Wartime

I watched this just following season 23 of the main show, as this was released in early 1987.

With the overly long “cinematic” title and credit sequences, it's impossible to get into a natural rhythm whilst watching this fan production. As critical as I am of Eric Saward and JNT’s handling of the 6th Doctor’s era I can’t say I wish it had been handled by the well meaning team behind Wartime instead.

I can see what they’re going for, bringing some emotional stakes into the show and foregrounding Sergeant Benton, a character from the show’s glory years, but it’s done with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. As a Doctor Who fan I am happy to ignore the janky 1980s home video effects but the emotional backstory involving Benton’s long lost brother (who has returned as a ghost in a forest) feels underbaked and forced.

You get a bit of a smile from seeing Benton and hearing the Brig over the radio. But they haven’t adapted the character to be an older Benton - he’s just introduced as if he didn’t go away then spends the majority of the running time wandering round a field. There is a distinct lack of dialogue and plot. Literally 10 minutes of walking around, using up screen time. Safe to say this would never be aired on the BBC.

It ends up being a ploddy, mystic mesh of Benton seeing ghosts of his younger self playing with his brother. Whilst they try and trick Benton and he completely loses his marbles… He then has a weird panic induced picnic with his hallucinated mum and dad. Then starts imagining himself as a WWII soldier.

John Levine’s acting is horrible. Especially when playing the emotional scenes with his Dad. “Stop calling me Johnny… my name is JOHN!!!!!!!”

Writer Andy Lane has thankfully gone on to do much better than this for Big Finish.