Doctor Who Rewind - The Ice Warriors

The Ice Warriors has a lot going for it. Despite the fact that two of the five episodes are still missing, they have been animated to superbly to fill the gap. We also have an excellent cast. A super monster. And a good story which taps into the whole "Climate Change" problem of present day. It's no wonder then that it measures up to my expectations.

Yes, in the distant future of Earth, at Brittanicus Base in Britain the advancing Ice glaciers are set to envelope everything. If that isn't enough, a small team of archeologists uncover a frozen being in the ice.

It's here that the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria find themselves when the TARDIS lands, with a bump, outside the base.

Once back at the base the large scaled lizard type man turns out to be a not so friendly Ice Warrior from Mars, and he's not alone, his friends are similarly pissed off at being trapped in the ice for millennia when they crash landed.

At the base, leader Clent (played by Peter Barkworth) is led only by his top consultant, which turns out to be a super computer. He will listen to no one else and is incapable of making any kind of decision himself. The Doctors ability to second guess, to take a chance - is completely alien to him and throws him entirely off guard.

The machine that the base, and the world in fact, are using to try and slow the advancing ice age, is the ioniser. And it's continued use in the vicinity of the Martian craft, which has a nuclear propulsion system is brought into question when the computer deems it too much if a risk to take.

So, the Ice Warriors want to use the technology that the base has to free their ship, Clent wants to be a hereo and save mankind,but is not man enough for the job, and, in between we have defecting scientist, Penley (a very young and capable performance from Peter Sallis) who has fled the base due to differences with Clent and his computer, in order to live as a savage on the tundra.

Plus we have the Doctor, a text book Troughton performance, playing it by ear, taking calculated risks and winging it all the way with glorious results.

All these factors and character clashes make for a great dynamic, and there are some really tense scenes of dialogue between the over cautious Clent and the more wilder Penley in the conclusion.

The Ice Warriors themselves are appropriately commanding, especially Varga (played by the larger than life Bernard Bresslaw - yes he of Carry On fame). Bernard was asked to take the role and despite the fact no one would know it was him - due to the mask he would have to wear, took the role on. Even though he would produce gallons of sweat while on set.

The design of the Ice Warriors costume would change in future incarnations to make the actor inside more comfortable, but from the vantage point of 1967, when this story went out, it must have been hell to work in.
But the results must have been pretty scary to adults and kids alike. I suspect that now-a days though, they would get a bit of a laugh from children brought up on stronger stuff, especially with today's advances in CGI effects etc. But back in the day, Doctor Who was getting by admirably on a shoestring.

Also worth mentioning are the icy sets. Tunnels, Tundra and even an avalanche to boot. No doubt they used tons of polystyrene and shrink wrap during the production, but it really doesn't look half bad even today. It rivals even, Scot of the Antarctic.

The two animated episodes have been stylised to completely fit in with the others. So they are black and white too. The animators used photographic stills, set production notes including camera layouts - and the result I suspect, closely resembles what has been missing all these years.

All in all then an accomplished story and one which is rightly savoured by fans young and old.

Next time on Doctor Who Rewind its double trouble with a story that was, up until a few months ago, deemed lost forever.