| THE AMBASSADORS OF DEATH by David Whittaker |
| Story 53 Synopsis: Mars Probe 7 lost contact 7 months before. Recovery 7 docks with it, but also loses contact, and a strange noise is heard. The Doctor goes to join the Brigadier at the Space Centre with Liz. He says the noise is a communication. It repeats, and is then responded to. The source is located in a warehouse in London. UNIT fight an armed battle there, but when they reach the signal room, a bomb explodes. The Doctor thinks Taltalian, one of the scientists is obstructing him. Taltalian pulls a gun on him, then runs off. Recovery 7 undocks and returns to Earth. But UNIT nearly lose guard of it. Back at the Space Centre, attempted to communicate with the pod fail, and so it is cut open. The Doctor finds it empty. Someone has taken the astronauts. Heavy radiation inside the pod leads the Doctor to realise that these 'astronauts' are aliens, not the Probe 7 crew. The Centre director, Sir James Quinlan is obstructive, as is General Carrington, veteran from Probe 6. Attempts are made to dispose of the Doctor and Liz, but only Liz is caught. She is used as a working hostage. One of the aliens is used to attack the Space Centre and kill Quinlan. It nearly kills the Doctor, but the Brigadier arrives and distracts it. The Doctor decides to use Recovery 7 to make a trip up to Mars Probe 7. Reegan, a thug who is guarding the aliens, tries to sabotage the fuel injection into the rocket, but the Doctor jettisons part of it to survive. Aboard the Probe, he sees a huge spaceship bear down, and he loses radio contact with Earth. Aboard the spaceship, he finds the missing astronauts, and is aghast to learn the aliens are mere ambassadors, whose intentions are peaceful. He promises to bring them back. Back on Earth, he is kidnapped, and forced to create a way to talk to the aliens. There, he finds Carrington is the brains behind the whole operation. He has organised a worldwide link-up, and will claim the aliens are hostile, so that he can blast them out of the sky. The Doctor sends an SOS, which UNIT eventually trace, and track down. The Brigadier frees the Doctor and Liz. With time short before Carrington's broadcast, the Doctor asks the aliens to help them break into the Space Centre. This is achieved, and the broadcast stopped. Carrington is arrested, and the Doctor organises so the aliens can be sent up in Recovery 7, where they'll be exchanged for the human astronauts. |
| Review:- Space - the final frontier? The Doctor boldly breaks his exile, but only temporarily, through space. Season 7 is nowadays noted for its various efforts to illustrate the Doctor's exile on Earth, by not presenting alien invasion week after week. This story gives us aliens who turn out not to be invading at all, but in an amusing twist, are being used by human saobteurs who wish to suggest they are, to allow retaliation. To get to this twist, we spend episodes on end wondering who is sabotaging UNIT, and all efforts to establish peaceful ties to the aliens, or locate the missing astronauts. Whilst a lot of this seems like slowly-paced padding, it does at least prolong the mystery. As well as this, the time spent on the rockets gives some weight to how serious such an event would be. To simply show the rocket when its reached its destination would begin to suspend disbelief too far. Also, the extra time is used to develop tension, which is an effective part of the story. Since the brains behind the plan is kept a mystery until pt 6, there is the character of Reegan, a brutal bully, who has his own dreams of power, and is not afraid to commit murder to achieve those aims. He makes a convincing villain, and unusually survives through to the end. The crux of the story is that the aliens are highly radioactive, which tips the Doctor off to the fact that the real astronauts are still in space. Also, the level of radiation means that the aliens are deadly to humans on contact. This fulfils the desire for monstrousness, whilst allowing the understanding that these creatures are being used against their will. Once the Doctor manages to communicate with them, they're soon making that point clear. Perhaps the number of villains, and the fact that UNIT seem to be outmanoeuvred all the time, begins to try the patience. Taltalian keeps blaming Carrington for his actions, but nobody realises the truth of what he means. Reegan covers the bulk of the chicanery, seeming to run rings around UNIT with ease. It's a wonder they are trusted to guard anything. And of course, Carrington finally reveals that his clear xenophobia means he IS the person trying to use the aliens for nefarious purposes. His stated belief in his 'moral duty' makes him a more interesting bad guy than some, and his final defeat is almost dignified. The Doctor and Liz get quite a runaround, making the most of the 7 episode length. Liz shows she's quite daring, as well as smart, in attempting to escape from her captivity, whilst urging the unfortunate Lennox to redeem himself. As for the Doctor, when not zapping criminals to Bessie (and surely he would recognise Carrington!), he's off in Recovery 7, and chatting to the aliens, then building communication devices. It's a good run for him. UNIT, too, do well, even in spite of Reegan's efforts. The Brigadier slowly realises Carrington is up to no good, and he gets a good fight scene in pt 1, not to mention his dashing rescue in pt 7. Two other characters deserve a mention: Ralph Cornish, and John Wakefield. Ronald Allen puts in a great show as Cornish, dedicated but not totally lost to his job. He proves a good ally, as he slowly sees through Carrington, and tries to find his missing astronauts. Wakefield is a small role, well filled by Michael Wisher, who subsequently played several other roles in the series with the same precision and care he shows here. Overall, despite the colouration problems, this is a gripping story, and well worth seeing. |
| Disclaimer: I've seen the video, and read the book. |