The Ambassadors of Death - Episode 2

After being not bowled over by the cliffhanger it seems to not really matter as I forget that and remember that I am not so impressed with the title sequence. I have to be thankful that it was only done for this one story but on the other hand, I still have five more episodes to endure. To be honest this is probably the worst thing about the entire serial. When the title sequence finished with the cliffhanger we were shown that the opening scene with the Doctor and Liz disappearing and reappearing did have some relevance as it was used to try and make a tape disappear.

The focus of the episode is about getting the astronauts back to earth and it’s done relatively quickly. Where the proper drama comes from is getting into the capsule. I love how it seems at first that things will be ok but then after a few moments at the capsule they discover that things are a bit more serious. When the capsule gets back they manage to make contact but for some reason they wont (or cant) open the door. This is quite a fun mystery to try and solve.

I do enjoy the location filming. Partly because it just makes the story feel more open and also it shows what a location looked like when it was filmed. The action sequence with the capsule being transported back to space command and being attacked by the helicopter was a fun scene but like the action scene in the first episode it lacked music and I again would have liked some incidental music.

Carrington is one of the first villains that we encounter (although we did see him in the previous episode), Carrington is a very good character and is utterly unlikeable. John Abineri is a very good piece of casting and even when he’s made to look foolish after becoming stuck to Bessie (that just sounds wrong), I still think that Carrington is a good character. Sir James Quinlan is a government type and instantly looks like someone who is in league with Carrington and Taltalian. It doesn’t take long for this truth to be revealed when after the Doctor and the Brigadier leave, Quinlan opens another door and after a brief moment of build up, its revealed that Taltalian managed to flee into the camp of the conspirators.  

Jon Pertwee is having fun in the episode. He starts off by putting on a funny voice to fool Carrington and then gets to be heroic by bringing the stolen capsule back to space command. He also gets to look like the star man after getting to utter the cliffhanger line. I think that Liz has more involvement in this episode. Granted it wasn’t the most active that a companion has ever been in the series but I noticed her a lot more in this episode and that can only be a good thing.

“Right, cut it open” is a weird final line and it is another odd cliffhanger. Like the first cliffhanger it lacked any major drama and instead seems to the do the opposite of what a cliffhanger is suppose to do. I think that for 99% of the episode the episode works well and I am still enjoying this story but I worry that some of aspects of the story will start to grate on me as the story progresses but only time will tell I suppose.