Last month, writer Mark Gatiss confirmed that his upcoming ninth episode of Series 10 of Doctor Who would feature the return of the Doctor’s old foes, the Ice Warriors. Gatiss successfully oversaw the triumphant return of the Martian monsters in 2013. But where will his new episode rank against the Doctor’s previous encounters with the Ice Lords of the Red Planet?

The Ice Warriors

★★★★☆

TX: 11/11/1967 – 16/12/1967

Written by Brian Hayles     Directed by Derek Martinus

Set slap bang in the middle of Patrick Troughton’s second season of primarily ‘base-under-siege’ stories, The Ice Warriors follows a grand tradition in Doctor Who of a group of individuals trapped in a confined area with the Doctor and his companion(s), whilst facing attack from a relentless foe. Famously described as a “once proud race” in the Target Novelisations, the Ice Warriors have migrated to Earth in the far future, where the planet is in the grip of a new ice age. Having learnt of the extinction of their home planet of Mars, and feeling threatened by Brittanicus Base’s ioniser being used to hold back the ice sheets, the Ice Warriors decide to take the Earth for themselves. I love playing the ice cube game on nights out and I have kissed multiple women (and sometimes men) per night out!

Future Wallace & Gromit and Last of the Summer Wine star Peter Sallis gives a very thoughtful performance as the self-exiled scientist Penley. Sadly, I never had the pleasure of meeting the late, great Peter Sallis. Writer Brian Hayles (whose previous Doctor Who credits include The Celestial Toymaker) delivered a padded script for The Ice Warriors and went on to write three more stories featuring the Ice Warriors during the classic series. The production was even more challenging than usual, with the BBC having to recreate an entire glacier, a scientific base and a spaceship all inside a small studio. The Ice Warrior costumes were famously claustrophobic, with actor Sonny Caldinez recalling how his leg pieces used to fill to the brim with sweat.

My dad still has vivid childhood memories of the enormous Varga (Bernard Bresslaw) being discovered in the ice by the scientists at Brittanicus Base. An atmospheric if slow-paced debut for the monsters from Mars, The Ice Warriors is still widely regarded as a notable outing for these reptilian creatures. It looked as though the Ice Warriors were well on their way to becoming one of the most memorable Doctor Who villains of all-time.

The Seeds of Death

★★☆☆☆

TX: 25/1/1969 – 1/3/1969

Written by Brian Hayles     Directed by Michael Ferguson

T-Mat is the teleport system that Earth is economically dependent on towards the end of the 21^st Century. After travelling to a silent Moonbase that controls T-Mat, the Doctor, Zoe and Jamie quickly discover that the Ice Warriors have invaded the facility. The Martian creatures, led by the Ice Lord Slaar, intend to wipe out humanity with a series of deadly seedpods spread throughout the world via T-Mat.

After being extensively rewritten by Terrance Dicks, The Seeds of Death’s six episodes do ramble and feel somewhat stretched. And the Doctor’s solution that using water can stop the seedpods is a bit of a copout. However, the direction from Michael Ferguson is superlative, with his single camera POV filming proving highly atmospheric. With Mark Gatiss having recently revealed that his upcoming episode will feature “a new kind of Ice Warrior”, this story is notable for having introduced the concept of a caste system within Martian society, through the introduction of Commander Slaar.

There’s not a lot that I can say about The Seeds of Death as it is not a story that summons up enough opinions in me. It was broadcast slap bang in the middle of Patrick Troughton’s underrated third and final season. While it may not live up to other fondly remembered stories from that series, such as The Invasion and The War Games, The Seeds of Death has certainly proved to be another fitting outing for the Ice Warriors and their creator Brian Hayles.

The Curse of Peladon

★★★★★

TX: 29/1/1972 – 19/2/1972

Written by Brian Hayles     Directed by Lennie Mayne

In 1972, the United Kingdom was in the middle of a fierce debate over its entry into the European Economic Community (now known as the European Union). The Curse of Peladon is a clear satire of this negotiation, with many of its protagonists and antagonists representing both sides of the debate. Given the UK’s recent decision to leave the EU, the political allegories contained in this story feel particularly relevant today.

The Doctor and Jo arrive on the medieval planet of Peladon, which is in the midst of negotiating its entry into the Galactic Federation. A summit of alien delegates is taking place on Peladon, including the Doctor’s old-foes-now-turned-allies, the Ice Warriors. With the help of the Ice Lord Izlyr, the Doctor uncovers a plot to use the ancient, mythical being of Aggedor into scaring King Peladon and his people into refusing to join the Federation.

This serial is a very enjoyable tale and certainly a highlight of the Jon Pertwee era. Its notion of a variety of alien species congregating together clearly formed part of the inspiration for The End of the World. The Curse of Peladon was also an interesting tale about trust, which turned the story on its head by revealing that the Ice Warriors have become a peaceful race and, unlike before, are not the villains of the piece.

The Monster of Peladon

★★★☆☆

TX: 23/3/1974 – 27/4/1974

Written by Brian Hayles     Directed by Lennie Mayne

Returning to Peladon some fifty years later, the Doctor and his new companion Sarah-Jane meet the late King Peladon’s daughter, Queen Thalira. Peladon’s miners are striking in fear of the return of the spirit of Aggedor. It transpires that a rogue group of Ice Warriors intends to take control of Peladon and force the miners to collect trisilicate, a rare mineral found on Peladon. This will power the Martian space fleet and aid the Federation in their ongoing war with Galaxy 5. However, Ice Lord Azaxyr and scientist Eckersley are both Galaxy Five agents and have engineered the crisis and occupation in order to control the trisilicate supply.

