The Monster of Peladon - Episode 6

Today is the final episode of the penultimate story of Jon Pertwee’s reign as the Doctor. It is his 122^nd episode as the timelord which means he overtakes Patrick Troughton into second place. This is Elisabeth Sladen’s 20^th episode which means she overtakes Jackie Lane (19) and this is the 150^th episode to be have Terrance Dicks as a Script Editor. With the facts over with that means that I can talk about this episode which after being a bit of a rollercoaster in terms on consistency needs to end on a good note.

The way that the threat from the cliffhanger is dealt with is quite a tense moment. I know that the Doctor will save the situation but its still a good moment. The part where the Doctor is trying to carry on despite what Eckersley is doing is a good moment for the Doctor because obviously I know that he has one more story left in him. On a side note, don’t you think that Eckersley looks a bit like Tom Baker. Maybe he’s a version of ‘The Watcher’ that went rogue.

The Queen suffers from not having much to do in this episode apart from sitting in her chair. She does get a bit of excitement when Eckersley uses her as a hostage when he’s trying to flee at the end but apart from that the problems with the character restrict what she can do. Throughout the six episodes, Nina Thomas has done her best and at all times has given the character a dignity that helped sell the idea that she was playing the King’s daughter.

The Ice Warriors are thwarted at the half way point so the last half of the episode sees Eckersley as the main threat. This is the episode where Eckersley becomes a more convincing baddie than he seemed in the previous episode. The fact he is killed by Aggedor is perhaps the best way that he could have departed the show. Had he died via some rocks falling or tripping over something then it would have ruined it somewhat but as it is the death was spot on.

The final scene where the Queen says goodbye to the Doctor and Sarah Jane was a nice departure scene as part of me wanted the Doctor to become the Queen’s Chancellor but instead does a nice thing of suggesting Gebbek which was a good way for the story of Peladon to end. There is a moment at the very end when the Doctor has one last look at Peladon before closing the TARDIS door which seemed to be a slight nod to the fact that the end has been prepared for. The episode did what it needed to do and did it well and my opinion of this serial has changed. Ok so a couple of episodes aren’t quite as good but overall the story is a good one and now we are about to enter the final stage of the Pertwee era. The serial works well because the characters were good, the Ice Warriors were effectively used and the writing and directing were both fine. A good story overall.

The Monster of Peladon - Episode 5

The penultimate episode of this story starts off with the knowledge that the laser thing was going to kill the Doctor but that isn’t the case (obviously). As the show has been on the air for 11 years at this point, it seems weird that they would expect the viewer to believe that the Doctor would be killed. Normally this would rankle with me but on this occasion. But the only benefit that I can see is that for a large portion of the story, everyone in the story thinks that he has died. The best reaction comes from Elisabeth Sladen who as Sarah Jane won’t believe that the Doctor has died and utters a line that will come back in the next story. Here she says part of it when she says “While there’s life there’s….”. It seems like this is foreshadowing the next story but this is the production team laying down the ground work just like they did in ‘Planet of the Daleks’ to get us use to the idea that Jo might leave (which she did).

It’s good that Ortron has changed from his usual lack of trust in the earlier stages of the serial. I noticed this just before he was killed by the Ice Warrior. This is the second episode in a row that I have spotted something just before they meet an unfortunate end.  I thought that Frank Gatliff has been quite good in these episodes and I was just getting use to him being on the good side of things.

The way that Eckersley treachery is revealed is done in a good way. It’s explained why he has done this and it’s down to a rather unoriginal idea of being the ruler of Earth and the richest man on Earth. I don’t know why but I just don’t buy Eckersley as a baddie. I don’t know whether it’s the reason he’s a baddie or just the actor, but I think that the Ice Warriors are the more effective villains in the story.

I like the bit towards the end when the Queen is acting defiantly (if somewhat futilely) against Azaxyr. I think that Nina Thomas has a thankless role and she does the best that she can but everytime she has a great scene I just remember how the character gets lost in the action and due to the fact that the role is a Queen and so cant really get involved

Whilst I don’t think that this is a terrible episode, it doesn’t quite have the feel to it. I think that it is building up to something which is more than could be said in some stories recently. I think that my impression of the Ice Warriors has improved since I started watching this story and this story as a whole is better than I had previously given it credit for.

The Monster of Peladon - Episode 4

This is the episode where traditionally in a six part adventure, the narrative changes slightly and there is a renewed freshness to the story. This is also the case here as the Ice Warriors enter the story after briefly appearing in the previous episode’s cliffhanger. We get proper Ice Warrior involvement in this episode with Azaxyr playing the role of detective in the early stages of this episode when he tries to figure out what is going on. He doesn’t waste time in laying down the law to the Queen when he basically says that the miners should go back to work or the Federation will come in and do it for them. I have commented how the Ice Warriors were basically watered down after ‘The Seeds of Death’ and this was based mainly on ‘Curse of the Peladon’ and also this story but watching this episode, it’s clear that this isn’t really the case because the Ice Warriors and Azaxyr in particular are anything but good.

