Written by Ben Aaronovitch after the success of Remembrance of the Daleks (1988), Battlefield brings back UNIT and the Brigadier for the final time in Classic Who, while bringing together history and the present day. He fascinatingly kicks off the story by introducing a new UNIT, bringing back the old Brigadier and placing marching medieval knights on modern-day Earth. Aaronovitch utilizes the classic Arthurian legend in a very surprising, yet natural manner. It's both exciting and very intense. The Brigadier is slowly drawn into the story, and his involvement could have been bigger, particularly since it takes two episodes for him to reach the setting of the story.
Jean Marsh, one of the best actresses to appear on the show, returns for the last time. She previously appeared in The Crusade (1965) and The Daleks' Master Plan (1965-1966) and here she plays Morgaine, one of the most compelling, scary and well-written female villains in the series' history. And Marsh is just as great as 20 years earlier, despite playing a villain this time. Angela Bruce is great as the new Brigadier, both fearless and a figure of authority, with similarities to the old Brigadier. Nicholas Courtney is just as good as during his recurring appearances in the 70s and his previous return in Mawdyn Undead (1983). Christopher Bowen, who would later audition for the Eighth Doctor, is a great Mordred and Marcus Gilbert is equally as Ancelyn. Both personify their 12th-century characters very believably.
I love the Doctor's new outfit, which suits the mystical nature of the McCoy Doctor very well. The Doctor is just as great here as he has been in the past season, and his darker and more manipulative side once again get the upper hand.
Ace is ace again, which is no big surprise. The Brigadier makes some surprising choices here, so I particularly like his heroics throughout this serial.
Morgaine is one of the greatest Doctor Who villains of all time, as she is both creepy and effective. A lesser actress would not have made much with her, but Jean Marsh elevates her into new heights. She has mysterious powers and seems more dangerous than many other villains or monsters. The Destroyer is a fine concept, and he looks as scary as he is ugly.
The direction and production design are very good, and the Destroyer's design, in particular, is a success. The music is filled with danger and excitement.
The past references, UNIT action and intense atmosphere keep this four-partner flowing very well. It's not the fastest in the show's history but works fairly well nonetheless.
This is an exciting and intense adventure, with many scary sequences and a great connection to the show's golden days. There's some demonic boogaloo going around and the final episode feature some rather exciting fight sequences. The last episode is a very intense and exciting one, with extremely high stakes.
Battlefield brought back UNIT and the Brigadier for a final time in the classic series while also deepening the original Cartmel Master Plan. It holds a special place in many fans' hearts for its ties to the show's history.
An exciting, intense and cleverly written adventure, this is one I will be watching again sometime!
RANDOM OBSERVATIONS:
This story marks the final onscreen appearance of the Brigadier and the first and only appearance of his wife, Doris. The Brigadier appears in Big Finish audios in the early 2000s and his daughter Kate appears in several episodes of the revived series.
It's pretty interesting to see the late 90s version of UNIT, led by Brigadier Winifred Bambera. There are many similarities, yet many differences to the UNIT of the 70s.
The Doctor still carries Liz Shaw's old UNIT pass with him, as well as his own.
There is something oddly satisfying about the Brigadier doing some gardening together with his wife.
Jean Marsh and Nicholas Courtney both previously shared screen-time on Doctor Who during the 12-part epic The Daleks' Master Plan, which was Courtney's Doctor Who debut. He played the brother of Marsh's character, Sara Kingdom.
The Part Two cliffhanger is one of the most intense moments in Doctor Who history. Behind the scenes, it almost saw Sophie Aldred drown inside the water tank, had Sylvester McCoy not interfered in time!
The Doctor's beloved car Bessie returns, having previously appeared in The Five Doctors (1983).
Ace shouts "Geronimo!" which becomes a catchphrase of the Eleventh Doctor.
