Doctor Who: Battlefield (DVD)

The irony is, of course, that fans and critics alike agreed that, just as the BBC decided to cancel Doctor Who (albeit without telling anyone), the production team had finally got it right.

Season 26 opened with a whimper and the production team learnt a very valuable lesson - it was better to get a group of people who loved Doctor Who to make the programme rather than a group who couldn't care less. Consequently, fans such as Mike Tucker made great special effects, and Sue Moore and Stephen Mansfield creatd brilliant monsters like the Haemovores. And moreso, fans were writing the stories. And they were all loved.

Except Battlefield. The opening serial was spat upon, and even writer Ben Aaronovitch believes that it is his biggest failure. And he's actually wrong. He gets it right on the audio commentary, though, when he says that the acting and direction were on top form, and his script editor Andrew Cartmel says the script is very good, but Aaronovitch also points out that there are other departments that just didn't seem to care. And he is right here because there are two versions of the story on this DVD - the transmitted TV version and a movie version with new effects, missing material restored and, most crucially, new sound effects. The sound effects make all the difference, clarifying inane dialogue that seems to make no sense in the transmitted version.

So, yes, Battlefield is actually a good and underrated story. The idea of making the Doctor Merlin seems, on reflection, glaringly obvious, and you can't understand why this wasn't done earlier. The rest of the Arthurian legend fits in very nicely, with Jean Marsh playing a brilliant version of Morgaine, and Christopher Bowen giving a delightful performance of Mordred (as long as you ignore the fact he can't do insane laughter for nuts). Marcus Gilbert is brilliant as Ancelyn and Lin Tai is tolerable as Shou Yuing.

However the top performances are regulars Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred as the Doctor and Ace, developing the relationship between the two very nicely (and how hot does Sophie look in this story), while Angela Bruce is outstanding as the new head of UNIT, Brigadier Bambera. The shock of seeing a black woman leading UNIT doesn't have quite the same effect today as it would have back in 1989, but it makes little difference because Bruce is just brilliant.

However all this fades into insignificance because this story sees the return of the Brigadier. Nicholas Courtney is such an integral part of Doctor Who nowadays it's hard to imagine there was a time when the character wasn't there. When he turned up in Sarah Jane Adventures last year it seemed entirely appropriate and when the old war horse opens Battlefield one can't help but cheer. He almost overshadows the return of the Doctor's vintage roadster, Bessie.
Battlefield may not be the best of Season 26, but it's still a thrilling story and works very well even today.

"B"