Who Review: Cold War
It’s 1983 and the Cold War has never been hotter! A Soviet nuclear submarine is practicing war maneuvers in the North Pole when trouble strikes. An ice-encased creature salvaged by the sub crew has broken free of its frozen tomb, and is threatening the crew. Then the Doctor and Clara arrive, and what was supposed to be a vacation in Vegas turns into a life-and-death struggle with a desperate alien who’s willing to push the button…
SPOILER ALERT!! My comments may (and likely will) contain spoilers for those that haven’t seen the episode. If you want to stay spoiler-free, please watch the story before you continue reading!
Now series 7 part 2 really gets going–at least it does for me! Mark Gatiss’ story has genuine, believable threats, suspense, and some fun too. All the elements that go into a great Who story. Setting the story on a Soviet submarine during the Cold War was, I think, clever and unexpected, and it provided an opportunity to deal with the “how come I can speak a foreign language and understand these people?” question companions have been asking since 2005 (though Sarah Jane was the first to ask in 1976–see “The Masque of Mandragora”). The cultural references provided by the professor were charming (singing Ultravox and Duran Duran while listening to cassette tapes he’d been sent, since such music was not officially available in the USSR).
The main feature of this story is, of course, the return of the Ice Warriors, a classic monster last seen in the Third Doctor story “The Monster of Peladon” from 1974. That’s a long time to be gone, and their return is well overdue. I’m so glad they didn’t do as severe a re-imagining as they did with the Silurians. The Ice Warrior still looks very much like an Ice Warrior, even if they’ve spent a bit more money on the costume–a necessity for today’s discerning viewer watching in hi-def. The biggest risk was, I think, daring to take the creature out of his costume. Some purists may recoil at the sight of the Ice Warrior’s helmet-less head, feeling this to be some great blasphemy. Frankly, I think it worked well. We didn’t see too much of the “naked” Ice Warrior, so much was still left to the imagination. I’m sure the only reason we only ever saw Ice Warriors in full costume in the classic series was that it was cheaper–they simply didn’t have the budget to do what they can do now. I think Brian Hayles would have approved. My only slight disappointment is the loss of the hissy, whispering voice. Some of the hiss is still there, but it’s more growly. This could be explained away by the type of Ice Warrior he is (i.e., one of the bulkier ones that didn’t talk much in the classic series).
In short, I consider this story to be a success. Great storytelling, with a much more satisfactory resolution than the previous story. The Doctor exerts control over the situation, and is truly the hero of the show (though at the end, both the Doctor and Clara save the day). The model effects (yes, they used a model submarine, not CGI!) were well done, and while I’m sure more astute viewers will pick a million holes in it, I had few problems with the plot.
Nods to the classic series in this episode? You mean, aside from the Ice Warrior? The Doctor’s polka-dot bow tie is definitely Second Doctor-ish! Oh, and the HADS (Hostile Action Displacement System) was last used in “The Krotons”–a story from 1968, where the TARDIS appears to be destroyed, but has in fact relocated. “The Krotons” was a Second Doctor story. Are we seeing a lot of Second Doctor references? Not surprising really, since Matt Smith modeled his Doctor on the Second Doctor.
If you saw this episode, please share your thoughts: the comments are open for as-spoilery-as-you-want discussion (though I encourage you to restrict your comments to this particular episode–I’ll be reviewing the rest over the coming days)!
I did think the episodes were starting to get better after this episode. I was worried as well about taking the Ice Warrior out of the gear because, like you said about leaving it to the imagination, not showing much would keep the enemy sinister. You can easily disappoint viewers by showing a villain’s face. I’m a fan of glimpses… unless we’re talking How I Met Your Mother. 😉
This was the episode where I knew for sure I really liked Clara. I loved that little scene where she admitted she was scared. I think this villain was one that really shook her, more so than the god in the last episode and I thought her reaction was realistic and reasonable. I don’t think they’ve delved into a companion’s fear as much as they delve into their curiosity for what’s out there before. It was nice to see that there were some things that may be too dangerous and scary to handle when travelling with the Doctor. But, bless her, Clara always steps up to the situation. 🙂
I agree. As the series goes on, Clara becomes increasingly likeable, which makes me fear that the “big reveal” about who she is will end her tenure. I hope not. With Amy, though I think her character matured over time, I wasn’t sad to see her go. I’d like Clara to hang around for a while.
I thought the increased budget worked in the Ice Warrior’s favour. I can’t say that for other returning villains (e.g., the Silurians are a bit too different for my liking).
Something else about this story that I think was well done was the fact that the Ice Warrior could be talked into having mercy. If one recalls Who history, in “The Curse of Peladon” (Third Doctor story from 1972), the Ice Warriors were actually one of the representatives from various planets meeting to form a kind of intergalactic U.N. So, unlike the Daleks, it’s not beyond their capacity to desire peace.
When the TARDIS disappeared, I nudged Mel and said ‘That’s the HADS kicking in’. I love being a geek! 😀
And when it comes to Who, I know none geekier… 😉
I haven’t really picked up on any of the hints to the older series’, since I haven’t actually seen any of them. I liked this episode, but I didn’t think the Ice Warrior was that ‘good’ a monster. I agree with you on the introduction to the understanding every language problem TARDIS travellers have, it was very interesting, compared to how it is usually. Although, I liked Donna’s reaction of wanting to speak actual Latin and seeing what the translator did with that.
The Ice Warriors are interesting because while they’re basically hostile, they don’t always have to be. When they first appeared in Doctor Who, they were definitely bad guys. But in the first of the Peladon stories, they were part of a peace council. In terms of the range of Doctor Who monsters, you have the Silurians on one side, who can be persuaded to live peaceably with men, and the Sontarans/Daleks/Cybermen on the other, with whom there’s no negotiating. The Ice Warriors lean toward the Sontaran/Dalek/Cyberman side, but are definitely not on the extremes.