Empress of Mars

"Mars is part of the Empire now."

Writer: Mark Gatiss
Format: TV
Broadcast: 10th June 2017
Series: 10.09

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Bill, Nardole

Synopsis

The Doctor, Bill and Nardole pilot the TARDIS to Mars in the year 1851, after present-day NASA captures a very peculiar image from the red planet. Here, they run into an expedition of Victorians with a lone Ice Warrior as their servant. The Doctor suspects this scaly dish-washer may not be so domesticated after all, but is he just being too cynical this time?

Verdict

Empress of Mars was an excellent episode of Doctor Who! I think this may now be my second favourite story of the series so far and I was delighted to get an Ice Warrior adventure that absolutely delivered. I must admit that I was a little sceptical before watching this story after Cold War, which I thought could have been so much better, and as I wasn't the biggest fan of the Peladon tales my scepticism just increased. I absolutely loved the Ice Warriors in their battles with the Second Doctor and I feel like this story was getting to something like that sort of feel. It is no secret that the Ice Warriors are Martian natives but to finally get to see them on their home planet was wonderful. I still feel like they should have appeared in The Waters of Mars but eight years later, we finally get to see them on home soil. But incredibly, they weren't alone and were actually in the company of Victorian Redcoats! Now that really was something to behold. The pre-titles sequence in NASA was excellent and as a Welshman I could have done without the 'God save the Queen' dross, but that historical sentiment appearing on an alien planet was superb. I thought Bill was once again incredible and I can't say how much I am enjoying Pearl Mackie as the companion. She's astonishingly good and has exceeded all of my expectations in a big way. Nardole didn't appear too much in this episode which was fine but his absence and abstaining in the TARDIS provided us with a humorous dynamic. The Doctor wasn't too pleased by his takeoff. Finding an Ice Warrior on Mars as a human servant was unexpected (well, it was mentioned in the DWM preview) but I thought Friday was an excellent Ice Warrior. He had deceived the human race for his Empress and the concept of a brand new Ice Warrior was wonderful. The Ice Queen looked and sounded perfect and certainly stood up as the female equivalent of an Ice Lord. I was really impressed with her and kudos must go to Mark Gatiss for reinventing an aspect of this wonderful monster. The idea of war on Mars between the human race and the Ice Warriors didn't come as too much of a surprise and I liked how the Martians got the time to showcase their ruthless ability. Their method of killing was rather gruesome but I do question whatever happened to the curved hands of our magnificent Martians. It didn't matter too much though to be honest and I loved the moment where Bill showed togetherness between the species by holding Friday's hand. I also really liked how Iraxxa wanted to hear the opinion of Bill when in the presence of numerous men. That was quite an empowering moment. The audacity of Catchlove to proclaim Mars as part of the British Empire was one of my favourite lines this series and I thought he played the pompous character very well. Godsacre coming clean about his desertion and failed hanging was an unexpected plot element but it fitted very well into the resolution. When he killed Catchlove, preventing a war, the Empress of Mars spared him his life and informed him that he would die in the honour of battle. It all sounded very Sontaran but that was terrific. I really loved how this served as an Ice Warrior equivalent of The Tomb of the Cybermen and I also enjoyed the running gag of films that the Doctor had or hadn't seen. The ending with Missy in the TARDIS was also really intriguing and when she had her hands on the time machine, she still went and saved the Doctor. Just what is she up to? I flat out refuse to believe that she is turning good and her motive now intrigues me even more. I'm really looking forward to seeing how this series concludes with the final three episodes but for now this was brilliant! The inclusion of Alpha Centauri at the conclusion was a perfect ending and a great nod to the Ice Warriors and the show's past.

Rating: 9/10