Doctor Who: The Ice Warriors

Part One


"Everything here is computerised."

"Oh, never mind."


Back to video, strangely enough for the first time since Troughton took over, about halfway through his tenure. And we get the kind of flashy visual representations of the story title as last seen in The Tenth Planet. The music and the ice is very effective.

Everyone's wearing very... interesting futuristic clothes, but we very quickly come to understand the central dilemma here- people are in thrall to the computer and its scheduling. Unfortunately this central theme has dated more than little- the computer as a vast centralised machine at the centre of the room making decisions- but as we'll see the theme is very well developed.

It's ages until we see the TARDISeers, and the Ship has landed on its side for some reason. I like Jamie's comment about the cold, looking back to the previous story. They're at an odd angle to climb out of the TARDIS, though. I'd like to see this scene from inside the TARDIS, mind- presumably ropes and grappling hooks were involved?

There are a lots of good character scenes between the guest characters, something which was notably missing from The Abominable Snowmen. Clent and Arden's antagonism here is nicely done and helps to develop the story's theme.

It's good to see a very young-looking Peter Sallis and good old Angus Lennie, who seems to be playing a somewhat hairier version of Ives from The Great Escape here.

The science behind this new ice age is odd, and probably seemed plausible at the time, but can't help seeming absurd today. Artificial food leads to plant growth being kept to a minimum, so no carbon dioxide gets into the atmosphere and there's a runaway greenhouse effect? Riiight...

(ETA: I've just started to read the rest of this thread, and realised that I'm just about the only person not to spot the obvious total wrongness of the way photosynthesis is described here. Duh!)

More good stuff fills out the episode, establishing the shape of the story to come. We get some stock footage of an avalanche- we'll be seeing a lot more of that. The Doctor quickly establishes his usefulness to Clent, and easily fends off questions by claiming to have been "in retreat" in Tibet. And, of course, it's made plain that the Doctor isn't at all keen on this reliance on computers.


Part Two


"We are part of the world plan."



Back to the recon, and at first I wasn't sure I had the right episode, as there seems to be no reprise and Victoria is captured very quickly. It's odd to think that Varga is played by Bernard Bresslaw- it certainly doesn't show, and frankly I'm mystified as to why they cast someone so high profile in such a role!

Not much is happening, but in a good way- there's good character stuff going on all the time. Arden says of Clent that he "should have been born a robot"! And the Doctor gets a couple of nicely done individual chats with both Clent and Penley, establishing the differences between them, essentiality individualism versus conformity.


Part Three


"Save the world? That has a nice Clentian ring to it!"


Peter Barkworth is superb as Clent, giving the character physical and vocal quirks which really make him come alive. The clumsy way Clent tries to convince Arden to not blame himself for unleashing Varga is a superb piece of acting. Meanwhile, Penley gets a great line: "Clent doesn't need me. He just needs a mirror. Preferably rose-tinted."

I love the scene where, having refused to use a computer for his calculations (!), the Doctor tells Clent he has a very important request- a pencil!

Victoria gets very hysterical indeed at the end of the episode- she's having quite a traumatic time so far.



Part Four


"Well, you don't expect me to face Clent alone? That mouthpiece of the computer? He's got a printed circuit where his heart should be!"



All footage from now on. Hooray! Unfortunately, it becomes increasingly apparent from this point on that the scenes "outside" with "walls of ice" are in fact taking place in rather small sets!

Nice touch that Jamie's pleased to hear fellow Scot Storr call himself a "loyalist"! Otherwise, character moments are not so frequent this episode, mainly because things are actually happening and the pieces are beginning to move into place. It's become increasingly apparent that the Ice Warriors are hostile mainly because they mistakenly believe the ionizer to be a weapon. Then again, they do kill Storr, so they're not exactly nice!



Part Five


"Our trust is in the Great Computer."


While the Doctor kills some time with the Ice Warriors, Jamie and Penley spend some time on film watching some stock footage of wolves, in the only episode to show any blatant padding. Still, there's still plenty of good stuff. It's notable that, while the Doctor is able to defiantly tell the Ice Warriors early on that "I always live in hope", Penley accuses Clent of behaving very differently: "You mean hope happens to be inconvenient. You've got to stick to your precious schedule, is that it?"

This theme of whether to accept the computer's direction is really coming to the fore now, not that it's ever exactly been subtext. But although the theme is well done it's unfortunately dated, not only in terms of computer technology but in terms of its implications of a planned society.

Oh, and why does one of the Ice Warriors seem to have a bigger helmet than all the others?

I like the scenes of Victoria pretending to cry- Deborah Watling is essentially acting someone who's acting badly, and doing it very well!


Part Six


"Computer says no!"


Everything comes to a very neat conclusion here in a more than usually satisfying finale, as Clent and Miss Garrett's almost religious faith in the computer is finally tested to destruction. It's nicely done how Walters' rant against the computer at the start of the episode is counterbalanced by a later rant from Clent. And the reconciliation between Clent and Penley is nicely understated but well done.

Hang on, why is the TARDIS suddenly vertical at the end?



Overall, most enjoyable. For the second time in a row we get a six parter which more or less justifies its length. It's interesting how the flaws and virtues of The Abominable Snowmen- great concepts and atmosphere versus often bland guest characters- are reversed here, where a fairly standard base-under-siege story is made to work through good characterisation of both the regulars and the guest cast. 4/5.

