Doctor Who 5.03 The Ice Warriors
DOCTOR: "Your regulations do not apply to me. I work in my own way, freely."
Overview
The first two seasons of Patrick Troughton's stint as the Doctor were pretty much decimated by the 1960s-70s BBC policy of junking old episodes of TV shows. Of the fourteen stories made during those two seasons, only one survives in its entirety, the season five premiere Tomb of the Cybermen. The vast majority of stories are either lost completely, or have just one or two episodes extant. After Tomb of the Cybermen, The Ice Warriors is the most intact story still available from those two seasons, as only two out of its six episodes are lost, with four still available to watch, which is why I have skipped The Abominable Snowmen and jumped straight into this one as my next Second Doctor story. It's a bit woolly in the plot department and flimsy in its production but showcases the Second Doctor's personality well.
Observations
Random thoughts while watching:
The post-titles credit sequence is very creative.
I'm not sure how I feel about the waily music used every time anyone ventures out into the snow. I mean, it's very haunting and atmospheric and perfectly conveys the bleak desolation of the environment, but on the other hand it does get a bit annoying after a while.
I love that the Tardis lands on its side in a snowdrift, so that the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria have to climb out of it.
However uninviting the environment in which he has landed, the Doctor always wants to explore - it is a very consistent characteristic.
The computer voice at Brittanicus Base sounds a bit like a Dalek, which is a little disturbing.
Having this high tech base housed in a stately home makes for an interesting visual juxtaposition between the old and the new. Plus, I imagine, it made for a cheaper set to build! For that matter, having a stately home sitting under a protective dome in a desolate wasteland of arctic snow and glaciers also makes for an intriguingly contradictory environment for our heroes to encounter.
I'm not sure what is up with the outfits worn by the base personnel, though - the female uniforms especially seem a bit risqué for such an important scientific role and chilly environment! The designs are rather nifty, though, very avant-garde.
Peter Barkworth does a great job with Leader Clent, giving us this character who is so stern and intense and rigidly unbending, so utterly dedicated to his job that he cannot see anything else, and yet who is also so very human, brittle and afraid and not without compassion, even if he does struggle to express it. The fact that he is physically weak and has to walk with a stick is just thrown in there without comment, as an additional little character detail to offset his dictatorial leadership style, which is a nice touch. Miss Garrett seems tremendously loyal to him.
The concept behind this story is very science fiction, in a way that Doctor Who isn't always, especially in later years. The peoples of Earth have effectively destroyed the planet's climate - and the story makes no bones about the fact that it is mankind's own fault. Destruction of the Earth's ecology has caused a new and terrible ice age and only a series of high tech ionisers located at key positions around the globe are holding the glaciers at bay. The UK ioniser is the most vulnerable, sitting right on top of a fast encroaching glacier, and is already in a state of crisis even before one of its scientists finds a frozen Ice Warrior in the snow, brings it back to base to study, and accidentally brings it back to life simply by defrosting it. It is this crisis situation that the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria find themselves in the middle of as they explore the area the Tardis has landed them in and the basic plot of the story is a very simple series of problems that must be resolved, from stabilising the ioniser to dealing with the Ice Warriors without blowing up their ship's engines.
I can't help wondering how this new ice age fits into the future timeline of Earth that the show is always messing around with. We aren't ever told exactly what year it is, but Clent says something about five thousand years of human history being in danger from the encroaching glaciers.
I rather enjoy how subversive and rebellious Arden and his fellow scientists are as they work out in the field - I am highly amused watching Arden winding Clent up from the other end of a video-conferencing link. But then Arden loses my respect when he seems entirely unconcerned about the loss of one of his colleagues to an avalanche, except inasmuch as it will get him into trouble.
I am always amused by what a walking anachronism Jamie is. He always wears a kilt as a reminder of his 18th century Highland home, but quite happily wears a modern wristwatch and shirt to go with it.
Peter Sallis as Scientist Penley! I absolutely adore Peter Sallis. I don't think I've ever seen him looking as young as he is here, all scruffy and disreputable and snarky and brilliant.
