'Doctor Who – Warriors' Gate' (1981)

I wasn't sure how today was going to pan out (the kids are away on holiday with their Mum) but I ended up watching a lot of 'Doctor Who' (old and new), amongst other things, so I'm counting that as a win. And of course I was going to finish off the 'E-Space' box set, there was no question of that. The previous stories were good to watch (and I know what I said about 'Full Circle' but it was still fun at the same time) but as a kid, I only saw a little of 'Full Circle' and didn't see 'State of Decay' at all. 'Warriors' Gate' though... I made my way through that and also had the book to go with it. I still read the book, every now and then, but it has been a long time since I saw 'Warrior's Gate' on the screen. What was it like, forty odd years on? Let me tell you about it.

A strange creature forces its way into the TARDIS steering them to a white void occupied only by the ruins of an old building and a spaceship. This empty space is a gateway to the past and future and the creature responsible for taking them there is the time sensitive Biroc, a Tharil, an enslaved race. The gateway offers the only exit out of E-Space, but the void is contracting. Are the Doctor and his friends fated to spend eternity in E-Space?

Well... It's no spoiler to say that the story ends with the Tardis back in normal space; just over forty years of stories (since this one) is a bit of a giveaway. I've been thinking about it, for most of today, though and I've got about as much idea how they did it as I did watching it as a five year old. Maybe it's me but there's a lot of mysticism doing the heavy lifting here. Biroc tells the Doctor not to do anything... and then it all works out? Nope, I'm not buying that. I'll have to watch the last episode again (and probably re-read the book as well) and see if I missed anything. They made it out though so that's definitely a win. I did like the reasoning behind the void contracting though, it really injected a note of urgency just when one was needed.

So what happens in the meantime...? Well, there are mysteries to be solved but not a lot else if I'm being honest. I mean, there is the whole 'rescue the slaves' thing (which does have an interesting spin on it to be fair) but it feels like an afterthought. The Doctor and Romana go on that rescue mission, right at the end, but the rest of it is them trying to work out where they are and what they're supposed to do next. It's frustrating if you're after plot but it works very well as an example of the kind of odd little adventures that you'd imagine would happen in between the larger 'world saving' jaunts. Sometimes it really is just about getting out of somewhere that you're stuck in. Look at it on those lines and 'Warrior's Gate' suddenly becomes very watchable.

There's not a lot you can do with a white void, on the small screen, but what got me was that optical illusion where it all felt bigger than it actually was. Just having characters run around, in front of a white background (presumably the same one) made it all feel wide open but, just at the right moment, it felt really claustrophobic at the same time; just as the void starts to collapse into itself. Again, a note of urgency is delivered at just the right time simply by using white background for the story. Clever, that :o)

There's not a lot that I can say about Tom Baker's Doctor that I haven't already said in the last two reviews. Lets just say that it's all still relevant here and that next payday will more than likely see me buying more of his stories. Romana though, bows out at the end of this story and it's a bit of a shame to see her go. Romana has been great in the previous stories and while it's the right place and time to leave, I felt a bit shortchanged as it happens just as she is really starting to act on her own agency. You can't upstage the Doctor on his own show, I guess, but even so...

Is solving a mystery, while stranded, the best way to round off this trilogy? I'm not sure, it's certainly a brave move. Is 'Warriors' Gate' an intriguing look at the kind of adventures that the Doctor would normally have 'off camera'? Definitely :o) I'm still not sure how they made it out though...

(Wikipedia told me how it happened, still need to go back and re-watch it though as I can't remember that).