Earlier in 2013 I decided that I would start watching Doctor Who from the start as much as I could; having really seen none of it prior to the Baker/McCoy era, this meant that for the vast majority that I would be watching for the first time. When I was trying to work out how to best get hold of the various episodes, I remember looking at those available from the Troughton era and seeing how many of them were missing and how few serials were actually available in a complete (or even near- complete) form and part of me thought I would just skip this and jump right into the next Doctor. I am glad I didn't do that because so far Troughton's episodes have been pretty good even if they tend to follow a similar structure – plus just before I started his era, a handful of additional episodes were found in Nigeria, some of which took this serial up to 5 out of 6.
Following the rather odd enemy of the world, this serial returns us to a structure of "enemy outside the gates" which humans on one side and monsters on the other, but it does so in a very effective way. The first thing to note is that it really feels very different from the first shots outside the Tardis. The serial opens with the aftermath of the previous episode, but then suddenly we find ourselves in a spooky house with a style and atmosphere very different from the previous serial and a sense of dread that made me think of a British ghost story from the period. This continues throughout the serial whether it be focused on the Yeti or the bigger picture of the Great Intelligence. I did not have the one remaining episode of the serial where the Yeti first appeared so this was my first sight of them and I must say I enjoyed them a great deal – large imposing beasts with real looming menace. The Great Intelligence is a good backdrop but I got less of a feel for that as it is delivered via others who act "controlled".
What really worked for me was the drama. Other "under siege" plots in this season have done a decent job but this one is really very well driven forward and delivered. The plot builds, people get killed, the humans snipe at each other under tension and fear and the Doctor mostly has his hands full. Not all of it is perfect but it has a consistent threat to it that I enjoyed. Troughton always seems to be aiming for this and I liked that he scaled his delivery back a little here from how intense and dramatic he can be and by doing so he allowed the slower, creepier atmosphere to work alongside what he does. Support is generally very good from all involved and everyone gets into the required space very well.
I'm very glad this serial was one of those recently found as so far I think it is the strongest of the Troughton serials that I've seen – and I have generally enjoyed most of them as I like him as a Doctor. Unfortunately the final serials of the season is a reminder of what happened to so much of his work, as almost none of the final two remain. Here's hoping that the sixth season was not as badly affected as the fifth.
