"Cold War"

Unlike "The Rings of Akhaten", "Cold War" doesn’t have an original bone in its body. The basic premise is exactly the same as that of The Ice Warriors 45 years ago and other parts of the plot bear similarities with Alien, Das Boot and The Abyss and less well known fare such as David Twohy’s underrated Below. As well as its obvious forbear, it is a throwback to the base-under-siege formula that formed the vast majority of Troughton’s second season – a well loved era, but one which has also been called one of the most creatively bankrupt in the programme’s history. However, despite all this, "Cold War" is a joy from beginning to end and shows just how something fresh can be made from an old recipe.

"Cold War" has the advantage over its 60s inspirations, in that it is not surrounded by stories with exactly the same plot. Mark Gatiss trims the plot of every ounce of fat, meaning that the interminable (and sometimes idiotic) longueurs that plagued similar stories forty years ago are not evident.¤ Instead, this is a story with not one second wasted. The slightly different attitude of the revived programme has never been more evident than here - in 21st Century Who, only the Daleks and Cybermen are monolithic adversaries. The fact that Skaldak is a character, rather than just a monster makes the conflict with the crew far more interesting. Gatiss is a fine writer who has never¤ matched the success of his first Doctor Who story, "The Unquiet Dead" – until now. This deceptively simple story shows a great deal of skill in its construction, with Gatiss’s trademark textual depth – Skaldak is the greatest hero of Mars and the submarine commander is named¤ Zhukov, an obvious nod to the most renowned Soviet general of the Second World War. There is a level of cheekiness in the story showing its roots, particularly Alien!

Douglas Mackinnon makes a triumphant return to the programme taking Gatiss’s script and giving it pace and subdued scares when required. There is a level of implied violence that hasn't really been seen since the programme returned, notably the discovery of the dismembered bodies, which Mackinnon handles with just the right amount of shock for a family audience. The look of the episode is phenomenal with great, atmospheric use of lighting. Gatiss takes the stock characters of the base-under-siege story and somehow makes them real, helped by the great cast that Mackinnon has at his disposal. Liam Cunningham has always brought his gruff charisma to every role he plays and Zhukov is no exception. Then, there is the inimitable David Warner who finally makes an appearance on Doctor Who and makes the unlikely character of a septuagenarian Soviet New Romantic geologist seem not only plausible, but lovable. Matt Smith relishes the opportunity to pay tribute to his own favourite Doctor, but it is here that Clara really comes into her own as a character. The scene of her talking to Skaldak is brilliantly played by Jenna-Louise Coleman as Clara's understated trauma after seeing what Skaldak did to the sailors.

However, the big draw of the story was the long-overdue return of one of the programmes most iconic monsters. The redesign is faithful to the original, yet does not seem dated. Gatiss makes the risky decision of taking the Martian out of his armour – indeed this is the first time it has been positively established that it is armour and not just part of the Ice Warrior’s body. The creature is a lot skinnier than expected (although still very strong) but moves like lightning. Wisely, we never see the whole body and the first views of the head are shrouded in steam and the final unmasking is memorable, with a fantastic design.

I have no nostalgic memories of the Ice Warriors, having not even been born when The Monster of Peladon was broadcast, let alone their first story. However, like many others, I have had a fantastic ride and am glad to welcome the Ice Warriors back into the fold.

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