User Reviews

The Brigadier rescues the Doctor from the stone spaceship before they set out to locate Morgaine before she gains Excalibur.

I don't get why knights are doing in the 80s, just all confused..

Doctor Who: Battlefield: Part Three starts as Ace (Sophie Aldred) is saved from the airlock by the Doctor (Sylvetser McCoy) who opens the outer hatch from which Ace can swim to the surface where Warmsly (James Ellis) & Ancelyn (Marcus Gilbert) see her, meanwhile back inside the spacecraft the Brigadier (Nicholas Courtney) & the Doctor are reunited at last as the former saves the later. Morgaine (Jean Marsh) has had enough, her son Mordred (Christopher Bowen) & the other Knights cause a diversion as she conjures up the Destroyer (Marek Anton) an incredibly powerful blue demon from hell as she increases her attempts to take possession of Excalibur...

Episode 3 from season 26 this Doctor Who adventure originally aired here in the UK during Septmeber 1989, directed by Michael Kerrigan I have to say that Battlefield has turned out much better than I had expected & I am actually finding myself enjoying it. The script by Ben Aaronovitch isn't perfect though by any stretch of the imagination, for a start I don't understand why the Knights from the parallel Universe would carry both sophisticated laser guns (despite having no destructive capability at all) & very antiquated broadswords. If ever there was two mismatched items these are surely it. Then there's Brigadier Bambera, oh God. Enough said. Part Three sees the reunion of the Doctor & (the proper) Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart, there's some nice self referential dialogue between them with the Doctor making comments about his gun-happy nature while the Brigadier mentions various old enemies including the Daleks & the Yeti from their previous encounters. The story in Battlefield has been good fun & certainly a lot better than many late 80's Doctor Who.

This episode sees the long awaited return of Bessie as well, the Doctors yellow car featured heavily during the Jon Pertwee era & the first time it has featured since The Five Doctors (1983) six years prior. Like Part Two when released on video Part Three was slightly extended with some cut footage reinstated including Ace being introduced to the Brigadier & a conversation between Ace & Shou Yuing. The production values haven't been half bad on Battlefield, apart from the poorly staged & somewhat limp looking battles the costumes & effects have generally been pretty good as have most of the sets. A lot of it was shot on location in Fulmar & Iver in Buckinghamshire, Leicestershire & locations in Lincolnshire too. The acting has been a bit hammy at times but fairly good, Jean Marsh as Morgaine first appeared in Doctor Who during season three's The Dalek's Master Plan (1965) which was also the first story Nicholas Courtney appeared in. Marcus Gilbert is quite likable as the naive Ancelyn while Angela Bruce as Bammera is awful.

Battlefield: Part Three is another good episode to a good story, at least there's a story here & it generally just about makes sense if you can overlook the drawing of chalk circles & blind people regaining their sight.