6 episodes
Aired between 30th September 1967 and 4th November 1967
Written by Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln
Produced by Innes Lloyd
Directed by Gerald Blake
Synopsis
Professor Edward Travers is a renowned Anthropologist who has travelled to Tibet on an expedition to find the mythical Yeti. One night, as he is sleeping in his tent, he is awoken by the screaming of his companion. He rushes outside and sees the man dead. Nearby, there is a huge furry creature.
Travers grabs his gun, but the creature grabs it and breaks it, leaving Travers to run off into the night.
The TARDIS materialises nearby on the day after this. The Doctor is thrilled to be in the Himalaya's and starts rummaging through his chest for a Ghanta - a ceremonial bell that he supposedly borrowed some time ago from a monastery called Detsen.
He also digs out a large fur coat, and Jamie's investigation turns up a set of bagpipes, and a scimitar.
The Doctor don's the fur coat and convinces Jamie and Victoria to wait for him in the TARDIS as he wants to make sure they're getting a warm welcome first. Besides, he also noticed a set of giant footprints outside and thought he was being watched.
He's not gone long before Victoria is bored out of her mind and manipulates Jamie into leaving the TARDIS to explore. As they leave, they see the large animal prints around. Jamie decides to take the scimitar with them just in case.
Further down the mountainside, the Doctor stumbles upon the remains of Travers' camp and the dead body of his companion. He decides to take the companion's rucksack and the broken rifle and head to the monastery of Detsen. When he gets there, the place looks deserted, so the Doctor ventures inside, calling out for the monks.
The courtyard is seemingly empty, but as the Doctor turns to leave, he's confronted by a set of warrior monks who are stood by Travers. The Professor see's the gun and rucksack, and starts accusing the Doctor of killing his companion. Obviously, the Doctor disputes this, but Travers insists he's telling the truth, and the Doctor is grabbed and thrown in jail on the orders of Khrisong, the head of the warrior monks.
Further up the mountain. Jamie and Victoria follow the large footprints to a cave entrance.
Jamie is reluctant to go in at first when he believes that the Yeti are wild, but he soon changes his mind when he spots some timber roof supports and deduces that the cave is man-made. They go in but are almost immediately trapped when the Yeti turn up and push a rock over the entrance. Unable to shift the rock, Jamie and Victoria move deeper into the cave.
Back at Detsen, the monks discuss what has happened with Khrisong, who seems to believe Travers' account of the Doctor's act of murder. The monks however are concerned that the once timid and friendly Yeti's are responsible for the death. They decide to consult the Abbot, but as they leave, Khrisong chooses to take matters into his own hands and orders his soldiers to bring the Doctor before him.
Back in the cave, Jamie and Victoria find a set of silver spheres that have been stacked together to form a pyramid.
Victoria takes one just as the huge boulder is removed from the entrance and a Yeti starts lumbering towards them. Victoria screams, and Jamie goes to defend her with his scimitar, but the Yeti easily snaps it and continues to advance towards them. Jamie knocks down one of the supports and causes a cave in. Luckily, there's still a way to get past and out onto the mountainside. As they leave, they see the Yeti burst out of the rocks and begin to pursue them.
Thonmi, one of the soldier-monks goes to fetch the Doctor from his cell.
The Doctor enters into conversation with him and gets him to recount that a man was there in 1630 and took a holy relic away from them. The Doctor smiles and begins to retrieve the Ghanta from its hiding place, but Khrisong approaches to see what the delay is. The Doctor is dragged from his cell, screaming to check under the hay of his bed.
The monks return to see Khrisong leading the Doctor through the courtyard, and discover that Khrisong is going to tie the Doctor up outside as bait for the Yeti. If they save him, he's obviously their master and in league with them. If they kill him, well...
The monks object to this plan, but Khrisong goes ahead anyway. Satisfied with the ruling, Travers leaves the monastery to go and find the Yeti himself.
