6 episodes
Aired between 11th November 1967 and 16th December 1967
Written by Brian Hayles
Produced by Innes Lloyd
Directed by Derek Martinus
Synopsis
England has seen the arrival of a new Ice Age. A small band of British scientists and technicians work desperately to try and stave off the advancing glaciers. In their control room, Senior Technician Jane Garrett orders her staff to try and maintain control of the Ioniser - the device used to melt the ice caps and slow the advance. After a few hectic moments, she gets things under control, which pleases the Base Leader Clent. Despite this, Garrett says things won't get better until they bring Scientist Penley back. Clent grows stubborn and informs her that Penley is no longer part of the team.
Clent checks their progress with the main computer, comparing results with America, Australasia, South Africa, and Asia. The figures make it clear that their base - Britannica is behind. He tries to confer with his new lead Scientist - Arden, but discovers that the scientist is out on the glacier. He contacts Arden and tells him to get back to base.
Arden finds the request tedious, especially when his team have just reported to him that they've found something in the ice. Arden rubs the surface snow away to reveal some kind of huge armoured man, trapped in the ice.
Back at the base, things start to get hectic again as the Galicer begins to advance, and the crew begin to discuss evacuation procedures.
The TARDIS materialises outside of Britannica base on its side.
Seeing all the snow, Jamie fears that they've landed in the same place again, but the Doctor quickly points out the modern surface of the base. As they explore it, they see the main doorway opening up. They hide and watch as two scruffy looking men in furs emerge. The men wander off into the snowy wilderness, leaving the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria to enter the base unseen.
Arden contacts Clent and informs him about the large man in the ice. Clent is furious about their archaeological attempts given that the base is in crisis. He orders them back to base ASAP. Arden pretends that the signal is breaking up and begins to work on excavating the man.
Despite outward appearances, the base is formed around a Victorian stately home.
As they explore, they see a foxy looking lady wearing a miniskirt and dress with a Rorschach picture on it. The lady ignores their questions and gives them all badges which read "Evacuation Flight 7: Scavenger". She walks off and leaves them to it.
The Doctor picks up the noise of a faulty computer and despite Victoria's protests, he insists on finding it and fixing it. He bursts into the ioniser control room and quickly works out that the system is going to explode in a couple of minutes without his intervention. He works like lightning and prevents the disaster.
Clent is angry at the sudden arrivals and tries to throw them out, but the Doctor insists they were in imminent danger. Clent feeds the information they had into the main computer and it soon comes back with confirmation that the base would have exploded to within a second of the Doctor's prediction. This impresses him, but he's still suspicious.
Out on the glacier, the two fur clad men from the base discover Arden's team. It turns out one of the "scavengers" is Scientist Penley, who's turned his back on the base because of disagreements with Leader Clent. As they watch, there is an avalanche.
One of Arden's team is killed, and Penley's friend Storr is injured. Penley takes Storr away whilst Arden and the surviving scientists begin to take the "Ice Warrior" back to base where it can be thawed out.
Back at the base, Clent barely swallows the Doctor's cover story that they've all been hiding in Tibet, and subjects the Doctor to a pop quiz to determine how useful he is. He gives him 45 seconds to figure out how the base operates, which the Doctor succeeds. Throughout the course of the interview, the group learn how the ice age came about because the world found a way to artificially stop world hunger. That meant they didn't need plants and got rid of them all, leading to the atmosphere....getting colder because not enough Carbon Dioxide was being produced to keep the heat inside the atmosphere (just...go with it, ok?).
Ionisation works by focusing the suns rays on a specific part of the earth (rather like a magnifying glass). They're using it to melt the encroaching ice.
As they discuss the status quo, Arden returns with the encased Ice Warrior. They set it up with a fast defrost and leave it to melt. The Doctor can't help but inspect the curious man and notices electronic connections on the warriors armour. He rushes off to tell Clent, who by this time has taken Arden to the control centre to discuss whether they should let the Doctor join the team.