I noticed in this episode that Bert from ‘The Green Death’ has made a full recovery and found himself mining. Although by the time I noticed this his involvement is somewhat reduced after being stabbed. The problem with the headgear that the miners have to wear is that they all look the same, there is no distinguishing features so it takes a fair amount of effort to spot Rex Robinson or Roy Evans. The two people that aren’t suffering from this problem are Jon Pertwee and Elisabeth Sladen because both are really good in this episode with Pertwee just edging it and I base that largely on the early scene with Azaxyr and also that the fact the Doctor is the only one that Gebek trusts so his importance is increased. There is a moment when Sarah Jane considers leaving Peladon which doesnt seem like a Sarah Jane thing to do. I don’t know why but it just didn’t seem right and I think that its only purpose it to remind us that they cant just leave because it would be difficult to find it.

I think that the only thing that let this episode down is the cliffhanger which despite a good build up just didn’t have quite the punch that the final shot should have. That said this is the second episode running which has been good and my optimism has been restored somewhat and I look forward to the final two episodes which didn’t seem possible during episode two. I think that the inclusion of the Ice Warriors has done exactly the thing that was needed and it seems that writer Brian Hayles was breathing a huge sigh of relief when he could bring them in cause he was back on familiar territory.

The Monster of Peladon - Episode 3

The third episode of this story starts with the rather disappointing cliffhanger. I was worried that this was going to be another episode where I was counting down the minutes and seconds until the cliffhanger but I am happy to report that this most definelty wasn’t the case. Firstly there is the nice way that the Doctor is reunited with an old friend in Agador. I thought after the cliffhanger of the previous episode that it was a weird way to end the episode because the Doctor knows how to clam down Agador and the viewer knows that so where exactly was the threat?

There’s a nice bit where Sarah Jane’s feminist side comes out as she has a chat with the Queen. It seems like they haven’t totally forgotten about what they were trying to do with the character of Sarah Jane. The Queen is more interesting in this episode because simply put she’s given the chance to show she’s there for a reason instead of just making up the numbers. Ortron becomes more interesting in this episode, it’s clear that he seems to be thriving with making the Doctor look like a guilty man. I think that the Queen was more active in this episode than the previous one. The way that she tries to stand up to Ortron is one of the highlights for the character in this episode. Eckersley has been one of the characters that seems to be on the Doctor’s side however there are moments in this episode which seem to suggest that there is something else. Having seen this episode before I know what the truth is about the character but writer Brian Hayles has done a good job of hiding this and waiting until episode three before they started to develop this. Gebek continues to be a good character in this story and well played by Rex Robinson.

If I had to pick a fault with the episode then it would be that it’s weird that Alpha Centauri didn’t mention the fact that the Doctor pretended to be the earth delegate in the previous story. I would have thought this would provide even more ammunition for Ortron. Everything about this episode is better than the episode two. The cliffhanger pretty much sums this up when we get the Ice Warrior appear. It’s amazing what difference an episode makes because my confidence is back to where it was at the end of episode one. I don’t know whether it will stay where it is by the end of the story but one thing is for sure this was a much better episode.

 

The Monster of Peladon - Episode 2

I wrote when watching the previous episode that I was more confident about this story. Oh what a difference one episode makes. That’s because any confidence has all but gone, this is largely down to the fact that for a while at the beginning of the episode nothing seems to happen. There’s a bit of excitement with trying to get the Doctor out of the holed up cave but after that the Doctor does very little apart from running around. It’s nearly twelve minutes before the Queen appears and considering she’s suppose to be one of the most important supporting characters in the story it’s surprising that she’s effectively reduced to cameo status.

There’s a nice bit of mystery when Sarah Jane encounters a frosty window with a figure walking behind it. Sadly though that mystery isn’t mentioned again which is a surprise considering there is time for this to be looked at in this episode. I think that Elisabeth Sladen has a better time in this episode but that’s only because the only thing that Pertwee does is the escaping from the cave of doom at the beginning of the episode.

This is going to be a shorter review than normal for the simple reason that I really cant think of anything to say. The central performances were fine and Alpha Centauri was one of the few highlights in this episode. I’m not very keen on this episode because nothing of any worth really happens. There was nothing that grabbed my attention and apart from occasional moments, this was a pretty forgettable episode and I think the next four episodes are going to be a struggle to get through. I am struggling to come up with any positives.

