Doctor Who:
Battlefield
By Ben Aaronovitch
Reviewed By Paul Bowler
DESTROYER: Pitiful. Can this world do no better than you as their champion?
BRIGADIER: Probably. I just do the best I can.
When the TARDIS arrives in the countryside near the village of Carbury, the Doctor and Ace see that a UNIT missile convoy is based in the area. After a brief meeting with Brigadier Winifred Bambera they set out to explore the local area, where they discover a secret entrance at Peter Warmsly’s archaeological dig by Lake Vortigern. The tunnel leads to a submerged spaceship from another dimension, where King Arthur’s body is stored in suspended animation, along with his fabled sword Excalibur.
Knights from this other dimension begin to land
on Earth, drawn by the sword presence. Ancelyn arrives to help the King, but he
is soon confronted by his enemy, Mordred, who along with his mother - the
powerful sorceress Morgaine - have also travelled across the dimensional
barriers to face Arthur one last time on this, their final
battlefield.
Bambera teams up with Ancelyn to lead the UNIT
troops against Morgaine’s forces as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart comes out of
retirement to help the Doctor. Leaving his companion Ace and her new friend Shou
Yuing in charge of Excalibur back at the Hotel, the Doctor sets out in his old
car, Bessie, to end the conflict. The knights address the Doctor as Merlin, one
of the many names he has used in his lifetime, but he has underestimated
Morgaine, who sends the demonic Destroyer to take Excalibur from Ace and Shou
Yuing.
As the battle continues to rage the Doctor
confronts Morgaine. She frees the Destroyer from his silver chains, unleashing
the powerful demon upon the world, but the Brigadier arrives to vanquish the
monster by firing a volley of silver bullets into its chest - almost losing his
own life as the demon is consumed in a huge explosion. Morgaine attempts to
launch the nuclear missile but she left shocked with grief when the Doctor
reveals that Arthur is really dead.
As the battle comes to an end Morgaine and her
son are taken into custody by UNIT. The Doctor and his friends return to the
Brigadier’s house, where his wife, Doris, along with Ace, Shou Yuing, and
Bambera set out for a drive in Bessie, leaving the Doctor and Ancelyne with the
Brigadier. As the girls race off in Bessie, the Doctor agrees to cook the
supper.
Having been persuaded to stay on after producing
the twenty fifth anniversary season, John Nathan Turner returned, along with
script editor Andrew Cartmel, with a series of stories that would see the Doctor
becoming even more manipulative, working on the sidelines and instigating events
as they unfolded around him. The Doctor’s travelling companion, Ace, would also
play a more central role, and her story arc would become the focal point of many
stories. Andrew Cartmel worked together with his writers to develop the
character of the Doctor and Ace, working closely with Sylvester McCoy and Sophie
Aldred, and Ben Aaronovitch (The writer of Battlefield and Remembrance of the
Daleks) who acted as an unofficial assistant script editor for the
season.
Sylvester McCoy continues to emphasize the
darker aspects of the Doctor’s character. It’s an inspired move by Aaronovitch
to cast the Time Lord in the role of Merlin for the story. You can quite believe
how the 7th Doctor would have held sway over the Arthurian legend,
steering events to his own design, and helping King Arthur in his fight against
Morgaine and her army. Sylvester McCoy gets some fantastic scenes that bring
even more credence to the darker personality inherent to this incarnation: his
ability to be the eye of the storm is never more apparent than here,
orchestrating the course of the battle, and using his role as Merlin to control
events. However, even the Doctor is not infallible when confronted by Morgaine’s
dark power.
Ace gets to use her knowledge of explosives to
good effect, helping the Doctor uncover the secret entrance to the spaceship at
the archaeological dig. Sophie Aldred continues to make Ace one of the Doctor’s
most loyal and resourceful companions. Her character perfectly complements the
7th Doctor dark persona, providing grounding force that stops him
tipping too far into the darkness. They share a mutual bond of trusts, she knows
that the Doctor will never let her down, and he in turn entrusts her to look
after Excalibur with Shou Yuing. Ling Tai makes Shou Yuing a fun character, she
gets to help the Doctor and Ace, and even has her car requisitioned by Brigadier
Lethbridge Stewart. Its nice to see Ace interacting with someone more her own
age in Battlefield (1989), Ace and Shou Luin make a really good team, especially
when Morgaine attempts to turn them against each other to make them step out of
the chalk circle that is protecting them.