Thonmi takes the Ghanta to Abbot Songsten who is deep in prayer with the master of the monastery - Padmasambhva. The master whispers that he knows the Doctor from the last time he was here. He knows he is very wise, but Padmasambhva is worried that he will interfere with their "great plan". Despite this, they decide to help him. Thonmi is sent away to give a direct order to Khrisong from the Abbot that he is to be released. Before he leaves, Thonmi's memory is wiped of ever hearing Padmasambhva's voice.
Jamie and Victoria continue to flee from the Yeti. They run into Travers and explain what's happened. Travers ferverently demands that they show him the cave.
They agree, but only if he leads them to the monastery first. Travers agrees and takes them down the mountain.
Just outside Detsen, the Doctor is strung up to the doors, despite his protests of innocence.
The monks watch the hillside, waiting for the Yeti to come and save or kill the helpless Doctor. What they see however is Travers returning with Jamie and Victoria. Travers explains that he was wrong to accuse the Doctor in light of what Jamie and Victoria saw, and asks for him to be freed. Thonmi turns up and makes sure that it is done,
In the inner sanctum, the Songsten continues to liaise with Padmasambhva, who insists that the Doctor is to leave the monastery.
Now freed, the Doctor listens to Victoria and Jamie's account of the cave and examines the strange sphere. He places is down by the feet of a Buddha statue when the monks call out about three Yeti approaching the monastery. The Doctor says that he wants to examine one of the Yeti's, and Jamie explains that he has a plan to capture one for him. The Doctor leaves him to it. Sure enough, Jamie's great plan of using a net comes to fruition and they capture a Yeti. As the creature struggles, the group don't see one of the strange spheres falling out of a fold in its skin. The Yeti stops moving.
The group bring the creature inside and the Doctor examines it, finding out that it's in fact some kind of robot.
There's a small hatch in its chest where a round hole is present. They speculate that this is where the robot's power source must have lay. As they discuss the implications, the sphere at the foot of the Buddha begins to beep and move on its own.
Travers refuses to believe that these are the only Yeti. He insists that the real ones are still out there, and are intimidated by these robot ones. Some of the monks however, believe that the Yeti is real anyway, having flesh under the metal. They build a spirit trap around the body, to stop the evil getting out.
Everyone begins to speculate as to who it is controlling the robot Yeti's, all unsuspecting that it is in fact Padmasambhva who moves around small statues of the creatures on a map of the area (see the Five Doctor's for something similar).
Khrisong is very mistrusting and denies everyone the ability to leave the monastery, placing a guard on the entrance to make sure none do. This is quickly proven useless however as Travers bluffs his way out, claiming that Khrisong gave him permission.
Khrisong meanwhile goes to the Abbot to ask for permission to fight the Yeti's, The Abbot refuses, telling him to leave them alone until he's entered a trance to speak to Padmasambhva.
Victoria watches the Abbot entering the inner sanctum and suggests following him, but Thonmi is very adamant that the area is off limits to everyone except the Abbot himself. Victoria scoffs at this and spends a good long while making a nuisance of herself, trying to get into the inner sanctum.
Khrisong meanwhile is being harangued by the Doctor and Jamie to let them outside to look for the Yeti's power source that obviously fell out of it. Khrisong says that it's too dangerous for them, but he will look for it instead. He slips out of the doors and begins searching the ground in the darkness.
The Abbot meanwhile confers with Padmasambhva, who debates the possibility of joining forces with the Doctor. He concludes that the Doctor would be too much of a threat and begins moving Yeti's on the map towards the monastery gates.
Outside, Khrisong finally finds the silver sphere, just as the Yeti advance on him and tear it from him.
Padmasambhva gives Songsten a strange crystal pyramid and instructs him to go to the cave. He is to place it on top of the pyramid of silver spheres to allow the great intelligence to enter this world.
Khrisong is brought back into the monastery. Together with the Doctor and Jamie, they discover that the sphere is the thing that's missing from the Yeti. They theorise that it's like an electronic brain and as such gives off strange signals and bleeps. The Doctor suggests that he can trace the signals source if he can only get some equipment from the TARDIS. Khrisong agrees and lets him and Jamie leave.
A short time later, the Abbot puts the door guard into a trance and slips away, making the guard forget that he ever left.