The Monster of Peladon - Episode 1

I just realised something this morning. I am just two stories away from the end of the Pertwee era. I am just 12 episodes away from welcoming the Tom Baker. But that’s in the future and what we have is a blast from the past because the Doctor returns to Peladon for a sequel that I don’t think we really needed. It even starts off with the same model shot that was used in the first one. As you may know if you are a regular visitor to this blog, I am fond of the occasional stat. It has now been 143 episodes since the Cybermen last appeared in a story (not including that brief appearance in Carnival of Monsters). It’s been 27 episodes since the Master last appeared and it was 59 episodes since The Ice Warriors last appeared in ‘The Curse of Peladon’. Curse dealt with the issue of Peladon joining the Galactic Federation and this one still seems to be about the Galactic Federation. The story takes place 50 years after the events of Curse.

Instead of David Troughton, we have Nina Thomas who plays Queen Thalira. Thalira is the daughter of Troughton’s King Peladon and its clear that Thalira has inherited her fathers diplomatic style. According the information text, Tahlira was suppose to be King Peladon’s fiancé.  I think that Nina Thomas gives a more stronger performance than David Troughton did. Like in Curse, there is a Chancellor who seems at odds with the Queen. In the case of Curse there was Chancellor Torbis played by Henry Gilbert and in this story there is Chancellor Orton played by Frank Gatliff. I cant really pick between the two as to which one is the best because its essentially the same role and its performed in equally the same way. I had forgotten that Rex Robinson was in this story as Gebek. It’s always good to have Robinson in an whilst I don’t think that its as good a role as Dr Tyler. I still think that he’s good in this episode.

I haven’t really commented about the performances from Jon Pertwee and Elisabeth Sladen too much recently. I think that its clear that Jon Pertwee is in the process of divorcing himself from the show as there doesn’t seem the intensity that there was in the previous seasons. If you look back at the previous Peladon story then you would notice a massive difference. I am not saying that he is putting in a below par performance but its clear that there isn’t quite the swagger that there use to be. Elisabeth Sladen has settled into the role and whilst there seems to be some of the traits from her first story, its clear that the 100% feisty feminist part of her character has been reduced to about 40%.

The person from Vega clearly has something covering his eyes with holes drilled in to allow the actor (Gerald Taylor) to see. I really don’t know what they were thinking when they put the headpiece on the Peladon mine workers. It’s something that is very much of its time. That said there aren’t as many things wrong with this episode than I was expecting. I’m still not entirely won over with this story but the opening episode is promising and the cliffhanger is much better than the ones we got in the previous story and so I am a lot more confident about the remaining episodes of this story and also of this season.

The Curse of Peladon - Episode 4

At the end of the previous episode, the Doctor was in a fight for his life and only because Arcturus has been killed. It’s amazing that this manages to stop the fight. Arcturus is revealed to be the one that is in collusion with Hepesh. This would seem to suggest that things would be wrapped up pretty quickly but Hepesh doesn’t hang around and instead seems to turn his plans into a cout de ta. There seems to be a massive improvement in the number of soldiers and this leads to a good fight sequence in the main chamber.

Hepesh has been good in this episode and its seems a shame that after some patchy moments, he comes good at the end of the story. It’s good how he does seem to show some compassion by not wanting the King to be hurt. It does seem quite fiting that he’s killed by Agador who he has been using as a pet for many years. His death scene is quite sad and that’s due to the good performance from Geoffrey Toone (Hepesh) and David Troughton. I know that I haven’t been particularly fond of King Peladon buts that nothing to do with Troughton’s acting but merely how the character has been written.

I like how they make several references to the Doctor and Jo still being representatives of Earth. The moment when they ask Jo to use her ship to communicate with others, the look on her face is quite priceless. The very last shot is of the Doctor and Jo leaving as they discover that they have been rumbled when the real earth delegate turns up. I think that the episode is a vast improvement and whilst the story over the four parts wasn’t the strongest, it was helped by the fact that things seemed to be moving quite quick. The performances from Hepesh, the Doctor and Jo help maintain my interest. It’s not a terrible story by any means but I think that it needed something else to help elevate it above its current standing in Doctor Who opinion.

The Curse of Peladon - Episode 3

As we approach the second part of the story I worry that this studio bound story doesn’t quite have the bite that I think that it should have. The previous episode had a lot of nothing in it and this episode needed to deliver. At the end of the previous episode the Doctor was accused of herecy and this forms the plot for this episode.  The romance between the King and Jo is given a bit more time in this episode as Jo uses this to try and stop the Doctor from being killed or put in the fight. The scene ends with Jo receiving a marriage proposal. The King is somewhat weak in this episode as his inability to take decisive action is becoming frustrating.

The Doctor has a good scene with Hepesh where he discusses why he’s gone to the trouble staging things and its good that Hepesh isn’t pretending anymore. Jon Pertwee’s best scene comes when he’s trying to calm Agador whom he encounters in the caves. The Doctor’s attempts are foiled when Jo comes barging in scaring it away. Jo makes up for it by the fact that she gets to be quite feisty from the very beginning and its good to see but it doesn’t happen enough for my liking.
I do like how there seems to be more finger pointing with Arcturus being suspicious of the Ice Warriors. It doesn’t seem to be given much time and its introduced too late into the story. Had it been done in episode two then I think that this would have made the story better but hey ho, better late than never.

