Review of the Complete Story:
I remember watching BATTLEFIELD when I was eight years old, and it was a story that really inspired me - I even wrote a tale about myself and others trapped in a glass tank filling rapidly with water. Nowadays I'm older and wiser and my eye is more critical, so it was with some hesitation that I revisited the adventure. After all, the previous Colin Baker outing (VENGEANCE ON VAROS) had left me a little cold.
And, sad to say, this is a story that just doesn't hold up that well these days. The sum of the parts is much less greater than the individual elements, and despite the Arthurian mythology and the soldier stuff it all comes across as a bit silly. The direction doesn't help - this was pitched as a big, exciting, action-packed adventure but what we get are lots of knights doing some embarrassingly slow stage-fighting and many pointless explosions.
It's not all bad, and there are certainly reasons for the fans to seek it out. The return of Nicholas Courtney (for the last time) is an obvious one, but Angela Bruce's new Brigadier is also good value. Jean Marsh is the 'proper' actress thrown into the mix, and there's even a role for ARMY OF DARKNESS actor Marcus Gilbert. CARRY ON fans may get a kick out of seeing Angela Douglas as the Brig's wife.
I'm still a fan of Sylvester McCoy - I think his mysterious character suited the Doctor very well - and Sophie Aldred is one of the better of the '80s companions. And it's certainly a fast-paced outing, much of it filmed in an old woods near my home (it was fun seeing the locations I've explored). But in other places it's truly cringe-worthy, like the scene with the cross-cutting between Ace going "bang!" and a grenade exploding; what were they thinking?!