The Time Warrior
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The Time Warrior
Nice. This is the first time I've seen this intro in context. AND IT'S A ROBERT HOLMES STORY!
Also, I think this is my first Pertwee since The Sea Devils (no, The Five Doctors doesn't count, no matter what @TardisTavernTit says.)
The lowly meal of straggling medieval soldiers is suddenly interrupted by BALLS FROM SPACE.
Once again, I kinda feel like I'm watching a serious episode of Blackadder. I think it's the costuming. And the music, to an extent.
Our first look at a Sontaran! Welcome to Earth! Now please leave.
Also, why are you holding a baseball bat?
Oh. That's not a baseball bat, that's a flagpole. With white flags. And you're conquering. Kinda sending off some mixed signals, Linx.
Also, sorry but I think you landed a few centuries too early for alloys and complex circuitry. A lot few.
Meanwhile, back in the "present day" at UNIT HQ, THREEEEEE! It's been way too long! And BRIG! As an actual Brig!
"All my eggs to one basket, so to speak."
"Well that's fine...*DRAMATIC CLOSE-UP*...so long as no one steals the basket."
Well, I think I've put all the pieces together of why this story is called The Time Warrior in the first place.
Maybe this is just me being really really slow, but I only JUST realized that Three has a bowtie. It blends in with the jacket really well.
"Oh there she is, Miss Smith..." Oh my god there she is.
The one, the only, Sarah. Jane. Smith. Ohhhhhh goodness, what a legacy you've got ahead of you, girl.
(The previous Tweet is quite possibly the greatest understatement I will ever make in one of these commentaries.)
"I thought all this might give me a good story. I'm a journalist. Sarah Jane Smith."
Again, it feels like I've seen so little of Sarah Jane that it's kinda weird seeing her now.
First impressive thing you notice about Sarah Jane: she's enough to hold the Doctor's attention while some random dude paws at the TARDIS.
Okay, so he just draws the line at people...well...drawing their lines on the TARDIS.
"Are you loyal to your lord, boy?" ..."boy?" The man's got a beard! Heck, EVERYONE here seems to have beards.
"A war? That is excellent."
"Ohhhh, so you like war, eh?"
"Who does not?"
#sontaranverbalwin
Wow. Indeed, keep your glasses on. I think that's the only time the Doctor has been mistaken for one of his companions.
Anytime Sarah Jane and Three come in close proximity of each other, the snark levels soar and I think I love it.
Three, you can sleep in ways I simply cannot.
Also, the Doctor's Device of the Day goes whiiiiiir when there's stuff.
Wait, the Brig just said "oh my giddy aunt." I wonder if Two rubbed off on him somehow.
"Brigadier, a straight line may be the shortest distance between two points, but it is by no means the most interesting. Goodbye, old chap."
Huh. I wonder why the "Police Public Call Box" decals on the top are gone this time. Or nearly invisible.
"Well done, old girl. Absolutely on target." *immediate flashback to The Doctor's Wife and "I always loved it when you called me Old Girl."*
A guy who I could swear was Robin Hood tries to assassinate the captain but is interrupted by Sarah Jane asking for a phone. This show.
Well, now Three knows he has an accidental stow-away. Might want to go in and save her. She doesn't look very happy.
And the helmet comes off! Creeeeepy ugly dude.
"Why don't you stop this ridiculous pantomime?!" Should I start counting the minutes before Sarah Jane realizes this isn't a ren faire?
Although, I have to admit her "doesn't take shit from no one" attitude is pretty impressive. But we'll see when she learns the truth...
I'm more amused than I should be at Sarah Jane saying the phrase "buxom serving wenches."
"Girl? You have two species on this planet?" ......... #nocomment
Aaaaaaand here we go, Companion's First Hypnosis.
Looks like Linx built a warrior robot. Or something. It's tall and shiny, anyway.
"By heavens, Linx, I never thought when I first saw you that I should come to love you as a brother." Ah, good ol' interspecies bromance.
There we go, Doctor and companion reunited! ...For about three seconds...
I think that's the first time I've ever seen the Doctor pick up a crossbow. Naturally, his target wasn't organic.
And Irongron gets his first look at a Sontaran. Not sure he was quite expecting, well, this.
So I'm assuming Three is getting to experience what medieval "ventilation shafts" were like.
Maybe I've just never noticed it before but...what's that thing he's got danging around his neck? Doesn't look like the TARDIS key...
I'm liking Rubeish more and more. He's certainly taking the whole time-travel (and slavery) thing really well...
Uh oh. Sarah Jane thinks that Three is the one making the "magic weapons" for Irongron's army. This can't end well.
"What is your native planet?"
"Gallifrey. I am a Time Lord."
If I remember right, that was the first time Gallifrey was mentioned by name.
