Jamie Revell
This is the first part of a two-part story. As usual, I have reviewed both parts together here.
Set on the titular moon of Mars, as its cover makes clear this is an Ice Warrior story. The Martians here are rather more ruthless than they have been in most other stories since the 2nd Doctor era, showing their general versatility. But the story is much more an examination of the 8th Doctor himself, pushing his philosophy to the fore and forcing him to face up to some of the less palatable consequences of his decisions.
Tamsin also finally starts to come into her own here, providing a clear counterpoint to the Doctor's views, and it's handled well enough that one can reasonably debate which of them is really in the right. Certainly, one can see why she's tempted when one of the villains tries to turn her against the Doctor - something that simply wasn't so well done in the recent 7th Doctor story Project: Destiny.
In addition to this, we have a high quality cast portraying a broad array of characters, all caught up in the unexpected return of the Ice Warriors. The two-part format benefits things here, and it doesn't feel overly extended as some other similarly long 8th Doctor stories have done. For example, I liked the holidaying couple, who brought a dash of humanity to the proceedings despite not being central to many of the events.
And, of course, there's a major twist in the ongoing season story arc, leading us into the next episode and fitting a lot of what has happened so far together.
On the downside, the science is a bit ropey, with the gizmo that the Ice Warriors are after being implausibly effective. But that's never really been Doctor Who's strong point, and it does sort of make sense in the context of The Seeds of Death, to which this is obviously linked. It's really 4.5 stars rather than the full 5, but I'll round up.
This is the first part of a two-part story. As usual, I have reviewed both parts together here.
Set on the titular moon of Mars, as its cover makes clear this is an Ice Warrior story. The Martians here are rather more ruthless than they have been in most other stories since the 2nd Doctor era, showing their general versatility. But the story is much more an examination of the 8th Doctor himself, pushing his philosophy to the fore and forcing him to face up to some of the less palatable consequences of his decisions.
Tamsin also finally starts to come into her own here, providing a clear counterpoint to the Doctor's views, and it's handled well enough that one can reasonably debate which of them is really in the right. Certainly, one can see why she's tempted when one of the villains tries to turn her against the Doctor - something that simply wasn't so well done in the recent 7th Doctor story Project: Destiny.
In addition to this, we have a high quality cast portraying a broad array of characters, all caught up in the unexpected return of the Ice Warriors. The two-part format benefits things here, and it doesn't feel overly extended as some other similarly long 8th Doctor stories have done. For example, I liked the holidaying couple, who brought a dash of humanity to the proceedings despite not being central to many of the events.
And, of course, there's a major twist in the ongoing season story arc, leading us into the next episode and fitting a lot of what has happened so far together.
On the downside, the science is a bit ropey, with the gizmo that the Ice Warriors are after being implausibly effective. But that's never really been Doctor Who's strong point, and it does sort of make sense in the context of The Seeds of Death, to which this is obviously linked. It's really 4.5 stars rather than the full 5, but I'll round up.