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The Ambassadors Of Death
daveyboy7472
Posts: 16,416 Forum Member
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I think this is a much improved story compared to the previous one. It has the TARDIS console in it for a start(if only for a short while) and it also for one episode at least gets away from Earth, albeit just a few miles above it in space on Mars Probe 7.
However, once again the length of the story really does it no favours. Whereas The Silurians padded the story out with overlong snorefest scenes, this one does it by endless repetition and UNIT Battles here there and everywhere. Liz has another strong story here but ends up a prisoner for 4 whole episodes which must be a record of sorts. There is repetitive attempts from her and Doctor Lennox to escape and then there is the tiresome attempts by Reegan to kill The Doctor nearly every episode. Then there was the fact nearly every guest character was on the baddies side. Add in the fact UNIT was being blocked at every turn every episode and by Episode 7 the whole story had just become boring for me. Even the resolution was low key and over and done with relatively quickly, which goes hand in hand with the slow pace of the story at times. Finally there was the mystery of Dr Taltalian's varying French accent and where it was when he recaptured Liz!
It isn't all bad, though. I did enjoy the Helicopter battle in Part 3 and even more so, the 3rd Doctor's rare foray into the humour department when he used Bessie's anti-theft device to capture the men who had stolen the Probe. I thought the alien ambassadors themselves were well realised and suitably creepy. And the little TARDIS console scene at the beginning was a much needed reminder that it still existed somewhere.
Shame about the fact it exists in varying forms of colour and black and white. I'm not sure if there is going to an attempt to colourise the whole story, maybe somebody else knows about that???
However, once again the length of the story really does it no favours. Whereas The Silurians padded the story out with overlong snorefest scenes, this one does it by endless repetition and UNIT Battles here there and everywhere. Liz has another strong story here but ends up a prisoner for 4 whole episodes which must be a record of sorts. There is repetitive attempts from her and Doctor Lennox to escape and then there is the tiresome attempts by Reegan to kill The Doctor nearly every episode. Then there was the fact nearly every guest character was on the baddies side. Add in the fact UNIT was being blocked at every turn every episode and by Episode 7 the whole story had just become boring for me. Even the resolution was low key and over and done with relatively quickly, which goes hand in hand with the slow pace of the story at times. Finally there was the mystery of Dr Taltalian's varying French accent and where it was when he recaptured Liz!
It isn't all bad, though. I did enjoy the Helicopter battle in Part 3 and even more so, the 3rd Doctor's rare foray into the humour department when he used Bessie's anti-theft device to capture the men who had stolen the Probe. I thought the alien ambassadors themselves were well realised and suitably creepy. And the little TARDIS console scene at the beginning was a much needed reminder that it still existed somewhere.
Shame about the fact it exists in varying forms of colour and black and white. I'm not sure if there is going to an attempt to colourise the whole story, maybe somebody else knows about that???
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I couldn't disagree more. Season 7 is, for me, easily the best ever season of Doctor Who - and by a long chalk. And while Ambassadors Of Death is no Inferno, it more than holds its own in the season.
You're entitled to your opinion off course but I don't think the Pertwee Era really as a whole is that brilliant and it never really got started until Season 8. For me, this Season is one of my least favourite of all time.
Be gone you evil beast!
*Twirls moustache*
Look, I don't hate every single story of the Pertwee Era, there are some good stories to come yet, just not in this Season. However, all the Earthbound stories just make it an era I don't prefer. Liked it much more when Tom Baker took over and the show returned to it's original type of stories on a regular basis.
I think they've completed it. Rumours are it should be out sometime in September/Octoberish.
Back on topic though, I love this story. My favourite story from my favourite season in my favourite era.
Liz is great again but spends too much time as s prisoner. She seems to have a different hair style for each story!
On paper I think it's good but I don't find the actually viewing of it that pleasurable to be honest.
I understand why you might not like this season (though personally I love the U.N.I.T. stories but I dont think you can really call it one of Dr Who's worst. There've been far worse.
It is just my personal opinion, I never said it as fact that it was one of the worst. As I've said previously, Season 24 is far worse than this and maybe a few other Seasons as well but Season 7 isn't far off.
Decided to comment after all then.
Bit unfair -1/10 when you only watched 1 part and a half and that was 42 years ago.
Saying that I do kinda agree with you on this one. Rest of the season was great though.
Admittedly it does sag in the middle. But when the dreadful McCoy era is getting a bit of whitewash on the other thread, Ambassadors definitely deserves some love as an example of classic Who at its best, despite the usual issues over pacing.
I liked the change to the opening sequence in the sense that it is the first to introduce a pre-credits sequence - albeit a repeat of the last episode's cliffhanger (except the first) - and what I think is great timing with where the episodes end and the credits roll. The story itself isn't too outlandish, astronauts come back but no-one sees their faces, so basically walking spacesuits, and the reveal isn't until ep 6 or something. In my eyes a faceless Doctor Who enemy is scarier, and maybe it could've been handled like the Midnight episode, with a bit more ambiguity like we didn't see their faces at all, and it remained a mystery.
Just on the first episode of Inferno now, and I don't get what the hate is with about Series 7, I at first was apprehensive with Earth-bound stories, but I think the pacing has been good and has allowed for some smart and plausible stories; meteor showers, deep-ground excavation, and stray spacemen. I don't know what Inferno and how much longer the Doctor is exiled on Earth, but I like these UNIT stories, and they work well with the threats that they're faced with. Ok they're maybe not the best or most secure security taskforce in the world, but at least they're there which is a good and different dynamic to previous companions.
Pace is something a lot of middle-length episode numbers are hit and miss with (5-8), and I find these need to have more of a change of location, mini missions to help with it, so having most of these stories being 7 episodes lead them to be watched more in one go (which is what I try to do), and then the pacing doesn't really affect it - more like watching a movie. I couldn't imagine waiting a week for some of the serials, but this one, the Ambassadors of Death I thought was good, quite even, but like some of these length serials, maybe could've been shorter (5 eps).
I think Derrick Sherwin deserves a little credit.
Thanks, I drew a blank there.
The reason I dislike Season 7 so much is the very fact it is entirely Earth-Bound(aside from the odd space sequences in this story). For me it goes entirely against what the show was(and still is) about, which is The Doctor going of in travels in the TARDIS and visiting different times and places.
I know the reasons why the show had to become Earthbound at the time but still don't like it and as for pace, as with several recent stories in the New Series, it is almost at a crawl, especially in the Silurian Story.
They weren't awful stories by any means in this Season but I don't like the grittiness or the Earthbound nature of it, prefer main part of the Pertwee Era between Seasons 8-10, as I'm not a big fan of Season 11 either(Planet Of The Spiders aside)but that's for another reason entirely.