OTT: Mordred

OTT

Number Three: Mordred

‘Here is the convocation. This blog we make the meeting place; the point between two worlds, two universes, two realities. By this post, brother to the ones about Major Shapp and Colonel Archer, I part the curtain of quality. Across the abyss, naff calls to naff, biomass to biomass, energy to energy. To TimeflightFTW I summon thee, from beyond the confines of acceptable acting...’

(David laughs).

We are deep into episode two of Battlefield, the 1989 Sylvester McCoy adventure. In a pub by a lake, the Doctor is growling warnings in Scottish of approaching evil. In a helicopter somewhere, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart is dozing after spending the entirety of episode one journeying to actually be part of the plot. And in an abandoned house-castle-place, Mordred, son of Morgaine, seeks to bring his witchy mother into our dimension for reasons that escape me.

Cue a cliched Doctor Who summoning scene, in which Christopher Bowen as Mordred is lumbered with a lorry-load of dodgy lines, recounted above with *coughs* minimal rephrasing. Summoning scenes are always hokey even at the best of times, but Bowen gives it his best shot, trying to give at least a facade of seriousness to the scene.



Then it calls for him to laugh, and laugh, and laugh even more. Never in the history of Doctor Who has such a laugh resounded for such a length of time. Even Anthony Ainley must bow to its majesty. It goes on...

And on...

It’s a mighty feat of prolonged lunacy, and you can see in Christopher Bowen’s eyes that he is uncomfortable with the whole scene. He’s been pushed by the director to give it everything and more. It fits in poorly with his portrayal of Mordred as a slightly understated villain. That’s what makes it so special. He’s an actor embarrassing himself for the greater cause. He leaves every last shred of his dignity on the altar of Doctor Who. What a hero.

But in the back of your mind you just know that all the script said was ‘Mordred laughs...’