Out on the mountainside, the Yeti take the sphere back to their cave. Travers watches them from the cover of darkness and starts to follow.
Elsewhere, Jamie and the Doctor see some inactive Yeti and slip past them. A short time later, Songsten finds the same Yeti's and activates them with the crystal pyramid. They follow him up the mountain.
Back at the monastery, Victoria is being a pain by going everywhere she shouldn't. Thonmi searches for her and finds her in the room with the Yeti as it comes to life (the orb having found its way back to the power hatch). She screams hysterically as it tears its way out of the spirit trap. It fights its way out of the monastery, the warrior's swords having no effect, and ventures up the mountain to the cave.
The Doctor and Jamie make it to the TARDIS, but see that it's guarded by a Yeti.
The Doctor throws a stone at it, and discovers that it's inactive. They cautiously creep over and take out the sphere for examination.
Still on the mountainside, Travers see's Songsten enter the cave with the Yeti. Songsten places the pyramid inside the cave and it begins to glow and hum. Satisfied, Songsten leaves. Travers watches him depart and sneaks into the cave himself. He watches, terrified as the pyramid begins to grow and expand.
Back at the TARDIS, the Doctor emerges with the equipment he needs. The sphere they took begins to beep and pull towards the Yeti. They struggle with the sphere, until the Doctor finally gets Jamie to place a rock inside the Yeti's socket.
The sphere becomes inactive again, This battle with the sphere leads the Doctor to realise that the one back at the monastery could be active again. He and Jamie rush off, hoping it's not too late.
Over at the monastery, Khrisong has no choice but to imprison Victoria and Thonmi after monks begin to question who revived the Yeti.
With little else to do, Thonmi asks Victoria how the Doctor came by the Ghanta, to which she is unsure, but asks about the history of the bell in return. Thonmi explains that it was given to a stranger 300 years ago to keep safe. Victoria suggests that this was the Doctor, and Thonmi surprisingly agrees. He's known lots of seemingly impossible things. In fact, it's said that Padmasambhva can astral travel and use telepathy.
Songsten quietly returns to the monastery, and hypnotises the guard again, making him forget that the Abbot had ever left. He goes to the inner sanctum and tells Padmasambhva that the plan is working. The elder says that the Great Intelligence is taking on a physical form, and that for it to grow properly, everyone must be made to leave the monastery.
On the mountainside, the Doctor and Jamie notice that their sphere is making another sound, a sound that calls the Yeti's to them! They are soon surrounded, and escape only by bowling the sphere away from them so the Yeti chase it.
Victoria and Thonmi are given food and water. As Victoria takes a drink, she begins choking and collapses on the floor. The guard rushes off to get help without locking the door. She jumps up, surprising Thonmi, and locks him inside alone.
Songsten goes to the rest of the monks and tells them that they must leave. Khrisong is resistant, but the subject is dropped when they discover that Victoria has escaped. At the same time, the Doctor, Jamie and Travers all seem to make it back to the monastery. Travers is a jibbering wreck, muttering stuff about a pyramid.
The Doctor asks Khrisong for help, but he is in an uneasy position, losing the confidence of the other monks. They demand that the Doctor, Jamie and Travers be locked up too, and organise a search party to find Victoria.
Victoria makes her way to the inner sanctum and soon casts her eyes on the horrid sight of the aged Padmasambhva.
She realises that it's him summoning the Yeti, but he hypnotises her.
Songsten comes to realise that the monks won't go peacefully, so after consulting with the elder, he goes to let the Yeti into the monastery. It's not long before 4 Yeti's are inside the compound.
Inside their cell, Travers is mumbling on about the great pyramid and a terrifying evil being unleashed. They hear the beginnings of the Yeti attack, and Khrisong tells them to sit tight inside the cell whilst he goes and sorts it out. Jamie is worried about Victoria, but the Doctor doesn't seem to care.
The Yeti smash the place up, but only actually kill Rinchen when they drop the Buddha statue on his head.
Khrisong finds Songsten and tells him he was wrong to stay, and that this place is cursed.
