The Abominable Snowmen Episode One

The one where the Doctor doesn't get the welcome of a lifetime that he expects...

This episode surely has to have one of the quickest deaths in Doctor Who history? The titles have barely faded away before we witness the violent death of a man called John at the hands (or claws) of a mysterious creature. The actor playing John isn't credited (it was Reg Whitehead), but it has to qualify among the fastest demises in the show's long history! It certainly sets the scene well, before we enter more familiar territory by joining the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria aboard the TARDIS.

The dynamic between Patrick Troughton, Fraser Hines and Deborah Watling is notable by its fluidity. They seem very happy in one another's company and at ease with the repartee between the three characters. There's a noticeable spark between the trio which helps to create a familiar, "family" feel to the show. Brother, sister and crazy old uncle.

The Doctor seems to be very pleased that they have landed in the Himalayas (his enthusiasm is quite infectious) and his hunt for the ghanta is a lot of fun as the characters root about in the Doctor's trusty chest looking for a weird Tibetan bell. Along the way the Doctor happens across a contraption that he is extremely pleased to rediscover, but can't put a name to! Textbook Doctor.

However, the Doctor's mood changes once he's been outside the TARDIS and seen the giant footprints on the hillside. It's interesting that he tells Jamie and Victoria to stay in the TARDIS, where they will be safe, while he visits the monastery, now that he suspects there may be great danger afoot. In the previous story he gave them the option of returning to the TARDIS before the Cyber-tombs were cracked open too. However, in true companion tradition, Jamie and Victoria do not stay inside the TARDIS where it's safe, and decide to wander outside alone. This wouldn't make much of a Doctor Who adventure if they did as they were told!

The episode is quite traditional in that sense. The TARDIS lands somewhere the Doctor expects a good welcome. The TARDIS crew get split up so that there are dual storylines. The Doctor is accused of something he didn't do (all down to his choice of fur coat!) while the companions come face to face with the terrifying monster in the cliffhanger. Textbook Doctor Who, and I'm thankful for that.

From what I can tell from the telesnaps, director Gerald Blake did a sterling job on location in North Wales, which doubled for the Tibetan landscape, and as with The Tomb of the Cybermen, these establishing scenes lend the story a grandeur and a sheen that would not have been possible in studio (imagine if they'd been able to film on location for Marco Polo!).

Having said that, Malcolm Middleton's sets are great too, the monastery cloisters looking particularly impressive. The lack of any kind of incidental score (apart from the incredibly eerie monastic chanting) adds to the creeping mystery of the piece as the Doctor explores the seemingly deserted monastery before being captured and imprisoned by the "warrior monks". I did start to question how true to life warrior monks, who contemplate punishment and even the death of another (Khrisong seems particularly blood-thirsty), actually were, but a quick Google and the discovery of Mikael Adolphson's book Warrior Monk Traditions confirms them as realistic. It just seemed unusual to me to have the usually peace-loving Buddhists considering violent means, but writers Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln clearly knew their stuff.

I love the whole set-up of this story. It promises Yeti (which are said to be naturally timid creatures that have recently turned savage), it has a fanatical explorer with an axe to grind and something to prove, and a bunch of lamas (not llamas!) who are being violently murdered one by one. There's mystery, there's danger, there's horror... and a pyramid of silver spheres! What's not to like?

First broadcast: September 30th, 1967

Steve's Scoreboard
The Good: The quietness of it all intrigues me. I know it's principally because I can't see it, but there are long periods in the episode where characters aren't speaking (when the Doctor explores the cloisters, or when Travers is watching him in the cell), and the stillness of it fits the story so well.
The Bad: Even though I know warrior monks existed, I'm still not sure they would have been quite so eager to draw blood as Khrisong is!
Overall score for episode: ★★★★★★★★★☆

NEXT TIME: Episode Two...

My reviews of this story's other episodes: Episode Two; Episode Three; Episode Four; Episode Five; Episode Six

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/2014/02/the-abominable-snowmen.html

The Abominable Snowmen soundtrack is available on BBC CD. Find it on Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Abominable-Snowmen-Collection/dp/056347856X.