Doctor Who (TV Series) The Seeds of Death: Episode Four (1969) User Reviews

A rather top notch episode.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 25 October 2015]

The Ice Warriors have sent a pod to Earth, it's received in the control centre, and killed Brent, by turning the air poisonous. The warriors T mat more pods across Earth's cities, On the moonbase Jamie and Phipps aim to reach the control room to turn up the heating. On Earth the pods grow and spread, causing death by starving oxygen. An Ice Warrior invades the control room on Earth, resisting attack it makes for the Control Centre. Back on the Moon base Zoe manages to turn the heating up full, but an Ice Warrior moves in prepared to kill her.

Part 4 has been the best episode so far, way more going on, the story has developed really well, and the plan of The Ice warriors is beginning to develop. It's a truly credible, really exciting plot, I love the images of the pods and foam. The scene of the Ice Warrior walking through the foam is brilliant, and as a threat they are back on form, they'd been a bit silly in the earlier episodes, they're ruthless once again.

Well acted, I particularly liked Christopher Coll's performance as Phipps.

The best episode of the serial so far. 8/10

The Seeds of Success, needed a little more watering for a perfect result but still a fruitful attempt.

[A_Kind_Of_CineMagic · 8/10 · 30 April 2014]

This story (written by Brian Hayles and an uncredited Terrance Dicks) has aspects which are very strong but aspects which are a slight letdown. It is decent, solid entertainment without reaching the brilliance of the Doctor's best adventures.

Episode 1 is an excellent set up episode, a very promising start with a good script and some intelligent and well characterised parts such as the ageing and rather wise Earth scientist Eldred and officers Radnor and Kelly which are very well acted and thoughtfully written throughout the story. The good characters and strong dialogue are given centre stage in the opening episode.

The plot revolves around the T-Mat transport system controlled from the Moon and used by a future Earth as an instant way of transmitting people and goods between places. When it breaks down it is proved they put all their eggs in one basket (as the Doctor points out) and instantly food shortages and huge issues arise. The Ice Warriors attack the T-Mat control base and use it to launch an attack on Earth. The Doctor steps in to battle them of course.

The whole story features Troughton delivering his usual high quality and the villain Slaar, leader of the Ice Warrior attack on the Moon who is excellent and up to the sort of standard of the Ice Warriors in their brilliant debut story. Hines and Padbury as the companions are good throughout the story and acting of the other major guest characters is good. Some of the direction and effects are very impressive for its day while other aspects are a slight letdown.

The rocket journey in episode 2 which is not well done is the first letdown and would have been better not to include at all. That causes episode 2 to drop a bit, the rest of the episode before the rocket trip is pretty solid. Episode 3 is very good. It moves along well developing the story strongly and the villain Slaar with his hissing voice is particularly good in this episode.

Episode 4 is solid but not excellent, the absence of Troughton in that episode hurts it a tiny bit. Episode 5 is a bit weak due to having more scenes involving the seeds and the fungus. The idea of the seeds themselves is not brilliant as it is clearly an inflating balloon but it is to some extent a forgivable limitation of the age and budget. The fungus is another unimpressive idea involving some fun but slightly silly scenes in episode 5 flailing about in soap suds. These scenes mean that Episode 5 is the low-point of the story.

The villain Slaar is great but his fellow Ice Warriors, particularly in episode 5, are far less well realised with their cumbersome movement and lack of character. They are a rather pale shadow of those featured in the Ice Warriors debut story.

Episode 6 is a very enjoyable and solid conclusion but if the strength of Episodes 1 (especially), 3 and 6 had been matched by cutting the rocket journey out of part 2 and less reliance on unimpressive effects, particularly in episode 5, it could have been a really strong Doctor Who story instead of just a solid Doctor Who story which is what it is.

My Ratings: Episode 1 - 9.5/10, Episode 2 - 7.5/10, Episode 3 - 9/10, Episode 4 - 8/10, Episode 5 - 7/10, Episode 6 - 8.5/10

Yet more of the same.

[poolandrews · 5/10 · 6 March 2008]

Doctor Who: The Seeds of Death: Episode Four starts as Grand Marshal Slaar (Alan Bennion) orders his seed pods T-Matted down to various cities on Earth, once there they expand, explode & release some sort of gas which soon causes an alien fungus to start growing all over the world at an alarming rate. Back in the Moonbase & Slaar orders Fewsham (Terry Scully) to T-Mat the Doctor (Patrick Troughton) into space & kill him, luckily Jamie (Frazer Hines) & Phipps (Christopher Coll) manage to rescue him from the T-Mat cubicle before this happens. Realising the Ice Warriors can't stand heat the remaining small group of survivors devise a plan to turn up the heating in the Moonbase, the only problem is that the controls are in the main control room which is guarded by Ice Warriors at all times...

Episode 26 from season 26 this Doctor Who adventure originally aired here in the UK during February 1969, directed by Michael Ferguson not that much has actually happened over it's four episodes so far. The script by Brian Hayles was rewritten by Terrance Dicks & as far as I can make out over four twenty five minute episodes the Ice Warriors have taken over the Moonbase, sent some pods to Earth using T-Mat & that's quite literally it! Sure there's plenty of padding here like the same dreary exposition which keeps getting repeated, the sabotage attempt by Osgood in Episode One to slow things down & the drawn out way the Doctor travelled to the Moon all of which just feels like filler. More credibility draining plot holes occur here, firstly why does Slaar insist on killing the Doctor by T-Matting him into outer space? Everyone else killed by him have been shot by ray guns, also Fewsham states that he needs to rewire the T-Mat system to do that which would at best surely delay & at worst jeopardise their plans which I would have thought were more important. Why didn't he just shoot the Doctor, the T-Mat was working perfectly so why risk it by having it all rewired again? Also why didn't Fewsham just rewire the T-Mat & lie so when an Ice Warrior is sent to Earth it's that which ends up floating in space! Slaar could never have found out & he would have single handedly saved Earth. I also find it highly improbable that a green seven foot tall slow moving Ice Warrior alien could lose an entire security division & just disappear in the middle of London! I guess I'm just thinking about it too much but the plot holes & the highly improbable things which happening left right & center are really starting to stack up.

During the filming of this episode Patrick Troughton was on holiday so he doesn't appear in it at all. There's a bizarre scene when the Ice Warrior is T-Matted to London & once there it does this odd little shuffle turning from side to side for no apparent reason, it looks really odd & unintentionally funny. The shots of the Ice Warrior walking in the park are quite nice as the camera looks up at it & only it's silhouette is visible against the bright sun in the background. The fungus stuff looks like washing up liquid bubbles & as such not entirely threatening.

The Seeds of Death: Episode Four is pretty much almost exactly the same as the previous three, Slaar orders Fewsham around a lot while a small group of survivors try to stop him & his Ice Warriors & that's more or less about it. The glaring plot holes don't help either.