Doctor Who The Empress of Mars Review

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Bill Potts, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Series 10, Doctor Who The Empres of Mars, Doctor Who The Empress of Mars, female Ice Warrior, Ice Warriors, Iraxxea, Mark Gatiss, Mars, Matt Lucas, Michelle Gomez, Missy, Nardole, Pearl Mackie, Peter Capaldi, Steven Moffat, TARDIS, The Doctor, Victorian Soldiers, Wayne Yip

Doctor Who The Empress of Mars

Review by Paul Bowler

[Contains Spoilers]

Not all is quite as it sss sseeems when the TARDIS arrives on Mars and the Doctor, Bill, and Nardole gets caught up in the middle of an uncanny conflict between Ice Warriors and Victorian soldiers! It appears that the Earth has somehow invaded Mars. As the Martian forces in the hive awakens, their Ice Queen Iraxxa prepares to lead them to war. Now the Doctor faces an impossible choice. It is the humans, and not the Ice Warriors that are the aggressors this time around, so which side will the Time Lord choose to be on?

The Empress of Mars is written by Mark Gatiss, the writer of several Doctor Who episodes: including The Unquiet Dead (2005), The Idiot’s Lantern (2006), Victory of the Daleks (2010), two episode from 2013’s seventh season, Cold War and The Crimson Horror, along with Robot of Sherwood (2014) from series eight, and 2015‘s Sleep No More. Now, with The Empress of Mars, Mark Gatiss makes a welcome return for series ten with a story which also features the classic Doctor Who monsters – The Ice Warriors!

Stylishly directed by Wayne Yip (The Lie of the Land), The Empress of Mars sees the Doctor Peter Capaldi), Bill (Pearl Mackie), and Nardole (Matt Lucas) gate crash NASA as the Mars probe Valkyrie relays an image from the red planet showing the words “God Save The Queen” etched on the barren Martian surface beneath the polar ice cap. Taking the TARDIS to Mars, in 1881 to investigate, the Doctor and Nardole become separated from Bill when she falls down an underground shaft, but when Nardole returns to the TARDIS to fetch rope the time machine inexplicably dematerialises with him inside. Marooned on Mars, the Doctor and Bill soon discover a group of Victorian soldiers Goodsacre (Anthony Calf), Catchlove (Ferdinand Kingsley), Seargant Major Peach (Glenn Speers), Jackdaw (Ian Beattle), Vincey (Bayo Gbadamosi) and Coolidge), who, along with their servile Ice Warrior survivor Friday (Richard Ashton), are busy excavating on the desolate red planet.

The Ice Warrior “Friday” was so named by the soldiers who found him and his crashed spaceship the middle of the South African veldt on 19^th century Earth because he reminded Colonel Godsacre and Captain Catchlove of Man Friday in Robinson Crusoe. Friday is really a lone guardian, appointed after a brutal civil war when his Ice Queen ordered her warriors into hibernation, he was to guard the Ice Warriors hive and reawaken them when it was safe to rebuild their world. But disaster struck and his ship crashed on Earth instead. Feigning submission and grief at his species apparent demise, Friday promised the soldiers the riches of his homeworld if they helped him return to Mars, and tricked them into using technology from his ship to mine the plant. But when “The Gargantua” cannon breaches the Ice Queen’s Tomb it doesn’t take long before Empress Iraxxa (Adele Lynch).is revived and a disastrous initial meeting with the soldiers causes her to awaken the dormant army of Ice Warriors for battle, and the soon Doctor is faced with the daunting prospect of mediating between the invading Victorian Soldiers and the reptilian Martian warriors as conflict erupts.

Mark Gatiss’ love of the Ice Warriors shines through every aspect of his script for The Empress of Mars. Along with subtle nods to the creatures past, Gatiss continues to explore new facets of their society and culture – though perhaps not quite as successfully he did in Cold War. Peter Capaldi and Pearl Mackie, once again shine in their respective roles, this is a comparatively Nardole-lite episode for Matt Lucas though, but he still plays one particularly significant role in the plot when the TARDIS starts “playing up” and prevents him returning to Mars. Nevertheless, the regular’s performances complement each other perfectly, and this TARDIS trio is now rapidly becoming one of my all time favourites.

