Not a first rank villain but I don’t think he’s ever meant to be: Despite featuring Richard the Lionheart this one’s basically about the second tier, the other strata. Walter Randall carries it very well with some smoothly sustained nastiness as the villainous El Akir. William Hartnell’s quite faltering here, William Russell’s extremely good and Julian Glover is just sensational as King Richard. I really must keep me eyes peeled for a third appearance by Bruce and his amazing beard in classic era ‘Who’. And I’ve suddenly realized that Bruce Wightman as Tornebu is the amazing false bearded radio operator from ‘Zygons’-astonishing facial hair across time and space. Good ‘sword as spear’ moment from Sir William de Tornebu. Nicely coordinated fight scene too, not as limp as I remembered from previous viewings. As with ‘Time Meddler’, director Douglas Camfield gets his studio exteriors ‘almost real’ for me. Not half bad scenery from the design department mind. It’s a very fruity, literary beginning in the forest, astonishing beards all over the shop. 'Something new.yet something older than the sky.' Lovely David, lovely. And I think Charlie Higson’s right to say Whitaker’s got a bit of a thing for Barbara in the intro to the recent edition: ‘…the golden tan on her skin…her superb physical condition…where her face and form had conjured up beauty in the eye of any beholder, now beauty radiated from within and trebled her physical attractions, making her the admiration and desire of all who met her.’ Crikey, calm down David! Why not just come straight out with ‘Why won’t you marry me Barbara?!’ Yerse… And possibly even more so now, as a big kid. Loved David Whitaker’s novelization as a kid. The Lowdown: Holy War and human politicking/trafficking. First Contact: RT ’73 Special, then the Target.