As the Doctor goes, Jamie and Victoria discuss the merits of miniskirts, oblivious to the fact that the Warrior is moving behind them. Jamie sees it at the last minute before it knocks him unconscious and takes Victoria as hostage.
The Doctor rushes into the control room and tells Clent about the potential alien in the ice, going further and suggesting that an alien spacecraft could be down there - atomic powered which would mean a potential atomic explosion if the Ioniser hits it. Jamie then crashes in and tells them all what's happened. They debate what to do, and Clent consults the computer again.
It suggests continuing with the ionisation, but efforts must be made to find the ship. Clent is happy to do just that and assigns Arden to go out and look for it. Jamie agrees to go too.
The Ice Warrior takes Victoria to a store cupboard and explains that he comes from Mars, and was entombed in ice after his ship crashed. He insists that Victoria helps him find his ship and crew.
Back out in the wilderness, Penley takes Storr back to his home. The savage is badly wounded, leaving Penley no choice but to go back to Britannica base to steal some medical supplies.
The Ice Warrior demands that Victoria help him obtain a couple of the power packs. She reluctantly agrees and leads him back to where he was thawed. On their way, Victoria sees Penley in the corridor and quickly gestures for him to hide before the towering alien sees him too.
Penley dashes behind a wall and escapes notice. Once they have the power packs, the Ice Warrior orders her to go with him into the tundra.
On their way out, they run into Clent who demands to know what's going on, but gets hit over the head with the power pack.
When the Ice Warrior and Vicotria have gone, Penley comes out of hiding and tries to help revive Clent. The Doctor finds him and engages him in conversation, finding out what's occured, but also working out that the savage is Penley. Once he knows that the Doctor is willing to help treat Clent, the rogue scientist grabs the medical supplies and tells the Doctor he's leaving to treat his dying friend. He disregards the Doctors pleas to help with the Ioniser, and he leaves.
The Doctor revives Clent, who is all for chasing after the Ice Warrior, but the Doctor warns them not to, as that's exactly what the warrior will want.
Out at the Glacier, the Ice Warrior indeed tells Victoria that he's ready for anyone who follows them. He soon discovers the remaining four members of his crew, and cuts them out of the ice with his sonic gun.
Back at the base, Clent finally agrees to allowing Arden and Jamie to go out into the wastes to find the ship.
Penley returns to Storr and heals him before going out to find the Ice Warrior and Victoria. He's beginning to consider returning to the base to help the crisis with the ioniser that the Doctor spelled out for him, when he finds the Ice Warrior and Victoria as they prepare to thaw out the remaining crew. Again, he hides and watches from a distance as they're all revived.
He makes his way back to Storr and tells him about the aliens and the need to warn the base. Storr takes it as a betrayal, as he will be shipped to South Africa if they are caught. They begin to argue, but Garrett turns up and tries to convince Penley to return to the base.
It's obvious she's there because they both have a history, but even this can't persuade the rogue scientist. She pulls a tranquiliser gun out on him, but Storr disarms her. Penley lets her return to base, and tells her to look up his notes instead.
The newly formed band of Ice Warriors dig through the glacier until they find their ship. The leader, Varga (who was luckily defrosted by Arden), tells Victoria that she is bait for the humans to come after them.
Back at the base, the Doctor is working out the calculations to stabalise the Ioniser and get everything back on track. He's starting to really annoy Clent because he refuses to consult the main computer to perform the calculations. Garrett returns, having recovered Penleys notes and hands them over to the Doctor. They prove the vital link and he works out what needs to be done.
Clent orders him to check it with the computer which the Doctor gets really miffed about but does so.
As the calculations are being inputted, Arden comes over the wrist communicators and tells Clent that they've found an ice cave with a metal door at one end. They begin to take readings on it when they are suddenly ambushed by the Ice Warriors and killed. Victoria is distraught at the deaths, especially when she sees the body of Jamie, but Varga drags her inside the ship. The aliens discuss killing her too, but they decide to keep her as bait until they've fixed the ships propulsion unit.