The majority of the supporting cast of characters that make up the Victorian soldiers are also good, if a little clichéd, however it is their duplicitously subservient Ice Warrior, Friday, played by Richard Ashton that really stands out – especially in the scenes with the Doctor and Bill. Michelle Gomez also briefly returns in this episode as Missy, the Doctor’s arch Time Lady nemesis and Queen of Evil, when Nardole seeks her help in piloting the TARDIS back to Mars. Having been confined in the Vault she now apparently seeks redemption for her crimes against the universe, Missy’s actions in The Empress of Mars would seem to offer some validity to her new moral stance, and once again Michelle Gomez’s brilliant understated performance proves as utterly compelling as ever.

The Ice Warriors are amongst the classic pantheon of Doctor Who monsters. Ever since the Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) originally encountered them in The Ice Warriors (1967) and The Seeds of Death (1969), they went on to return in the Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee) stories The Curse of Peladon (1972) and The Monster of Peladon (1974), The Waters of Mars (2009) implied the Ice Warriors had discovered a horrifying force beneath the surface of the Red Planet, and the 11^th Doctor (Matt Smith) was confronted by Grand Marshal Skaldac when the redesigned Ice Warriors made a triumphant return in Cold War (2013).

It’s astonishing to think that in the fifty years since their debut story, we’ve never actually seen the Ice Warriors on their homeworld. Now at last The Empress of Mars finally shows us the Ice Warriors on Mars. Although initially a little bit of a slow burn to begin with, the episode soon kicks into high gear once the Ice Warriors awaken en mass, and they also utilize new and rather gruesome way of killing. Of course, aside from the impressive regular Ice Warriors, there’s also a notable addition to legacy of the Ice Warriors, and indeed the series’ mythology overall, in The Empress of Mars, in that it features the first appearance in the programmes history of the species female Queen, the Empress Iraxxa, played by Adele Lynch. Iraxxa provides a whole new dimension to these classic monsters, and Lynch’s performance is quite good – if a little bit over-the-top at times. Pearl Mackie also continues to impress and show great versatility as Bill really steps up as the Doctor’s companion in this episode, getting some fantastic scenes and verbal exchanges with Empress Iraxxa.

In a fleeting, glimpse-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, we see a portrait of Queen Victoria in the soldier’s underground camp on Mars – or at least the version of her played by Pauline Collins in the 2006 episode Tooth and Claw. Unsurprisingly for the return of the Ice Warriors in The Empress of Mars, Mark Gatiss has pepped his script with fun references to the classic series, but there is one surprise guest appearance few could’ve expected – the return of Alpha Centauri!

Yes, it may only be for a short greeting on a screen, but the wonderful addition of Alpha Centauri – a friend of the Doctor’s and ambassador of the Galactic Federation who originally appeared in the previous classic series Ice Warrior stories The Curse of Peladon (1972) and The Monster of Peladon (1974) which starred Jon Pertwee as the 3^rd Doctor – is a great callback to the classic series that many fans are sure to adore. Its something made all the more special as well because Alpha Centauri’s original voice actor Yasanne Chruchman also returns to deliver the characters dialogue for this scene.

The Empress of Mars races towards a thrilling conclusion, with bloodshed seemingly unavoidable and Iraxxa being held at knifepoint by Captain Catchlove, the disgraced Captain Goodsacre attempts to atone for his past act of desertion by killing Catchlove and offering to die honourably before the Ice Queen in the hope she will spare his men. Impressed by the human’s actions, Iraxxa orders her Ice Warriors to stand down, and accepts the Doctor’s offer to help them send out a signal requesting assistance to help them leave Mars – a signal which is quickly answered by Alpha Centauri from the Galactic Federation. Leaving the Ice Warriors to prepare for their new role in the universe, the Doctor and Bill help Goodsacre leave the message on the surface that will be seen by both the rescue ship coming for the Ice Warriors and the  Valkyrie probe in the present day, and when Nardole returns in the TARDIS to retrieve them the Doctor and Bill are more than a little shocked when they discover Missy onboard…

The Ice Warriors return in The Empress of Mars is without doubt one of the most fan-pleasing moments of series ten so far, so its perhaps no surprise that it also feels like a very old school classic Doctor Who story in many respects. The madcap premise of this bizarre sci-fi mashup of Journey to the Centre of the Earth and Zulu, along with a good pinch of Steampunk thrown in for good measure, makes for a highly atmospheric and entertaining episode. The drama builds from the moment Iraxxa’s sarcophagus is discovered, and the subsequent clash between the Victorian Soldiers and the Ice Warriors presents an extremely interesting dilemma for the Doctor.