The Doctor gets to have his trial by combat (I say that like he wants it) and it leads to a very good and well-choreographed fight. Sometimes its clear that its not Pertwee but Terry Walsh doing some of the movements but its still a good fight. It ends in rather a horrific way with the Doctor appearing to strangle the Kings Champion before letting go. Visually its slightly odd because its not filmed at TV centre so it has that different look to and its slightly disrupts the flow of continuity.

I thought that the cliffhanger was another good one and I felt that the episode on the whole was better than the previous. There seemed to be a bit more going on in this episode and it flows better than it seemed to in part two. I really don’t know what to feel about this story and I think that the final episode will determine whether I consider this to be a good story or not.

The Curse of Peladon - Episode 2

The second episode starts off quite good with the cliffhanger of the Agador statue about to squash some of the delegates and then Hepesh pipes up about the curse and the thing about Hepesh is that he’s so willing to use Agador as a reason to end the meeting but its not going to happen. Hepesh is starting to grate on me as he just seems like a rather repetitive character that has a dodgy haircut. The King has fallen for Jo and after the initial opening moments, this scene seems like its from another programme when you look at it in the context of the rest of the episode. It’s easy to believe that the king and Jo would be drawn to each other.

The Ice Warriors start their character development in this episode as they go from being the one accused of things going wrong to be the accusers. In this story they aren’t the baddies but its still odd to think of them as anything but the bad guy. The Doctor thinks that the Ice Warriors are the guilty ones purely on past experiences.

The Doctor doesn’t really have much to do in this episode and the only thing of any worth that he gets to do is stop Arcturus from being killed after his life support is compromised. That’s its really and Jo has a slightly better time when she seems to be investigator and after being locked up manages to escape. It’s a times like this that I wish that Roger Delgado would pop up in some convoluted plot.
The problem is that this story just doesn’t seem to grab me in ways that I would have hoped. It’s not a terrible story by any means but it’s a who-dunnit that doesn’t have much mileage in it. It’s a shame that Brian Hayles has written the sort of story that he did during the Troughton era. There are a lot of talkie bits which are fine but I do find myself getting slightly bored with it and just wanting the Ice Warriors to be better than they are. The cliffhanger is rather good with the Doctor being accused of heresy. I think that it’s the best thing in what was a rather mediocre episode. I worry that any goodness that I felt towards this story is rapidly disappearing and any goodness towards this season. After six episodes it feels like the show is starting to go into auto-pilot.

The Curse of Peladon - Episode 1

As I start watching ‘The Curse of Peladon’, I’m going to start off with a couple of stats. The first is that this is the first time that we have had two four part stories back to back for the first time since The Underwater Menace and The Moonbase back in season four. It’s also the first appearance of the Ice Warriors since ‘The Seeds of Death’ 71 episodes ago. They don’t appear until the half way mark and I love how the moment they first appear it seems to imply that he’s up to no good with even the Doctor using the term “no good”. Sadly they are made friendlier than they were during the Troughton era and this is a shame and it’s the beginning of the softer side of the Ice Warriors.

The first thing we see is an excellent model of the castle of Peladon. It is just a cardboard cut out but it’s still a rather good model. We get some good scenes when the Doctor and Jo arrive as it looks like it’s a substantial sized set and with the thunder and lightning effects, we get a nice idea that we’re not going to get any location scenes. I like that this story has an isolated feel to it as it seems to hark back to the base under siege stories of the Troughton era and at the same time it’s a who-dunnit.

At the time this was transmitted (January/February 1972), the UK was debating whether to join the EEC and it seems like a very apt time to try and use this in a sci-fi setting. Peladon is about the join the Galactic Federation which is dividing opinion.

King Peladon is played by David Troughton who returns after last appearing in ‘The War Games’ and is also Patrick Troughton’s son. The character of the King is a tortured soul who is conflicted between wanting the best for his people not wanting to bring misfortune to Peladon. Hepesh instantly shows that he’s not someone that is to be trusted and this starts from the very beginning. He’s spouting all this nonsense about Agador. Alpha Centuri is a character that might look a bit silly but in 1972 it would have been fine so its fine in 2014. Arcturus doesn’t look much better as it’s a head in a jar with some green slim and disco lights around its head. The sound modulator used for its voice seems to be left over from ‘Day of the Daleks’.

The cliffhanger is a rather good one with a statue of Agador about to come crashing down on some of the delegates. As an opening episode it seems like this would have been a better season opener than Day of the Daleks but I have always thought that this was a better Peladon story than the sequel we get soon. I feel better about this season now we have had this opening episode. The opening episode introduces some good characters and a story that looks like its going to be a lot better than I have previously given it credit for in the past.