Penley once again returns to the ice cave, and see's the dead bodies. He finds that Jamie is miraculously alive, and drags him back to Storr's hideout.
The Doctor's calculations are finally confirmed by the computer, but Clent realises that he can't start the Ioniser up again with Arden so close to the glacier wall.
Back at the hideout, Jamie comes around and is adamant about the need to find Victoria. He tries to get up, but he passes out again.
A little while later, Victoria manages to sneak out of the Ice Warrior ship, and is shocked to see that Jamie's body has gone. She finds a wrist communicator on the ground and radios back to base. Once Clent answers, she tells them all what's gone off. Clent asks her to tell them about the ships propulsion system, but she doesn't understand it enough to be of help. All the while, she's totally unaware that the Ice Warriors are aiming one of the ship weapons right at her head.
In the end, Varga decides not to kill Victoria, and sends out one of his men to capture her. She legs it into a series of ice caves and is pursued, eventually being captured and buried under an avalanche.
Now he knows that the aliens come from Mars, the Doctor uses the bases tech to cook up a phial of ammonium sulphide - a stink bomb. He's convinced one whiff of it will be really bad news for the Ice Warriors and he sets off out to go to the Ice Warriors base, despite protests from Clent.
Jamie finally awakens and is grateful to Penley and Storr for looking after him, but he's adamant that he wants to go and rescue Victoria. He gets up to leave, but he's horrified to discover that he's paralysed from the waist down.
Penley gives him the last of the tranquilisers and puts him under again. Storr decides that they need help, and if he can't go to the base, then the only people left to help them are the Ice Warriors. Penley tries to convince him that he's being stupid, but Storr's mind is made up and he rushes off. Penley gives chase, but Storr soon gives him the slip out in the wilderness. Storr eventually hears Victoria's cries for help and finds her buried in an avalanche, still gripped by a dead Ice Warrior.
Meanwhile, the Ice Warriors succeed in repairing their ship, but find that they've got no fuel. They decide to invade Britannica base to look for appropriate fuel there.
Their plans are interrupted by Storr who drags Victoria back to them. They take the girl off him and he begins to offer his help, but the Ice Warriors shrug and tell him they don't need his help. He is killed pleading for his life.
On his way to the Ice Warrior base, the Doctor comes across Penley, still searching for Storr. They have a brief conversation, and Penely tells him that he has Jamie. He agrees to take the Doctor to him and he's reunited. Luckily, the Doctor recognises that Jamies paralysis is only temporary, The Doctor tells Penley to get Jamie back to Brittanica base, whilst he goes up and finds Storr and Victoria.
Back at the base, the Glacier has started moving again and a panicked Garrett pressures Clent for a decision on what to do. He consults the computer, but it refuses to give orders, so he puts all his faith in the Doctor's mission succeeding.
The Doctor meanwhile arrives at the Ice Warrior's ship and enters the air lock. Varga appears on a nearby monitor and begins to question him, but the Doctor refuses to answer until they're in person. Varga says in that case, he'll suck out all the pressure in the airlock and kill the Doctor unless he explains what he wants. With little option, the Doctor tells them he's a scientist and he's here to find a way to help them. Varga restores the pressure and lets him in.
They question the Doctor about the human weapon - the Ioniser.
The Doctor reassures them of its true purpose, but the Ice Warriors are skeptical, unsure why the humans haven't used it to free them already. The Doctor explains that they don't want to accidentally cause an explosion, and asks them if their engines will do so. The Ice Warriors are cagey and refuse to answer. The Doctor explains that eventually, if they don't work together, the humans will be forced to use the Ioniser regardless.
Back at Britannica, Clent and Garrett listen in on the communicator channel that the Doctor activated just before he went in the airlock.