Most of the action takes place underground, but there are some nice establishing shots on the surface of Mars, the scene where the hive is activated are superb, and later the way the Ice Warriors emerge from the ground to attack is also very effective. With its great opening set-up, strong performances from Capaldi, Mackie, Lucas, along with the surprise addition of Michelle Gomez as Missy, and of course Alpha Centauri’s special guest appearance, this episode is a fantastic return for the Ice Warriors. Sure, Mark Gatiss’ script is a tad self-indulgent at times, but ultimately The Empress of Mars is still one of the major highlights of series ten!

Check out the Next Time trailer for The Eaters of Light.

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Doctor Who The Lie of the Land Review

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Bill Potts, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Extremis, Doctor Who Series 10, Doctor Who The Lie of the Land, Doctor Who The Lie of the Land review, Doctor Who The Monk Trilogy, Doctor Who the Monks, Doctor Who The Pyramid at the End of the World, Matt Lucas, Michelle Gomez, Missy, Nardole, Pearl Mackie, Peter Capaldi, Steven Moffat, TARDIS, The Doctor, The Monk Trilogy, Toby Whitehouse, Wayne Yip

Doctor Who The Lie of the Land

Review by Paul Bowler

[Contains Spoilers]

The entire world is in thrall to a collective delusion and only Bill Potts’ can see through this mass lie to the truth. With even the Doctor choosing the wrong side, it falls to Bill to persuade the Time Lord that the whole human race is in danger, because if she can’t convince the Doctor, Bill might have to kill her best friend to save humanity.

The eighth episode of series ten, The Lie of the Land, marks the Doctor Who debut of Director Wayne Yip, his previous credits include Secret Diary of a Callgirl, Utopia and Misfits, as well as episodes 6 & 7 of the BBC Three Doctor Who spin-off series Class. The Lie of the Land is written by Toby Whitehouse, his seventh script for Doctor Who, along with School Reunion (2006), The Vampires of Venice (2010), The God Complex (2011), A Town Called Mercy (2012), and most recently 2015’s Under the Lake / Before the Flood.

As the final chapter of the Monk Trilogy, The Lie of the Land presents us with a drastically altered present-day Earth following the aftermath of Bill’s “executive decision” in The Pyramid at the End of the World. Earth has been invaded by the Monks, history has been rewritten, and the Doctor is now seemingly on their side – as the Time Lord’s constant broadcasts of fake news would seem to attest. Unbelievers who do not accept the Monks as their world’s benefactors are imprisoned. However, the Monks have been on Earth for only six months, not millions of years as they’ve led humanity to believe. Only Bill can see through the global deception, with Nardole’s help – now recovered after his exposure to the chemical biohazard at Agrofuel Research Operations – she must rally the resistance against the Monks regime, but when Missy’s knowledge of the Monks is needed to help the Doctor, Bill, and Nardole to save the world their mission soon becomes even more dangerous.

Toby Whitehouse’s intense script plunges the world into a warped dystopian nightmare unlike anything we’ve quite seen before. From the chilling prologue, the Monks uncompromising rule is frighteningly reinforced by the Doctor’s rather creepy behaviour. Peter Capaldi excels in every scene, brining a dual edge to the role of the Time Lord, and giving arguably one of his strongest performances so far this season. Pearl Mackie also gives a sensitive and engaging performance as Bill Potts, who must now face the harsh agonies of this darkly reinvented world that she’s ultimately responsible for, and at times its affected her so much Bill’s even started to talking to her late mother (played by Rose Jane) to prevent her from loosing her mind. Nardole once more provides some much needed comic relief to dispel the gloom, Matt Lucas gets some great lines, and his characters key role here highlights what an integral part this TARDIS trio he has become.

Bill and Nardole finally manage to track the Doctor to a prison ship off the coast of Scotland, but to their horror it seems that he has really swapped sides and joined the Monks. This in turn forces Bill to make one of the most difficult decisions of all, and it’s a truly heart-in-the-mouth moment as Bill steps up to the plate and shoots the Doctor! From this shocking turn of events an early regeneration appears to be on the cards, but when the Time Lord’s sudden regeneration quickly stops, it becomes clear the situation on the ship is an elaborate ruse by the Doctor, Nardole, and the soldiers of the resistance to make certain Bill is free of the Monks influence. In order to learn more about the Monks though, the Doctor and Bill must return to the university to seek help from a certain Time Lady who knows a thing or two about how the Monks manage to subjugate entire worlds.