The Seeds of Death - Episode 6

This final episode of ‘The Seeds of Death’ is the 100^th episode that Patrick Troughton has appeared in. The Doctor at the beginning of the episode has two battle two menaces (one he can’t see), there is the foam/pods and the Ice Warrior. Like the first episode which took several minutes before the regulars, it’s the same amount of time before extras turn up and a few minutes more before the supporting cast turn up (eight minutes). When the Ice Warrior is dealt with the story action moves to trying to make it rain and the stop the invasion fleet from arriving. Considering it only has 25 minutes to do it, its done quite well. The making it rain thing was done quite quickly considering the machine that does it seem quite broken.

I like how the Ice Warriors are defeated. They are tricked into following the wrong signal and the invasion fleet are sent to the sun instead of the earth. It’s a plan that takes the whole episode to get it to work and when it does it’s revealed in a fantastic way. It’s not done quickly at the end of an episode but they take the time to finish it off and still manage to do it with time to spare.

The performances are the best they have been from the regulars in this story. That’s because they seem to be letting some of the comedy come out. There’s a great shot when Troughton arrives in the weather bureau and Wendy Padbury has a massive grin on her face. The best of the regulars is Troughton who’s best scene comes when he is against Slaar and he says confidently that his plans are finished. It’s a rare thing for Troughton’s Doctor to get a scene like that but Troughton seizes the moment and its great to watch. The supporting cast don’t really feature that much as the action is taken with the regulars and the ice warriors.

As a story it works quite well and despite my reservations about it being six episodes, I thought that it worked in a perfectly fine manner. The Ice Warriors though lacking in ice weren’t lacking in menace. Their plan was quite clever (compared to the Daleks’ regular plans) and the setting of the moon was a nice nod to the base under siege type story that we had become use to. Brian Hayles has written a sound script and introduced a raft of supporting characters that weren’t annoying and were fun to watch. Michael Ferguson has been praised during the previous episodes because he has kept the action going and the location stuff was great.

The problem now is that we are about to approach the space pirates.

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.
 

The Seeds of Death - Episode 4

So with Patrick Troughton on holiday, it means that Frazer Hines and Wendy Padbury get a bit more of the action. Though they do come up with a clever way of getting rid of the person playing him by placing him in the T-Mat and sending into space. I like how there is a nice bit of tension with Fewsham not wanting to do it. Terry Scully must be getting a bit bored of just doing scenes with Ice Warriors and longs for acting against people not in costumes.

As Troughton is on holiday it means that Hines and Padbury have to get themselves involved in the story and Wendy Padbury does this very well as she has to work her way through the maze of tunnels to reach the control room to try and turn up the temperature. This was achieved by having the access hatch so small that only Zoe could get through. I do like how in trying to point out why she should do it and not Jamie she takes a pot shot at the fact that Jamie isn’t the quietest person in the world. Jamie is then forced to stay in that room where they have hooked up the weapon that doesn’t have a positive effect on Ice Warriors, though on the plus side he is stuck with Miss Kelly so there are worse situations to be in.

I forgot to mention about when the pod started to get bigger when it was in front of Radnor, Eldred and Brent. When it started to get bigger, why didn’t they close the door. If something like that was happening to me then I would have closed the door and got the hell out of there. But I suppose you lose a bit of common sense when your on TV. Another thing I haven’t mentioned (for some reason) is how sniffly and pathetic Fewsham started off and continues to be. He’s all about self sacrifice and nothing else. I don’t think that he cares about others which is why I think he’s an effective character. Eldred is the one that figures out why the Ice Warriors have sent their pods to cold parts of the world. I like it how despite being the oldest, he is still able to contribute and be useful to the story. He also seems to be the one with the wisest head on his/her shoulders.

The moment where the Ice Warriors surprises Eldred and Radnor was another good moment as it was the first time that they had been seen on Earth and in different surroundings to the moon. Even though it was just one it seemed more than capable of seeing off the guards.

We get to go outside for the first time since ‘The Invasion’ and though it doesn’t feature the regular any of the important supporting characters its still good to get outside. It has a different look to them. Ok there’s filmed at Hyde Park and so not going to have the cold bleakness of what we saw in ‘The Invasion’ and I don’t know whether its just the quality of the print but there is something that looks a bit odd. That said the effect of the foam spreading and the T-Mat guard being killed by an Ice Warrior is well realised.

The cliffhanger is a good one as Zoe is the one that is in danger as she is spotted by the Ice Warrior infront of that giant bank of lights. This has definelty been Wendy Padbury’s episode and it does show how the dynamic of the set-up has changed and despite the level playing field in the first couple of episode, its reverted back to what we have now. It’s a shame really but I think that the restrictions of Jamie’s character (even though this was his 94^th episode) is on show here. As an episode it’s the best so far and it feels like the story is starting to get cooking and also it feels like there is some menace to want the good guys to try and stop. Good stuff.

