Doctor Who Rewind - The Abominable Snowmen

It might be Christmas Day but the DW Rewind continues apace. We may have just said goodbye to Eleven but I've still got unfinished business with number two...

This then is the Doctors first encounter with the mysterious force that is The Great Intelligence (G.I). We've seen the G.I in Matt Smith's last series. But this was broadcast in 1967 during the fifth season and featuring a bunch of, well, what can only be described as, ginormous furr balls with arms and legs.

In fact, for much of this six parter (of which only one episode remains in the archive) I thought I was watching one of those, It's A Knockout games where the competitors have to dress in a hairy oversized monster costume, with hilarious consequences.

The story is pretty simple really and is strung out over far too much time. The G.I has taken over the body of Padmasambhava (try saying that after too many xmas beers), the master of the monastery, who in fact, the Doctor had visited before some 300 years earlier, when he took, for safe keeping, a Ghanta (a bell and holy Buddhist relic). Wanting to return it, the Doctor finds things are not quite right at the at the temple this time around.

For a start the surrounding hills and caves are awash with the so called Abominable Snowmen. Whom we later find are anything but. They are in fact robots controlled by the GI using some kind of chess board affair.

The Doctor decides to help the Buddhists and tries various methods of trying to gain control over the fury robots, with various success.

We are led to believe that the G.I is conducting some kind of experiment that has got out of control. That Padmasambhava encountered the G.I on the astral plane, while presumably meditating (not a bad idea that) and was taken over.

There are some very eerie scenes in the inner sanctum, of a disembodied voice (Padmasambhava) communing with his followers, though it ain't really him, rather the old G.I pulling a fast one.

Again in the story the Hines/Troughton partnership is wonderfully executed with some great little flourishes of humour. Troughton is great too and methodically works his way around the problems in front of him, eventually realising he's dealing with a greater intelligence than just a Master Buddhist.

My only gripe with the story is it is far to long, but I have to take into account that I was mostly watching B&W stills narrated with audio and subtitles, which can make any twenty five min DW episode seem like an eternity. Where's the TARDIS when you need it!

Next time on Doctor Who Rewind a very Christmassy setting for the first appearance by the revered Warriors in the ice.