The E-Space Trilogy: Warriors' Gate
Previous: The E-Space Trilogy Part 2: State of Decay
Part 3: Warriors' Gate
Oh wow. It looks even more old-school on the TV screen instead of on my laptop.
Somebody's counting backwards from 100...
"We have liftoff!"
"yaaaaaaay."
And then there were s'plosions! Hey, I can see the TARDIS from here...
Obviously they've still got Adric, but he hasn't said anything yet and nobody's even acknowledged that he's there.
"What's so improbable about tossing a coin?" This is the second time that coin-tossing has come up. Maybe it's symbolism this story.
Bored Adric is bored now. "What's the I-Ching?" HOLY CRAP I ACTUALLY KNOW THIS.
Wait, that guy with all the hair has cat ears...and what appear to be paws of some sort...is he a lion-man or something?
Also he has the same yellow glint in his eyes that the victims of the cheetah people did in Survival.
"What about Adric?"
"What about Adric?"
"Well if we get out of E-Space, we'll be taking him away from his own universe!"
"...So?"
"Have we that right?"
"...Oh, he'd LOVE it on Gallifrey :D"
*implied-facepalm*
Wow. Four's changed his mind COMPLETELY since State of Decay.
"Hexagram 9: Hsiao Ch'u: The Taming Power of the Small." AKA, Adric Flips a Coin and Presses a TARDIS Button to Make It Stop Shaking.
Wait, how can they even see the lion dude if he's in a different timeline? Effect of the TARDIS, I guess. Or JNT-era Hard Science.
A shadow of his past and their future? I wonder if that means that another character they meet winds up turning into him later in the story.
So if they're at zero coordinates, does that mean they're at EXACTLY nowhere?
I just realized the fundamental problem of the E-Space TARDIS crew:
Think about it...Doctor, Romana, Adric, K-9: all four of them are crazy-geniuses who already know most of every science ever between them.
Which leaves me impressed that they STILL find ways of getting them to ask questions so that we have some remote idea of what's going on.
"Well I must say I quite looking forward to going there with you and the Doctor."
"What if the Doctor and I went different ways?"
"...But you wouldn't, would you?" I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Adric can already tell that Four and Romana are OTP.
I just realized how Chinese Romana's outfit is this time. I guess it was meant to fit with the I-Ching talk from earlier.
There's a doorway in the middle of a stone arch in the middle of literal nowhere. I guess that must be the titular Gate.
Those things look like incredibly dusty samurai. CLIFFHANGER-TRIGGERING DUSTY SAMURAI!
Apparently Tom Baker can pass for a dusty samurai.
SO. MUCH. SCIENCE. AND PHILOSOPHY. MY MIND.
"So basically you're worse than useless?"
"......Affirmative."
*sigh*
Convenient Sentence Cut-Off? K-9 to the rescue!
There we go: more coin-tossing.
And Frankenstein-esque imagery. IT'S NOT REALLY ALIIIIIIVE!
"All the gateways are one!" Well, Four, clearly you understand something we don't.
"The secret of the gateway is...*SLASH*" MORE CONVENIENT SENTENCE CUT-OFF!
Wait how did he just walk backwards through nothing into nothing.
Second lion dude came to set Romana free?
K-9 will SHOOT YOU FOR KICKING HIM! ...except not.
And tied-up Romana DEMANDS AN EXPLANATION FOR THESE SHENANIGANS!
Woah where did this estate and gardens magically come from and why are they in black and white what.
And K-9's second ear is back I thought Adric had it and when did Adric turn into such a sneaky little mouse oh wait.
Romana and Adric appear to be hiding in the same place. She's not going to be happy with him...
"You pull, I'll push."
"I don't like the sound of that."
Wow. Painfully obvious set of models is painfully obvious.
Actually, she's fairly chill about it. And Adric, sorry, but I don't think you're really the most cut-out person for rescuing people.
LOUD K-9 IS REALLY FREAKING LOUD.
Woah, hello, lion-lady.
"You get the feeling it's closing in around you?" I guess that's why everything's getting heavier. Shrinking universe.
Weird magical disappearing glowing bond. Guys, SO much of this refuses to make sense in layman's terms.
Oh, I think I get it now! Four's in the estate in the past and Romana's in the same place much further ahead in time. Or something.
"My goodness, you live like kings!"
"We ARE kings!"
And now Romana's suddenly in his time and now they're back WHAT.
"We could be caught here until the crack of DOOM. ...Oh what's the rush, can I have one of your pickles?"
And now Romana has chopsticks.
"Time play with your toys later!"
"I THINK NOT!"
YOU DO NOT SEPARATE THE DOCTOR FROM HIS K-9!
So the dwarf star alloy is what's making the universe collapse. SOMETHING THAT ACTUALLY KINDA MAKES SENSE.
UNEXPECTEDLY IN-CONTROL-NOW ADRIC!
"It's on automatic!"
"It doesn't HAVE an automatic!"
The two guys in the black caps were the smart ones all along. Avoiding s'plosions!
Wow. With its front-lights on, that ship looks a lot more menacing.
So when did 13 1/2 become a magic number?
The captain's got so much token Dramatic Villain Backlighting it's almost not funny.
Okay, I still don't understand how "doing nothing" activates TELEPORTATION.
"No more orders, Doctor. Goodbye."
WAIT...WHAT...THAT DEPARTURE SCENE LASTED LESS THAN A MINUTE.
Well, at least they parted cordially..."I've got to be my own Romana."
"Will Romana be alright?"
"She'll be superb."
Next: The Keeper of Traken