I love how the Doctor simply cannot resist a crisis. If he gets the merest sniff of a problem, he just pitches in and tries to help, whether wanted or not and regardless of how anyone reacts to his unexpected and unauthorised presence. He is so very clever. The Second Doctor doesn't often show how clever he is, tends to hide it behind his clownish mannerisms and air of muddlement, but he is. He demonstrates that here, as he takes one look at the readouts, instantly diagnoses the problem and resolves it in about ten seconds flat, while the Brittanicus Base scientific staff are busily running around like headless chickens, because they are so used to having computers to do all their thinking for them that they can no longer think for themselves when a problem arises that the computer is not equipped to deal with.
I also love how good the Doctor is at bluffing his way through any given conversation. But when Two does his panicky thing, I'm never sure how much of that is genuine and how much he's putting it on for effect. Certainly he gets a lot more flustered than most of his later incarnations.
I am very amused by the way Jamie teases Victoria about the barely decent outfits worn by the women at Brittanicus Base - he's such a lad.
The way the defrosting Ice Warrior comes to life is really rather creepy - the black and white really helps, there. I'm sure it wouldn't look half as good in colour.
As monsters go, the Ice Warriors might not be terribly well known, but they are pretty distinctive. I recently read the Eleventh Doctor novel Silent Stars Go By, and knew that the Ice Warriors were going to be in it before I'd even read a page; I recognised the picture of one on the cover because I'd seen this story.
Episodes two and three of this story exist only as audio, but the DVD includes a really good reconstruction that summarises both episodes in just 15 minutes of stills, condensed audio and bridging narrative - very nicely put together. I can cope with two episodes told in that manner, even if I don't have the stomach for entire stories that exist only as reconstructions.
How do the Ice Warriors achieve anything when they only have pincers instead of hands?
In Tomb of the Cybermen, I enjoyed how strong-willed and independent Victoria was. It's a shame she hasn't brought that same attitude into this story. She is annoyingly feeble in this story, and okay, she has good reason to be upset, what with being abducted by the Ice Warriors and all, but still, all that clinging and screaming and begging doesn't show her in the best light.
I am very amused that Jamie still wears his kilt even in thick snow. His legs should be horribly frost-bitten!
When Victoria sees Jamie shot down by the Ice Warriors, she becomes very distressed, fearing that he has been killed, a sign of how close the two have become. Then when she later makes contact with the base and tells them what happened, it is the Doctor's turn to fret about Jamie's fate, evidence of his emotional attachment to his companions, which I always like to see.
It is a big relief when Victoria manages to escape from the Ice Warriors, albeit only temporarily, and uses Arden's communicator to contact the base - it's about time she was given something pro-active to do! This isn't a very strong story for her.
One of the intriguing things about Victoria is that on the one hand she is a prim, sheltered and fragile Victorian lady, typical of any genteel girl from the 1860s, but on the other hand she has a strong scientific education, bestowed upon her by her father, and although that science is primitive, it is enough of a grounding for her to be able to grasp future technologies and situations in a way that Jamie, a Highland piper from the 1740s, never will - she figures out how to use the communication device, quick smart. But there are, inevitably, limits to her knowledge and understanding - I am very amused by the way the Doctor sighs and rolls his eyes at Clent as he tries to interrogate Victoria over the video link about the spaceship engines, and then re-phrases the question in a way she will understand.
Penley is a really lovely character, and I'm not just saying that because I adore Peter Sallis. He is so gentle and caring and prepared to stand up for his beliefs in a way that few people in this society seem to - he is almost unique among the Brittanicus Base characters in that he is not only willing to think for himself, but actively chooses to against all opposition. And he saves Jamie's life, so he earns Brownie points for that. He is brilliantly clever, too, a real kindred spirit for the Doctor - no wonder they get along so well, when they meet.
The whispery, sibilant Ice Warrior voices are really rather well done. They are quite a good design, as well. Kudos to the team.
I quite like the simplicity of the main dilemma at the heart of this story. The humans need to operate their newly-repaired ioniser to hold the glaciers at bay before all of Europe is engulfed, but they don't dare operate the ioniser until they know what kind of engines are used by the Ice Warrior spaceship they now know is trapped in the ice, because if the ioniser causes those engines to explode the devastation could be worse than the glacier. The Ice Warriors, for their part, want only to escape their icy tomb, but absolutely refuse to trust the humans in the slightest, fearing the ioniser as if it were a weapon. Stalemate. There are no real baddies here; both sides simply want to survive. The Ice Warriors' ruthlessness toward the humans that venture near their ship, however, tips the scales against them in the good-bad equation.
