7.9 - Cold War

I really enjoy simple base under siege stories if they are done well and this one is done well. It features the return of an adversary that dates back to the 2nd Doctor era in the Ice Warriors and it presents them in a way which is respectful and coherent with that established lore but also makes it work for modern audiences with some fresh aspects. The story is written by Mark Gatiss who loves to hark back to horror themes and try to bring scares of the past to new audiences. He succeeds in using ideas from horror greats like The Thing and Alien and marrying them in a way that works and provides scary thrills for a new family audience as well as a satisfying entertainment for established science fiction fans.

This story has an Ice Warrior brought unknowingly on board a Russian nuclear submarine during the Cold War in 1983. This setting is claustrophobic, exciting and well presented. The themes of the war and of negotiation versus aggression are thoughtful and appropriately used. The TARDIS translation idea is used well here too as is the traditional aims of the Doctor to avoid loss of life. Altogether the story is thrilling, absorbing and thought provoking.

The cast is tremendous. Movie veteran David Warner is as wonderful as he usually is and is a fantastic coup to attract as a cast member. His acting in the role of Professor Grisenko is faultless and adds huge gravitas and quality. Liam Cunningham, another superb actor who later became widely known for his role as Ser Davos in Game of Thrones, is marvelous as Captain Zhukov. Another future Game of Thrones actor Tobias menzies is also great as Lieutenant Stepashin. James Norton who would later become a brilliant star of many big TV productions such as War and Peace and Happy Valley is excellent in an early role as crew member Onegin and even a small role of a crew member Piotr is impressively played by future star of such big shows as BBC's Les Miserables, Josh O'Connor. Matt Smith and Jenna Louise Coleman play their regular roles suitably enjoyably and skillfully. The whole cast is magnificent and makes this as perfectly acted as it could be.

The story may be subtle and not as dramatic in the end as some might hope but for me the ideas and themes of avoiding conflict, the nicely intelligent script, the awesome cast and the effective thrills of a creature lurking in a submarine picking off victims then threatening nuclear annihilation make this a 10/10 adventure. One of the best of the Moffatt/Smith era.

A nice simple BUS story that's set on a submarine with a great reintroduction of the ice warriors with great performances from Matt Smith and Jenna Coleman.

Cold War has some moments when it could have been good, with a nice early plot twist and an interesting design for the Ice Warriors. However, the story has so many pointless and uninspired moments that the story isn't bad, but rather it's forgetable. The presence of David Warner is wasted here as his character is given little to do, and the plot leads to a bit of anti-climax.