Empress of Mars
- Episode aired Jun 10, 2017
- TV-PG
- 43m
The Doctor, Bill and Nardole discover a tomb of the Queen of the Ice Warriors on Mars in 1881.The Doctor, Bill and Nardole discover a tomb of the Queen of the Ice Warriors on Mars in 1881.The Doctor, Bill and Nardole discover a tomb of the Queen of the Ice Warriors on Mars in 1881.
- Soilder
- (uncredited)
- Soldier
- (uncredited)
- Ice Warrior
- (uncredited)
- NASA Scientist
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe picture of Queen Victoria is a still of Pauline Collins in character from Tooth and Claw (2006).
- GoofsWhen The Doctor tells the Ice Warrior to halt, his arm is extended straight in front of him, but in the reverse shot it is bent at the elbow.
- Quotes
The Doctor: Do you need a hand with the dishes? We're really very good, aren't we, Bill?
Bill: Yeah.
Friday: Friday does not require help.
Bill: [stepping up] Happy to. Honestly. Though, uh, he's better at dryin'.
[the Doctor joins her, together displacing Friday from his task]
The Doctor: Yes. Don't like the soapy water; makes the fingers go all crinkly. Nice to be home, I bet. Of course, it would be better if they'd, uh, 'killed the fatted calf,' so to speak.
[Friday turns and starts walking away]
The Doctor: Rolled out the red-planet carpet. Then you're the last of your kind, aren't you, according the the Colonel.
[Friday stops, looks back]
The Doctor: So no one left to do the rolling.
Friday: I *am* the last.
[Friday looks away, but the Doctor presses on]
The Doctor: How can you be sure?
Friday: [turns to face them] There was a war. A great and terrible war. Friday saw much blood. Now all is gone. My world is dead.
The Doctor: [as Friday turns away] But-but while you were asleep, on your ship, in stasis. Maybe there *are* others.
Friday: [turns back again] Friday would... feel... the presence of others. Friday is alone.
The Doctor: [walks up to his face] Why'd you call yourself that? What's your real name? An Ice Warrior would never let these humans patronise him without a reason. You're helping the pig. For what?
Friday: Mars still has many riches.
The Doctor: [walking away, clearly sceptical] Which you are happy to share.
Friday: Why should not others benefit instead?
[Friday walks away]
Bill: Maybe he's telling the truth.
The Doctor: Maybe.
Bill: Wha', can't we give him the benefit of the doubt? I mean, just because he's a big green monster...
The Doctor: You think I'm taking sides? I'm not taking sides. The universe is too complicated, far too nuanced. Things are never quite black and white. There are individual aliens just as there are individual humans. Different languages, accents, politics. Different times, different... loyalties.
- ConnectionsReferences The Vikings (1958)
The opening is rather strange as the Doctor, Bill and Nardole gatecrash NASA mission control observing pictures from the surface of Mars which reveal the words "God Save the Queen" spelled out in rocks. The Doctor and his friends then journey back in time to Mars to try to find out how this happened.
It is the time of Queen Victoria and the Anglo-Zulu Wars and bizarrely they find a group of Victorian British soldiers are living under the surface of the planet in an atmosphere created thousands of years earlier by the Ice Warriors who, unbeknownst to the British, are stored in their thousands, dormant in suspended animation. One Ice Warrior on a reconnaissance mission had crashed on Earth and been found by the soldiers who helped repair the craft and travelled to Mars to claim its riches for the British Empire. The craft was damaged and unable to return them and their search for riches only brings them to the tomb of the Empress who awakens and threatens their destruction.
The Doctor has become stranded because the TARDIS has inexplicably failed to remain on Mars. Nardole has taken it back to where they came from but cannot return it to Mars so seeks help from Missy, having to release her and hope she helps rather than causing havoc. Meanwhile, the Doctor tries to bring a peaceful solution on Mars.
As weird an idea as Victorian soldiers on Mars sounds it is made logical by the plot and it is all great fun. It has charm and wit and feels as magical as the classic series usually did.
The Ice Warriors return properly to the show after a brief mini return in Cold War and prove what a good 'monster' they are. They are menacing and impressive, look great, make cool sounds, have a great weapon that crushes people and they have depth due to not being friendly but not being pure evil either. They have a sense of honour and are able to be allies in certain circumstances but can equally be thoroughly nasty and destructive. The updates to the Ice Warriors work brilliantly and it all is in keeping with classic versions.
We also get a lovely reference to old Ice Warrior stories as Alpha Centauri, from 3rd Doctor stories The Curse of Peladon and The Monster of Peladon, returns in a cameo with the original voice actress reviving her role aged 92!
The British soldier characters are good and well acted and Peter Capaldi and Pearl Mackie are, as always, great. Nardole is fun and Missy is a very interesting addition, flying to the rescue but with us wondering if betrayal is imminent.
The story is very enjoyable and the dialogue is high quality with humour and deeper themes of cowardice, glory seeking and colonialism/exploitation.
A great addition to the often hit and miss list of episodes written by Mark Gatiss and a great addition to the excellent Series 10.
My Rating: 9/10.
Series 10 Episode Ranking: 7th out of 14.
- A_Kind_Of_CineMagic
- Jul 5, 2019
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Filming locations
- Redcliffe Caves, Redcliffe Parade, Bristol, England, UK(Tunnels where TARDIS lands)
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime43 minutes
- Color