Oh, Victoria's short-lived flight from the Ice Warriors is really badly staged. And she screams loudly enough to cause an avalanche!
After being shot by the Ice Warriors, Jamie is temporarily paralysed. Well, that's one way to keep him out of the action! I quite like the way the Doctor turns away and won't look his young friend in the face while reassuring him that he is going to be fine; he doesn't actually know that for sure and can't bring himself to lie to Jamie's face.
I do enjoy seeing Patrick Troughton and Peter Sallis sharing scenes.
I also enjoy how blasé the Doctor tends to be in the face of impossible odds. Even if the Ice Warriors do call his bluff. The little game of brinksmanship they play is nicely handled. And his reunion with Victoria is rather touching.
I love how quirky the Second Doctor is. Patrick Troughton throws so many fab little mannerisms and quirks into his performance that are impossible to capture in writing yet imbue the character with such a unique and endearing personality. I especially love the moments where we are allowed to glimpse the steel beneath that gentle exterior, usually so well hidden.
Clent's breakdown in the face of the seemingly insoluble crisis is predictable but very well played - kudos to Peter Barkworth for a wonderfully intense performance. He simply cannot make a decision without the computer, which is paralysed by conflicting priorities. At least Clent can see the problem caused by his overreliance on the computer, which is more than Miss Garrett seems capable of, even if he can't bring himself to act.
Penley goes to a lot of trouble to get the injured Jamie back to Brittanicus Base for medical treatment, for which he earns even more Brownie points than he already had, especially since he has such a thorny history with the base in general and Clent in particular. He prioritises Jamie's need ahead of his own pride and even tackles a bear en route to protect the lad, when he could have more easily made his own escape and left Jamie to his fate. Penley is the hero of this story.
I love that the Doctor's natural inclination is to find the best solution for everyone. He doesn't just want to help the humans, he also wants to help the Ice Warriors - but they refuse to trust him enough to let him help them, and as a result doom themselves.
I am rather amused by the way the Doctor signals for Victoria to burst into tears as a diversion so that they can confer quietly, under the guise of comfort, without arousing the suspicion of the Ice Warriors.
Only the Doctor would use a stink bomb as a weapon.
I do not like Miss Garrett. She is so shrill and brittle and her devotion to the great world computer is more like a religious fervour than anything. She is a bad influence on Clent at the worst possible moment, feeding into his inability to act against the advice of the computer.
There is a really good, tense scene when the Ice Warriors invade Brittanicus Base in search of a fuel supply for their ship - when they start interrogating the personnel as to their qualifications for continued existence, the implied ruthlessness is really quite chilling.
The Doctor really is very, very clever and is always a few steps ahead of everyone else. It is rather startling to see him pick up and use the Ice Warriors' weapon, though - but very in character that he reconfigures it to stun rather than kill.
One of the things I like about this story is that it doesn't always do the expected. Since there has been such a focus on Clent and his desperate inability to act without guidance from the computer, one might expect him to be given a climactic moment of redemption, breaking through that paralysis for a final, positive action. But he doesn't. He remains paralysed by indecision right to the end. It is Penley, instead, who saves the day by making the decision to turn the ioniser back on despite not knowing for sure whether or not it is safe to operate so close to the Ice Warrior ship. It is a gamble and it pays off. The Ice Warriors are destroyed but the explosion is only minor, and the humans are now free to continue holding those glaciers at bay. And because the story has really sold the acrimonious history between Penley and Clent, it means that much more when we see how gracious they both are toward one another in the aftermath. So all is well that ends well for Brittanicus Base.
I love that the Doctor just sneaks away while no one is looking - that's very him. I'm not sure who stood his Tardis upright again for him, though, in the middle of the crisis - it is upright when it dematerialises, despite having been lying on its side when it landed!
Quotable Quotes
CLENT: "You've worked with computers, I presume?"
DOCTOR: "Only when I have to."
DOCTOR: "It's a waste of time asking the computer."
JAMIE: "Spacecraft! Hey, do you reckon that's where the warrior's gone back to?"
DOCTOR: "Well, he didn't come by Shetland Pony, Jamie."
PENLEY: "What I like about you is if a polar bear got you, you'd give him indigestion."
DOCTOR: "Well, I'll try and help you, but I do think you might try trusting human beings instead of computers."
CLENT: "I trust no one, Doctor. Not anymore. Human emotions are unreliable."