In the inner sanctum, Padmasambhva talks to himself, asking if the monks will be content when they leave. He says yes, but they must get the Doctor to leave also. He sends Victoria under hypnosis to deal with it.
Still in their cell, the Doctor and Jamie try to use the machine to track the source of the Yeti's signal. Travers awakens from his dementia and is perfectly fine, but has blocked out his ordeal.
Victoria visits the monks and speaks with the voice of Padmasambhva. She tells them that they must leave, and not blame the strangers. She gives the orders to free the Doctor and co. and slips out of the trance. The Doctor, Jamie and Travers are indeed freed, but discover that Victoria is still under hypnotic suggestion, demanding to leave whenever the Doctor makes his presence known to her. Thonmi explains their conversations to the Doctor, and suggests that she must have gone to the inner sanctum. Armed with this knowledge, the Doctor goes off to find the elder there.
Once inside the inner sanctum, the Doctor does indeed recognise Padmasambhva and wonders how he could still be alive. The elder explains that he came into contact with the Great Intelligence whilst travelling on the Astral Plane.
The Intelligence sustained him to perform some kind of experiment, which he thought was harmless, but is now way out of control. Padmasambhva dies before the Doctor, being finally let go. The Doctor leaves to return to his friends, and when he goes, the body of Padmasambhva is reanimated once more (and does a terrifying evil laugh).
Back with the group, the Doctor puts Victoria under a hypnotic sleep and breaks the hypnotic control on her. Once that's done, he takes the tracking equipment and goes with Travers to triangulate the signals from the Yeti to find the source. He is shocked by the results.
Khrisong meanwhile has perpared the monks for departure, but is confronted by the Doctor, who states that the signal is originating from the monastery itself. Khrisong is skeptical but soon comes to realise that it's Padmasambhva who has been summoning the Yeti. He rushes off to find the abbot who is communing with the elder.
Out on the mountainside, a strange glowing foam starts to pour out of the cave.
Khrisong finds Songsten, but is welcomed by the voice of Padmasambhva. He is invited in but only without a weapon. Khrisong gives the weapon up and turns to go in, but Songsten uses it to fatally wound Khrisong. The warrior falls, shocked at the treachery.
The Doctor turns up with others and together, they restrain Songsten and take him away.
Khrisong warns the Doctor that it's not Songsten to blame, but Padmasambhva. With that, the warrior dies. Thonmi tells the rest of the monks what's happened, and they try to get revenge on the tied up Songsten, but are convinced that he is under the sway of the Great Intelligence.
The Doctor tells the monks to leave the monastery whilst he confronts the Great Intelligence. He asks Thonmi and Jamie to help him. Victoria insists on staying too.
Travers is beginning to get his memory back, and doesn't believe that Songsten is at all innocent. He decides to go up the mountain and destroy the pyramid himself.
The Doctor comes up with a plan to invade the inner sanctum and find the control panels that work the Yeti's. Whilst he distracts Padmasambhva, Thonmi and Jamie are to rush in and destroy them, thus ending the threat. As a precaution, Victoria is taught the jewel of the lotus prayer to distract her in case she's hypnotised again.
Outside, Travers finds the cave entrance, but see's that it's impossible to go inside, because of the huge pulsating mass that's covering most of the mountaintop.
The monks leave, just as Padmasambhva orders the Yeti's to attack the monastery again.
The Doctor and friends enter the inner sanctum. The Doctor is immobilised by sheer telepathic force, but Jamie and Thonmi rush for the control rooms. Padmasambhva tries to defend the area by taking the Yeti models and moving them inside the monastery. Victoria tries to stop him, but the elder attempts to hypnotise her. She stops it with the prayer.
The Yeti waiting outside the monastery are activated and go inside. As they enter, Travers sneaks in behind them.
The Yeti's come off the worst when Jamie smashes one of the silver spheres on the ground. They all malfunction and spit their spheres out. Padmasambhva laughs and reckons its a minor problem until Professor Travers turns up with his rifle and blows the elder away....or so he thinks. Padmasambhva laughs and shows the bullets that have been caught in his hand!
