The TARDIS materializes in England of the future, during Earth’s next great ice age. The Doctor, Jamie and Victoria soon ally themselves with a group of scientists linked to a worldwide organization working in synch to keep the ice at bay. The base is manned by Leader Clent, a man perhaps overly dependent on logic and computers. A survey team soon uncovers a humanoid creature (which looks a bit like a human/Godzilla hybrid) frozen in a glacier.
The being is a Martian named Varga (which makes me think of artist Alberto Vargas every time his name is mentioned) and has been frozen in the glacier since the last ice age. With his home planet long dead, his plan is to revive the rest of his crew (who come across as “laryngitis monsters” on audio) and conquer Earth. This is the third “base under siege” story (scientists vs. Martians) in a row, following “The Tomb of the Cybermen” (archeologists vs. Cybermen) and “The Abominable Snowmen” (monks vs. Yeti). Other than that, once you get used to the way the Brits pronounce “glacier” (as in, if you have two windows and one of them has a broken pane, the other is glassier) you’re good to go.
The plot includes lots of good science (or good pseudo-science, anyway), and despite the little rut the plots have taken of late. While often Earthbound, this era is fondly remembered as a golden age of monsters. I think once the decision was made to bring in a new Doctor by means of regeneration, the historical aspect of the premise was largely abandoned and the producers jumped into science fiction feet first. The Second Doctor was hardest hit by missing episodes, but this story is not so terribly missing in comparison to some others. Only episodes two and three of this six-parter are missing from the BBC vaults, and the fact that the remaining episodes were not included in “The Missing Years” set makes me hopeful that the BBC may animate the two lost ones as they did with “The Invasion.”
These audio adventures have really made me appreciative of Patrick Troughton’s Doctor, and I can hardly wait until the release of the final set.
Replies
FIVE:
1)Interesting. At the end of Part Four, the Doctor said "I never answer questions until I'm addressed properly." In the rperise at the start of Part Five, he says "I never answer questions until I'm properly introduced."
2)"Aye, lead on, Macduff". It's "Lay on, Macduff"!
3)OK, that's the least-threatening-looking bear ever.
4)"We only fight to win." Does anyone fight to lose?
5)God, Victoria's yowling is annoying.
6)Cliffhanger: The Doctor struggles to keep Zandal from firing!
SIX:
1)"Well, I believe that Varga and his Warriros have a far greater fluid content than human beings." I wonder how he came to that belief.
2)"I await your...punishment.. commander." He sounds like he's looking forward to it!
OVERALL: A pretty good story, if a little draggy in parts. Not sure how they expected to conquer the Earth with just five of them. Of course, it does have the advantage of being one that I haven't seen a hundred times.
4)"We only fight to win." Does anyone fight to lose?
Ever watch professional wrestling?
Doctor Hmmm? said:
Ah, but they're not really "fighting"...
We watched episode two last night, and I see what you mean about moving like puppets… at least in those two instances when Jamie elbows in between two other characters, but not so much otherwise. Some of the cartoons “act” better than their real life counterparts! As with “The Invasion”, I am impressed by how the animators were able to match the actions to the pre-existing soundtrack to the smallest detail, not just the “Hartnelliisms” but random background noises and whatnot as well.
I also bought “Scream of the Shalka” on Tuesday, and although my normal proclivity would be to watch first one then the other at the rate of one episode per night, I couldn’t wait. The animated episodes on “Ice Warriors” in particular, I’ve discovered, make an interesting counterpoint to episodes two and three of “Scream of the Shalka”, following an animated Second Doctor episode with an animated episode of “Doctor 8.5”. I’ll reserve further comment on “Scream of the Shalka” for a later time.
Jeff- if you get a chance, could you edit the title of this?
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