DOCTOR: "Well, he's a scientist and a bit inclined to have his head in the air. You know what they're like."
JAMIE: "Aye, I certainly do."
DOCTOR: "Your regulations do not apply to me. I work in my own way, freely."
DOCTOR: "There is one thing you could do for me which would be very important."
CLENT: "Yes, yes, anything. What is it?"
DOCTOR: "Lend me a pencil."
PENLEY: "You don't expect me to face Clent alone? That mouth piece of the computer? He's got a printed circuit where his heart should be."
VARGA [on monitor]: "Who are you?"
DOCTOR: "I never answer questions until I'm addressed properly."
ZONDAL: "You do not look like a scientist."
DOCTOR: "Looks aren't everything, you know."
DOCTOR: "It's all right. We are not beaten yet."
VARGA: "But you could not hope to escape to tell the tale."
DOCTOR: "Oh, I always live in hope."
JAMIE: "Can you not run for it?"
PENLEY: "I don't intend to leave you here as hors d'oeuvre, laddie."
JAMIE: "Well, the gun. Use the gun."
PENLEY: "I couldn't hit the side of the mountain. I'm a scientist, not a gladiator."
CLENT: "No, we lost contact with the Doctor over an hour ago. I'm afraid there's no hope."
PENLEY: "You mean hope happens to be inconvenient."
DOCTOR: "We can try and escape with this."
VICTORIA: "What is it?"
DOCTOR: "Ammonium sulphide."
VICTORIA: "Ammonium sulphide? It's only a stink bomb."
DOCTOR: "Yes, you've had the benefits of a classical education. Yes, it is what you'd call a stink bomb."
VICTORIA: "What use is that?"
DOCTOR: "You'd be surprised. Harmless to humans, but to aliens very possibly deadly!"
VARGA: "What are your qualifications for existence?"
PENLEY: "This is a decision for a man to take, not a machine. The computer isn't designed to take risks, but that is the essence of man's progress. We must decide."
The Verdict
Overall, this isn't bad at all. Despite the somewhat flimsy plot and production, there is some solid world-building in this story, with well-fleshed out guest characters it is possible to care about, and I love what we see of the Second Doctor and his highly idiosyncratic approach to any given crisis situation.
Overview
The first two seasons of Patrick Troughton's stint as the Doctor were pretty much decimated by the 1960s-70s BBC policy of junking old episodes of TV shows. Of the fourteen stories made during those two seasons, only one survives in its entirety, the season five premiere Tomb of the Cybermen. The vast majority of stories are either lost completely, or have just one or two episodes extant. After Tomb of the Cybermen, The Ice Warriors is the most intact story still available from those two seasons, as only two out of its six episodes are lost, with four still available to watch, which is why I have skipped The Abominable Snowmen and jumped straight into this one as my next Second Doctor story. It's a bit woolly in the plot department and flimsy in its production but showcases the Second Doctor's personality well.
Observations
Random thoughts while watching:
The post-titles credit sequence is very creative.
I'm not sure how I feel about the waily music used every time anyone ventures out into the snow. I mean, it's very haunting and atmospheric and perfectly conveys the bleak desolation of the environment, but on the other hand it does get a bit annoying after a while.
I love that the Tardis lands on its side in a snowdrift, so that the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria have to climb out of it.
However uninviting the environment in which he has landed, the Doctor always wants to explore - it is a very consistent characteristic.
The computer voice at Brittanicus Base sounds a bit like a Dalek, which is a little disturbing.
Having this high tech base housed in a stately home makes for an interesting visual juxtaposition between the old and the new. Plus, I imagine, it made for a cheaper set to build! For that matter, having a stately home sitting under a protective dome in a desolate wasteland of arctic snow and glaciers also makes for an intriguingly contradictory environment for our heroes to encounter.
I'm not sure what is up with the outfits worn by the base personnel, though - the female uniforms especially seem a bit risqué for such an important scientific role and chilly environment! The designs are rather nifty, though, very avant-garde.
Peter Barkworth does a great job with Leader Clent, giving us this character who is so stern and intense and rigidly unbending, so utterly dedicated to his job that he cannot see anything else, and yet who is also so very human, brittle and afraid and not without compassion, even if he does struggle to express it. The fact that he is physically weak and has to walk with a stick is just thrown in there without comment, as an additional little character detail to offset his dictatorial leadership style, which is a nice touch. Miss Garrett seems tremendously loyal to him.