Michelle Gomez returns in The Lie of the Land as Missy, the female incarnation of the Doctor’s arc nemesis; The Master. This episode finally takes us inside the Vault where Missy has been incarcerated. It would appear Missy is going “cold turkey” from evil, but she still delights in revealing that to break the Monks psychic grip on the world they must find whoever opened the door for the Monks and kill them, which obviously isn’t good news for Bill! Just as in Extremis, Michelle Gomez turns in a slightly subdued performance that completely wrong foots our expectations about Missy. Her appearances bring added gravatis to the episode, together with a moving insight that once again shows her character in a somewhat different light, but has the Queen of Evil really changed her ways or is Missy simply playing her wickedly evocative brand of villainy to a different tune?

Having played the Monk in the first two parts of this trilogy, Extremis and The Pyramid at the End of the World, Jamie Hill (The Foretold in 2014’s Mummy on the Orient Express and a Silence in series six) is back, this time as the Giant Monk for The Lie of the Land. After being given pure consent to take over the world by Bill in the previous episode – to save the Doctor and restore his sight – these cadaverous looking red-robed Monks have shaped the world to suit their own twisted Orwellian designs. Now they are part of the very fabric of humanities development, they’ve guided our history, the technological advances, and even protected us from alien invaders. Although the Monks don’t actually say or do that much in The Lie of the Land, we do see more of their energy powers as they defend the interior of their main pyramid, where the Giant Monk sits overseeing a giant central broadcasting chamber that maintains the psychic mass-delusion.

Along with the terrific performances from Peter Capaldi, Pearl, Mackie, Matt Lucas, and Michelle Gomez, The Lie of the Land also features a great supporting cast, featuring Solomon Israel (Richard Curnew), Stewart Right (Alan), Beatrice Curnew (Group Commander), Emma Handy (Mother), Athena Droutis (Girl), Amanda Mealing (Connie), and Tony Marshall (Noel).

The Lie of the Land has distinct echoes of The Last of the Time Lords (2007) and Turn Left (2008) about it, both were episode which also depicted the Doctor’s companions (Martha and Donna respectively) taking a more central role in a another stark dystopia version of the world. The Doctor’s opening monologue about the Monks exploits in The Lie of The Land include glimpses of a Dalek from Into The Dalek (2014), a Cybermen in Nightmare In Silver (2013), and a Weeping Angel from Blink (2007), later we see scenes from the Pilot, and in the Monks cathedral we see other still images displayed from the current tenth series. The brand Magpie Electricals – originally introduced in 2006’s The Idiod Lantern – is also quite prominent in this episode. Missy plays some of Erik Satie’s Gnossienne No 1 on the piano and later some of Scot Joplin’s The Entertainer. Perhaps most notably, aside from a brief glimpse when Bill mentally battles against the Monks in the cathedral, the TARDIS doesn’t feature at all in The Lie of the Land, not something that often happens in modern Doctor Who – 2008’s Midnight is another fine example of a TARDIS-less episode from the programmes current era.

The episode builds to a rousing finale as the Doctor, Bill, Nardole, and the rebel commandos fight their way into the central chamber of the Monks main pyramid, where the Giant Monk resides over the psychic broadcast controlling the population via the signals emanating from the giant statues the Monks have strategically built around the world. When the Doctor’s attempt to link his mind to the Monks systems and override their control fails, Bill steps in, despite his protests, and prepares to sacrifice herself by taking his place to mind-link with the Monks. Bill’s memories of her mother being overriding the Monks broadcast, and it is this loving memory that ultimately awakens humanities hope and causes them to rise up against the Monks control. Defeated, the Monks abandon Earth, later the Doctor and Bill discovers everyone has forgotten about the Monks, and back in the Vault it would seem Missy is finally beginning to feel genuine remorse for all the people that she’s killed…

As well as providing us with a great new monster, The Monk trilogy has brought an intriguing change of pace to series ten, and skilfully dispelled any kind of mid-season lull. The leads all give exceptionally powerful central performances that make The Lie of the Land extremely compelling viewing at times. A great set up during the first half of the episode skilfully builds the tension and the plot gradually draws us into the heart of the Monks grand designs. Although the conclusion does fall back on some rather familiar tropes, it nevertheless provides a satisfying resolution to the trilogy overall. Toby Whitehouse’s intricately crafted script, together with the strong direction from Wayne Yip, ensures The Lie of the Land presents an extremely challenging adventure for the Doctor and his companions, and an exceptional finale to this thrilling mid-season trilogy.

Here’s the Next Time trailer for The Empress of Mars

Been looking forward to the return of the Ice Warriors!

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