Nice hat, Three. I'm assuming it's going to be about as effective as the mind control device in your last serial.
Jon Pertwee, how have I forgotten how magnificent your face is?
"Will you excuse me? I've got to go and find a young girl..."
"Young girl? Should've thought he was a bit old for that sort of thing."
Suddenly, TIME-FU.
Interesting choice of cinematography. A big wide action scene all shot from one bird's-eye angle.
Wait...I thought Three was holding a spear when he went down in the hay. Did it magically disappear or something?
Well, that's one way to shake off pursuers: set everything behind you on fire. Especially when Everything is straw.
"Is this Doctor a long-shanked rascal with a mighty nose?" Jon Pertwee's Mighty Nose #jonpertweesmightynose
Ah, here we go: Three and Sarah Jane finally get to sort things out with each other. Hopefully. It IS the third episode, after all.
"How do I know you're telling the truth?"
"Because I never lie. Well, hardly ever."
Rule number one...
"My dear girl, I don't go around kidnapping scientists!" A man from Coal Hill School named Ian Chesterton begs to differ.
Okay, I really don't remember Three being this...not sure if "misogynist" or "sexist" fits this situation better...
So I just remembered: Linx is repeatedly described as being short, but he's really only a few inches under most of the rest of the cast.
"MY species? You're talking as if you weren't human!" Times like this I need to actively remind myself how little Sarah Jane knows now.
"You're serious, aren't you?"
"About what I do, yes. Not necessarily the way I do it."
#classiclines
BATTLE IS ABOUT TO COMMENCE.
Well, the dummies have failed thanks to the power of GUNS. Time for Plan B, which I expect will involve Three's s'ploding bags.
Aaaaaaand boom goes the (orange) dynamite.
I think Sontaran makeup is a lot more effective from a distance. Up close, you can see where the mask and the flesh are separate.
On the other hand, I think the same can be said for most Classic monsters.
For some reason, I can't help but notice that the wine in this serial is REALLY red.
Judging by his speech and Bloodaxe's expression, I can't help but wonder if Irongron is getting increasingly drunk off that wine.
Ahhhhh, so THIS is where those images of Three and Sarah Jane in monks' robes come from.
*plays that Chanting Monks music from Monty Python and the Holy Grail*
That looks like Two's sonic screwdriver, but it isn't. Is that just a pen light?
I think Rubeish is about to inadvertently discover what will become the quintessential means for defeating Sontarans from now on.
Oh. Never mind. He just had it explained to him by Three.
This is something I don't say very often but, if Three took Rubeish to a doctor that fixed his eyes, I'd like to see him become a companion.
You know, I think this is the first time I've heard the Doctor talk about the effect other planets' environments have on their inhabitants.
I mean, think about it: don't the vast majority of alien worlds visited in the Whoniverse have Earth-like or nearly-Earth-like conditions?
Well, either that or the story takes place on a base and if someone goes outside, they die. Or something like that.
We interrupt this mature and adult-like observation to bring you a reminder that Brits like to pronounce "robot" like "robutt." #iamtwelve
While I usually love the design of historical Who stories, it's driving me nuts how the wooden doors in studio shots are obviously NOT wood.
"THIEF!"
"You...common scullion, stand aside!"
Sarah Jane, I love you.
Oh god, why am I suddenly expecting that Star Trek fight music from Arena to start playing here?
Gender Roles 101: Companions work in the kitchen while the man kicks ass elsewhere. #sigh
"I cannot reveal my face, Irongron."
"Why?"
"Because if I did it might give you a seizure."
Ah. I can see what everyone's been saying about Pertwee-era Sarah Jane being more of a feminist-written-by-men.
This'll be interesting: death by firing squad that doesn't know what guns are.
Even better: escape by swinging chandelier!
Further escape, whistle causally and punch out the guards. Cut to the dinner table.
"Time's beginning to run out..." As indicated by the Big Flashy Lighty Thing.
Now I wonder what this thing is that Three's got out of the TARDIS. Looks like window blinds that've been re-purposed into a fan.
Well, that mysterious potion seem to be taking effect. Guards go sleepy time now.
Oh, and Sarah Jane finally gets to wear her original outfit again.
"Now all you have to do is this...this...and this." Jon Pertwee: Master of Technobabble Evasion.
Okay, time for Sontarans vs. Time-Fu.
Two minutes left and things aren't looking very good...
The. best. arrow shot. Holy crap.
Castle goes BOOM. Oh look, there's a conveniently located TARDIS.
"You are truly a great magician, Doctor!"
"To tell you the truth, Hal, I'm not a magician at all."
"I'm not so sure about that..."
Aaaaaand we're done! What's left to say but oh, Sarah Sarah Sarah...
In Loving Memory of Elisabeth Sladen
Next: Invasion of the Dinosaurs