The concept behind this story is very science fiction, in a way that Doctor Who isn't always, especially in later years. The peoples of Earth have effectively destroyed the planet's climate - and the story makes no bones about the fact that it is mankind's own fault. Destruction of the Earth's ecology has caused a new and terrible ice age and only a series of high tech ionisers located at key positions around the globe are holding the glaciers at bay. The UK ioniser is the most vulnerable, sitting right on top of a fast encroaching glacier, and is already in a state of crisis even before one of its scientists finds a frozen Ice Warrior in the snow, brings it back to base to study, and accidentally brings it back to life simply by defrosting it. It is this crisis situation that the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria find themselves in the middle of as they explore the area the Tardis has landed them in and the basic plot of the story is a very simple series of problems that must be resolved, from stabilising the ioniser to dealing with the Ice Warriors without blowing up their ship's engines.
I can't help wondering how this new ice age fits into the future timeline of Earth that the show is always messing around with. We aren't ever told exactly what year it is, but Clent says something about five thousand years of human history being in danger from the encroaching glaciers.
I rather enjoy how subversive and rebellious Arden and his fellow scientists are as they work out in the field - I am highly amused watching Arden winding Clent up from the other end of a video-conferencing link. But then Arden loses my respect when he seems entirely unconcerned about the loss of one of his colleagues to an avalanche, except inasmuch as it will get him into trouble.
I am always amused by what a walking anachronism Jamie is. He always wears a kilt as a reminder of his 18th century Highland home, but quite happily wears a modern wristwatch and shirt to go with it.
Peter Sallis as Scientist Penley! I absolutely adore Peter Sallis. I don't think I've ever seen him looking as young as he is here, all scruffy and disreputable and snarky and brilliant.
I love how the Doctor simply cannot resist a crisis. If he gets the merest sniff of a problem, he just pitches in and tries to help, whether wanted or not and regardless of how anyone reacts to his unexpected and unauthorised presence. He is so very clever. The Second Doctor doesn't often show how clever he is, tends to hide it behind his clownish mannerisms and air of muddlement, but he is. He demonstrates that here, as he takes one look at the readouts, instantly diagnoses the problem and resolves it in about ten seconds flat, while the Brittanicus Base scientific staff are busily running around like headless chickens, because they are so used to having computers to do all their thinking for them that they can no longer think for themselves when a problem arises that the computer is not equipped to deal with.
I also love how good the Doctor is at bluffing his way through any given conversation. But when Two does his panicky thing, I'm never sure how much of that is genuine and how much he's putting it on for effect. Certainly he gets a lot more flustered than most of his later incarnations.
I am very amused by the way Jamie teases Victoria about the barely decent outfits worn by the women at Brittanicus Base - he's such a lad.
The way the defrosting Ice Warrior comes to life is really rather creepy - the black and white really helps, there. I'm sure it wouldn't look half as good in colour.
As monsters go, the Ice Warriors might not be terribly well known, but they are pretty distinctive. I recently read the Eleventh Doctor novel Silent Stars Go By, and knew that the Ice Warriors were going to be in it before I'd even read a page; I recognised the picture of one on the cover because I'd seen this story.
Episodes two and three of this story exist only as audio, but the DVD includes a really good reconstruction that summarises both episodes in just 15 minutes of stills, condensed audio and bridging narrative - very nicely put together. I can cope with two episodes told in that manner, even if I don't have the stomach for entire stories that exist only as reconstructions.
How do the Ice Warriors achieve anything when they only have pincers instead of hands?
In Tomb of the Cybermen, I enjoyed how strong-willed and independent Victoria was. It's a shame she hasn't brought that same attitude into this story. She is annoyingly feeble in this story, and okay, she has good reason to be upset, what with being abducted by the Ice Warriors and all, but still, all that clinging and screaming and begging doesn't show her in the best light.
I am very amused that Jamie still wears his kilt even in thick snow. His legs should be horribly frost-bitten!
When Victoria sees Jamie shot down by the Ice Warriors, she becomes very distressed, fearing that he has been killed, a sign of how close the two have become. Then when she later makes contact with the base and tells them what happened, it is the Doctor's turn to fret about Jamie's fate, evidence of his emotional attachment to his companions, which I always like to see.