They debate whether to power up the Ioniser, but Clent is unsure, and unwilling to act without the computers authorisation. He consults the machine again, and it tells them to wait.
Meanwhile, in the wilderness, Penley is dragging Jamie to the base when they're attacked by a bear. He fumbles for the tranquilizer gun and only just manages to stun the beast in time.
The Doctor is questioned about the fuel used at the base. He refuses to answer until Victoria is threatened, and then confirms that it will work for their ship. working out in the process that the ship uses an Ion drive, something that won't kill everyone with the use of the Ioniser.
Penley and Jamie get to the base and go to see Clent. They urge the base leader to do something, but he's too bound by logic and process, he refuses to take any sort of risk.
Penley on the other hand is contemptuous of the computers and says that they shouldn't be leaving the Doctor and the others to die. He starts to power up the ioniser, but Garrett tranquilises both him and Jamie with her gun.
Varga and the other Ice Warriors set off to invade Britannica base. They leave one of the soldiers behind to guard the Doctor and Victoria, and to power up their own weapon, aiming it at the base. As they prepare, the Doctor gets Victoria to pretent to cry so that he can conceal his voice when he fills her in on the plan. He intends to use the stink bomb on the guard and break free.
Victoria distracts the guard and the Doctor struggles with the cap on the phial, but eventually they manage to throw the ammonium sulphide in the Ice Warriors face, disabling it. As it goes down, it grabs the fire control of the ship's gun. The Doctor desperately struggles with it, trying to stop it from firing the gun. It's no good, the weapon fires but luckily only hits a minor part of the building.
Varga uses the Doctor's communicator to get in touch with Clent. He demands their surrender, Clent asks them to meet with him for talks. Garrett suggests using the threat of the Ioniser as a bargaining chip, but Clent is too adverse to the risk. One of the remaining staff begins to mutiny and power up the Ioniser, forcing Garrett to tranquilise them too.
The Ice Warriors enter Britannica base and make their way to the control room. As they are in discussions with Clent, the tranquilised human comes to and tries to shoot Varga. He is killed and Varga thinks that Clent was trying to double cross him. The Ice Warriors threaten to take all the fuel, thus shutting down everything on the base and leaving them to freeze.
Through the Ice Warriors communicators, the Doctor and Victoria hear all this and work on dismantling the ship's gun, adjusting it so that it only affects fluids (the Doctor believes that the Ice Warriors hold more liquid in their bodies than humans and therefore affected first).
Garrett is forced to totally shut down the Ioniser, and is then told to shut down the reactor.
Penley, who has now regained consciousness, comes back to the control room and sees all this. He sneaks off and puts up the base temperature to a very high degree.
The Ice Warriors are seriously affected by this, and they turn on Clent, knowing that they're being attacked. The Doctor fires the ship's gun, disabling everyone with it. He disables the gun afterwards and tells Victoria to get back to the TARDIS, whilst he rushes across the wilderness to the base.
When they arrive, they find that the Ice Warriors are gone, He wakes up Garrett and tells her to power up the Ioniser. She is reluctant until he confirms the order with Clent. The Doctor and Penley together urge the base leader to turn the ioniser on the Ice Warriors ship. Clent still doesn't want to risk it, until the Doctor reassures him that there will not be an atomic explosion. Clent consults the computer once more, but its logical brain cannot decide, and it short circuits.
Penley berates Clent and sets the Ioniser for full power.
The Ice Warriors have escaped and returned to their ship. They have enough mercury supplies to at least take off, and begin to prepare, as the ice breaks up around their ship.
Penley fires the weapon and blows the ship up with only a minor explosion.
Everyone is happy, and Penley looks like he's going to work on the base again. They turn to thank the Doctor, but discovers that he and his companions have all gone.
Outside, the TARDIS dematerialises from the icy tundra.
Trivia
- Bernard Breslaw of Carry On fame was given the role of Varga. He did the role whilst they were shooting Carry on Doctor.
