I like BBC3, it means I get to rewatch Doctor Who on a Friday night. Not that I rewatched it properly last week, "The Rings of Whatever" was one of the worst I have seen since 2005 ( and I remember Time Lash *shudder*).
However, the lastest episode was a real improvement. I had read that Mark Gatiss had named it "Dass Boot" and that the Ice Warriors were back.
The episode was clearly written by a fan, harking back to 70s remote-base-under-siege. It channelled the likes of "Fang Rock" and "Ark in Space." In fact, Jon Pertwee would not have been out of place. However, it was also like "Dalek." Another base under seige, with one lone classic monster /alien trying to escape his human captors and return to his own kind, not counting the bodies piling up around.
I loved the guest cast with "him from Outsiders (why was it cancelled?)" and "him from Sam Wests angels in York being lawyers programme (why was that cancelled?)." Not to mention David Warner as the grizzled old scientist who likes a bit of Ultravox. Being Soviet era submariners, there was a nice bit of "Hunt for Red October" tension. And a touch of stereotyping, which meant we had to pause the programme on first viewing and try to explain the Cold War to a ten year old.
The reinvention of Ice Warriors as beasties who can creep around without their shells was a great step.Those fingers reaching down for Clara were really spooky. Perhaps a surprise as great as Daleks flying for real! I still remember the Ice Warriors and Ice Lords being the good guys on Peladon, so not killing everyone at the end was not a great surprise.
But still a great tension-filled story with great asides, mainly provided by David Warner and some by Jenna-Louise Coleman.I have to admit a liking for Clara, she is a Sarah-Jane for the 21st Century. In fact, Clara is named after Elisabeth Sladen, who died two years ago. Clara was her middle name.
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