OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 357
STORY NUMBER: 070
TRANSMITTED: 22 December 1973
WRITER: Robert Holmes
DIRECTOR: Alan Bromly
SCRIPT EDITOR: Terrance Dicks
PRODUCER: Barry Letts
FORMAT: DVD: Doctor Who - The Time Warrior
Episode Format: 625 video
Sarah is taken to Irongron, who she believes is taking part in some form of role play. Linx hypnotises her and she reveals she's from the 20th century & that the Doctor brought her here. Linx demonstrates his new robot which fights the captures archer Hal. Hal escapes with Sarah. The Doctor penetrates Linx's rooms in the castle dungeon and finds the missing scientist under Linx's control. Ruebish has resisted the hypnotic effect due to his short sightedness. The Doctor is captured by Linx. Hal returns to Edward's castle bringing Sarah with him who tells them that she thinks the Doctor is responsible for aiding Irongron and must be stopped. The Doctor tells Linx he's from Gallifrey and is a Time Lord. Linx connects the Doctor to one of his machines to monitor the slave working scientists. Ruebish helps the Doctor escape, but while fleeing he attacks Irongron who raises his axe to kill him.
I find the Time Warrior a bit hard to really get interested in when I watch it. I get that it's big and important but it doesn't float my boat like some other stories do. We've already had a new companion and a new monster. Now 357 episodes into the series, and a week shy of the first anniversary of this blog, we learn the name of the place the Doctor is from: The planet Gallifrey. OK we've already seen it three times in the War Games, briefly in the Colony in Space and most recently in the Three Doctors but this is the first time it's named.
Oh look, there's the control bank from UFO again in Linx's dungeon!
The Doctor's "Would you excuse me I've got to go and find a young girl" is well worth a giggle and even gets picked on in the story.
Our lead villain, the Sontaran Linx is played by Kevin Lindsay on his Doctor Who debut. During this story he keeled over during the recording due to a heart condition exasapated by the costume which led to a redesign before the Sontarans next appearance. He got on well with the show's star Jon Pertwee and returns as Cho Je in Planet of the Spiders, the third Doctor's farewell story, before making his own final appearance in 1975's The Sontaran Experiment as both Styre & The Marshal. He died of his heart condition at the age of 49 on 26th April 1975. Barry Letts first offered roll of human warlord Irongron to up & coming actor Bob Hoskins who was forced to turn it down but instead recommended David Daker. He'll return as Captain Rigg in Nightmare of Eden, but is a familiar television face as Harry Crawford in the hit series Boon, PC Owen Culshaw in Z-Cars, Jarvis in Porridge and Captain Nathan Spiker in Dick Turpin amongst many others. Both he and his deputy Bloodaxe, played by John J. Carne are for some reason uncredited on episode 1. We've seen Jeremy Bulloch, playing Hal, before as Tor in The Space Museum, but he's more famous now for being Boba Fett in The Empire Strikes Back. We've also seen Lord Edward of Wessex, actor Alan Rowe before in the Moonbase as Dr. Evans and the Space Control voice. He'll be back as James Skinsale in The Horror of Fang Rock and in Full Circle as Garif. I learn that he was the partner of fellow Doctor Who guest star Geoffrey Bayldon who was offered the role of the Doctor and eventually shows up in the series as Organon in The Creature from the Pit. Lady Eleanor, Lord Edward's wife, is played by the most obviously recognisable member of the cast in this story now: June Brown is now well known for her 28 years to date playing Dot Cotton in Eastenders. Donald Pelmear's IMDB entry makes me think I've seen a few things that he's been in but every time I see him here as Professor Rubeish I have to convince myself that he's not Sam Kelly because Pelmear's appearance and mannerisms remind me of the well known comedy actor so much.
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