- Just like Roy Skelton did for the Cybermen (badly), in rehearsals, Bernard Bresslaw created the speech that we know and love about the Ice Warriors. He did all the hissing and mannerisms too.
- They used a real bear to film the eponymous scene, but it was just a cub borrowed from London Zoo.
- Sonny Caldinez (Kemel from the Evil of the Daleks) was the Ice Warrior that chases Victoria and gets burried in an avalanche. The chase had to be slowed right down to stop him bumping into the polystyrene sets. When he fell over, the screws that bolted him into his costume were wrenched upwards and hit him in his groin! Despite this, he was eager to return for the next Ice Warriors story as he felt part of one big fun family.
What worked
- Yes, it looks like a monochrome rainbow threw up over everyone, but I love the outfits
- When you compare the scenery on the glacier to that of the Keys of Marinus, you'll agree that it's quite good, and the frozen Ice Warrior in place is pretty good too
- Judging by the conversation about patterned miniskirts, it seems that there's a hint of a relationship between Victoria and Jamie
- The sub-plot with scientist Penley abdicating is a welcome departure from the usually straightforward mad professors, and gives a feel that the world did indeed exist before the Doctor arrived.
- in fact, as frustrating as he is, it's obvious that a lot of work was put into the Clent character and it really shows
- I didn't expect Arden to be gunned down, and to a degree, Storr either
- It's worth mentioning the soundtrack here too. The star trek influenced sound is supposed to represent the ice and snow, and it adds a lot of atmosphere.
What didn't work
- The Eric Idol wannabe archaeologist - Arden
- The lady who gives them all badges isn't the least bit interested in who the Doctor and co are.
- Hang on. The human population got rid of plants so Carbon Dioxide production was REDUCED?!
- You can see the pitch to the american market, with a Captain Kirk who's struggling to keep the respect of his crew.
- Varga explains that he's been trapped in the ice for millennia, and Arden says "not another mastodon" - but Britain can't have had glaciers for that long
- The bear. I mean, what was the point in getting a cub in, when it would have been cheaper and more effective to use stock footage (which I'm not a big fan of)
- The Doctors plan to fire a sonic cannon at the base because the Ice Warriors have more fluid in them
Overall Feelings
This is the third consecutive story to deal with ice, snow and cold places. You'd expect it to become tiresome by now, but this story immediately throws us off the track with a five minute crisis at a base with totally new characters. It's been a while since we've had something so full of wonder. I mean, it's blatantly obvious that a decent amount of world building has gone into this story, even if it's all based on the wrong information. I for one think it's very welcome.
The characters are well rounded, and a far cry from mad scientists. We have a failed relationship, and people who are struggling with their own insecurities. Against this backdrop, the Doctor's arrival, and the next alien threat seem totally inconsequential.
But let's look at the Ice Warriors. People suggest that early drafts of the script had them adorned with so much cybernetics, that Innes Lloyd ordered them re-written as they were too close to the Cybermen. He asked for something more organic. The result, I have to say is pretty damn good. Coupled with Bernards mannerisms and speech, this is totally opposite to the boastful, domineering presence of an alien solider that most would expect. Yet, they're creepy. The impressive size and movable mouthpieces that don't fully lip sync with the words only add to that effect.
In summary, this is a great story, marred only a tiny bit by the insistence of Clent to cling to inaction and consult a batty computer whilst the world is going to hell.... oh and the stupid justification for the ice age.
Rating
8 out of 10
A big departure from the usual run of the mill stuff, and all the effort put into the story by the writer, the Director, and the actors alike can be clearly seen on screen
Rewatchability Factor
4 out of 10
Nice character development, but gets tedious due to unbelievable justification for the ice age and a lot of shouting by a man that won't make a decision
Watch this if you liked...
- The Thing from Another World
Consulting the Matrix
Who's your favourite guest appearance in the show so far?
No comments:
Post a Comment