It is a big relief when Victoria manages to escape from the Ice Warriors, albeit only temporarily, and uses Arden's communicator to contact the base - it's about time she was given something pro-active to do! This isn't a very strong story for her.
One of the intriguing things about Victoria is that on the one hand she is a prim, sheltered and fragile Victorian lady, typical of any genteel girl from the 1860s, but on the other hand she has a strong scientific education, bestowed upon her by her father, and although that science is primitive, it is enough of a grounding for her to be able to grasp future technologies and situations in a way that Jamie, a Highland piper from the 1740s, never will - she figures out how to use the communication device, quick smart. But there are, inevitably, limits to her knowledge and understanding - I am very amused by the way the Doctor sighs and rolls his eyes at Clent as he tries to interrogate Victoria over the video link about the spaceship engines, and then re-phrases the question in a way she will understand.
Penley is a really lovely character, and I'm not just saying that because I adore Peter Sallis. He is so gentle and caring and prepared to stand up for his beliefs in a way that few people in this society seem to - he is almost unique among the Brittanicus Base characters in that he is not only willing to think for himself, but actively chooses to against all opposition. And he saves Jamie's life, so he earns Brownie points for that. He is brilliantly clever, too, a real kindred spirit for the Doctor - no wonder they get along so well, when they meet.
The whispery, sibilant Ice Warrior voices are really rather well done. They are quite a good design, as well. Kudos to the team.
I quite like the simplicity of the main dilemma at the heart of this story. The humans need to operate their newly-repaired ioniser to hold the glaciers at bay before all of Europe is engulfed, but they don't dare operate the ioniser until they know what kind of engines are used by the Ice Warrior spaceship they now know is trapped in the ice, because if the ioniser causes those engines to explode the devastation could be worse than the glacier. The Ice Warriors, for their part, want only to escape their icy tomb, but absolutely refuse to trust the humans in the slightest, fearing the ioniser as if it were a weapon. Stalemate. There are no real baddies here; both sides simply want to survive. The Ice Warriors' ruthlessness toward the humans that venture near their ship, however, tips the scales against them in the good-bad equation.
Oh, Victoria's short-lived flight from the Ice Warriors is really badly staged. And she screams loudly enough to cause an avalanche!
After being shot by the Ice Warriors, Jamie is temporarily paralysed. Well, that's one way to keep him out of the action! I quite like the way the Doctor turns away and won't look his young friend in the face while reassuring him that he is going to be fine; he doesn't actually know that for sure and can't bring himself to lie to Jamie's face.
I do enjoy seeing Patrick Troughton and Peter Sallis sharing scenes.
I also enjoy how blasé the Doctor tends to be in the face of impossible odds. Even if the Ice Warriors do call his bluff. The little game of brinksmanship they play is nicely handled. And his reunion with Victoria is rather touching.
I love how quirky the Second Doctor is. Patrick Troughton throws so many fab little mannerisms and quirks into his performance that are impossible to capture in writing yet imbue the character with such a unique and endearing personality. I especially love the moments where we are allowed to glimpse the steel beneath that gentle exterior, usually so well hidden.
Clent's breakdown in the face of the seemingly insoluble crisis is predictable but very well played - kudos to Peter Barkworth for a wonderfully intense performance. He simply cannot make a decision without the computer, which is paralysed by conflicting priorities. At least Clent can see the problem caused by his overreliance on the computer, which is more than Miss Garrett seems capable of, even if he can't bring himself to act.
Penley goes to a lot of trouble to get the injured Jamie back to Brittanicus Base for medical treatment, for which he earns even more Brownie points than he already had, especially since he has such a thorny history with the base in general and Clent in particular. He prioritises Jamie's need ahead of his own pride and even tackles a bear en route to protect the lad, when he could have more easily made his own escape and left Jamie to his fate. Penley is the hero of this story.
I love that the Doctor's natural inclination is to find the best solution for everyone. He doesn't just want to help the humans, he also wants to help the Ice Warriors - but they refuse to trust him enough to let him help them, and as a result doom themselves.
I am rather amused by the way the Doctor signals for Victoria to burst into tears as a diversion so that they can confer quietly, under the guise of comfort, without arousing the suspicion of the Ice Warriors.
Only the Doctor would use a stink bomb as a weapon.
