The Ambassadors of Death Episode 5

The one where Dr Lennox is served a radioactive meal...

I'm getting a bit frustrated by The Ambassadors of Death now. I used to think I quite liked it, but now I come to sit down and assess it as a drama serial, I find it's actually rather boring. Writer Malcolm Hulke (uncredited, in favour of David Whitaker) is in no hurry for the plot to go anywhere fast, and when you've got seven episodes to fill, you can barely afford to be complacent. There certainly is not enough material here for the allocated slots, and it really shows. You can tell that this story has been cobbled together by committee (Whitaker provided the basic story and scripted episodes 1-3, while assistant script editor Trevor Ray wrote the final draft of episode 1 and Hulke the final drafts of the rest) because it's so tentative, reluctant to power ahead. Despite the premise (bullet-proof alien astronauts, abducted Earth rockets), it's not great entertainment.

The pedestrian nature of proceedings is summed up perfectly for me by the disinterested performance of Joanna Ross as the space centre technician, who seems resolutely unmoved and appears utterly bored by the possibility of the Recovery 7 hurtling into the Sun's orbit. There's absolutely no urgency in these scenes, with Ross, as well as the almost comatose Ronald Allen and Carl Conway, failing to translate any of the real-life panic which might arise in an emergency such as this. Allen has been serenely flat throughout, so I can only blame director Michael Ferguson for turning what should have been a tense moment (the Doctor could die, for heavens sake!) into something akin to a rehearsed reading of the script.

Reegan's sabotage of the Recovery 7 is bunkum too. Am I really expected to believe that there's only one UNIT soldier between Reegan and the fuel pumps? It's far too easy for him to make his way into the compound, kick a couple of startled technicians and tamper with the M3 variant fuel supply. Where's everybody else? Where's the CCTV? Where are the alarm bells and safety cut-outs? Why doesn't any of Reegan's tampering spark concern at space control? And how does Reegan know what to do? He seems to have a go at turning every single valve he lays his eyes on, randomly. He's a hired criminal, not a rocket scientist!

And that's not my only issue with the episode. How can Ralph Cornish go ahead with the launch of the Recovery 7 without a single word of authorisation from his superiors, or the British Government at large? Carrington calls for it to be stopped, but is told he has no authority to forbid the launch, despite being head of the Government's Space Security division. With Sir James Quinlan dead, and no replacement in post, you'd think all space travel activity would be halted until a thorough investigation has been done. Instead, it seems the renegade Cornish and his small team have free reign to launch whatever rockets they wish willy-nilly, regardless of safety or cost. It's nonsense.

When Dr Lennox escapes from the bunker, Liz tells Reegan that he's gone out to "get some more isotopes", like they're something you can just pick up at Asda. Then again, maybe there is an isotope shop somewhere in the Home Counties of England, because Carrington has no trouble at all obtaining one to serve up as a meal for poor Lennox (at least it's a novel way of dispatching someone, rather than something mundane like a bullet or strangulation).

The Doctor continues to be unconcerned about the welfare of Liz. He's been told by Reegan that if he doesn't stop interfering, Liz will be killed, but he's not bothered by that either. He has continued to interfere with very little thought for the consequences. For all he knows, Liz could be lying in a pool of blood somewhere, and he shows no sign of caring. All he wants to do is get up into space to retrieve the missing astronauts.

This stellar trip leads to more dull "space talk", with the Doctor spending half the episode sitting upside down in the Recovery 7 doing nothing. When the rocket does take off, the model effect is atrocious, particularly in comparison to the modelwork used later in this epiosde (and in episode 1) for the docking of Recovery 7 and Mars Probe 7 in space.

It's almost made up for by the arresting sight of Jon Pertwee's face being assailed by extreme G-forces though (actually a very strong hair dryer!).

There are lots of other little niggles I have with this story/ episode, such as the sudden appearance of Sergeant Benton for the first time since The Invasion (where's he been for the last 15 episodes?); the Brigadier's inability to get through the door of Quinlan's office, despite the walls wobbling shamefully; the clipboard which the Doctor has on the rocket, which miraculously defies gravity by remaining in his upright lap; and the seemingly random quick cuts to people's faces, or a patch of wall, which last less than a second and feel more like mistakes than an attempt to build tension.

I've been patient with this story so far, but episode 5 really pushed me over the line. Something needs to happen now. The appearance of a rather yonic UFO at the end gives me mild hope.

First broadcast: April 18th, 1970

Steve's Scoreboard
The Good: Michael Ferguson directs the scenes at Southall Gas Works well, making it a convincing substitute for a rocket launch site.
The Bad: The Recovery 7 rocket model effect; the nonsensical plotting; the disorientating quick cuts; the sedentary pace.
Overall score for episode: ★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆

"Now listen to me" tally: 3
Neck-rub tally: 0

NEXT TIME: Episode 6...

My reviews of this story's other episodes: Episode 1; Episode 2; Episode 3; Episode 4; Episode 6; Episode 7

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.com/2014/04/the-ambassadors-of-death.html

The Ambassadors of Death is available on BBC DVD. Find it on Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Ambassadors-Death-DVD/dp/B008H2JK5Y.