7.65/10

The Seeds of Death - Episode 3

As we approach the halfway stage of the story this is where the Ice Warriors plan starts to become clear. This is the first time that the Doctor meets the Warriors since their last story. The first 10-12 minutes are really about the Doctor, Zoe and Jamie landing on the moon. The focus of the episode has moved from earth to the moon and this helps create a sense that the story is a sort of base under siege feel cause there isn’t any real way that help can arrive as the T-Mat doesn’t work for a large part of the episode.

Miss Kelly becomes the star of the episode as really stands up for herself. When face to face with the Ice Warriors, she doesn’t show fear but rather warns them that they won’t find it so easy to invade the Earth. I thought that Phipps was a close second as he was the first to meet the Doctor and then Jamie and Zoe. He showed his intelligence in the previous episode when he killed an Ice Warrior and got to show it again in this episode. I liked how he was quite respectful to Zoe by calling her Miss Zoe which meant that we should like him and I do.

I think that the incidental music is quite fun though I’ve never noticed it before. I don’t think that I’ve commented too much about the incidental music on these episodes but I’m going to put that right today as Dudley Simpson has done a great job in this story. It’s very much of its period but that’s what I like about it because its distinctive and futuristic.

Patrick Troughton goes on holiday for the next episode so his absence is explained when he holds one of the Ice Warriors’ pods and it explodes causing him to faint. The Doctor doesn’t waste much time getting separated from Jamie and Zoe and gets to meet the Ice Warriors as a result. Troughton gets to deliver a great line when he announces that’s he a genius to prevent the Warriors from killing him. Jamie feels like he’s getting more of the action in this episode than he did previously. He’s been used better and is also being treated equally to Zoe. It’s good that the companions are working together instead of being separated like in previous episodes.

The cliffhanger was quite good as it didn’t feature the regulars which was a rareity. One of the pods arrives on earth via T-Mat and is about to blow up just like the one that knocked the Doctor out. It’s great to end the episode this way as we don’t know whether the supporting cast will survive or who will come and save the day so it must have been torture waiting a week to find out what happened. Thankfully I only have to wait until tomorrow. The story has picked up since the last episode and that’s more to do with the fact that the Doctor, Zoe and Jamie have finally got to get out of the rocket and interacting with other people. Long may it continue.

 

The Seeds of Death - Episode 2

At the beginning of the episode, they are still trying to convince Eldred to use his rocket. After a while I felt like this was just getting tiresome. There’s something good about someone standing up for their principles but there comes a time when you have to put it to one side and just help others. It took an awfully long time for this to happen. Once Eldred agrees to this it isn’t very long before the Doctor, Zoe and Jamie are on the rocket about to go to the moon.

The sight of Eldrad, Miss Kelly and Radnor sitting at a desk does look like some talent show judging panel. It’s rather amusing. They are the three best supporting characters in this piece with Louise Pajo in the lead in terms of performances though Ronald Leigh-Hunt is also very good as Commander Radnor.

As far as the regulars they all do well thought the spend half the episode stuck in the rocket set. It’s fun seeing Jamie reacting to travelling by rocket. Despite travelling in the TARDIS, he hasn’t experienced anything like rocket. Jamie does seem like a bit of spare part as his knowledge about what it takes to get a rocket set up isn’t quite up to par with that of Zoe or the Doctor. Even when Jamie offers to come with them to the moon, the Doctor isn’t quite sure he wants him coming. Considering how I thought the relationship was during this period, it’s a surprise to me at this moment just how out of favours Frazer Hines’ character seems.

There is some more interesting directing from Michael Ferguson such as the bit where there is the round screen and Eldrad’s face appears. This is followed by the countdown appearing on Miss Kelly’s face. The model effects of the rocket are all very impressive and show how far the standard has risen since the show started and its helps create the impression that the story is set on the earth and on the moon.

The Ice Warriors aren’t going about all guns blazing but are being quite manipulative. They are achieving this by getting the T-Mat working only way this getting more people of the Moon but they are stuck there. There aren’t many of them (more for budgetary reasons than anything else) but what they lack in numbers, they more than make up in their coldness (no pun intended).

I don’t think that this episode has quite the fizz that the first one had. I think that the supporting characters has fallen a bit and we are now left with the three main supporting players and some minor ones who I couldn’t be fussed about. I still like the story and feel that the point of the Ice Warriors will become evident soon. My issues of six parters are starting to show up again (sorry for repeating myself again) as there seemed like a fair amount of padding but I’m willing to forgive it knowing that the good stuff is about to come.

The Seeds of Death - Episode 1

So as we approach the latter stages of the Troughton era we are back with a familiar monster. I remember the first time that I saw this story and was instantly amazed by it, its was the first time that I saw the Ice Warriors. The story is set at the end of the twenty-first century where there is a process called T-Mat which is the way that things are transported and travel by rocket has become obsolete. This story as written by Brian Hayles who created the Ice Warriors.The Ice Warriors were last seen in their debut story two years before. 

