The Time Warrior

Directed by

UK Viewers

8.7 million

Appreciation Index

Synopsis

England, the 12th century. Robber baron Irongron is recruited by Linx, a Sontaran warrior whose starship has been forced down on Earth. Linx is forced to use a time-travel device to steal resources and scientists from the future to repair his ship, but in doing so involves UNIT and the Doctor...

Part Two

First aired

Saturday, December 22, 1973

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

UK Viewers

7 million

Synopsis

The Doctor tracks the missing scientists to Irongron's castle, where Linx is using them to repair his spaceship and construct advanced weapons for Irongron.

Part Three

First aired

Saturday, December 29, 1973

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

UK Viewers

6.6 million

Synopsis

The Doctor escapes the castle with Sarah and Hal and must persuade Sir Edward to trust him before Irongron launches an attack on them.

Part Four

First aired

Saturday, January 5, 1974

Runtime

25 minutes

Written by

Directed by

UK Viewers

10.6 million

Appreciation Index

Synopsis

The Doctor attempts to return the scientists to their own time, before Linx tries to use his spaceship and destroys the entire castle.

Characters

Third Doctor

Jon Pertwee

Sarah Jane Smith

Elisabeth Sladen

First Appearance

How to watch The Time Warrior:

Watch on iPlayer

The Time Warrior

Bred For War – The Sontaran Collection

The Monster Collection: The Sontarans

An Introduction to the Third Doctor

VHS

The Time Warrior (VHS)

Reviews
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9 reviews

Sarah Jane is a stand-out in this story, such energy and gusto in her character, especially in a male-heavy cast
Side cast often felt like they were chewing the scenery, bit on the nose for me
I do love a medieval setting, so I do have a soft spot for it
This being the first Sontaran story is interesting, I think I prefer them whilst they're on solo missions
I will never understand the cliffhanger to the 2nd episode and how that was orchestrated, just run in a straight line to the exit duh?

KieranCooper

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Review last edited on 19-03-25

It's no wonder that the Sontarans became such popular monsters after this. They feel like such a breath of fresh air compared to the usual Doctor Who villains. Extremely well utilized antagonist.

Also Sarah Jane!

A+. #KirbyDW

Azurillkirby

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Review last edited on 14-03-25

I adore Sarah Jane and I am very happy to see her first appearance. She has attitude, she is so clever and stands on her own two feet. It's also very funny to me her reaction to time travel and how she has no idea what's happened.

The mouldy hairy potato (as my partner pointed out) sontaran Linx also appears and is great.

I also want to give a shout out to 3's impeccable dress sense - that velvety green jacket with that bowtie, gorgeous! I probably need to watch more of this martial arts, action hero doctor, he seems pretty cool!

I deduct half a star because my brain didn't always 100% keep up with the middle ages drama and what was going on with people attacking each other's castles? But nonetheless, the characters were good and I very much enjoyed this story!

katherinestar1

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Review last edited on 2-03-25

This review contains spoilers!

Jo was a main stay of the show, and with her departure, it was certainly an uncertain time.

However, the introduction of Sarah Jane, and her chemistry with the Third Doctor, made sure that this was smooth. From the off, the pair work perfectly, and even from this story alone, Sarah Jane's impact on the show will be evident. A strong character, not afraid to speak her mind - and she was given plenty of agency in this story.

The story itself is another Holmes triumph - he just got the show, and what made it special, and this story was certainly full of it. A great use of a historical setting, leading the way for the blueprint of pseudo-historical stories to come, and Linx the Sontaran ensured another entry into the pantheon of great villain species.

A proper classic story.

joeymapes21

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Review last edited on 16-02-25

There's so much I adore about The Time Warrior. At a time I'm sure was uncertain for the show - what would it be like with Jo gone, Sarah Jane comes in and very much steals the show. She's a lot of fun and I love how her introduction is handled with her role as a journalist. It's very well done. It feels like this story breathes in some new air into the series, especially since this is the first time we've done any sort of actual time travelling in a good, long while. It feels like a shame the show would often skirt away from exploring Earth history, as it is one of the more interesting aspects of the series.

This is also a very fun introduction for the Sontarans. They work really well here in the historical setting and I like some of the characters such as Professor Rubeish and Irongon. They were a memorable bunch and added a lot to the story. Overall these episodes are a great start to what would be Pertwee's final season. It does feel like production kind of saw the writing on the wall. With Delgado's death and producer Barry Letts soon to be leaving, Pertwee would follow, and so in many ways it feels like they went all out this season starting with Time Warrior. It didn't always work out, but a lot of these episodes have a certain energy I can really appreciate.

dema1020

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Review last edited on 8-12-24