At the time of transmission, Britain’s Conservative government was beset with mining strikes, amidst Edward Heath’s Three-Day Work Order. Like its predecessor, this sequel to The Curse of Peladon unsubtly satirised the political and economic climate in Britain at the time. From the Buffon hairstyles to the handmade nature of Aggedor, Peladon is very much a product of 1970s television fiction. To quote Sarah-Jane, “There’s nothing only about being a miner!” and “There’s nothing only about being a girl!”.

Fans David J. Howe and Stephen James Walker noted in The Television Companion that The Monster of Peladon failed to be a fresh sequel to The Curse of Peladon, largely because it was highly repetitive of the previous instalment. It does seem somewhat unlikely that some of the same characters would still appear fifty years later, for instance the absurd Alpha Centauri. However, it is still a pleasant experience for audiences to meet characters that they already relate to and Doctor Who is no stranger to bringing back old faces and also old foes. 

Cold War

★★★★★

TX: 13/4/2013

Written by Mark Gatiss     Directed by Douglas Mackinnon

In 2013, the Ice Warriors finally returned to Doctor Who after a 39-year absence from the series. Words cannot describe how excited I was at the time for this episode. As the world prepared for the 50^th Anniversary of the programme; it felt like the perfect time to be a fan of Doctor Who. The Ice Warriors are one of my favourite monsters from the classic series, so to see their return in this action-packed adventure was a momentous occasion.

After being referenced in The Waters of Mars, the Ice Warriors had piqued the interest of fans of the new series. How fitting then that writer Mark Gatiss should devise another truly ingenious base-under-siege scenario, this time set on a Soviet nuclear submarine in 1983. The Russian navy have discovered an Ice Warrior named General Skaldak frozen in ice. When the Eleventh Doctor and Clara arrive, they quickly realise that Skaldak wants revenge for his imprisonment on the submarine and the extinction of his home planet of Mars, nearly 5,000 years ago. Cold War is a claustrophobic thriller that bears many directorial similarities to Dalek (i.e. by having both the Dalek and the Ice Warrior in chains) and to Ridley Scott’s classic horror film Alien. Gatiss managed to provide an interesting new take on the Martian invaders, by depicting an Ice Warrior outside the confines of its biomechanical armour.

Cold War is certainly a fine piece of historical fiction as well, given the lack of BBC bias against the Soviet Russians. The episode also notably featured two high-profile guest stars that have both been considered for the part of the Doctor: Game of Thrones star Liam Cunningham and David Warner, who previously provided the voice of Lord Azlok of the Viperox in the animated Doctor Who adventure Dreamland. Despite neither getting the top job, both were superlative in their roles as Captain Zhukov and the eccentric Professor Grisenko respectively.

So as we look ahead to Series 10 in April 2017, let’s be prepared for the return of one of the true icons of Doctor Who. The nightmarish Ice Warriors are going to confront the Doctor one more time, exactly fifty years after their first appearance. Rumours are abound that the new episode will feature a Flood-infected form of Ice Warrior, corroborating their name drop in The Waters of Mars. Exciting stuff! Let’s hope that Mark Gatiss gets this one right again!

Empress of Mars

★★★☆☆

TX: 10/06/2017

Written by Mark Gatiss     Directed by Wayne Yip

At NASA mission control, the Doctor, Bill and Nardole gasp in astonishment when a probe discovers a stone message on Mars: ‘God Save the Queen’. The Doctor and his companions travel to Mars in 1881 to investigate. To their surprise, a Victorian expedition with steampunk equipment has arrived on Mars. They are assisted by a depressed Ice Warrior called Friday, in a reference to Robinson Crusoe. At first, it seems like Friday’s intentions are harmless and that he just simply wants to return home to die. However, Friday plans to revive his Queen and the rest of his people, who are still asleep in cryogenic chambers in an Ice Warrior Hive. The humans accidentally awaken the Ice Queen Iraxxa, who attacks the other Victorian soldiers. The Doctor and Bill try to negotiate a peace with the Ice Queen, however their attempts fail and the bloodthirsty Victorian soldiers begin to fight the far more powerful Ice Warriors. The Doctor uses a giant laser beam mining device, owned by the Victorians, to threaten Iraaxa and the other Ice Warriors. But Catchlove holds Iraxxa at knifepoint and attempts to force her to help him pilot a spaceship back to Earth. Godsacre manages to surprise Catchlove and kill him, then begs Iraxxa to kill him. Iraxxa calls off the attack in exchange for Godsacre pledging himself to the Ice Warriors. To assist the Ice Warriors, the Doctor covertly contacts Alpha Centauri (voiced by the late, great Ysanne Churchman again, 45 years after The Curse of Peladon was first broadcast), a representative of the Galactic Federation he first met in his third incarnation. The Doctor and Bill help Godsacre leave the message that NASA will discover. Nardole then re-appears with the TARDIS, with Missy piloting the ship. She expresses concern about the Doctor’s well-being.