Review by Theo KallströmVIP 6BlockedParentSpoilers2020-07-15T09:02:50Z
Written by Ben Aaronovitch after the success of Remembrance of the Daleks (1988), Battlefield brings back UNIT and the Brigadier for the final time in Classic Who, while bringing together history and the present day. He fascinatingly kicks off the story by introducing a new UNIT, bringing back the old Brigadier and placing marching medieval knights on modern-day Earth. Aaronovitch utilizes the classic Arthurian legend in a very surprising, yet natural manner. It's both exciting and very intense. The Brigadier is slowly drawn into the story, and his involvement could have been bigger, particularly since it takes two episodes for him to reach the setting of the story.
Jean Marsh, one of the best actresses to appear on the show, returns for the last time. She previously appeared in The Crusade (1965) and The Daleks' Master Plan (1965-1966) and here she plays Morgaine, one of the most compelling, scary and well-written female villains in the series' history. And Marsh is just as great as 20 years earlier, despite playing a villain this time.
Angela Bruce is great as the new Brigadier, both fearless and a figure of authority, with similarities to the old Brigadier. Nicholas Courtney is just as good as during his recurring appearances in the 70s and his previous return in Mawdyn Undead (1983). Christopher Bowen, who would later audition for the Eighth Doctor, is a great Mordred and Marcus Gilbert is equally as Ancelyn. Both personify their 12th-century characters very believably.
I love the Doctor's new outfit, which suits the mystical nature of the McCoy Doctor very well. The Doctor is just as great here as he has been in the past season, and his darker and more manipulative side once again get the upper hand.
Ace is ace again, which is no big surprise. The Brigadier makes some surprising choices here, so I particularly like his heroics throughout this serial.
Morgaine is one of the greatest Doctor Who villains of all time, as she is both creepy and effective. A lesser actress would not have made much with her, but Jean Marsh elevates her into new heights. She has mysterious powers and seems more dangerous than many other villains or monsters.
The Destroyer is a fine concept, and he looks as scary as he is ugly.
The direction and production design are very good, and the Destroyer's design, in particular, is a success. The music is filled with danger and excitement.
The past references, UNIT action and intense atmosphere keep this four-partner flowing very well. It's not the fastest in the show's history but works fairly well nonetheless.
This is an exciting and intense adventure, with many scary sequences and a great connection to the show's golden days. There's some demonic boogaloo going around and the final episode feature some rather exciting fight sequences. The last episode is a very intense and exciting one, with extremely high stakes.
Battlefield brought back UNIT and the Brigadier for a final time in the classic series while also deepening the original Cartmel Master Plan. It holds a special place in many fans' hearts for its ties to the show's history.
An exciting, intense and cleverly written adventure, this is one I will be watching again sometime!
RANDOM OBSERVATIONS:
This story marks the final onscreen appearance of the Brigadier and the first and only appearance of his wife, Doris. The Brigadier appears in Big Finish audios in the early 2000s and his daughter Kate appears in several episodes of the revived series.
It's pretty interesting to see the late 90s version of UNIT, led by Brigadier Winifred Bambera. There are many similarities, yet many differences to the UNIT of the 70s.
The Doctor still carries Liz Shaw's old UNIT pass with him, as well as his own.
There is something oddly satisfying about the Brigadier doing some gardening together with his wife.
Jean Marsh and Nicholas Courtney both previously shared screen-time on Doctor Who during the 12-part epic The Daleks' Master Plan, which was Courtney's Doctor Who debut. He played the brother of Marsh's character, Sara Kingdom.
The Part Two cliffhanger is one of the most intense moments in Doctor Who history. Behind the scenes, it almost saw Sophie Aldred drown inside the water tank, had Sylvester McCoy not interfered in time!
The Doctor's beloved car Bessie returns, having previously appeared in The Five Doctors (1983).
Ace shouts "Geronimo!" which becomes a catchphrase of the Eleventh Doctor.
Score: 96/120