The Time Warrior

The Time Warrior is the first serial of the 11th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 15 December 1973 to 5 January 1974.

He agrees to give futuristic weaponry to the warrior Irongron (David Daker) and his men, in exchange for Linx being given shelter to perform repairs on the damaged spaceship.

In the Middle Ages, the bandit Irongron and his aide Bloodaxe, together with their rabble of criminals, find the crashed spaceship of a Sontaran warrior named Linx.

The alien claims Earth for his Empire, then sets about repairing his ship, offering Irongron “magic weapons” that will make him a king in return for shelter.

Later that evening Rubeish disappears and the Doctor uses the data he has gathered to pilot the TARDIS back to the Middle Ages, not realising that Sarah has stowed away on board.

Knowing the place is about to explode when the shuttle takes off, Hal awakes Bloodaxe, who rouses the remaining men and tells them to flee, while the Doctor hurries the last of his allies out of the castle.

[5] In The Discontinuity Guide (1995), Paul Cornell, Martin Day, and Keith Topping wrote that the story was "a rather wonderful romp" and "one of Robert Holmes' funniest".

[6] David J. Howe and Stephen James Walker in The Television Companion (1998) gave a mixed review, stating that it was "enjoyable", especially in its dialogue and characters, but "lacks the sort of impact ideally needed to launch a new run of adventures".

[5] In 2010, Patrick Mulkern of Radio Times awarded it four stars out of five, praising the "broad characters and ripe dialogue", but felt the "greatest success" was Linx.

[8] DVD Talk's Stuart Galbraith gave The Time Warrior four out of five stars, highlighting the "clever writing" and actor David Daker's performance.

[10] In the book Doctor Who: The Episode Guide, Mark Campbell awarded it eight out of ten, concluding the serial was "a clever hybrid of history and science fiction.

The Target novelisation, Doctor Who and the Time Warrior, features a prologue written by Robert Holmes involving Linx at war with a group of Rutan Fighters.