The Ambassadors of Death
Previous: The Silurians
The Ambassadors of Death
Wow. Never seen a Pertwee title done like THAT before. Opening credits, then teaser clip, THEN the story title.
Not to mention the OVER-DRAMATIC MUSIC!
I've also never seen a TARDIS interior like that before; it looks like an actual room! Complete with TV!
Wait now it's teleporting individual people and what?
So I don't understand how one ship is in color and the other ship is in black and white.
"What do you mean, you can't remember?"
"Don't you understand? It's all up here in my mind. The information's here but I can't REACH it!"
By the way, how is it that Jon Pertwee always got the Doctor's spiffiest outfits EVER?
"My dear fellow, I simply don't happen to HAVE a pass! ...Because I don't believe in them, that's why!" Because he's the DOCTOR, that's why!
Liz speaks French! You learn something new every day.
These guys in the warehouse are managing to take out fully-armed UNIT agents with HANDGUNS. Impressive.
"You kill me, my men kill you." The Brig > all of you.
I've been putting the UNIT stories under the Present Day tag on the Blog, but the technology in this story is making that less believable.
So apparently they've decided that Athens is a major space center in the '70s version of the '80s. Interesting choice.
That was an unusually abrupt cliffhanger: Three and Liz enter the computer room and within 5 seconds MAN WITH GUN!
The Doctor and his magic tiemfingers MAKE TAPES DISAPPEAR!
"Where is the tape?"
"Perhaps he sent it into the future."
Aaaaand, CUE INCOMING-BRIG!
When did the Doctor magically gain the ability to dematerialize objects WITH HIS FINGERS?
"Have a cup of tea?"
"Yes, thanks!"
"That's good...STANDTOATTENTIONWHENYOU'RETALKINGTOMEANDCALLME'SIR'!"
"SIR!"
"There has been another extraordinary development in the mystery of Mars Probe 7." Indeed there is. The color just went away.
For some reason, it's weirder hearing Pertwee's voice with the black and white instead of actually SEEING him in black and white.
Wow. The Brigstache looks remarkably greyer in black and white.
Color's back! I know that a handful of Pertwee episodes only exist in black and white, so I won't be surprised when they come up.
All of the driving sequences in this story are accompanied by such pretty music...
Random helicopter! And why is that one guy wearing a metal Hannibal Lector mask?
G-AWFLCOPTER!
Jesus, they've got people flying helicopters and flying of motorcycles, how'd they do all the stuntOH MY GOD THEY SHOT THE BRIG.
So it looks like thanks to car trouble with Bessie, Three missed all the action.
Color's gone again...
"Well, if you want me to get out of the way, I'm afraid you'll have to help me?" Oh my god, please tell me there is impending Time Fu...
Guess not. And apparently Bessie's anti-theft device makes people STICK TO HER. "Don't worry, it'll switch itself off. Eventually."
And the Brig is magically fine. And you know why? Because THE BRIG.
"Didn't you find two angry men stuck to my car?"
"No, just the car."
I've noticed that the bad guys in this story have a kind of jazzy James-Bond-like leitmotif. Interesting choice.
The ending credits look interesting in black and white.
Nice hat, Liz.
They keep cutting back and forth between the bodies being dumped into the quarry and the gravel going up the conveyor belt. Big claw is big.
Wow. Impressive car. It can flip its license plates AND change its company banner.
Geez, it seems like EVERYBODY in power is in on this weird plot.
"Isotopes? Well, you'd better get them over here." Whait oh no where id isotop? #yayforobscurefanfictionreferences
Huh. I'm surprised that Three is letting Liz drive Bessie on her own. Then again, she IS a companion...
Somehow I had a feeling that this was going to be resolved (for the moment) by her flipping over the railing into the water.
Ah, the opening sequence in black and white. Let's see if I can still pick out the color changes...
And I can, to an extent.
I'm only just now realizing how '70s Liz's outfit is. Or was it the '80s...
Wait, Dr. Taltalian had a GUN trained on Three a few episodes ago and now he's okay to work with? What?
"They have found her?"
"No, someone's threatening to kill her if I don't stop interfering. Well, let's get back to work, shall we?"
LIZ NOOO
So Liz tries hitchhiking away from the baddie base and JUST HAPPENS to be picked up by Taltalian. WHAT ARE THE ODDS? *rimshot*
Looks like the "kill the Doctor with an exploding briefcase" ploy didn't work either.
I don't think they've said if Taltalian was dead or not, but Three gets away from the blast with just a bandage on his cheek. Nice.
Three, please ignore the body and notice the walking radioactive spacesuit that's about to kill you.
Wow. Most conveniently-timed Brigadier EVER.
Wait...BENTON WAS THAT YOU JUST NOW?
Dr. Lenox, you might want to do something about your hair. It's kinda EVERYWHERE.
Benton! It is you! This must be your debut story.
"Hello, Brigadier. What brings you here?"
"Thought I'd see you off."
Aww, he does care...
Oh wait a sec, Benton was in The Invasion too, so this wouldn't be his debut story.
Also, Reegan is a freaking ACROBAT.
Whait oh no there id isotop!
Bored Doctor is bored. Also, will disastrous space launch be disastrous?
Yes, but only for a few minutes. Lack of music prompted me to add Corridors and Fire Escapes which worked quite well.
And now Three has, what appears to be, a giant floating space vagina about to crash into his ship.
More black and white titles!
Color's back. And looks like we're FINALLY about to see what the Ambassadors really are. Three said earlier that they sounded familiar...
Well, there's the three astronauts at last! They seem to be having the time of their lives.
So THAT'S what they look like. Kinda like Predator, but silver.
NO WAIT *THAT'S* WHAT THEY REALLY LOOK LIKE OH MY GOD THEY'RE ALMOST LIKE WALKING CORPSES.
I wonder what Reegan put on that notepad to make the guard let a bakery truck into a space command facility.
Pertwee in a bathrobe! Let's just hope we don't have to watch him taking a shower again.
Oh uh, gassed Three is gassed!
"Your Doctor friend's as dead as a doornail." Except he's not. Immune to death as the plot demands, remember?
I've said it before and I'll say it again: I really love seeing Three and Liz together. Such a shame their time together was so short.
Two cliffhangers with the Doctor facing a gun in one serial? That has to be a record.
The ambassadors' leitmotif started really annoying me quite some time ago...
Crafty Doctor with his Morse SOS signal is crafty.
And awesome escaping!Brig is awesome.
And he even gets to drive Bessie!
"What kept you?"
"I see YOU'RE alright, Doctor. Miss Shaw?"
"Just get me out of here."
So we don't actually get to see the ambassador/astronaut exchange, but we are left to assume that it happened.
Next: Inferno