"Doctor Who"
Battlefield: Part 1 (1989)

Director:

Michael Kerrigan

Writer:

Ben Aaronovitch (writer)

TV Series:

"Doctor Who" (1963)

Original Air Date:

6 September 1989 (Season 26, Episode 1)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Knights from a parallel universe arrive on Earth to find the legendary sword Excalibur. And only the Doctor and Ace with the assistance of Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart and save the Earth from total catastrophe.

Plot Keywords:

Efficiency | Brewery | Convoy | Binoculars | Come Out Of Retirement

Cast

Sylvester McCoy	...	The Doctor
Sophie Aldred	...	Ace
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
June Bland	...	Elizabeth Rawlinson
Christopher Bowen	...	Mordred
Angela Bruce	...	Brigadier Winifred Bambera
Noel Collins	...	Pat Rowlinson
Nicholas Courtney	...	Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge Stewart
Angela Douglas	...	Doris Lethbridge-Stewart
James Ellis	...	Peter Warmsly
Marcus Gilbert	...	Ancelyn
Robert Jezek	...	Sgt. Zbrigniev
Jean Marsh	...	Morgaine
Ling Tai	...	Shou Yuing

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Fulmer Plant Park, Cherry Tree Lane, Fulmer, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Trivia:

During filming of a sequence in "Battlefield" where Ace is trapped in a water tank, actress Sophie Aldred suffered minor cuts when the glass front to the tank cracked. Further problems were caused as the water flooded the studio floor and electrocution was barely avoided.

Quotes:

The Doctor: You haven't won the game yet, Morgaine.
Morgaine: I could always defeat you at chess, Merlin.
The Doctor: Who said anything about chess? I've been playing poker. And I have an Ace up my sleeve...

Decent Doctor Who episode.

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Doctor Who: Battlefield : Part One starts as the Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) receives a distress signal from across the boundaries between worlds, materialising where the signal came from the Doctor & his companion Ace (Sophie Aldred) find themselves in the English countryside near Lake Vortigern during the near future. They they discover a UNIT convoy transporting a nuclear missile that has been rendered immobile by a strange energy pulse, meanwhile several armoured Knights from outer space crash to Earth nearby & begin fighting amongst themselves. The Doctor & Ace are given a lift to the Gore Crow Hotel by UNIT leader Brigadier Winifred Bambera (Angela Bruce) where hanging on the wall of the lodge the Doctor sees a scabbard which raises his suspicions even further that something odd is happening...

Episode 1 from season 26 this Doctor Who adventure originally aired here in the UK during September 1989 & was the first story from Slyvester McCoy's third & final season playing the Doctor, a twenty sixth season which in turn ended up being the final one of the classic series. The script by Ben Aaronovitch is notable for a couple of aspects, first it sees the reappearance of Nicholas Courtney as Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart after he last appeared in the 20th anniversary story The Five Doctors (1983) six years prior. While the Brigadier was undoubtedly a great character in his heyday during the Jon Pertwee era in particular his inclusion here seems a little needless, he hasn't aged that well either looking rather old, grey & having eaten a few too many pies over the years... Bringing him back seems even more nothing than nostalgia when we learn UNIT has another Brigadier in charge anyway & surely the production team couldn't have made a worse choice than Winifred Bambera who is an absolutely awful character, I'm sorry but this is the British army for God's sake what on Earth is some irritating woman doing in charge? Was it to appease the politically correct brigade? Could you actually see a woman giving the Doctor & UNIT orders during the Pertwee years? Hell no! Secondly the basic story revolves heavily around Arthurian mythology like King Arthur, Excalibur & the Knights of the round table. Back to the actual episode itself & this is a reasonable start, it's not the best season opener but it's not the worst either.

Unfortunately by the time Battlefield was made in 1989 all location shooting was done on videotape to match the studio interior shots & I have to say right now that I really miss the look of proper film but that's just personal preference more than anything else. One also has to mention the horrible incidental music here in Battlefield by Keff McCulloch, it's awful. In this episode we get to see Knights from outer space, their armour looks good actually although the fights between them are generally quite poorly staged & their laser guns as already commented upon before seem to have all the destructive power of a firework. This episode also sees the very last interior shot inside the TARDIS during the classic series, the one at the very beginning as the Doctor receives the distress call.

Battlefield: Part One is a relatively fun little season opener, I suppose when it comes to Doctor Who in the 80's you really do have to take what you get & if it isn't too embarrassing then one has to consider it a success.