I do not like Miss Garrett. She is so shrill and brittle and her devotion to the great world computer is more like a religious fervour than anything. She is a bad influence on Clent at the worst possible moment, feeding into his inability to act against the advice of the computer.
There is a really good, tense scene when the Ice Warriors invade Brittanicus Base in search of a fuel supply for their ship - when they start interrogating the personnel as to their qualifications for continued existence, the implied ruthlessness is really quite chilling.
The Doctor really is very, very clever and is always a few steps ahead of everyone else. It is rather startling to see him pick up and use the Ice Warriors' weapon, though - but very in character that he reconfigures it to stun rather than kill.
One of the things I like about this story is that it doesn't always do the expected. Since there has been such a focus on Clent and his desperate inability to act without guidance from the computer, one might expect him to be given a climactic moment of redemption, breaking through that paralysis for a final, positive action. But he doesn't. He remains paralysed by indecision right to the end. It is Penley, instead, who saves the day by making the decision to turn the ioniser back on despite not knowing for sure whether or not it is safe to operate so close to the Ice Warrior ship. It is a gamble and it pays off. The Ice Warriors are destroyed but the explosion is only minor, and the humans are now free to continue holding those glaciers at bay. And because the story has really sold the acrimonious history between Penley and Clent, it means that much more when we see how gracious they both are toward one another in the aftermath. So all is well that ends well for Brittanicus Base.
I love that the Doctor just sneaks away while no one is looking - that's very him. I'm not sure who stood his Tardis upright again for him, though, in the middle of the crisis - it is upright when it dematerialises, despite having been lying on its side when it landed!
Quotable Quotes
CLENT: "You've worked with computers, I presume?"
DOCTOR: "Only when I have to."
DOCTOR: "It's a waste of time asking the computer."
JAMIE: "Spacecraft! Hey, do you reckon that's where the warrior's gone back to?"
DOCTOR: "Well, he didn't come by Shetland Pony, Jamie."
PENLEY: "What I like about you is if a polar bear got you, you'd give him indigestion."
DOCTOR: "Well, I'll try and help you, but I do think you might try trusting human beings instead of computers."
CLENT: "I trust no one, Doctor. Not anymore. Human emotions are unreliable."
DOCTOR: "Well, he's a scientist and a bit inclined to have his head in the air. You know what they're like."
JAMIE: "Aye, I certainly do."
DOCTOR: "Your regulations do not apply to me. I work in my own way, freely."
DOCTOR: "There is one thing you could do for me which would be very important."
CLENT: "Yes, yes, anything. What is it?"
DOCTOR: "Lend me a pencil."
PENLEY: "You don't expect me to face Clent alone? That mouth piece of the computer? He's got a printed circuit where his heart should be."
VARGA [on monitor]: "Who are you?"
DOCTOR: "I never answer questions until I'm addressed properly."
ZONDAL: "You do not look like a scientist."
DOCTOR: "Looks aren't everything, you know."
DOCTOR: "It's all right. We are not beaten yet."
VARGA: "But you could not hope to escape to tell the tale."
DOCTOR: "Oh, I always live in hope."
JAMIE: "Can you not run for it?"
PENLEY: "I don't intend to leave you here as hors d'oeuvre, laddie."
JAMIE: "Well, the gun. Use the gun."
PENLEY: "I couldn't hit the side of the mountain. I'm a scientist, not a gladiator."
CLENT: "No, we lost contact with the Doctor over an hour ago. I'm afraid there's no hope."
PENLEY: "You mean hope happens to be inconvenient."
DOCTOR: "We can try and escape with this."
VICTORIA: "What is it?"
DOCTOR: "Ammonium sulphide."
VICTORIA: "Ammonium sulphide? It's only a stink bomb."
DOCTOR: "Yes, you've had the benefits of a classical education. Yes, it is what you'd call a stink bomb."
VICTORIA: "What use is that?"
DOCTOR: "You'd be surprised. Harmless to humans, but to aliens very possibly deadly!"
VARGA: "What are your qualifications for existence?"
PENLEY: "This is a decision for a man to take, not a machine. The computer isn't designed to take risks, but that is the essence of man's progress. We must decide."
The Verdict
Overall, this isn't bad at all. Despite the somewhat flimsy plot and production, there is some solid world-building in this story, with well-fleshed out guest characters it is possible to care about, and I love what we see of the Second Doctor and his highly idiosyncratic approach to any given crisis situation.