Doctor Who/Recap/S11/E01 The Time Warrior

"A longshanked rascal with a mighty nose!"

- Irongron describes the Doctor

An intrepid investigative journalist, Sarah Jane Smith, infiltrates a secret research centre where a number of top scientists are being held in protective custody while UNIT investigates the disappearance of some of their colleagues.

The Doctor follows the trail back to The Middle Ages in the TARDIS; unbeknownst to him, Sarah Jane has stowed away on board. It seems that a robber baron called Irongron has made a deal with Linx, a Sontaran of the Sontaran Army Space Corps. Linx gives Irongron advanced weapons in exchange for time and shelter while repairing his damaged spacecraft. The kidnapped scientists are working under hypnosis to help.

The Doctor helps local lord Sir Edward of Wessex to repel an attack by Irongron's men, then drugs the food in Irongron's castle in order to remove the advanced weapons while they sleep. With the help of one of the scientists, the Doctor then sends the scientists back to the 20th century.

Linx kills Irongron and is about to leave when he is shot in the back of the neck with an arrow by Hal, one of Wessex's archers. Turns out that's the only weak spot on a Sontaran's armour - the "probic vent" - and he dies. The Doctor, Sarah and Hal escape before the ship can explode and destroy Irongron's castle.

Watch it here

Tropes
"Irongron: I'll chop him up so fine, not even a sparrow will fill its beak!"
 * Achilles Heel: the probic vent
 * Anachronism Stew: It's implied that the action may be taking place pre-1066 ("Wessex," as a place name, was quickly dispensed with after the Norman Conquest), but the armor and weapons look to be anywhere between the 13 to 15th Centuries.
 * Blind Without'Em: Prof. Rubeish
 * Bullet-Proof Fashion Plate: After spending days in the middle ages, exercising (and presumably sweating) and rolling around in the dirt and straw, the Doctor's clothing is still immaculate.
 * Cut His Heart Out with a Spoon:

"The Doctor: A straight line may be the shortest distance between two points, but it is by no means the most interesting."
 * Fish Out of Temporal Water: Sarah Jane
 * Going for the Big Scoop: Sarah Jane
 * Improbable Aiming Skills: Hal the archer can put an arrow through a probic vent from quite a ways away.
 * Intrepid Reporter: Sarah Jane
 * Informed Ability: The Doctor's 'skilled' swordplay.
 * The Middle Ages: Sarah Jane seems to think it's The Dung Ages.
 * Mind Control: the scientists
 * People in Rubber Suits: Linx
 * Pull the Thread: The Doctor, when he sees through Sarah Jane's cover story
 * Scullery Maid: Sarah Jane poses as one to infiltrate Irongron's castle and drug the food.
 * Wayback Trip, with elements of Giving Radio to the Romans: keeping firearms from developing centuries too early.
 * Where's the Fun In That?:

""About what I do, yes. Not necessarily about the way I do it.""
 * The Doctor pretty much states his MO when Sarah Jane Smith asks "Are you serious?"


 * Wrong Genre Savvy: See The Middle Ages above.