Doctor Who: The Space Museum

The Space Museum

"You wouldn't say that, young lady, if we ever meet [the Daleks] again. Which to say the least is very unlikely."


Nice opening model shots, and an intriguing conceptual mystery from the start. The Doctor's continual refusal to explain is most amusing. Vicki's dropped glass un-breaking and jumping back into her hands deepens the mystery, and it's good to see the food machine again. It's also great to see the Dalek, and Vicki's lines about the Dalek invasion happened over three hundred years ago is our first explicit suggestion that all the TARDIS's landings in the future take place in the same timeline which should in theory be internally consistent.

This is a great episode driven by fantastic concepts, for once making actual use of the time travel premise of the show. Great cliffhanger, too.

The Dimensions of Time

"Chesterton, this is no time to be playing cowboys and Indians!"


Suddenly this story is looking a lot less visually interesting, with some very dull corridors and costumes. The actors playing the Xerons don't exactly imbue them with charisma either. The time travel concepts now fade into the background, although the TARDISeers' attempt to avoid their preordained fate will remain as an intriguing element.

The Doctor namedrops James Watt here, although Jacqueline Hill has to prompt Hartnell for the line. Nice line from Barbara: "All the doors and corridors are exactly alike." No doubt this is the one and only time we'll be hearing such sentiments...

The Doctor'd monocle is very cool indeed, but is very quickly topped by his antics in the Dalek. This story may look dull, and have Xerons in it, but otherwise I must admit it's keeping me interested.

The Search

"It's nothing to do with me! I'm just a simple soldier!"

So, no Doctor in this episode! it's good to see Vicki getting a chance to shine though. Her attitude is great: "Sitting here planning and dreaming of a revolution isn't going to bring your planet back!" It's rather arresting to see this revolution taking the form of acquiring guns though- certainly not something you'd see in later eras!

Why do the Xerons, just because they're the goodies, have to be a perfectly peaceful people, free from all want? Can't they be allowed just one tiny flaw?

The Final Phase

"Have any arms fallen into Xeron hands?"


Vicki continues to be great here, effectively directing the revolution. We get a nice ending, with the TARDISeers all imprisoned but Vicki's already ensured their release- she's the real star of the story.

The last scene comes as a real surprise though- Daleks! With a time machine! And now with vertical slats- it seems that the lost old style Dalek we saw was the one in the exhibition.


Overall, I quite enjoyed this. The first episode was great, with the others not being as good (par for the course for the science fiction stories so far), but a lot of the dullness was the fault of the design and some of the guest actors- the script was good throughout. This is nowhere near as boring as its reputation- a solid 3/5.

Doctor Who: The Romans

The Slave Traders

"There's a great difference between resting and... being sort of bone idle."


So, falling off a cliff can be felt inside the Ship. No doubt this will be adhered to with absolute consistency from now on.

The early scenes are fun, and do the important job of establishing Vicki very quickly by having a whole month pass. One comment by Barbara to Vicki raises an eyebrow though- "Are you any good at dressmaking?". 1964 suddenly feels a long time ago- I'm reminded of the episode of Torchwood with the time travellers from the 1950s.

Hartnell mispronounces Ian's surname for the first time in ages, but generally spends the whole story being superb. If there's one thing he does really well, it's comedy. It's also noticeable how differently he acts towards Vicki than towards Susan- much more fond and indulgent, with none of the friction we're used to, continuing the process of the Doctor becoming ever more likeable.

Dennis Spooner seems to have officially founded Ian and Barbara shipping here; they're clearly a couple by now. I love the "fridge" line. It's very noticeable that Spooner has produced a much more overtly comedic script than with The Reign of Terror, using tragic elements to counterbalance the comedy rather than vice versa.

All Roads Lead to Rome

"You know, I'm so consistently outwitting the opposition, I tend to forget the delights and satisfactions of the art, the gentle art, of fisticuffs!"


The Doctor's fight with Ascaris is hilarious, played with perfect comic timing by Hartnell. With this episode it becomes clear that the story is to be a tightly plotted farce, with the TARDISeers forever just missing each other. The story is not without a sense of threat, but it never loses the sense of being a comedy, and ends up being fun and undemanding to watch.

Conspiracy

"Now, close your eyes and Nero will give you a big surprise!"

"Pardon?!"


Vicki's very innocent, isn't she? She's the only character forever protected from any threat or unpleasantness, able to walk around completely impervious, casually poisoning Nero along the way. Not only Maureen O'Brien but the entire cast plays it brilliantly- Hartnell, the actor playing Tigillinus with such brilliant physical comedy, and Derek Francis as Nero. The scene with Nero forcing Tigillinus to taste his poisoned drink is comedy gold, as is the entire scene with the Doctor's lyre playing.

Another namedrop from the Doctor here, this time Hans Christian Anderson.

Inferno

"I've got a friend who specialises in trouble. He dives in and usually finds a way."


I'm not sure the business about Nero setting fire to Rome is good history, but it's certainly good farce. The fun doesn't let up in the final episode- my favourite bit is the Doctor's punning to Nero on his imminent mauling in the arena. Of course, the Doctor, in changing history, seems to contradict what we were told in both The Aztecs and The Reign of Terror. But it's worth it for the moment when the Doctor starts chuckling insanely and the laughter then segues into Nero's.

The end is priceless, with the Doctor believing Ian and Barbara to have been carousing in the villa all this time. Once again Ian and Barbara seem very couply.


Overall, it may not have been big or clever but it was fun, and an admirably constructed farce. 4/5.