The Ambassadors of Death review

Season 7@50 Often viewed as the least successful of this atypical season, the fact that  `The Ambassadors of Death` was ever made at all is remarkable given the behind the scenes politics. That it turns out to be as coherent as it is when it was written by four people is equally surprising. Trevor Ray is a bit of a mystery character but David Whitaker, Malcolm Hulke and Terrance Dicks are such different types of script writers, it is tempting to speculate which aspects of the story they each penned. You can possibly best see Hulke’s work in the themes. There is a moral clash, a cultural misunderstanding at the heart of what is happening and we are given both sides of the argument so we can see what drives the antagonist. Whitaker is supposed to have supplied the overall concept and it may be his intricately detailed technical script that dominates the first third. As for Dicks it is likely he introduced more peril- I may be wrong but surely the whole Liz escaping and nearly falling into the water is his? I bet he spiced up the drier aspects of the story with some runarounds. We’ll probably never know but the end result is that the script appears to be the work of one writer. It may lack some pace at times, though some events are unbelievably truncated (how long does it take to prepare a rocket?) but it is never found to be wanting in interest. 

Whoever wrote which bit, it would appear all three writers took their cues from the burgeoning thriller genre. The cast is full of untrustworthy types whether distinguished scientists like Taltalian or brutish career criminals like Reegan; from the top to the bottom the criminal fraternity is out in force. It’s their motives that are different. Reegan for example is so hard he doesn’t care whether the astronauts are really aliens or not, he just wants to rob banks. Taltalian and Lennox are both very clever but weak willed thus easily manipulated. General Carrington says he is simply doing his “moral duty”, a phrase he repeats several times in the latter episodes and finally in defeat to justify what is something more of a personal grudge against the aliens.

As it turns out the co-written narrative is particularly to the detriment of Carrington whose ability to remain undetected by all-comers yet known to the viewer then `revealed` as late as part 6 seems a bit messy to say the least. His continual talk of “moral duty” making him act as he does is undercut when it proves to be down more to trauma following his own encounter with the aliens on a previous mission. The story is so determined to hide Carrington as the antagonist that this side of the story is given a lot less time than that of Reegan and co which means Carrington tends to come across as more of an afterthought. There’s also the ill fitting narrative of Taltalian which seems to vary from episode to episode and the endless re-writes probably also explain why the story just seems to end with the Doctor wandering off.

There are also some things though which contradict the attempts to give an accurate portrayal of space travel notably how the capsule lands neatly on a road when even in 1970 viewers would know they need to land in the sea. There are characters whose knowledge knows no bounds, especially Reegan who manages to sabotage the energy supply to the rocket with a plastic tube and a handy map.  On a smaller note the main set is one of those multi layered ones beloved of early Seventies Doctor Who but for which there is no practical reason other than it looks cooler.

Despite all this the story does strive for a sort of authenticity which, while it would no doubt fail to pass muster with real experts, seems detailed enough for the average viewer. Indeed some people reckon this story is too slow but I would say it is precise, the early and closing episodes linked by a fictional tv presenter, a method Barry Letts stories would employ again. It holds back most of its reveals (except that of Carrington) till the right moment and in between attempts to convince through clever deployment of facts in a fantastical situation. The sense of atmosphere is carried thorough in other subtle ways too. The calm in the space centre centred around Ronald Allen’s professional sounding Ralph Cornish can make us believe anything. We trust him so much that he can utter what is probably technical baloney and we believe it and in a story like this that is important. The criminals too have an air that makes them convincing.

