Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4635 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-09-03
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 91 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Dating back to the mid-1970s, and starring Jon Pertwee in the title role, The Time Warrior is a superb part of Doctor Who's back catalogue, and is every bit as enjoyable today as it was back then.

Notable as much for introducing Elisebeth Sladen's iconic Sarah-Jane Smith to Doctor Who, The Time Warrior finds UNIT investigating the disappearance of a number of their top scientists. Soon, it appears that it's a Sontaran (surely one of the classic Doctor Who villains) to blame, who has been kidnapping said scientists and dragging them back in time. And it's up to the Doctor and his new companion to get to the bottom of it all.

Thus the scene is set for a Doctor Who adventure in the midst of medieval Britain, and a rollicking good one it is too. In spite of the fact that it was their first story together, the crackling chemistry between Pertwee and Sladen is there for all to enjoy, and courtesy of a cracking, twisty script, there's plenty to enjoy here. It's all aided by a supporting cast who more than do it all justice too, with Nicholas Courtenay's Brigadier aided by the likes of June Brown and Bella Emberg!

With a glimpse into the back story of the Doctor, and plenty of rewatch value too, The Time Warrior is an unmissable adventure in Doctor Who's heritage, and one that would be real folly to miss. --Jon Foster

Synopsis
The mysterious disappearance of several top scientists sends Doctor Who back in time to the Middle Ages where a stranded Sontaran fleet commander is preparing to wage a high-tech war.

Customer Reviews

A classic Jon Pertwee dvd ... and about time too
The Time Warrior is unique for several reasons. Firstly, it introduces us to Sarah Jane Smith superbly played by Elisabeth Sladen. Sarah Jane is one of the best of the Doctors companions and has also appeared in the new Doctor Who series (School Reunion) and now has her own spin of series The Sarah Jane Adventures.

Secondly, this story marks the first appearance of the Sontarans. Linx the Sontaran is played by the late Kevin Lindsey who gives an excellent performance. Kevin would reprise his role as a Sontaran in the Tom Baker story The Sontaran Experiment. The Sontarans would also go on to appear in The Invasion Of Time and The Two Doctors as well as numerous comic strips and novels.

Thirdly, this is the first time the story has been released in an unedited form. The picture looks superb so you can now get rid of your old edited video version.

So, all in all a great package with the usual entertaining commentary track - this time by Elizabeth Sladen, Terrence Dicks and Barry Letts who give a thoughtfull insight to the making of the story. It seems an age since the last Jon Pertwee dvd was released. I hope that next year more Pertwee stories will be released. How about Terror Of The Autons or The Silurians? Fingers crossed.

A Number Of Firsts
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 noteable 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. In many ways this is perhaps her most intense performance, here is a woman that is a firm believer in Women's Lib and independence and comes across as the strongest female character the show has ever seen, I've always detected parallels of Sarah in Rose Tyler and it's interesting that when they meet in 'School Reunion' Sarah wins the battle between them and puts Rose in her place.
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, the only top five enemy of the Doctor to be created in the 70's, joining the likes of the Daleks, the Cybermen, the Ice Warriors etc. This is also the best portrayal of the creatures in the series, 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 destinction 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.

The special features include a commentary track by Elisabeth Sladen, Barry Letts, the producer and Terrance Dicks who served as script editor. There is a documentary entitled 'Beginning the End' that is essential a making off... shot at the original location, there are original BBC Trails and continuities and the usual photo gallery. The whole story as been treated to a substantial amount of CGI, replacing the 1970's special effects with more modern versions, this is an optional alternative of the story, the original being played by the automatic default.

All in all this is a solid well made story that will never top any 'Best of...' polls but is simply good entertainment and drama and has put this DVD range back on track after the rather lame previous release of Doctor Who DVD's.

The one with Humpty Dumpty...
This season actually stands up quite well. I vividly remember the days leading up to this, the first story of Pertwee's last season. The Radio Times for the week of Part One had Jon on the cover and for that reason I got my Mum to buy it for me (I still have it), and what was really exciting at the time was that just prior to Part One, the Radio Times 10th Anniversary special came out. This featured synopses for the coming season and I thought that was great (though not as great as the complete listing of all the stories in the series' history). I am sure that most people who watched this show who watched this show remember the end of part one where Lynx reveals his face. Unfortunately my first thought was Humpty Dumpty rather than terrifying alien.

The story itself is entertaining enough and introduces the best companion in the show's history. I watched it with the new CGI effects and thought that they really helped the story. The acting is mostly good, but as mentioned in one of the earlier reviews, the sentry's big scene, where the Doctor & Sarah bluff their way into Irongron's castle is hilarious. A study in appalling acting (even worse than some of the stuff in Planet of Spiders). This is the only decent Sontaran story.

The special features are quite good and there is an easter egg.

Certainly worth buying.