Battlefield marks the welcome return of Nicholas
Courtney as Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart, who has been living a happy retirement
with his wife Doris. When the Brigadier gets a call from Geneva, with news of
the Doctor’s return, he quickly takes a helicopter to the scene so he can help.
Nicholas Courtney is utterly superb here as the Brigadier: who gets to rescue
the Doctor from the spaceship, has a electrifying confrontation with Morgaine in
the churchyard, and is prepared to sacrifice himself to drive the Destroyer from
his world by simply doing the best he can.
The knights form the parallel dimension are
really effective in the battle scenes, director Michael Kerigan makes the most
of UNITS military presence as well, with Angela Douglas giving a great
performance as Brigadier Bambera. Her reaction to the Doctor and Ace’s arrival,
throwing them out for using old UNIT passes, is quite hilarious. She also has
some great scenes with Marcus Gilbert; these characters forge a strong bond, and
its great fun to see Ancelyn and Bambera as they learn to work together on the
field of battle. The evil Mordred is played by Christopher Bowen; his character
has a bitter rivalry with Ancelyn. For the most part Bowen quite convincing as
Mordred, its just a shame he goes a bit OTT when summoning his mother, in a
scene where his maniacal laughter succeeds only in turning this dramatic moment
a toe curling embarrassment.
Jean Marsh, who makes her third appearance in
Doctor Who after staring in The Crusade (1965) and The Dalek Master plan
(1965-66), is magnificent as Morgaine, the evil enchantress who has become
consumed by her war with King Arthur. She brings a sense of nobility to the
character, making Morgaine a perfect adversary for the 7th Doctor.
Few characters have ever been able to force the Doctor to his knees, but she
does just that by crossing across the barriers of time and space to join her son
in battle, causing the Doctor terrible pain. Morgaine is ruthlessly evil and
will stop at nothing to achieve her goal. She uses her mystic powers to drain
the mind of the UNIT Flight Lieutenant Lavel (Dorota Rae) as easily as if she
were wringing out a cloth, before paying for Mordred’s bar tab by restoring the
sight of the landlord’s blind wife, Elizabeth Rowlinson (June Bland). There is
also a wonderful scene where the Brigadier and Morgaine observe a ceasefire in
the graveyard at a memorial, with both sides paying their respects, before
parting as sworn enemies. Similarly, just as she conveys Morgaine’s thirst for
conquest, Jean Marsh gives this complex character even greater scope when
Morgain is visibly moved by the news that her beloved Arthur is dead. It is
here, as the nuclear weapon is about to be fired, that the Doctor finally
manages to make her see reason and end the conflict.
One of the most memorable aspects of Battlefield
is the Destroyer, played by Marek Anton. This fantastic creation towers over
everyone, adorned in armour and bound in chains, this blue skinned demon is a
triumph of design and special effects. The animatronics head of the creature
moves realistically, watery saliva dribbles from his jaws, and his armour is
torn to shreds when the creature breaks free his chains and prepares to destroy
the world. This magical weapon of mass destruction stands as a metaphor against
the horrors of nuclear war, and it is a point made all the more horrific by the
Doctor’s impassioned speech to Morgaine at the end of the story.
Although some of the action scenes in
Battlefield don’t quite work as well as they could have, it’s still a very
enjoyable story. Nothing can disguise that the exploding helicopter is clearly a
fake; there is the odd clunky line of dialogue that seems a bit dated by today’s
standards, and some plot issues that are given great significance - such as the
scabbard - only to be casually forgotten for the rest of the story after they
have served their purpose. This story is also notable for the scene were Sophie
Aldred had to perform a stunt in a water tank, when Ace was trapped in the
spaceship, that went wrong when the glass cracked and the water poured out.
Fortunately quick thinking by Sylvester McCoy and the crew ensured Sophie Aldred
was rescued quickly.
While its plot may not stand up to close
scrutiny, Battlefield gets this season off to an action-packed start. It’s great
to see the Doctor and the Brigadier working together again; Sylvester McCoy and
Nicholas Courtney perfectly recapture the spirit of the old UNIT adventures, and
even Bessie returns to add an extra sheen of nostalgia to this exciting
adventure.
No comments:
Post a Comment