Doctor Who (TV Series) The Lion (1965) User Reviews

The Lion is in the cage, very good start to the adventure.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 1 August 2021]

The TARDIS crew lands in the holy land, and are instantly caught up in the events of King Richard and Saladin, soon after they land, Barbara is taken prisoner.

If you are a fan of the pure historicals, this is definitely one for you, don't expect Daleks, Cybermen or Aliens, it is purely historical, perhaps sticking the the show's original brief.

Of all of the historicals, my personal favourites are Marco Polo and The Myth Makers, this isn't perhaps up there with those, but it's still great, The Lion I Is a mighty fine start to the story.

Nicely made, and well shot, Douglas Camfield always did so well with the tools at hand, it has a cracking cast, Julian Glover and Bernard Kay are both particularly good.

The regular cast are fantastic, there was definitely something special about this line up. Hartnell has a definite glint in his eye, his performance is terrific. Poor Barbara once again lands in trouble within seconds.

A very good start, 8/10.

The Crusade

[wetmars · 7/10 · 4 September 2020]

The TARDIS arrives in 12th century Palestine where a holy war is in progress between the forces of King Richard the Lionheart and the Saracen ruler Saladin. Barbara is abducted in a Saracen ambush and the Doctor, Ian and Vicki make their way to King Richard's palace in the city of Jaffa.

Again, this is like the other "chillaxing" episodes where the companions are in the distant past, the Doctor developing his own "good, caring" mood, it's hard to follow this episode even though I FULLY payed attention to it. I would've rate higher if the episodes weren't missing or found, or it would already be reconstructed by animation.

Anyways, what surprised me behind the scenes is that Nicholas Courtney (( The Brigadier! )) auditioned for the role of Richard the Lionheart, that would be pretty interesting, wouldn't it? Lol.

7/10, disappointed that this is one of my short reviews. =^[

The Crusade

[ametaphysicalshark · 18 July 2008]

Once you know that "The Crusade" was written by David Whitaker and directed by Douglas Camfield it is hardly surprising that this is as good as it is. "The Crusade" features literally not a moment of bad acting, great dialogue, a cracking story, fast and assured pacing, and quality characterization. It is also superbly directed by Camfield.

"The Crusade" continues in the tradition of these early 60's episodes by really being quite excellent on a visual level, with sets and costumes that are extremely convincing and realistic. Whitaker clearly did some research before writing this because the authenticity is in the script as well as the visuals. The most impressive thing about the script here is the extraordinary characterization for all the characters in the story, in particular the surprisingly unflattering take on Richard the Lionheart.

The acting is uniformly superb and convincing, with episode three, "The Wheel of Fortune" standing out as perhaps one of the better examples of pure drama in 60's Who when it comes to the performances of those involved, as well as Whitaker's script.

Only episodes one and three survive, of course, leaving two and four available as reconstructions or audios. I think the better two episodes survived the purge, though, as although episodes two and four are really very good they aren't quite as good as the other two. Episode four works tremendously as entertainment, but is a tad disappointing as a resolution.

Boasting surprising realism and intelligent handling of the subject matter which thankfully is far from one-sided, David Whitaker's "The Crusade" is unquestionably one of the best Doctor Who historicals and definitely a story which more people should see.

Episode 1: 9/10, Episode 2: 8/10, Episode 3: 10/10, Episode 4: 8/10.

Average: 8.75/10

The Crusade: Episode 1 - wonderful historical drama, sheer class

[A_Kind_Of_CineMagic · 10/10 · 12 August 2014]

Review for all 4 parts:

The Crusade is a four part pure historical adventure starting with The Lion. It is set in 12th Century Palestine, involving King Richard I ('The Lionheart) on crusade and would stand alongside any top BBC period drama of the 60s or 70s such as "I, Claudius". It is pure class with a super cast including Julian Glover (later of Bond villain and Game of Thrones fame) and Jean Marsh that would grace any Shakespearean stage production. The writer David Whitaker is one of Doctor Who's very best and here the script is beautifully written, intelligent and poetic. The director Douglas Camfield is also one of the series best and he is on top form here as are the regular cast.

The story reaches a peak at Episode 3 which must be one of the finest episodes of the first Doctor's era. The other episodes are also top drawer historical drama with exceptional scripts for the era. The second and fourth episodes can only be seen as reconstructions with still photographs as the videos were stupidly wiped. Part 4 is not quite as strong plot-wise but maintains top standards in other respects. Other than that the only criticism I can see is that it doesn't have the scifi interest or excitement of stories with aliens and space adventures.

For me this is sheer class and an unmissable story because time travel is as much of a key part of Doctor Who as alien threats and space travel.

My ratings: Episodes 1 & 2 - 9.5/10, Episode 3 - 10/10, Episode 4 - 9/10.

Overall average rating: 9.5/10.