The regulars’ part in all this is interesting. Liz Shaw is mostly sidelined in what is a very male story. The only other women we see are dull voiced assistants at space control whose job is to read stats and make status reports. Talented as Caroline John is you can see why Liz didn’t really work too well; she is too similar to the Doctor, too intelligent. It is becoming clear that Liz is best used in a more conventional companion role and you can see why they replced the character with Jo. Caroline John does her best but it’s the character of Liz which is th eporbelmsThe character who really benefits from the scenario is the Brigadier. He is a real three dimensional person here and gets to act sensibly and often successfully. His rapport with the Doctor is easy, casual and co-operative (despite what happened at the end of `The Silurians`). It is possibly Nick Courtney’s best overall performance in the show. Meanwhile there are early signs of the man of action the Third Doctor would soon become after two stories where his activity has largely been confined to laboratory work or heated discussions. Here he is more active to the point of going up in space himself as well as some outdoor stuff involving Bessie and the temporarily stolen capsule. Elsewhere there are strong performances from William Dysart as the slippery Reegan and John Abineri as Carrington.

Of course, from this distance we recall many old stories from their best known moments and `Ambassadors` has plenty of impressive ones. The action set pieces are peerlessly shot with director Michael Ferguson adding a feature film grit to each. The factory shoot out and hijacking of the capsule are pinpoint sharp and full blooded as Ferguson’s cameras- often hand held- duck and dive with the action, zooming and sweeping about to give an impression of mayhem. The Havoc stunt team do a fantastic job too. These action sequences are full on; the warehouse raid evokes classic Westerns with its ricochet shots and the Brig standing forefront firing in every direction like some sort of gunslinger. The theft of the capsule is even bolder calling on resources like a helicopter and enormous truck that would be beyond the programme’s budget just a few years on. The stunts are great too though as the camera tends to favour close ups we see the same people getting shot or thrown several times. In the warehouse Terry Walsh comes close to fighting himself he pops up as so many characters! This panache stretches to a variety of cliffhangers including the dramatic likes of Liz dangling in a canal or the Doctor trapped by an alien in the minister’s office

The story’s freshly directed location scenes mean it has hardly dated in style. These sequences utilise hand held cameras and filmic shots so we’re right there when UNIT storm the warehouse or when Reegan is hurtling around the space centre exterior.

 Completely different in mood is the way the aliens are presented. The iconic space suit look and steady walk is accompanied not by some spooky clanging as you’d expect but by a haunting few bars that might accompany footage of something pretty. In a similar way the capsules dock to the strains of the music on which `A Whiter Shade of Pale` was based (I think?). The incidental music is exemplary throughout, introducing a sort of late 60s cool vibe to proceedings.

The shots of the spacesuit clad ambassadors marching convey an alien quality and there’s the well known shot of one of them framed against the setting Sun. There are excellent sound effects which include a bizarre buzzing noise whenever the aliens are about and the fantastic orange flash when they touch anything. Perhaps the best moment is when Liz is trapped in the room when one of the aliens removes its helmet. The whole thing is done in a series of sharp flashes with the camera simultaneously pulling in. The design of their face is, according to my notes, `melting blue cheese` though freeze frame it and you’ll see its actually just some sort of blue tissue paper and a wig! By this time spacesuits were familiar to viewers so presenting them as potentially threatening was just as effective as the oft mentioned Yeti in Toooting Bec. When we do the aliens on their own ship it is behind what look like window blinds and distortion effects.

The story’s visual aesthetic is often hard as nails full of vehicles, metal walkways and the shiny space centre consoles. There are times when it hardly seems like Doctor Who at all but some 9pm series about special investigators. Packed with dodgy, untrustworthy characters and a series of betrayals it’s a tough tale. Classic film The Day The Earth Stood Still has been suggested as the inspiration for this story and it does have similarities though isn’t as nimble in suggesting the prejudice and assumptions which might lead to people thinking the aliens were invading. What it does achieve though is in showing how the human characters are more duplicitous than the alien ones. I’d say that the story is probably an episode too long and needed some tidying up but I don’t agree with some who say that this more adult orientated approach is out of place in Doctor Who. The story revels in small details and getting things at least looking right. It is ultimately this provenance that sells `Ambassadors of Death`, a story so confident in its delivery that its flaws melt away.