Doctor Who: Battlefield
Starring: Doctor WhoStudio: BBC Warner
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Format: Color, DVD-Video, Original recording remastered, Subtitled, NTSC
Running Time: 95 minutes
DVD Release: May 5th 2009
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User Reviews
Only the REAL Brigadier Saves This One! - Rating: 2/5
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.
Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart's Last Story - Rating: 3/5
Battlefield opened what turned out to be Sylvester McCoy - and the original series, final season in September of 1989 - and along with Ghostlight, Curse of Fenric, and Survival - all on dvd, makes up the complete final season of Doctor Who's original run - so while you're pre-ordering, get all four of them! While McCoy (or Colin Baker, for that matter) was not my favourite doctor - I blame the writing of the mid to late 80's more than anything - his 12 story arcs are all must haves (though I do recommend Ghost Light as being one of the better ones during his tenure). It also marks the final appearance of former Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart who had been recurring on the series for 21 years at the time, character first seen on 1968's the Web of Fear, though the actor did appear as a different character prior to that. Though I've not watched this particular story yet (again, not a huge fan of McCoy's years) it is still a must have to complete the final season and see the farewell episode of Lethbridge-Stewart.
At last!! One of my favorite Sylvester McCoy Doctor Who's Released - Rating: 4/5
Of all of Sylvester McCoy's outings as Doctor Who, this is one of my favorites, right up there with Remembrance of the Daleks and Silver Nemesis. Now, in reality, the storyline for this one is not that great and rather corny at times. Knights from an alternate dimension do battle with swords against UNIT. COME ON! Plus, the villainess in this episode, Morgaine, is so campy that you want to laugh every time she appears on screen. She's like the Wicked Witch of the West meets the Bridge of Dracula! In the scene where she tries to scare Ace into giving her something she wants, I half expected her to say "I'll get you my pretty, and your little dog too! Ha, ha, ha!"
So why do I love this episode? Answer: THE BRIG IS BACK AND KICKING A--! The Brigadier was one of my all time favorite Doctor Who characters, and he had not been seen in Doctor Who since the Five Doctors six years earlier.
In many ways, the Brigadier is closer to the Doctor than any of his companions because he is one of the few that knew him through most of his regenerations. In a way, this gives him a special bond with the Doctor, and although they came into conflict with one another at times regarding the Brig's tendency to turn to the artillery a little too quickly, they genuinely like and respect each other. And it shows in this story. Nicholas Courtney and Sylvester McCoy play the relationship between the Brigadier and the Doctor so well, and trully reflect their shared history.
Ace's reaction to this relationship is also perfectly played out. She recognizes that even though she and the Doctor are close, these two men share a bond and history that she never will have with him, and this makes her jealous beyond belief. However, she and the Brig bond when they get to blow stuff up!
I also love Courtney's portrayal of the Brigadier showing his age, but not having lost his spirit. As always, he is the hero willing to confront the alien menace head on with his primitive human weaponry backed by his virtue and sense of duty.
By the way, speaking of Brigadiers, the new Brigadier, Winnifred Bambera, is awesome too! I am so glad that they brought UNIT back for this story because it did harken back to days gone by, while at the same time updating UNIT and their capabilities (but not in the hammy, way over the top way the new Doctor Who series has--no comic book floating aircraft carriers in the sky here, thank goodness).
I can not wait until this DVD is released. I have the story on video, but the extras on these Doctor Who DVD's add something special to each story. I haven't seen the particulars on this DVD's features, but I hope Nicholar Courtney was on hand for the commentary.
