The Bomb (The Ark Episode 4)

The one where civil war breaks out between the Monoids...

The Bomb really is very silly. It's jam-packed full of silly moments, silly dialogue and silly situations which undermine what is a generally solid story. Talking Monoids just do not work for me, they come across as supremely ridiculous. Take, for instance, the early scene where the Monoids consider the fate of Two. They all stand around waiting for their leader, One, to decide what their next move should be. They watch him pace up and down, thinking hard and posturing accordingly, until he announces his plan. Then we see two Monoids conspiring against One's leadership, but who are overheard by One's loyal deputy Three. One is not bothered by mutiny in the ranks however, and chuckles to himself about the futility of rebellion, reminding Three (and the viewer) of the explosive placed in the statue's head.

Referring to Monoids as One, Three, Four and Seventy-Seven is all so very silly (and confusing). There's one line where Three says to One: "There is still no contact from Two on Refusis, One", which wisely omits the planet's full name of Refusis II.

Cut to a scene where the Doctor and Dodo are very earnestly conversing with an invisible alien, Hartnell and Lane taking this all in their stride with great professionalism. Cut to Steven locked up on the ark, demanding: "Isn't there a way to get out of this kitchen?" It's all just so silly!

The silliness runs through The Bomb like an artery. One refers to humans as a "blind people" (he should talk, the monocular meanie!); when Steven talks to the Doctor on the scanner, the heads of the supporting players bob behind the screen because they're in the wrong place (it's an otherwise very good effect); when One reveals where the bomb is hidden, he leaves a perfectly pregnant pause so that Hartnell and Lane can react on camera: "Since it's inside the statue... (PAUSE)... and the statue itself is so heavy, I think that you will find the problem of disposal is not so easy!"

How did One get the bomb into the statue's head without anybody else knowing, not even his henchman Three? It's just a bit too convenient that the mega-strong Refusian has travelled up to the ark, where he is the perfect solution to the statue problem. He can lift the statue into the loading bay, where it can be jettisoned into space before it explodes. And it's a damn good job the statue doesn't explode and hit the incoming launcher containing the Doctor, Dodo and the "good" Monoids too!

It doesn't feel like too much practical thought has gone into The Bomb, and I suppose if you think about many ideas in The Ark for too long, they start to fray at the edges. But it's still a really entertaining, fast-paced, enjoyable science-fiction romp, one of Hartnell's best. So here are some good things about The Bomb:

• Maharis. I think Maharis is an interesting character (played by the handsome Terence Woodfield). He is shunned by his contemporaries for becoming a Monoid slave, and Woodfield portrays Maharis as a weak-willed, anxious, almost broken man. We don't get many clues about One's relationship with Maharis beyond the fact the Monoid leader thinks he's stupid, but what
  
  must have been done to Maharis to make him such a gibbering wreck, such a willing subordinate? We do learn that Maharis genuinely believes in the Monoid cause, but perhaps he dare not believe in any other? He is so brainwashed that he insists on going down to Refusis to be with his beloved One again, and the scene where he exits the launcher and sees One - "Master!" - is tragic. His face lights up when he sees his master, then crumples in pain as One murders him. I assume it is One that kills him, it's hard to make out the killer's number, but as the killer is with Three, I assume it to be the case. The whole thing is tragic, and Maharis remains one of the few characters with any great depth. And he's very sweet...
• Does Venussa fancy Steven (and vice versa)? She certainly takes to him and hangs around with him throughout their time together, and there's a very telling moment where she smiles at him and he smiles warmly back. But there's no heartfelt farewell between the two at the end, so maybe I'm just being a blind romantic? There is something twinkly between them though. If they were to get together and settle down, they could buy a house and called it "Stevenussa".
  
• The Monoid civil war is quite well done. By the end there are Monoid bodies strewn everywhere, and the Doctor, Dodo and Dassuk have to leap over the corpses to get back to the launcher. It's a fleeting but sombre scene.
• There's some splendid forced perspective shots from Michael Imison where he shoots the studio action in the background and model shots in the foreground (and vice versa too), giving a wonderful scale to the landing of the launchers on Refusis. It's done so well that I almost forgot to notice it.

Back in the TARDIS, Steven and Dodo change clothes. Steven chooses horizontal stripes (warning: they always make you look fatter) while Dodo chooses an outfit last seen worn by pint-sized Scottish crooner Lulu on the pop show Thank Your Lucky Stars in early 1966! But then the Doctor begins to fade away, and Dodo very astutely wonders if it is something to do with the Refusians. But no, the Doctor believes he is under "some kind of attack"!

First broadcast: March 26th, 1966

Steve's Scoreboard
The Good: The modelwork and forced perspectives are really well done, and probably look better for being in black and white. A true pre-CSO triumph for Doctor Who.
The Bad: The Monoids are just silly. If they'd stuck to being mute, I'd have thought more of them!
Overall score for episode: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ (story average: 8.25 out of 10)

NEXT TIME: The Celestial Toyroom...

My reviews of this story's other episodes: The Steel Sky (episode 1); The Plague (episode 2); The Return (episode 3)

Find out birth/death dates, career information, and facts and trivia about this story's cast and crew at the Doctor Who Cast & Crew site: http://doctorwhocastandcrew.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/the-ark.html

The Ark is available on DVD. Find it on Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Ark-William-Hartnell/dp/B004EPYSAU/