I'm going to practice what I preach with this place...

It was just after Christmas 2004 that I was flicking through some old DWMs and
read the letters that were critical of Dave Owen's review of the VHS release of
"Battlefield". One of the letter writers suggested that DWM readers in 2005
should write to the current editor and state their opinion on "Battlefield".
So, on New Year's Day 2005 I watched "Battlefield" and then sent off a letter.
Only the first part of my letter ended up being printed, so here for the first
time is the full letter (the unpublished bits will hopefully appear in bold
type)...

>>Back in DWM 264, you printed some letters that were in response to Dave Owen's
less than flattering review of 'Battlefield'. One correspondent, Trevor Ruppe,
suggested that all DWM readers of 2005 who came across his letter "...write to
your current editor of DWM and
vote on 'Battlefield' - masterpiece or utter mess?" Well, I watched my VHS copy
of 'Battlefield' on New Year's Day 2005 and I can honestly say that
'Battlefield' is an utter mess. [b]Throughout the whole story, I got the
impression that almost the entire cast seemed to have difficulty in delivering
their lines naturally, with characters such as Bambera over-emphasising almost
every word. I also get the impression that this story is somewhat like 'The
Curse
of Fenric' - both have too many plot elements going on at once, both have extras
as soldiers who take their time in deciding whether they're dead or not and both
feature a monster who just stands around doing nothing for two whole episodes.
That's not to say that it's all bad - the scene where the Doctor wakes up
Ancelyn and Bambera using the chip bag made me smile - but amongst all the
yelling and screaming onscreen, I found myself yelling and screaming offscreen
in utter frustration. But then, what would I know; I like The Keys of Marinus
and can't wait for it to be released on DVD.[/b]

And guess what...I still feel that way about "Battlefield". I've yet to see the
extended version so maybe I'll change my mind when I see it. Probably not but
still...