Doctor Who Opinion: Why I Love the Ice Warriors
By James Aggas
Whether in the TV series, books, audios or comics, the Ice Warriors has been one of those few Doctor Who monsters that have strongly endured. Here’s my personal opinion on their appeal to fans.
Empress of Mars saw the return of the Ice Warriors. Afterwards, I was super happy about the episode. Not just because we saw them return, but because it had been done exactly right. I’m not sure I can say quite the same about Gatiss’s earlier Ice Warrior episode, Cold War.
You see, out of Doctor Who’s many great alien races, the Ice Warriors have always been one of my favourites. There are a lot of key reasons for this. Not least the fact that the first video I got back in 1996 was The Monster of Peladon, which featured them and the Third Doctor.
As a kid, what I really liked about them was their design. Which actually hasn’t changed too much. They come across as big, green and scaly, and genuinely look reptilian. With their helmets and heavy armour, they also look like actual warriors. It adds to how threatening their appearance looks.
Their voices are very distinctive, too. There’s a lot of hissing from them, which on its own could get old really quick. But there’s also a deep huskiness to their voice when it’s done right that really helps to sell them better. Like I said, a cool look and a cool voice were things I really appreciated as a kid.
Heroes and Villains
Then I got older, and I started paying more attention to them as a race, and how they’ve evolved over the years. While they started out as villains, they’ve grown to be a little more complex than that, as covered by our earlier history article. They’re one of very few Doctor Who races that can work as effectively as the heroes as well as the villains.
In a lot of ways, they’re like the Klingons from Star Trek. Their race has been heavily built around a system of honour and a love of war. At times, they’ve been more eager to start a war themselves. At other times, it’s been something they’ve been forced into. Empress of Mars was a great example of the latter. They were ready for battle, but you definitely felt sympathy for them. Particularly as the “invaders” of the story really were the British.
Another reason why I’m fond of them has been for the stories themselves. While their first story The Ice Warriors was a little slow, they were still an instantly memorable and effective monster. The Seeds of Death also worked rather well as a sequel. The Curse of Peladon is probably my favourite of their original television stories. Although I must admit, while the sequel wasn’t as strong, I do have a soft spot for The Monster of Peladon. (It was one of the first stories I had watched, after all.)
Expanded Media
Even off-screen, their stories have been rather strong. My all-time favourite Ice Warrior story is currently Deimos/The Resurrection of Mars. It’s a very effective Eighth Doctor story that makes them a very strong threat while also exploring the Eighth Doctor’s sense of morality. And I’ve heard nothing but brilliant things about the now out of print The Dying Days.
Overall, I love the Ice Warriors because they’re a very effective combination of great design with a society that feels fleshed out and believable. Empress of Mars was a very effective story that showcased a lot of their strengths, and it was fantastic to seem them return to form. I hope this means we can expect more Ice Warrior television stories in the future.
Next: Doctor Who Watch: An Update from The Writer