Classic Doctor Who - Season 5 - The Ice Warriors (1967) - Review
Starring: Patrick Troughton, Frazer Hines, Deborah Watling & Peter Barkworth
Written By: Brian Hayles
Directed By: Derek Martinus
The
third story into Doctor Who's fifth season, and the third
story to feature a cold/icy setting. I'm not sure if it's just
because these stories went out during the Autumn and Winter months,
but surely that has to be a trend? Even though this is the third
story in a row to feature a sub-zero setting, if you're going to
introduce villains called the Ice Warriors, it does make sense. Now
one of the more high profile and best remembered of the Doctor's
adversaries, do the Ice Warriors hit the snow and frost running?
The
Doctor, Jamie and Victoria arrive back in Britain, far into the
future. Here, they find Britain and the rest of the world's
scientists struggling to fight back against the rolling glaciers of a
new ice age. As the crew of the Brittanicus Base plan to use an
ioniser that can heat the ice and slow the glaciers' progress across
Britain, a senior scientist discovers an armoured man frozen in the
ice. Extracted and returned to the base, the giant figure is freed
when the ice melts and is revealed to be an Ice Warrior from Mars.
It's not long until the warrior forms plans to revive the rest of his
crew from the ice and conquer Earth...
Taking
into consideration the budget that Doctor Who was on by the
end of 1967, The Ice Warriors has got a hell of a lot
of ambition. To create a convincing new ice age setting and put it on
screen could have easily been a “Head in the Clouds” job, kind of
similar to how recreating Atlantis was for The Underwater
Menace (though even that paid off to an extent). However, to
my surprise, The Ice Warriors carries it off with some
great production values and really great set design. The caves where
the Ice Warriors spend the majority of time in this story look
absolutely fantastic, and combined with the blizzards and snow we see
outside, it makes for a believable ice age setting. The music used in
this story also leaves a lasting impression, particularly a recurring
motif of a woman reaching a ghostly and powerful high note. It fits
the uneasy nature of the characters' situation, as well as the tone
and setting of this story, like a glove. Perhaps the most original
and unusual aspect of the production though, is the humans' base from
where they fight to hold back the ever-looming glaciers. It's an
interesting combination of old-fashioned and futuristic aesthetics,
with the main control room and the corridor immediately outside it
being in direct contrast with each other.
Most
importantly of all, The Ice Warriors marks the first
appearance of Doctor Who's resident Martians – the Ice
Warriors. At first glance, the Ice Warriors are one of Doctor
Who's least likely but most enduring successes. Across every
serial the original run of the show produced, the Ice Warriors only
appeared alongside two different Doctors in four stories overall,
this story being the first of them. Yet they remain one of the show's
most popular villains, alongside the likes of the Sontarans. Looking
a little bit closer, it's not hard to see why they were so popular
both at the time and now, despite making relatively few appearances.
They're big green aliens who feel imposing and hostile – simple and
easy to latch onto. The design compliments this beautifully, with the
warriors' armour feeling reminiscent of the Vikings, something that
even some of the characters mention. The decision to cast tall actors
as the Ice Warriors pays off too – they tower over the human
characters giving them an intimidating edge and helps to distract
somewhat from their tendency to lumber through the ice caves. Varga,
the closest thing to a leader figure for the Ice Warriors in this
story, is also portrayed by Bernard Bresslaw, who completely makes
the role his own and is also believed to have been the thinking
behind their hissing reptilian voice.
The
performances from the TARDIS crew in The Ice Warriors
are also solid, and the interplay between the Doctor, Jamie and
Victoria is really strong and flowing by this point into Season 5.
Patrick Troughton is on his usual form and gets to share plenty of
great scenes with many of the human characters, as well as a great
first meeting with the Ice Warriors towards the end of the story.
While Frazer Hines doesn't get all that much to do here, he still
sells it with his performance, and his eagerness to rescue Victoria
from the Ice Warriors says a lot about his character. If there is a
weak link here, it has to be Victoria, though this is in no way down
to Deborah Watling – she's a fantastic actress and The Ice
Warriors is no exception to this. Victoria is good at
reflecting the fear that many younger viewers may feel towards the
Ice Warriors, but often the character works best when a writer gives
her something to do that enables her to overcome her fear, similar to
what The Tomb Of The Cybermen managed so well. On the
bright side, the remaining support cast are dedicated and leave an
impression, with standout performances from both Peter Barkworth and
Peter Sallis as Clent and Penley respectively. They may basically be
there to represent two sides of a debate, but they feel like genuine
people and the last scene they share together really emphasizes this.
As
for that aforementioned debate, it turned out to be one of the more
unexpected additions to The Ice Warriors. Personally I
would have been content with just seeing Ice Warriors roaming about
in the snow and planning to conquer Earth, and while you do get that,
there is also plenty of interesting ideas about Earth's future to be
found in this script, as well as debates on technology and the role
that it should play. While some of its science may be questionable,
the idea of a new ice age being caused by a sudden drop in carbon
dioxide levels (which was subsequently caused by the rise of
artificial foods over plant foods), is an interesting one and a great
basis for a story. Admittedly the technology debate hasn't aged
nearly as well, mostly due to the curious anti-computer sentiment the
script seems to have. We now live in a society dominated by
technology, and I'd argue the best case scenarios are more likely to
be found with a combination of human and technological minds, as
opposed to the strictly human approach this story seems to be
pushing.
As
with many stories during Patrick Troughton's tenure as the Doctor,
The Ice Warriors is another serial that's partly
missing, specifically Parts 2 and 3. Following in the footsteps of
the DVD releases for The Invasion and The Reign
Of Terror, The Ice Warriors has been partly
reconstructed with animation. Unfortunately, the animation itself
isn't that great and it's clearly been done with very little budget.
Especially when we compare it to the pretty good animation done for
The Invasion around seven years ago, it pales in
comparison. Many characters, particularly the Ice Warriors themselves
don't look great as 2D characters against a 3D backdrop. That being
said, I am still at the very least grateful for the effort that the
animators went to, and I, like many people, would still prefer to
enjoy this animation than relying purely on surviving telesnaps.
In
conclusion, The Ice Warriors is a solid and fun story
with plenty of things to enjoy, whether it be snowy settings, big
green aliens or the threat of Earth conquest. Brian Hayles' biggest
contribution to the world of Doctor Who clearly did something
right to be remembered so fondly, and while The Ice Warriors
certainly isn't as strong as some other stories that surround
it, such as The Tomb Of The Cybermen or The Web
Of Fear, there's still a lot to like here.
The Ice Warriors
7/10