THE ICE WARRIORS

"Clent: You've worked with computers, I assume. The Doctor: Only when I have to."

This page looks back to the Patrick Troughton story from 1967, The Ice Warriors.

An Ice Warrior.

The Story The TARDIS lands in England in the year 3000. The Earth is gripped in a new Ice Age. In a nearby base, scientist are using an ioniser to keep the advancing glaciers at bay. The Doctor overcomes the scientists' intial suspicion and is recruited onto the project. One of the scientists discovers the body of an 'Ice Warrior' frozen in a nearby glacier. Brought back to the base, the warrior comes alive and kidnaps Victoria. The Ice Warriors are from Mars and their spaceship is in the glacier. The Scientists dare not use the ioniser as the ship's engines may explode....

The Doctor in the Ioniser Control Room.

The Production The Ice Warriors is the first of four Dr Who stories featuring these Martian reptiles. It was written by Brian Hayles who had contributed earlier stories to the series - notably The Celestial Toymaker and The Smugglers. The story is good and well-realised on screen. To make the Ice Warriors seem even more menacing, director Derek Martinus deliberately chose very tall actors to play the warriors and short people for the human roles. One of the most striking things about the production is the costumes. The Ice Warriors are excellent and mention must be given to Peter Barkworth for his portrayal of Clent. Patrick Troughton gives another wonderful performance - the sequence at the end of part five, where he is struggling to get the top off the bottle is brilliant.

Is that you, Cleggy? Peter Sallis as Penley.

Things to look out for 1. The leader of the Ice Warriors, Varga, is played by comedy actor Bernard Bresslaw - unrecognisable under the make-up and costume. 2. Scientist Penley is played by Peter Sallis, who has had the role of Clegg in 'Last Of The Summer Wine' for the last thirty years. In the 1960s, Sallis was a serious actor. 3. A real bear was used in specially shot film inserts. 4. Miss Garrett's costume unexpectedly changes between episodes five and six.

Miss Garrett (Wendy Gifford).

Availability Only four of the six episodes still exist and the story was released on BBC video (BBCV 6755) in 1998, with 17 minutes of special material using photographs and the audio soundtrack to cover the missing episodes two and three. The two missing episodes exist in audio form and were released on a CD with the video.