An expedition to Antarctica discovers something frozen in the ice from prehistoric times: it’s the Doctor!
1 Comment
Styre
on May 8, 2016 at 12:57 AM
FROZEN TIME
I don’t have a problem with traditional Doctor Who stories, and I often enjoy them, but there’s always a slight sense of disappointment mixed with my enjoyment. I know not every story can be a boundary-pushing experiment, and I also know that I have the new series as a source of constant, brilliant surprises, but stories like Nicholas Briggs’ “Frozen Time” nonetheless leave me wanting.
I suppose I should start with the fact that the Ice Warriors bore the hell out of me. There’s really nothing interesting about them — they’re a group of Martian reptiles who hate the heat and who have a thinly-sketched honor code — and their introductory story was the most run-of-the-mill “base under siege” story of them all. They haven’t even been interesting in the spinoffs, not in the NAs “Legacy” or “GodEngine” or in the previous BF “Red Dawn” — and yet they persist as Doctor Who’s most inexplicably popular recurring bad guy. The play tries to deceive the listener into thinking the entombed Ice Warriors are going to be Silurians, but the green scales on the cover, the title “Frozen Time,” and a character named Arakssor in the cast list voiced by Briggs should make it obvious what’s going to happen.
And that’s the thing: “Frozen Time” is neither interesting nor surprising. The frozen Ice Warriors are evil, naturally, the Doctor regains his lost memory at just the appropriate times, and the good guys triumph at the last minute, just as all hope appears to be lost. The conflicted human character, Barset (Anthony Calf), is just in it for the money but starts to reconsider his position when he witnesses the consequences. The female (of course) scientist becomes de facto companion for the story. Even the Antarctic setting only plays a role for a few minutes near the end: the vast majority of the story takes place inside, where the climate isn’t really a factor. The word “traditional” is barely enough to describe this play.
The acting and production, fortunately, are first-rate. Sylvester McCoy turns in yet another strong performance as the seventh Doctor: we’ve seen various Doctors lose their memories across various media, but McCoy makes it seem fresh. He’s also surprisingly funny — usually the stories where he travels alone have a mournful tone, but “Frozen Time” is more playful. Former Bond girl Maryam d’Abo is competent if unmemorable, though the end of the play is odd, perhaps suggesting that the Doctor and Genevieve adventured together. Barset may have been an obvious character, but Calf made him surprisingly sympathetic in the face of his mistakes. Some have said Briggs didn’t sound much like an Ice Warrior, but I liked his low growling — they’re not Cybermen, they don’t have to sound that much alike.
I enjoyed Steve Foxon’s sound design, as he easily recaptured the Ice Warrior effects from their previous stories and provided a believable Antarctic landscape. The music is a fine combination of epic and quiet, serving both the action sequences and stepping back for the outdoor scenes. Barnaby Edwards continues to impress as director, assembling a fine cast and producing a play with a strong confidence about it.
Overall, though, I just don’t have much to say about “Frozen Time.” It’s very well made, and entertaining enough in its way, but absolutely nothing about it distinguishes it. Very solid, very, very traditional Doctor Who.
FROZEN TIME
I don’t have a problem with traditional Doctor Who stories, and I often enjoy them, but there’s always a slight sense of disappointment mixed with my enjoyment. I know not every story can be a boundary-pushing experiment, and I also know that I have the new series as a source of constant, brilliant surprises, but stories like Nicholas Briggs’ “Frozen Time” nonetheless leave me wanting.
I suppose I should start with the fact that the Ice Warriors bore the hell out of me. There’s really nothing interesting about them — they’re a group of Martian reptiles who hate the heat and who have a thinly-sketched honor code — and their introductory story was the most run-of-the-mill “base under siege” story of them all. They haven’t even been interesting in the spinoffs, not in the NAs “Legacy” or “GodEngine” or in the previous BF “Red Dawn” — and yet they persist as Doctor Who’s most inexplicably popular recurring bad guy. The play tries to deceive the listener into thinking the entombed Ice Warriors are going to be Silurians, but the green scales on the cover, the title “Frozen Time,” and a character named Arakssor in the cast list voiced by Briggs should make it obvious what’s going to happen.
And that’s the thing: “Frozen Time” is neither interesting nor surprising. The frozen Ice Warriors are evil, naturally, the Doctor regains his lost memory at just the appropriate times, and the good guys triumph at the last minute, just as all hope appears to be lost. The conflicted human character, Barset (Anthony Calf), is just in it for the money but starts to reconsider his position when he witnesses the consequences. The female (of course) scientist becomes de facto companion for the story. Even the Antarctic setting only plays a role for a few minutes near the end: the vast majority of the story takes place inside, where the climate isn’t really a factor. The word “traditional” is barely enough to describe this play.
The acting and production, fortunately, are first-rate. Sylvester McCoy turns in yet another strong performance as the seventh Doctor: we’ve seen various Doctors lose their memories across various media, but McCoy makes it seem fresh. He’s also surprisingly funny — usually the stories where he travels alone have a mournful tone, but “Frozen Time” is more playful. Former Bond girl Maryam d’Abo is competent if unmemorable, though the end of the play is odd, perhaps suggesting that the Doctor and Genevieve adventured together. Barset may have been an obvious character, but Calf made him surprisingly sympathetic in the face of his mistakes. Some have said Briggs didn’t sound much like an Ice Warrior, but I liked his low growling — they’re not Cybermen, they don’t have to sound that much alike.
I enjoyed Steve Foxon’s sound design, as he easily recaptured the Ice Warrior effects from their previous stories and provided a believable Antarctic landscape. The music is a fine combination of epic and quiet, serving both the action sequences and stepping back for the outdoor scenes. Barnaby Edwards continues to impress as director, assembling a fine cast and producing a play with a strong confidence about it.
Overall, though, I just don’t have much to say about “Frozen Time.” It’s very well made, and entertaining enough in its way, but absolutely nothing about it distinguishes it. Very solid, very, very traditional Doctor Who.
6/10