In the end, Jamie finds a pyramid in the control room and smashes it, banishing the Great Intelligence from this world, allowing Padmasambhva to finally die, and forcing the mountaintop to explode.
With the threat over, the Doctor tells Thonmi to bring the other monks back home. Travers agrees to guide them back up the mountain. On their way, Travers sees the only active Yeti still around. He bids his farewells and rushes off to observe it.
As they make their way back, Jamie complains that he's cold and he hopes the next place is really hot. The Doctor smiles and says you never can tell.
Trivia
- One thing to note about this story is its lack of a soundtrack. Some could argue that it's to help you immerse yourself into the world and have a better experience. In reality, I think it was a money saving exercise.
- After messing around trying to get toothpaste like goo to bleed out from Cybermen chest units, the special effects team finally crack it in this story by purchasing a foam machine. From this point until the end of Patrick Troughton's run, they will find any and every chance to use it!
- Professor Travers is played by Jack Watling - Deborah Watlings dad. I think they intended for her to be surprised when she saw him on set for the first time, but he simply made her laugh.
What worked
- The sheer scale of the sets
- The location work
- As I've said with other stories, this has the nice feel of the occult. There's a real sense of summoning something forth that should best be left alone
- The voice acting of Padmasambhva is unusual. The closest we've come to it is the Animus from the Web Planet and Wotan from the War Machines, but this takes it up a notch on the creepy scale.
- Padmasambhva's look is really creepy too. It's a cross between Dracula and Leatherface. I had no sympathy for that character whatsoever.
What didn't work
- If Padmasambhva is terrifying, then the Yeti are the polar opposite. They look cuddly, not scary
- I find it hard to get my head around Travers. At first, they try to make him look stark raving mad, then spend the rest of the story trying to make him look sane and reasonable
- Why don't the people just take out all the Yeti's chest pieces? They lumber around so much that it can't be that hard.
- Why build the pyramid up the mountainside? Why not just do it in the control room? The monks will die, yes, but the Great Intelligence didn't care about that, only Padmasambhva
Overall Feelings
In researching this story, I've read other people's reviews. I found that they were contemptuous of it, berating it as just another base under siege story in disguise, and that by liking it, we're admitting that we'll like any old crap, just because it's got aliens in it. Although this outspoken view might have a slight ring of truth to it, I disagree on some of the key points.
For a start, is it really a base under siege? The monks seem to think it is when the Yeti come menacing them, but like zombies, they are really slow and lumbering. Ok, it's a "base" and the Yeti do attack it, but, there's more than one instance where the inhabitants of the monastery come and go as they please, even with the Yeti there.
The other thing is that they dismiss the uniqueness about the Yeti. These aren't just monsters. They're robots pretending to be monsters. Even by 2015's standards, that's not common enough to be blase about it. Also, they could have chosen any setting in any time whatosever, but they chose Tibet. That's got to count for something too.
I really enjoyed the tones of the occult that were effectively woven into the Tibetan folklore. As said in previous stories, this has a very lovecraftian feel to it, and gives a good sense that they're dealing with a powerful being, far more effectively than the attempt with the Celestial Toymaker.
There are a few downsides though. The main one for me was that it dragged on. Arguably, episodes 2-4 could have all been pulled into one and this would have been a must better paced story. As it is, we have to endure long monotonous talks with a 300 year old biddy, and Victoria making an absolute nuisance of herself. The Yeti are just about ineffective as the Z|arbi were, and don't even have the reverse toilet sound yet to make them scary(see the Web of Fear).
The one that really gets me though is that it masquerades as a whodunnit, with the characters running around trying to find out who's controlling the Yeti, but it's made clear from Episode Two. It's like watching a Scooby-Doo, but knowing who the villain is from the start of the show.
Rating
5 out of 10
Some great, scary ideas diluted by being dragged over six episodes and having all the mystery destroyed for us in the first two episodes
Rewatchability Factor
5 out of 10
Worth an infrequent watch, although, I'll be very tempted to skip at least episodes 3 and 4.
Watch this if you liked
- The Snowmen (Doctor Who Series 7)
Consulting the Matrix
With or without a soundtrack, and why?
