Although I spent the first few episodes of this series waiting for the Ice Warriors to show up, it turns out this is not a follow-up to Seeds of Death but rather a new plot. That said, we do open with some sort of pod discovered in the ice of Antarctica, which infects one of the scientists who discovered it. Instead of an alien race of monsters, this is an alien plant which transforms the host, and grows rapidly. The plot of this series mixes the feeling of 1970's light horror, with the talky apocalypse of Quatermass to make for an enjoyable and surprisingly well paced serial.
I say surprising because I noticed this was a 6-parter, and assumed it would be padded out to that. Instead it does have a good flow to it, making good use of the passage of time and changes to location. So, the first few episodes play out as a sort of The Thing, then we switch back to England for the next level of the plot, then the final few episodes see the Krynoid as the main threat. This sense of gradual development across the six episodes works well, while also allowing each section to deliver rather than fill time. The design of the plant monster is pretty good, and it the narrative uses it as well as it uses the human villains, whether it be Chase or Scorby. The cast play to this well; Baker feels a bit too much like Quatermass compared to some previous serials, however he is still good, while Sladen is too. Beckley, Challis, Gilbert and others are all good in support, although none of the usual UNIT faces show up.
An enjoyable and strong finish to a generally good season.
I say surprising because I noticed this was a 6-parter, and assumed it would be padded out to that. Instead it does have a good flow to it, making good use of the passage of time and changes to location. So, the first few episodes play out as a sort of The Thing, then we switch back to England for the next level of the plot, then the final few episodes see the Krynoid as the main threat. This sense of gradual development across the six episodes works well, while also allowing each section to deliver rather than fill time. The design of the plant monster is pretty good, and it the narrative uses it as well as it uses the human villains, whether it be Chase or Scorby. The cast play to this well; Baker feels a bit too much like Quatermass compared to some previous serials, however he is still good, while Sladen is too. Beckley, Challis, Gilbert and others are all good in support, although none of the usual UNIT faces show up.
An enjoyable and strong finish to a generally good season.