Dr Who-Ambassadors of Death [1970]

As far as stories go, I've seen better. Its a homage to "The Avengers" in many ways and is very '60's despite the fact it was shown in 1970.

Script-wise its the old 'Quatermass Experiment' script again rejigged several times to give the companions something to do. It would have made a very exciting 4-parter but drags as a 7-parter.

Nevertheless, there are some wonderfully chilling moments, centred mainly around the 'astronauts' as they break into bases, etc.

We've all seen more action now with programmes like Stargate, so its crucial that we view it with our rose-tinted specs and 70's hats on (not literally or you may not be able to see the screen.)

There's been a definite buzz about this release because only part of it was in colour and I must admit to being pleasantly suporised by the presentation on this tape, but wished for more colour. How about an army of artists slaving away frame by frame using Abode Photoshop?

I'd do it - me. Yep. Anyone else game?

This seven-parter has very few special effects, which is a _good thing_ because SF special effects tend to lose their charm when viewed in retrospect. Instead, the growing horror is done primarily by inference - a trademark of the Pertwee years. The fight scenes are much bloodier than would have been allowed in the later years, and this also adds to the gritty authenticity. And, of course, set in its own time the military and scientific hardware is done just right.

The plot?
Ok then. Mars Probe 7 returns to orbit, but the crew fail to make contact with mission control (which is in England -- a nice touch). The recovery probe loses contact with Earth when it docks with the original probe. Meanwhile, a strange broadcast from the ship is picked up all over the world, while an equally strange broadcast is sent back in reply from somewhere in England. Both UNIT and the Doctor decide to take a hand, but the cooperation they receive from Mission Control is less than 100%. When the Mars Probe finally does land, it is stolen by a band of criminals (or, at least, we think they are criminals) only to be recaptured by the Doctor. However, when it is opened, the capsule is empty...

Any more and I will be giving the story away. This series sees a convincing gun battle, a desperate fight between Liz Shaw and a band of assailants on a bridge, a man murdered with an isotope, and a growing mystery which is not solved until the Doctor risks himself going into space on a faulty rocket.

There's just one caveat - this series was originally shot in colour but subsequently discarded by the BBC. Only the first episode remains of the colour version, the rest was found in black and white in the hands of an independent collector. If you've never seen Doctor Who in black and white, this may come as a shock. To many of us old timers, though, it just reminds us of what it was really like.

The reason being that it is just TOO long, far too long and drawn out. What could easily have been done in 4 or 5 episodes is extended to 7, to keep up with the trend of the season.

The result being, that it gets boring after a while as the interest is taken away.

The story is straight forward enough with plenty of Who cliches.

Liz Shaw gets kidnapped, there is a foreign scientist who gets in the way (who surprise, surprise turns out to be one of the bad guys).

The doctor knows everything within five minutes of turning up, which leaves him free the rest of the time to build a fancy gadget and go chasing around the country in Bessy, oh and the Brigadier shouts a lot. And lets not forget the alien invaders.

As I say this is Who cliche city at its best.

Conclusion is that despite efforts from the reliable main cast, this just falls flat.

Fortunatley things got better.