 

The way that the screen episode credits are shown is another thing that’s well done. This story has a relatively local setting as we go back to the moon for the first time since 'The Moonbase'. Its not just used as a base under siege but more like part of the list of sets that the story will use. 

The effect that the people being transported via T-Mat is well done even though it is rather primitive by todays standard. 

 

We know the Ice Warriors are back pretty quickly just by the way that one of the team members were killed and also by the way that the Ice Warrior talks to Osgood. They don’t do very much in this episode apart from scare the s**t out of the people working on the moon. I do like the gradual unveiling of them as it wasn’t left until the last moment. The shot of one of them at the end was creepy and  show that despite doing very little they are back. 

 

It's 8 minutes before the Doctor, Zoe and Jamie have returned and its unusual that it takes this long but due to the fact that so much was going on with the supporting characters, I didn’t mind that we were well into the episode before they appeared. In the previous episode, Zoe seemed to be the Doctor's number one companion as opposed to Jamie but this time they were on equal footing. Equal footing to the point where the Doctor had gone geeky about the rocket ship, Jamie and Zoe seemed to be equally baffled by this.  

The supporting characters are all really good much like in the Krotons (but better). I instantly liked Miss Kelly as she was a no-nonsense individual who was very work obsessed and didn’t suffer fools gladly. It's clear that she is there 'for the dads' but that’s perhaps being unfair on Louise Pojo who does quite well with the role. There is a great shot where Commandor Radnor is standing at one side of the room about to shout at Miss Kelly and its just a lovely and simple shot. 

 

It's a good establishing opening episode. It sets up nicely where people are in the grand scheme of things but I do think straight away that six episodes is too long. The Ice Warriors were used well and the supporting characters were given time to develop and make us care about them and they were dressed much better than some supporting characters that I could think of.  

The Ice Warriors - 6

The final episode sees the story reach a natural end. Normally I would expect the episode to try and salvage the story but it didn’t need to do that as I think that this story has impressed me enough. The episode had a simple job to do and it did it quite well and what I liked was how it didn’t feel like they padded it or were rushing through the 25 minutes.

I liked how it was Penley who raised the temperature and the Doctor caused everyone to have a massive earache. It was a nice double act that shows why the character of Penley was so good but to single out Penley would be a disservice to the rest of the supporting characters who have all been solid in their own way.

It’s just dawned on me how much Victoria’s outfit in this story must have inspired Peter Jackson when dressing the Hobbits in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. She continues her good run (for what time shes in it) and this has to have been her best story since she joined the show. I’m was getting bored of Jamie not doing very much he only benefits when Victoria disappears off screen.  Frazer Hines has done well with playing second fiddle to Deborah Watling but I suspect that he knows that this is a short term measure. Not that I’m saying that Hines was trying to hog the limelight but its usually the case that Jamie gets the better slice of the action pie than Victoria. Deborah Watling appears for the first half of the story before disappearing with pre-recorded dialogue and some good acting by Patrick Troughton. Not quite sure why they didn’t just write her out of the episode completely but I suppose they didn’t think of that.

The scene where the Warriors storm into Clent control room is simple, short and effective. I quite enjoyed it and I am impressed that they waited until episode six before Hayles did this. Clent gets more action in this episode than in the previous five and I also liked the bit at the end where there was a sense of humility when he’s talking to Penley. The ending is rather abrupt though which is a shame as we don’t even get a scene with the Doctor, Jamie and an off screen Victoria entering the TARDIS.

I think that this is the strongest Patrick Troughton story and I say that as a massive fan of The Tomb of the Cybermen. I think that is been consistently strong and has proved the exception to the rule about six parters being a bit rubbish.  I am really looking forward the next story as its Enemy of the World and I will be watching this for the first time ever and then there’s Web of Fear after that so the next twelve days are going to be a treat.

The Ice Warriors - 5

The penultimate episode starts off with a nice directed reprise of the previous episode. It allows the camera to show the Ice Warrior on the screen and the Doctor in the same shot. It’s always good I think when they decide to reshoot it instead of just replaying it and that’s because they can put a difference emphasis on something without actually changing the tone of the moment.

Jamie starts the episode being pulled along by Wallace. Both of them spend the early part of the episode trying to avoid being eaten by a bear. Again he’s being given the short straw and Victoria continues to be the better of the two. There’s a nice moment when she pleads with the Doctor not to help the Ice Warriors even though it would mean the end of her life. What a difference a story makes because normally it would be the other way around and I am liking how well Victoria is being used in this story and whilst its at the cost of Jamie, its good to see Deborah Watling elevated above her usual position. Patrick Troughton is also on good form and I love how he uses a stink bomb to try and escape. There is no way that William Hartnell would have done this but that’s what makes Troughton’s Doctor so good.

