to help him rebuild his spaceship? Read more
Published 2 months ago by Michael Ziegler
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mr.Potato Head
Another alien lifeform that is trying to take over the universe. Mr. Potato Head was such a cool toy. Who would have ever thought it came from a medival alien.
Published 3 months ago by Matthew Petersen
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great DVD
If you are a Doctor Who fan you will like this DVD story is great but special effects are ok.
Published 4 months ago by Pete
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic Doctor Who: TIME WARRIOR
The 5-Star rating is for the quality and value of the DVD. Superb job as is typical of the Doctor Who Restoration Team in their production of Classic Era Doctor Who DVD's. Read more
Published 9 months ago by G. L. Nelson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant
So much marks this story as one of the very best of the latter years of Jon Pertwee's long run as the 3rd Doctor. Read more
Published 20 months ago by M. Duvall
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good story
Although I find most of the older Doctor Who's a bit slow, this story had some good points. The interaction between the characters were the highlight of the story. Read more
Published on March 17, 2011 by Michael Ciavarella
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Middle-Aged Doctor
This story utilizes my favorite Dr. Who plotline, where past civilizations are exposed to the future. Read more
Published on January 12, 2011 by George Spiggot
5.0 out of 5 stars
First intro to a new companion
Here we meet Mary Jane for the first time & not for the last. She was the first companion to make the leap to the 'New' Dr. Who and twice her own TV series. Read more
Published on June 10, 2010 by Jesse
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Good Show from Pertwee's Final Season!
Although Pertwee's last season is not one of my favorites, The Time Warrior is my favorite of the season. Read more
Published on February 22, 2010 by E. Borgman
