The Ice Warriors SIX

The one where the computers says no...

OK, so I was wrong. Zondal does manage to fire the sonic cannon at Britannicus Base, and some damage is caused to the humans (well, a chandelier slips a bit, and some polystyrene falls from the ceiling). I take it back, Brian Hayles. For once, you did have the courage of your authorial convictions.

What I found most remarkable about episode 6 though, is how Walters suddenly springs out of his box and gets loads of lines, and fair dos, actor Malcolm Taylor grabs his chance and runs with it. Walters has a kind of breakdown by turning against Clent and his reliance on the computer, and threatening to smash it up. Sadly, Taylor's impressive soliloquy - performed with gusto, like Eddie Yeats in hyperdrive - is cut short by Miss Garrett's trigger-happy need to preserve the computer at all costs, and he's gunned down (but only stunned, like Penley last episode).

Before anyone has time to draw breath, Varga, Rintan and Isbur burst through the doors and start throwing threats around the place, moving the semi-conscious Walters to reach for his weapon to try and save the day. Sadly, the Warriors' burst his brain with their sonic guns and he's finally murdered in very cold blood, left on the floor with a face contorted in pain. Malcolm Taylor utterly wins this episode, no doubt about it.

The Ice Warriors' presence in the control room is the first time we get to see the two protagonist groups meet, and the towering forms of Bernard Bresslaw, Michael Attwell and Tony Harwood against the regular human heights of Peter Barkworth and Wendy Gifford are thrown into stark contrast, making the aliens look even more powerful. There are times when you can see Bresslaw's teeth beneath the scaly mask, but I'm not sure that matters. Who's to say Ice Warriors don't have two mouths, with a bunch of incisors and molars beneath their reptilian top layer? I mean, who knows what's beneath that green armour and helmet...?

Throughout the serial it's been fairly obvious, but never made so, that there's some level of attraction between Miss Garrett and Leader Clent. There's next to no evidence for it in the actual script, it's almost like it is implied throughout by Barkworth and Gifford's performances - it's in brief and lingering moments, such as when Garrett leaps rather too enthusiastically to Clent's defense, or when Clent insists Garrett is the only one who can shut down the ioniser (probably not true). The mutual respect and attraction is almost entirely beneath the surface, which is all credit to the actors and director.

Meanwhile, the Doctor does that very Doctory thing of turning the enemy's weapon on them, by rewiring the Warriors' sonic cannon so that it affects creatures with a higher fluid content. It is believed that the human body is around 60% water, while in experiments conducted by Michael J Angilletta Jr in 1999, it was estimated that a reptile's body is made up of around 72% water (sometimes up to 81%). So the Doctor is right to think that the sonic beam can be tinkered with to affect the Martians more than the humans, but with such a narrow margin for error, he's equally right to worry that the humans will be affected too. Thankfully, the sonic assault only seems to knock them all unconscious, whereas the Martians hammer their helmets in agony, and scarper as quickly as their lumbering limbs will take them. Cowardsssss.

The climax of the story nestles in the central argument of the piece, that of science vs instinct. Penley wants to use the ioniser on the glacier, while Clent (and the ever-loyal Miss Garrett) are afraid of the consequences for themselves, and prefer to wait, because - rather wonderfully - "the computer says no!" (inventing the Little Britain catchphrase 37 years early!). In the end, the Doctor urges somebody to make a decision - it's interesting that he declines to make it for them - and Clent can't, while Garrett daren't, leaving Penley to just hit the switch and hope for the best.

All comes good in the end, as the ioniser melts the glacier and causes only a small explosion as the Martian spaceship burns up, completely ignoring the initial threat that the Warriors' engines are powered by an ion reactor. It's a bit of a cop-out, but acceptable enough, and remains resolutely true to the Troughton tradition of everything going bang in the last episode. We don't see or hear the bang, but there is one, as in so many of this era's tales.

Viewers finally get a moment of closure too, when Clent and Penley put aside their differences and acknowledge one another's strengths. "Penley, you are the most insufferably irritating and infuriating person I've ever been privileged to work with," says Clent, who then lets slip that, despite his previous staunch reliance on the computer for so much, he has always written his own reports and speeches. So deep down, Clent valued his own judgement and individuality too - but only when it affected his reputation!

And then the Doctor and Jamie are gone, like smoke on the wind, back to the (oddly now upright) TARDIS to join (the oddly absent from the final 10 minutes) Victoria on their voyage to the next exciting adventure. Hopefully somewhere warmer...

The Ice Warriors is a strong Doctor Who story which predictably sags in the middle but contains bags of potential and imagination, and delivers some great characters and monsters. Jeremy Davies and Martin Baugh come up with some excellent designs (although the Martian spaceship interior is a little flimsy), and Derek Martinus directs with a confident creativity. There are standout performances from Bernard Bresslaw, Peter Barkworth and, as the finishing line approaches, Malcolm Taylor, and some weaker turns from Deborah Watling and Wendy Gifford. It's a rollicking good creature feature which helped give the Troughton era its nickname of the Monster Years.

First broadcast: December 16th, 1967

Steve's Scoreboard
The Good: All credit to Malcolm Taylor for pulling out all the stops when the opportunity arose.
The Bad: The absence of Victoria from the final 10 minutes set in the base is unfortunate.
Overall score for episode: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ (story average: 7.0 out of 10)

NEXT TIME: The Enemy of the World...

My reviews of this story's other episodes: ONE; TWO; THREE; FOUR; FIVE

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-ice-warriors.html

The Ice Warriors is available on BBC DVD. Find it on Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Ice-Warriors-DVD/dp/B00CD492ZU.