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DVD
FEATURES:
Description:
Journalist Sarah Jane Smith is impersonating
her aunt, virologist Lavinia Smith, in order to gain access to a
research centre where top scientists are being held in protective
custody while UNIT investigates the disappearance of a number of
their colleagues. The missing scientists have been kidnapped by a
Sontaran, Linx, and taken back to medieval England, where they are
working under hypnosis to repair his crashed spaceship.
The Doctor follows in the TARDIS, and Sarah stows away. In return
for shelter, Linx has provided a robber baron called Irongron with
anachronistically advanced weapons to use in attacks on neighbouring
castles.
Editorial Review:
SF Fraser "A Likely Lad" (Sheffield, England)
The Time Warrior is the first story of Jon Pertwee's final
season as Doctor Who, it is also the best story of that year's worth
of episodes.
The story is
notable for featuring a number of 'firsts', such as the appearance
of the Doctor's companion Sarah Jane Smith, played by Elisabeth
Sladen. Sarah would go on to become the most popular assistant for
the Doctor ever, a viewpoint that still stands today.
Elisabeth
Sladen's portrayal drives the story in many ways and sets the
pattern of what was to come, although she mellowed slightly from the
next story onwards. From a fiction point of view the adventure is
told through the eyes of Sarah, she as a new character is the focal
point with the various plot strands all coming together as a result
of her actions.
This is also
the first appearance of the Sontarans. Kevin Lindsay the actor
is quite simply wonderful in the part and it's no surprise that he
was asked back the following season to play another character in the
Sontaran race.
The Time
Warrior has the distinction of being the first story to actually
give a name to the Doctor's home planet, Gallifrey and while this
does not have any bearing on the plot it's a lovely little touch and
would have a massive influence on the series from then on.
The use of
historical settings in Doctor Who had been phased out during the
Patrick Troughton days and here it makes a return after several
years, it looks as if some money was actually spent on the show as
the location work compliments the story and gives the feel of the
1300's by being shot in real castles and surrounding woodland.
Jon Pertwee was
always excellent as the Doctor and here we see a new side to him, he
is more quiet, reserved and moody then he ever was before. He knew
that this was the beginning of his last season as the Doctor and the
death of his friend Roger Delgado and the departure of most of his
co-stars must have convinced him to reluctantly move on, but he used
this reluctant attitude in his playing of the Doctor to create a new
facet to his character, there is a genuine feeling of doom and
sadness which is refreshing, change was on the way.
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Sontarans and Rutans:
The Sontarans and the Rutans of Ruta 3 have been at war for
millennia. In the 12th century, Earth was of no strategic
significance, although in The Time Warrior Linx is on a
reconnaissance mission. Linx regards the war as a 'struggle
for freedom'. The Sontarans already have primitive time
technology, and are aware of Gallifrey.
Over the subsequent centuries the Rutans dominated the whole
of the Milky Way, probably ignoring Earth as being too
primitive and Gallifrey as too advanced. By the early
twentieth century, however, the Sontarans had fought back, and
Earth was on the front line. Less than 100 years later, with
the war raging in the Madillon Cluster, the Sontarans became
worried that the Third Zone governments might ally themselves
with the Rutans. They resumed their time travel experiments,
but still could not develop fully functioning time travel
craft.
By around the year 13000 the Milky Way once again assumed a
strategic importance in the Sontaran/Rutan war and the
Sontaran invasion of Gallifrey was a near disaster for the
galaxy.
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Cast List:
Jon Pertwee - The Third Doctor (51-74)
Elisabeth Sladen - Sarah Jane Smith (eps. 70-87)
Nicholas Courtney - Brigadier Alastair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart (eps.
41-156)
Kevin Lindsay - Linx
David Daker - Irongron
Alan Rowe - Edward of Wessex
Jeremy Bulloch - Hal
Professor Rubeish - Donald Pelmear
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Encoding:
Region 2 PAL
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Format:
Colour
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Rated: NR
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Studio:
2 Entertain Video
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DVD Release Date:
September 3, 2007
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Doctor Who:
The Time Warrior. England, the 12th century. Robber baron
Irongron is recruited by Linx, a Sontaran warrior whose starship has
been forced down on Earth. Linx is forced to use a time-travel
device to steal resources and scientists from the future to repair
his ship, but in doing so involves UNIT and the Doctor...
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