REACTION: The Ambassadors of Death Episode 2 || S7E13 

The sting makes the cliffhangers. 70s and 80s cliffhangers when done right are so damn good. Without the sting, they just don't have the same weight to them. All we need now are the titles of the story shown on screen during the opening (like Spearhead but no weird zoom in) and it will feel like we're all the way there. Soon.

The best description I've heard for Pertwee's Doctor is "He's an anti-authoritarian authority figure."

1:33 _"Look at the barnet on that woman! Looks like Jon Pertwee"_ - Ambassadors of Death was the first Pertwee story John Nathan Turner worked on (he was a lowly floor assistant at the time), and he remembered Pertwee having periodic "Coiffeur's Tea Breaks" in which he'd get his bouffant hair washed and styled. These were in addition to the standard tea breaks, which Pertwee was unwilling to forgo.

I love the cliffhanger to this episode - it has a sense both of urgency and looming dread that really helps to sell it, and Pertwee's authority and decisiveness are also key reasons why it works so well. His Doctor is definitely much more of an authority figure than Troughton was, a more dandyish and physically vigorous version of Hartnell, in a way. The fight scene is also superbly done. Director Michael Ferguson admitted subsequently that he overspent on this sequence, but it was worth the money!

Bloody love this cliffhanger!

I'm still not used to seeing this in a rougher black and white version with the old UK Gold logo in the corner, they've done such a good job restoring this .

I've never thought of this as a weak story, although I first watched it in black and white, which made it look more sinister

The Sud Aviation Alouette II helicopter G-AWFL in this episode later relocated to the Republic of Ireland. In 1973 it was hijacked an used in an IRA jail break.

I do believe 'Right ,cut it open !' Has become a low to medium level Classic Who catchphrase! I remember my Dad going 'oh that was good !'

I said it in part one. This is actually one of my favorite stories. Very underrated. Very of its time and trying to do new things. I'd say it is one of my favorite seasons. While others may have my favorite stories, if I rank all the stories in this season the average score is high. I don't dislike any story in this.

Re reprise vs cliffhanger It was fairly common practice to include the last scene of the previous episode as part of a new episodes recording and, as someone mentioned below, an episode was recorded weekly so when episode 2 was recorded the the reprise bit was shot differently. As editing became less complicated it was less of a necessity but you’ll notice, as your marathon continues, occasional variations in cliffhanger reprises carry on all through the classic era right up to the present day.

This first Pertwee season was experimental, so they used different styles for the credits of each story. They settle soon.

This was 1 of the few 70s stories I had not seen 1 SINGLE BIT of before I got on dvd...I knew very little of this story and only a few stills🎩

Missed your reaction of the doctor stealing the capsule back lol

You mention the ‘decent budget’ for the capsule capture attempt. Barry Letts was new in harness as producer and was suddenly confronted by a very large bill for this setpiece, which director Michael Ferguson in his enthusiasm had conflated from the original scene, written by Terrance “we’ll cover it with a line” Dicks to be cheap! When Terrance asked Michael how a simple diversion sign and the flatbed driver coshed by one or two heavies turned into this extravaganza, he replied “Well Terrance, you were doing your job; and I was doing mine” - namely to get as much value on screen as possible. Alas, there is a sad side to this. A motorbike careering out of control hit one of the production assistants and she was physically hurt and in shock, which HAVOC leader Derek Ware was very upset about because stunt artists are there to take but also mitigate risks rather than actors and crew being put in danger. It put a damper on the day; although it still stands out as an ambitious sequence.

Yeah, very different role for Ronald Allen. And yes, now onwards this ep has somewhat dubious colour. 8:45 I believe this is the last season to recorded episode by episode. Next season to goes to doing two episodes every two weeks. It's noticeable in some stories how the locations match the recording blocks.

The news reporter is Davros

What, no comment on Jon Pertwee's brilliant comic performance as a doddering old man who tricks the hijackers? And the force field on Bessie? To me, that's the perfect punctuation mark on a great action sequence. I always think "god awful" whenever I see the "G-AWFL" call sign on the helicopter! Not a comment on the episode, though. In regards to your question, Doctor Who was shot with the "rehearse-record" method, which means they rehearsed for an entire week and then shot the episode on the weekend, generally in one evening. Retakes were almost unheard of, mostly because they would need to edit the tape, which made it unusable for anything else thereafter, but also because of simply time. Low budget meant working very fast. Initially, they didn't shoot much location film, but slowly over time, more and more filming crept in, reaching something of a peak during this era. (Note: they shot on film when on location or in special circumstances in the studio when water, fire, or foam was involved, mainly because of the bulky cameras being too large to carry outdoors, or because all the cable running across the floor would create an electrocution hazard when involving water or foam. Fire meant that they needed a special studio setup with fire extinguishers.) Filming with a single-camera setup would have allowed a lot more flexibility, but they still had to shoot very quickly, and I doubt they would have had more than a take or two with each shot. In fact, you can kind of tell with the Fury from the Deep film trims that they never went past take 2, usually using take 2 each time. And they certainly never had a chance to develop the rushes and then change their performances and reshoot. Everyone was really on their toes all the time, rushing onto the next project.

This is my favourite of the season. Whittaker’s more fantastical and mysterious take on the show is such a strange but kinda perfect fit for Hulke’s masterful conspiracy plotting. There’s less of an obvious memorable hook ala Silurians, shop window dummies, or *redacted*, and it feels like that might be why this one isn’t as well remembered. But if we’ve got to have 7 parts, then this kind of constantly unfurling mystery is the best use of the format.

This story absolutely does not deserve its reputation as the weakest of season 7. It’s a wonderfully tense serial with solid performances, great stunts, interesting concepts and very credible villains. Inferno is by far the most drawn out of those three 7-parters.

You cut out my favourite bit where the Doctor was using his magic trick object with the tape.

"What is the capital of Australia?" would probably result in a wrong answer from 90% of humans (at least in pre-internet days) let alone aliens. lol PS - Hello from Australia's capital. :)

The main problem with this story is that it WAS a 'drawn out slog''. Spearhead - perfect. Silurians - great though probably 1 episode too long. This one - 1-3 episodes too long. Inferno - really great but at least 1 episode too long. I was 6 when I first saw this one - who could think that 7 long weeks of this would appeal to any 6 year old?

Just paused at 1:18 to say, okay - you got me! You did spot him! 😃

It's a shame apart from this story this would have been a great season wish this one was the four parts and the spearhead from space seven parts oh well ps the yawn 🥱 that thomas gave was my thoughts on this one

In any other season this story would be a classic. It’s only weak compared to the rest of this season

I think it’s a good story, but way too long. A common problem in the season, indeed the era. But it’s better than the Silurians (it’s certainly better musically!!)