Robert Holmes returns with another entertaining pseudo-historical, introducing viewers to Sontarans and beloved companions Sarah Jane Smith.
Story: 9
The Time Warrior is one of the most entertaining pseudo-historicals in the series and a great introduction of another iconic alien race, the Sontarans. But above all, this story introduces Sarah Jane Smith, whoa arguably the most popular companion in the series' history.
Robert Holmes has crafted a fun little historical adventure, with a memorable villain and some over-the-top characterisations of medieval people. It's pretty lighthearted but also an interesting combination of a historical adventure and an Earth Invasion story.
Acting: 10
Donald Pelmear appears as the most stereotypical professor I've ever seen. It took 11 years for the show to introduce such a character. But I love Rubeish and his whimsical and strange manners.
Elisabeth Sladen begins her long association with the show, introduced as the new companion, the fearless journalist Sarah Jane Smith. She immediately comes across as confident and ready to put up a fight. her best stories arrive with Tom Baker, but she is great throughout Pertwee's final season.
Kevin Lindsay makes a lasting impression as Linx the Sontaran. Next to Dan Starkey from the revived series, he is the best actor to portray a Sontaran character.
David Daker seems to have a good time playing Irongron. He overdoes it slightly, but he's great fun to watch.
The Doctor: 10
The Doctor seems distant and introvert after losing Jo, but he soon realizes that Sarah messes things up to an extent that he needs to interfere.
The Companions: 10
Sarah Jane Smith immediately stands out by not only being a journalist but by being a very good one. The Doctor can't keep up with the fact that she knows exactly which questions to ask and won't be played around by the Doctor. She's also not frozen by having been transported back in time but shows that she is more than able to take care of herself. It's also hilarious that she thinks the Doctor is the villain here.
The Monster/Villain: 10
The Sontarans are the best glorious warlike race on the show and Linx is a great representative of the race. Not funny like Strax and not stereotypically evil, just a crash-landed alien who needs to escape to return to his glorious war with the Rutans.
Irongron is a warrior who'd suit ant story set in medieval time. He's like drawn from the legends of Robin Hood.
Production: 11
Once again, the BBC puts good use of its experience in producing period pieces, since the sets and costumes all look great. This story doesn't rely too much on visual effects, so the focus is on the sets. And the visual side, together with the solid directing, works very well.
Pacing: 9
This is another well-paced Robert Holmes-scripted adventure. It has some minor padding in the middle, but it doesnät feel too long.
Atmosphere: 10
This is a pretty lighthearted adventure, but not played for laughs. There's plenty of hilarious moments, but the acting is serious and the stakes feel high. It's a nice change of pace after a couple of darker storylines.
Impact: 11
Robert Holmes created yet another iconic alien race, successfully introduced a new companion and showed that historical adventures can still be great fun.
Replay Value: 9
Like so many Holmesian four-parters, The Time Warrior is a fun little adventure to rewatch from time to time.
Random Observations:
The new title sequencer and the famous diamond logo are introduced here and used for the rest of the 70s. It's my favourite title sequence of the Classic Era, but I liked the first Pertwee logo better.
Por Sarah Jane. She seems to be the companion who constantly gets mind-controller or hypnotized by the bad guys. It happens here for the very first time and will happen many times over before her exit.
Episode 2 finally gives us the name of the Doctor's home planet, Gallifrey. Another invention of writer Robert Holmes.
Rubeish will be added to my list of memorable and favourite supporting characters, along with Sean from The Underwater Menace, Kemel from The Evil of the Daleks and Toberman from Tomb of the Cybermen.
Review by Theo KallströmVIP 6BlockedParent2020-06-18T05:58:57Z
Robert Holmes returns with another entertaining pseudo-historical, introducing viewers to Sontarans and beloved companions Sarah Jane Smith.
Story: 9
The Time Warrior is one of the most entertaining pseudo-historicals in the series and a great introduction of another iconic alien race, the Sontarans. But above all, this story introduces Sarah Jane Smith, whoa arguably the most popular companion in the series' history.
Robert Holmes has crafted a fun little historical adventure, with a memorable villain and some over-the-top characterisations of medieval people. It's pretty lighthearted but also an interesting combination of a historical adventure and an Earth Invasion story.
Acting: 10
Donald Pelmear appears as the most stereotypical professor I've ever seen. It took 11 years for the show to introduce such a character. But I love Rubeish and his whimsical and strange manners.
Elisabeth Sladen begins her long association with the show, introduced as the new companion, the fearless journalist Sarah Jane Smith. She immediately comes across as confident and ready to put up a fight. her best stories arrive with Tom Baker, but she is great throughout Pertwee's final season.
Kevin Lindsay makes a lasting impression as Linx the Sontaran. Next to Dan Starkey from the revived series, he is the best actor to portray a Sontaran character.
David Daker seems to have a good time playing Irongron. He overdoes it slightly, but he's great fun to watch.
The Doctor: 10
The Doctor seems distant and introvert after losing Jo, but he soon realizes that Sarah messes things up to an extent that he needs to interfere.
The Companions: 10
Sarah Jane Smith immediately stands out by not only being a journalist but by being a very good one. The Doctor can't keep up with the fact that she knows exactly which questions to ask and won't be played around by the Doctor. She's also not frozen by having been transported back in time but shows that she is more than able to take care of herself. It's also hilarious that she thinks the Doctor is the villain here.
The Monster/Villain: 10
The Sontarans are the best glorious warlike race on the show and Linx is a great representative of the race. Not funny like Strax and not stereotypically evil, just a crash-landed alien who needs to escape to return to his glorious war with the Rutans.
Irongron is a warrior who'd suit ant story set in medieval time. He's like drawn from the legends of Robin Hood.
Production: 11
Once again, the BBC puts good use of its experience in producing period pieces, since the sets and costumes all look great. This story doesn't rely too much on visual effects, so the focus is on the sets. And the visual side, together with the solid directing, works very well.
Pacing: 9
This is another well-paced Robert Holmes-scripted adventure. It has some minor padding in the middle, but it doesnät feel too long.
Atmosphere: 10
This is a pretty lighthearted adventure, but not played for laughs. There's plenty of hilarious moments, but the acting is serious and the stakes feel high. It's a nice change of pace after a couple of darker storylines.
Impact: 11
Robert Holmes created yet another iconic alien race, successfully introduced a new companion and showed that historical adventures can still be great fun.
Replay Value: 9
Like so many Holmesian four-parters, The Time Warrior is a fun little adventure to rewatch from time to time.
Random Observations:
The new title sequencer and the famous diamond logo are introduced here and used for the rest of the 70s. It's my favourite title sequence of the Classic Era, but I liked the first Pertwee logo better.
Por Sarah Jane. She seems to be the companion who constantly gets mind-controller or hypnotized by the bad guys. It happens here for the very first time and will happen many times over before her exit.
Episode 2 finally gives us the name of the Doctor's home planet, Gallifrey. Another invention of writer Robert Holmes.
Rubeish will be added to my list of memorable and favourite supporting characters, along with Sean from The Underwater Menace, Kemel from The Evil of the Daleks and Toberman from Tomb of the Cybermen.
Score: 99/120