I like how Clent seems to have had a conscience operation between the previous episode and this one. He seems to be letting his emotions show a bit more. However this is a short term thing as he soon’s stops thinking emotionally and more coldly. My favourite scene of the episode comes from Penley’s interaction with Clent and one particular line where Clent says that he might be a physical coward but Penley is a coward of the mind. It’s a great line and I think that it sums up both of them perfectly. I love it when these moments come out of nowhere. Penley seems to have got better since the death of Storr which is a good thing

The thing about this episode is that it didn’t seem to have the same sort of zip that the previous ones did. That doesn’t mean that it was a terrible episode because it wasn’t. I thought that there was plenty to enjoy but I think that it was inevitable that this was going to happen but I think that it builds up to the final episode rather well and I think that this story is just behind Tomb of the Cybermen in terms of top Troughton Series Five stories.

 

The Ice Warriors - 4

Back to the live action episodes and its quite an odd thing that after it seemed like the Ice Warriors were going to kill Victoria from behind that they suddenly decide not to. The Ice Warriors think that the Ioniser is a weapon against them instead of just a way of melting the ice. This is the first time that I can remember a purpose for what is going on. Quite why it’s taken until episode four for this to happen I don’t know but at least it gives some credibility to the Ice Warriors’ motives.

Victoria gets to do something quite brave and different from her usual screaming and whining.  She has to try and not get caught by the Ice Warriors and just gets on with it. This is the best that I have seen/heard from the character since she first appeared. The chase between Victoria and the Ice Warrior was quite well done. Even towards the end when she is trapped by the snow and the Ice Warrior and cries out for a long time I still thought that it was a good performance from Deborah Watling.

Something I haven’t commented on was the double act between Peter Sallis (voice of Wallace in Wallace and Gromit) and Angus Lennie who play Penley and Storr respectively. Even though they only feature briefly in each episode their performances are fun and entertaining. I can’t help look at Sallis and think of his role in the BBC comedy ‘Last of the Summer Wine’. Penley is the more likeable of the two whereas Storr seems rather mad and I get the feeling that this is a bit of a red herring. Storr’s death was a bit of a shame really as I thought that the double act was working quite well.

Troughton is very good from start to finish. When Clent is being rather rude to Victoria he is quite calm and polite to her. Then there is the moment when he is using the weird machine and he says he desperately wants it and it turns out to be water. The comedic tone was quite good and the only thing missing was Jamie. Speaking of Jamie it’s a shame that he’s given a redundant role in this episode as he is getting over his trauma. I expected him to start talking about the phantom piper like he did back in ‘The Moonbase’.

The cliffhanger is rather good as the Doctor is put in danger and instead of just cutting away from him we get to see the Doctor’s panic expression as the credits start to roll was a nice way to end the episode. Not sure whether it was intended to end like that or not but either way I thought that the cliffhanger worked and overall the episode was rather good. I think that of the six parters that we have had, this has to be the strongest so far because I don’t feel bored and think that with two more episodes there is plenty that could be done so I am liking The Ice Warriors.

The Ice Warriors - 3

The third episode is the second to be animated. We finally get more Ice Warriors and the animation continues to impress me. After the slow start that the previous episode went through it was nice how this one seemed to be totally different and it was good to just sit back and enjoy the episode. The story effectively continues the Ice Warrior that has been stuck with Victoria waking up more Ice Warriors and the Doctor works things out.

There’s a nice moment which shows that they have some intelligence to go with their size. They assume that if others from the base don’t come then they wont have enough people to prevent an attack. Not only are they intelligent but they are quite ruthless and its showed by the end of the episode where are about to kill Victoria from behind. The only issue is that they don’t really seem to have a plan. It’s normally a major problem but I think that the mere sight of them is enough to put that issue at the back of my mind but with three episodes left they need to get a wriggle on. Though the idea that they instantly want to attack the humans instead of just trying to talk to them.

Clent’s arrogance is shown up her as he wants to take credit for all the good things that have happened. It’s good that there is a character like Clent but there is something about Peter Barkworth’s portrayal of the character that annoys me and I think doesn’t sit quite well in the story. 
 
Jamie has been seriously injured after being shot at by the Ice Warriors and that’s about as much as he gets to do. Victoria gets to be a bit more active after not doing very much in the previous episode and I thought that her grief at thinking Jamie has died was one of the highlights of the episode.  The loss is also felt by the Doctor and it shows just how close they have become even if sometimes Victoria is treated like a spare part. Patrick Troughtons’ performance was strong and without Jamie or Victoria around him we were able to see why he is such a good actor.

It’s another enjoyable episode which starts to feel like its picking up the pace and as we enter the latter half of the story it seems like there is more to come. Were done with the animated episodes and I have to say that on the whole they have added to the enjoyment of the story. Nothing has put a dampener on my interest in the action. Now we are back to the ‘live’ episodes and I think that this might be a six parter that I actually enjoy. More down to the setting and the creation of the Ice Warriors than anything else. Finally I should say that apart from the less than spectacular Abominable Snowmen, I think that this fifth Season is a lot stronger than the previous