The Time Warrior

Actually, I'm not a magician at all

In many ways, the story that introduced the Sontaran race mirrors the race itself: it starts strong with a menacing monster, but slows down and ends in a more comedic fashion.

Plot Summary

A Sontaran named Lynx crashes to Earth in the Middle Ages and immediately forges an alliance with a rogue noble named Irongron. Lynx offers more advanced weapons in exchange for a workshop and materials to work with. As the Middle Ages lack circuitry and computers, Lynx uses parts of his ship to steal men and equipment he needs from as far forward as he can reach, which turns out to be the Twentieth Century. The disappearing scientists and equipment catch the attention of UNIT and the Doctor is brought in to investigate. Also sneaking in is Sarah Jane Smith, a reporter who masquerades as her aunt Livinia to get in. The Doctor quickly smokes her out but the disappearance of another scientist gets his attention. Using equipment set up, he figures that the scientists are being pulled back in time and he follows the signal in the TARDIS. Unbeknownst to him, Sarah has snuck aboard the TARDIS to see what is going on.

Upon arriving in the Middle Ages, each leaves the TARDIS separately, the Doctor unaware of Sarah. She is captured by Irongron's men along with an archer named Hal, who had been sent to assassinate Irongron. Sarah refuses to believe that she is actually in the past and manages to slip away when Lynx presents Irongron with a fighting robot. Irongron guides the robot to kill Hal but the Doctor destroys the remote and Irongron is forced to destroy the robot when it goes rogue. Hal and Sarah slip away back to the castle of Edward of Wessex, whom Hal serves. Believing the Doctor to be supplying weapons to Irongron, Sarah convinces Edward to send a few men to capture the Doctor. Meanwhile, the Doctor confronts Lynx and tries to reason with him. However, he is subdued and forced to work on the ship. But he is soon freed when it turns out that one of the scientist, named Rubeish, was immune to Lynx's mind control due to his very poor eyesight. The Doctor escapes Lynx's shop and Irongron's castle when he is captured by Edward's raiding party.

Once at the castle, the Doctor convinces Sarah that he's trying to help the scientist and offers to help Edward. Using dummies and stink bombs, the Doctor and the small castle garrison unnerve Irongron's men and drive them back to his own castle. The Doctor and Sarah sneak back to Irongron's castle. Sarah disguises herself as a maid and slips a sleeping tonic into the garrison's food. The Doctor slips back down to Lynx's lab and begins to unhypnotize the scientists. He is caught by Lynx but Lynx is subdued when hit from behind by Rubeish. The Doctor instructs Rubeish on how to wake the others and to wait for his return. He then tries to distract Irongron by posing as a new fighting robot. He is discovered and Irongron's men attempt to kill him by using him as target practice. Sarah intervenes and the two escape back to Edward's castle.

Knowing that the sleeping agent will allow them access and knowing that Lynx will soon leave in his repaired ship, destroying everything in the castle, the Doctor and Sarah return, accompanied by Hal. As the men fall asleep at their posts, they walk in and head down to Lynx's lab. Lynx has activated his ship and has informed Irongron of his intention to leave, warning them to abandon the castle. While Lynx is away, the Doctor begins to send the scientist back to their own time. Lynx arrives in the middle but the Doctor holds him off while the rest depart. Irongron, alerted to trouble when Hal attempts to disarm him, waking him, runs down to Lynx's workshop thinking he has betrayed them. Lynx shoots Irongron and then retreats to his ship when it alerts him that it is ready for takeoff. The other men in the castle, wake from the drug and flee the castle. Hal also returns to the workshop and sees Lynx preparing to leave. He shoots him in the probic vent, causing him to collapse and accidentally trigger the ignition before the ship is ready. Hal, Sarah and the Doctor flee the castle and it and the Sontaran ship explode. The Doctor and Sarah say goodbye to Hal and leave in the TARDIS.

Analysis

This was an entertaining episode in the action-adventure mode that you expect from the Third Doctor. Lynx and the Sontarans in general make for good foes and with Robert Holmes writing, the banter is fairly witty throughout. The introduction of Sarah is also good as she comes in as a strong contrast to Jo with an independent, feminist streak that doesn't take it from the Doctor. Holmes even manages to pull a little double action with Sarah promoting feminism among the serving women of the kitchen, but also poking a little fun at it with the head server mocking her for being young and not knowing sense.

There are a few downsides to this story as well. The going back and forth between Edward's and Irongron's castles gets a bit tedious and you get a sense that if they didn't have these interludes, the story could have made tighter. Irongron himself was fine at first, but by Episode Four he was becoming a bit too one note. I would have liked a little more depth to him, a touch more cunning. If not that, I think more focus should have been put on Lynx. I understand why Lynx didn't get the primary focus since he was only interested in repairing his ship and didn't care about the fights of the "primitive" humans. But it still would have been nice to see a little more machination on his part.

The more significant problem was with how the story ended. The story began well with a bit of an edge and the humor coming more from the absurdity of an alien warrior landing in the Middle Ages. However, the more it progressed, the more given to silliness the story seemed to get. The fights were either of a Benny Hill running around style or they deliberately avoided killing in order to prolong the story. Early in Episode Three, Hal shoots an axe out of Irongron's hand to save the Doctor. However, it would have been an even easier shot to lodge the arrow in Irongron's head, killing him. But that would have ended the story too quickly. By the end, the fight between the Doctor and Lynx seemed rushed with some odd cuts. It gave the story a more farcical feel with a hasty ending to allow the good guys to win. It was a bit of a let down to a decent adventure.

As I was thinking about what to score this, I compared it in my mind to The Claws of Axos. Both stories had a threat that developed quickly, outside agents being involved, and a generally fast paced story that kept you from wondering how much time was left in each episode. Also like Axos, the ending felt slapdash and rushed with an odd resolution. So I think you can draw a fair comparison between the two. Good stories, no complaints if someone pulls it off the shelf to watch it, but not something I'm going to reach for every time.

Overall personal score: 3.5 out of 5