Doctor Who: "Cold War" Review

Some fans are likely going to be disappointed that this episode doesn't keep building on this half-season's overarching questions (Who or what is Clara? Doctor Who?), but as the title suggests, this one is all about the Ice Warrior, and on that score it doesn't disappoint. Classic series fans will be pleased by the redesign, which is both faithful to the original costumes from the 60's and 70's but manages to improve upon them significantly. (I admit to a moment of confusion upon first seeing it and finding out the character was a Grand Marshal - the original series established them as having a smaller body design and bullet-shaped helmets which, apparently, they like to Bedazzle. But this Marshall dates from the same era in Ice Warrior history as the ones released from the ice for the first time way back in 1967, so the production team is doing its homework. No more Silurians looking like Jem'hadar or Sontarans in day-glo blue this time around, thank goodness.) And while we don't get to see the Ice Warrior totally naked (and yes, this is a fantasy that many of us have had for a long time, so don't judge), we do get to see and learn more about the Martians than we ever did in the original series. Gatiss is tapping into his knowledge of the Warriors' appearances in the BBC books and in the Big Finish audios for most of it, giving them a far stronger back story than they've had in any previous stories, including the two Peladon stories from the 70's. And while I've already heard a lot of grumbling about the CGI used for the unveiling of the Marshal's face, let's be honest here: would we really want a practical prosthetic after we've seen the Slitheen? I prefer the range the CGI gives the production team, allowing Skaldak a lot more emotional expression than we should ever expect from a seven-foot tall alien lizard. The story also gives us a different take on the Doctor-Clara dynamic. Unlike last week's episode, which was far too top-heavy in its presentation of Clara's past and her significance in the whole of space-time, this one actually has room for a plot, and it manages not to set aside character development to get it. It's a sure sign that even the Doctor is scared when he doesn't notice how freaked out his new companion is at seeing gory, violent death for the first time (in a scene which, by the standards of the new series, is surprisingly graphic for showing just one arm), and Matt Smith brilliantly communicates the distractedness of a Time Lord who's all too aware of the stakes involved should he fail. While Smith gets some Doctor-ish moments and decent one-liners, he's also given a chance to turn in a far less manic performance for once - his reaction upon finding out who Skaldak is is chilling on its own. But he does rather ignore poor Clara, who's just seen two eviscerated bodies and is, for the first time, realizing just how "real" her situation is. In a sense, it's most akin to Rose's freak-out in The End of the World or Peri's realization that damn, I may be about to die way back in The Caves of Androzani, a reaction we haven't seen from a new companion in a while. And Eleven doesn't even notice - understandably so, but still! Enter David Warner's Professor Grisenko, who's got to be the most eccentric Russian outside of a Chekhov play (Anton Chekhov, not Pavel). Unlike the other Russians aboard the sub, he's warm and friendly, and he listens to Ultravox and Duran Duran on his Walkman. (Ah, 1983, how we miss ye.) Warner is a perfect stand-in for the Doctor here, having played an alternate version of the Third Doctor in Big Finish's Doctor Who Unbound series, and seeing him here makes us wonder how much different the show would've been had Russell T. Davies decided to cast an older actor in the part of the Ninth Doctor. He and Jenna-Louise Coleman (who is quickly becoming one of my favorite companions) have remarkable chemistry, and rather than slowing the story down, their scenes together make it even better. The only real disappointments in Cold War are that we have such a stellar cast with relatively little to do (apart from Warner) and the threats in the script are all delivered in shorthand. Game of Thrones' Liam Cunningham and Rome's Tobias Menzies, as the Captain and first officer, respectively, should really have had more screen time, and the dynamic of the Captain's more cautious approach to the looming conflict with the West as opposed to his Number One's more hawkish attitude should have been more fully explored. But one of the curses and blessings of modern Who is that it goes by really fast, and making this one into a two-parter to explore those themes would've been just a tad too much. Otherwise, this is Gatiss' strongest script to date, and any story that can make me squee with joy over the reintroduction of something as minor as the Hostile Action Displacement System (HADS) is worth a solid four stars to me.