The alien’s spaceship maw is not unlike that of The Doomsday Machine from Star Trek: The Original Series. One of the astronauts (Charlie!) is played by Ric Felgate who previously played an American journalist in The War Machines and the ill-fated Brent in The Seeds Of Death, victim of the first seedpod in T-Mat Earth Control. Ric’s wife was Cynthia Felgate, who was involved in the making of the much-loved preschool programme Play School. The nobbly features and head of the alien even on a monochrome tv set went straight into my 7-year-old mind in 1970 and when I saw it again on the DVD some 40-odd years later it was exactly as I remembered it. Tragically, Neville Simons, another of the actors playing the human astronauts was killed 18 years afterwards; his killer was sentenced for manslaughter. The third human astronaut was played by Steve Peters, he whose good looks minus Ice Warrior head (although wearing the costume and leaning against a tree) had caused a female driver to crash on the location shoot for The Seeds Of Death.
You can see Barry Letts’ love of CSO come to the fore in this episode. One of the things I like most about this story is the way it subverts expectations - having been encouraged to see the aliens as a threat, it is now becoming obvious that they are just pawns in a game being played by Carrington and his associates. As with The Silurians, Malcolm Hulke creates strong, believable characters. Reegan is a standout for me, as he is nakedly mercenary and amoral, with no scruples about what he does provided the price is right, and yet he feels all too human.
Lots of great moments in this episode for me. The alien face reveal is really disturbing. I remember when I first saw it in 1986 (in b/w no less) and it creeped the hell out of me! I love the way they moved the lights around his face in a circle, so the shadows move and it makes his skin seem to crawl. As much as I love the alien leader as well, every time I see him, I can't resist saying, "return our ambassadors, or I shall conduct more invisible symphonies with my oven mitts!"
That is correct. They usually used a blue screen (and sometimes a yellow one). That is why the UNIT berets could not be blue. Paul Bernard always used a yellow background for CSO shots.
That was a good sting...Not the teaser with the spaceship. I'm talking about the cat...You couldn't have timed it more perfectly. The Ambassador of Cats.😆😆
This one -- like the superior Silurians & Inferno - needed to be 1 episode shorter. Leaving us 4 episodes (in the 26 episode series it should have been) for a series finale where we could've had a proper farewell to Liz.
I think the being is trying to make itself look like Liz to establish a bond , its hair is a bit in a Bob style, like hers , love the jumpy editing too, ewaly makes it feel like a an alien encounter to freak out over. I wouldn't want all Who to be like this story but I like the minimal alien sights we get, and the focus on the real problem....humans!
'It's my moral duty' how often is that used to justify something awful ? Reagan is a cool bad guy, similar vibe to Ralph Cornish , just ones good, ones bad, but both are proper cool dudes. Very assured. In similar view I think the actors playing the background staff in Space Control are good, they pop up all thru thr story but not big parts, have to deliver lots of dry lines , but they do it well....now and then, Who needs a control room or lab with people in white coats milling about.
