WRITTEN BY
Steve Gallagher, an English author who made the mistake of writing a novel instead of a script.
PLOT
Finding themselves in a "gateway realm" between E-space and N-space, the TARDIS crew run into trouble when they encounter a stranded cargo ship, whose owners are willing to do anything to get out, most notably killing Tharils, a time-sensitive race with a dark past...
ANALYSIS
Sounds simple enough? Well, the problem is that apart from this premise, nothing in this story makes sense. Stuff just... happens. I do believe there's a logic behind this story(after all, it was turned into a book later), but as a first-time viewer, I was completely baffled at how little Warriors' Gate bothered to explain its own premise. It's not like Heaven Sent, where the story unfolds beautifully... stuff just HAPPENS. And that's it.
Here's an example: on multiple occasions throughout the story, the characters appear in a (CSO) monochromatic garden. Where is the garden? What is the relevance of the garden? Why is the garden in black and white?
All the characters seem to understand what's going on(except the humans, ironically)... but Steve Gallagher simply made no attempt to draw the viewers into it. I suppose there's some form of brilliance in that(for once, the complex mechanics of the Doctor's alien life aren't translated for us), but I'm more keen to believe that it's just a bit of incompetent storytelling.
Sorry, Warriors' Gate fans. I don't think this is a surrealist masterpiece. It's just a really well-directed and acted mess.
CHARACTERS
The one thing Warriors' Gate has in spades is a sense of grandeur, and it makes Tom Baker look magnificient. Continuing his phenomenal run this season, his exploration of the castle is extremely fascinating, his toying with the frustrated captain of the cargo ship is a source of endless amusement and really, I must say I finally, properly see the Fourth Doctor as perhaps the greatest incarnation of the character.
Because in this last season, he's had it all: mystery, eccentricity, a dark, depressed self and the childish glee. Over the years, Tom has been all over the map in terms of characterisation, but finally, finally he perfectly nailed down everything I love about the Doctor. I actually really don't want him to go now!!
Romana, Romana, Romana... *sigh*. You were indeed the noblest of them all. You also had the most crap companion departure ever. Dodo Chaplet's off-screen farewell made more sense than this did. Ditto for K-9.
I don't mean to spoil, but what basically happens is that at the climax of the adventure, right before the TARDIS dematerialises, Romana goes like "actually, I'm staying. You cool with that?" And then the Doctor is like "WTF?? Uh... okay. Take K-9. You're awesome, byeeee!!"
That departure would be awful for anybody, but Romana and K-9 are iconic in their own right! Mary Tamm and Lalla Ward(who I really grew to admire) created this wonderful character(the BEST female companion in my opinion) who was able to bounce right off the Doctor and really share his life in a way no other companion could.
K-9 was the champion of young fans everywhere and had such a lovably straight-laced persona that perfectly fitted in with the Doctor's boisterous approach. It was a match made in heaven. I should also mention that K-9 is the show's longest running companion(Sarah Jane lasted three seasons and two stories, whereas K-9 lasted three seasons and five stories). The only true regret I have with him is that he was perpetually underused in the show and spent most of his latter two seasons broken down. Season 18 was the worst time for him, as even his personality got sucked out. Thank God for RTD bringing him back in full glory for School Reunion and The Sarah Jane Adventures.
Oh yeah, and then there's Adric, who's barely even in this. His only real goal in the entire story is to be all symbolic by flipping a coin over and over again. I do look forward to see how he and the Fourth Doctor get along alone in the next story.
With Clifford Rose's Captain Rorvik, we see the return of a classic Troughton-era trope: the psychotic commander. And he's a great one too, acting like a dangerously obsessive, grumpy CEO.
Kenneth Cope(of Coronation Street fame) appeared as Packard, the most likable of the cargo crew. Nothing really else to say. I just liked the actor.
Gallagher tried to also include a Holmesian double-act of two crewmembers, who basically just want to be left alone, but their personalities were a bit ill-defined(one was just slightly more lazy than the other) and their antics just really weren't funny, nor did they fit into this kind of dramatic story.
And then there's Biroc aka "he who defies logic". Whenever he appeared, nothing made sense.
NOTES
*I've seen some other reviewers praise the crewmembers for ignoring Rorvik, since it's more 'realistic'. Um, how realistic is it to ignore your commanding officer when you're TRAPPED IN ANOTHER UNIVERSE?!?!
*So, K-9 has the entire design of the TARDIS fitted into his databanks? Well, it's not as bad as Donna giving Rose a piece of coral to grow a new TARDIS from in Journey's End(that almost actually happened...), but still, very implausible.
*Can't the Doctor just get another K-9 out of the box?
*The Doctor's Season 17 costume is hanging on the hatstand. That's a nice touch.
*How did the TARDIS even end up in the Gateway? Last we saw of it, it was lost in E-space.
*What's the deal with the Tharils? They apparently had an empire, it crumbled and now... ?
*If the cargo ship owners are from N-space(as the author claims), how did they discover the Tharils and how to make use of them, and how did they end up stuck in the Gateway?
*Why did Tom Baker and Lalla Ward hate Matthew Waterhouse(even if I didn't know, it's kind of obvious).
CONTINUITY ADVISOR
Romana's desire to not return to Gallifrey from Full Circle is resolved here(awfully), as is the E-space plot arc. Apart from that, not much.
BEST QUOTE
"He's mad, the backblast backlash will bounce back and destroy everything." - Romana.
CONCLUSION
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