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Synopsis
The TARDIS materialises in the English countryside near the village of Carbury, where a nuclear missile convoy under the command of UNIT's Brigadier Winifred Bambera has run into difficulties. Lying on the bed of the nearby Lake Vortigern is a spaceship from another dimension containing the body of King Arthur, supposedly held in suspended animation, and his sword Excalibur.
Ancelyn, a knight from the other dimension, arrives on Earth to aid the King but is followed by his rival Mordred and the latter's mother, a powerful sorceress named Morgaine. They all recognise the Doctor as Merlin - a fact that the Time Lord attributes to events in his own future.
A battle breaks out between UNIT and Morgaine's men. Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart has come out of retirement to assist in the crisis and ends up using silver bullets to kill the Destroyer - an awesomely powerful creature unshackled by Morgaine to devour the world - although he himself is almost killed in the process.
Morgaine tries to fire the nuclear missile but is overcome by shock when the Doctor tells her that Arthur is in fact dead. She and her son are then taken prisoner by UNIT.
Plot
to be added
Cast
- The Doctor - Sylvester McCoy
- Ace - Sophie Aldred
- Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart - Nicholas Courtney
- Morgaine - Jean Marsh
- Brigadier Winifred Bambera - Angela Bruce
- Mordred - Christopher Bowen
- Ancelyn - Marcus Gilbert
- Doris Lethbridge-Stewart - Angela Douglas
- Shou Yuing - Ling Tai
- Peter Warmsly - James Ellis
- Pat Rowlinson - Noel Collins
- Elizabeth Rowlinson - June Bland
- Sergeant Zbrigniev - Robert Jezek
- Flight Lieutenant Lavel - Dorota Rae
- Knight Commander - Stefan Schwartz
- Major Husak - Paul Tomany
- The Destroyer - Marek Anton
Crew
- Assistant Floor Managers - Matthew Purves, Julian Herne
- Costumes - Anushia Nieradzik
- Designer - Martin Collins
- Incidental Music - Keff McCulloch
- Make-Up - Juliette Mayer
- OB Cameramen - Paul Harding, Alan Jessop
- Producer - John Nathan-Turner
- Production Assistant - Rosemary Parsons
- Production Associate - June Collins
- Script Editor - Andrew Cartmel
- Special Sounds - Dick Mills
- Stunt Arranger - Alf Joint
- Theme Arrangement - Keff McCulloch
- Title Music - Ron Grainer
- Visual Effects - Dave Bezkorowajny
References
- UNIT appears in this story.
- The Brigadier is married to Doris Lethbridge-Stewart and has been replaced by Winifred Bambera.
- The Doctor uses Bessie again, and the license plate now reads "WHO 7".
- The Brigadier talks of how UNIT has been busy, acquiring bullets that would go through a Dalek, and other bullets for Yetis and robots, including gold-tipped bullets for Cybermen
- The Doctor and Ace use passes that he thought he would never need again. Her pass belonged to Liz Shaw.
- The Doctor cries out 'Yeti, Autons, Daleks, Cybermen, Silurians' when trying to show Bambera that he was indeed a member of UNIT.
- The Doctor from Morgaine's reality was called Merlin there is some implication that the Doctor is Merlin (or will be).
Story Notes
- This story had the working title of; Storm Over Avallion.
- Jean Marsh previously played Joanna in The Crusade and Sara Kingdom in The Daleks' Master Plan.
- This is the last appearance of the Brigadier and of UNIT in the classic series.
- After the remembrance ceremony in Part 2 Morgaine says that she will kill the Brigadier next time they meet. 2000 years later, during "The Daleks' Master Plan", Sara Kingdom, played by Jean Marsh, kills Bret Vyon, played by Nicholas Courtney.
Ratings
- Part 1 - 3.1 million viewers
- Part 2 - 3.9 million viewers
- Part 3 - 3.6 million viewers
- Part 4 - 4.0 million viewers
Myths
- The incidental music for this story was originally to have been provided by the rock group Hawkwind. (It wasn't.)
Filming Locations
Lake Vortigern, Carbury.
Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors
- When Morgaine strikes Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart's helicopter, the smoke box used for this effect can clearly be seen attached to the back of the left landing skid.
- Set several years in Ace's future the serial shows a five pound coin in circulation. A large silver five pound coin was issued as legal tender in 1997, though these are only found in limited numbers. No mention of this coin has yet been made in episodes of the new series which is set further into the same future. Arguably this is because that future is now the present and such "futuristic" narrative devices are thus unnecessary.
- Although this takes place some time after 1989 when it was broadcast, it would appear to take place prior to 2009-2010, the approximate timeframe of a scheduled appearance by a much older Brigadier in The Sarah Jane Adventures. This causes a continuity issues as Battlefield makes reference to there being a king on the throne, suggesting that Queen Elizabeth II has either died or abdicated by this time. Yet she is still on the throne in the timeframe of the Doctor Who revival and The Sarah Jane Adventures (per Voyage of the Damned). An attempt to reconcile this eventuality was attempted years prior to the revival when the Virgin New Adventures series established that at some point the Brigadier has his youth restored to him. It remains to be seen, however, if televised continuity will follow suit.
Continuity
- Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart last appeared on screen in The Five Doctors.
- Doris was first mentioned in Planet of the Spiders.
- The Seventh Doctor meets Lethrbidge-Stewart for the 'first time' (from the Brigadier's perspective) in NA: No Future (and then wipes his memory of the event so he could meet him for the first time in this story).
- Bambera reappears in NA: Head Games.
- Alistair Lethbridge Stewart reappears after this story in NA: Happy Endings (where his memory is restored) and EDA: The Shadows of Avalon.
DVD and Video Releases
This story has been confirmed for DVD release on November 17th 2008.
Novelisation
- Main article: Battlefield (novelisation)
- Novelised as Battlefield in 1991 by Marc Platt.
External Links
- BBC Episode Guide for Battlefield
- Outpost Gallifrey Episode Guide: Battlefield
- Doctor Who Reference Guide: Detailed Synopsis - Battlefield
- A Brief History of Time (Travel) entry for Battlefield
