The Seeds of Death - Episode 5

As we are now in the final third of the story, it’s where it needs to continue its way to a satisfying conclusion. The way that Zoe is saved is a mix of Fewsham and also the temperature getting too warm at just the right time. The early moments of this episode are quite good as we get to see what is going to happen to Zoe. I remember the first time that I saw this I thought that it was a good way that they dealt with it. The action doesn’t stop when Zoe is saved because Troughton returns from his holiday.

So because Patrick Troughton is back off holiday, he wakes up just an Ice Warrior is about to leave the room he’s been sleeping in. The Doctor doesn’t waste any time in getting back on track as pretty soon he’s out trying to find what stops the foam from growing. Once the Doctor discovers what it is there is a nice cut away so we don’t learn what it is for a few moments more. It’s simple water which then leads to Jamie and Zoe getting into action going to the Weather Control Bureau and make it rain however as we are probably suppose to have forgotten was destroyed by the Ice Warrior earlier in the episode. Once they get to the Bureau then they spend the rest of the episode wandering around and hiding from the Ice Warrior is seems like they are just killing time until the final episode.

Fewsham really has impressed me in this and the previous episode. I cant quite make my mind up just who he is working for. He realises that he will probably be put on trial on Earth but is willing to let the Doctor and the others go. He does things that are clearly designed to show that he is working against the Ice Warriors. His final act is when he leaves the video link on for the Doctor to hear and once its discovered he is killed.

Sir James Gregson is a new supporting character introduced at a stage when new characters are needed to keep things fresh. After warming to Radnor who is a likeable if slightly bureaucratic figure, it seems that compared to Gregson, Radnor has mellowed in the last couple of episode. Another new character is the Grand Marshal of the Ice Warriors. He is the one that has some authority and has a sparkly helmet to differentiate from a normal Ice Warrior.

The cliffhanger is a good one as there are two threats for the Doctor to try and avoid. If he manages to survive the pod blowing up right in front of him then he has to try and dodge an incoming Ice Warrior. This is perhaps my favourite cliffhanger not only for this story but for sometime. It’s a very good episode as it feels like it running towards something and the final episode is going to be fun to watch. I’m still not sold on six parters but I think that certainly the last two or three episodes have been fun to watch.