Which Doctor Who adventures are perfect for a snowy day? Here are Lovarzi’s top picks…
1) The Ice Warriors
The first of our Doctor Who adventures is this rather icy number from 1967. It’s set in the near future, where the Doctor and his companions find the world in the grip of a new ice age. A team of dedicated scientists fight desperately to keep the glaciers from advancing using their ioniser, but very soon the advancing glaciers are the least of their problems. A group of Martians is emerging from the permafrost, along with their spaceship, and they want the ioniser for themselves.
This classic Doctor Who adventure is the first to feature the iconic Ice Warriors, who would continue to appear throughout the late 60s and 70s. Alas, two of its episodes are still missing from the BBC archive, but the original audio recordings have survived and the programmes have been recreated in animated form, meaning you can now enjoy this ssstory in all itsss glory.
And it’s a good one. In many ways, this Doctor Who adventure typifies the ‘base under siege‘ scenario that became commonplace during the Patrick Troughton era, and you couldn’t ask for a better set of baddies: the hissing voice, the menacing walk, the impractical but wonderfully-realised costumes… Then there’s Peter Sallis, of Wallace and Gromit fame. You won’t be disappointed.
2) The Seeds of Doom
In some ways, ‘The Seeds of Doom’ is a Doctor Who adventure of two halves. The first part takes place in Antarctica, where a group of scientists uncover a mysterious pod buried in the snow. Before long, this pod splits open and unleashes its menacing tendrils on one of the hapless workers, slowly turning him into a plant-like Krynoid.
After this, the action shifts to present day Britain, with the Doctor and Sarah Jane on the tail of yet another pod, which has been stolen by a mad horticulturalist known as Harrison Chase, who sent his goons to Antarctica to pilfer the eponymous ‘seed of doom’ for his private collection. So whilst this isn’t quite as snow-filled as ‘The Ice Warriors,’ you’ll still want to wrap up warm – not least to shield yourself from the icy Harrison Chase and his lackeys.
Overall, this is an action-packed and surprisingly adult Doctor Who adventure, in a similar vein to the 1982 horror movie The Thing. Perhaps John Carpenter and his team were inspired by the Time Lord’s adventures…
3) The Unquiet Dead
Believe it or not, before 2005, there hadn’t really been a Christmas-themed Doctor Who adventure, save for the festive segue in the midst of 1965’s ‘The Daleks’ Master Plan.’ ‘The Unquiet Dead’ by Mark Gatiss is the very first, and sees the Ninth Doctor and Rose encounter Charles Dickens on Christmas Eve, battling an army of ghosts. It’s a like a mini, unofficial Doctor Who Christmas special.
As you would expect, the references to Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol are obvious, and unashamedly so. It’s clear that Gatiss is a huge fan of Dickens’ work, and in many ways ‘The Unquiet Dead’ is something of a love letter to the writer. It’s also notable for the guest appearance of Eve Myles, who would later return as Gwen Cooper in Torchwood playing a distant relative of her character from ‘The Unquiet Dead.’
4) The Snowmen
If you were disappointed that the 1967 Doctor Who adventure ‘The Abominable Snowmen’ wasn’t actually about snowmen, then the 2012 Christmas special more than makes up for it. This is the real deal – real snowmen, made out of real snow, coming to life and terrorising their victims like any good Doctor Who monster.
Although, it’s not entirely accurate to say that these villains are made of ‘real’ snow. The snow is actually a frozen lifeform containing the Doctor’s old enemy the Great Intelligence, which manifests in snow form and builds a frozen army for itself, which the Doctor must defeat.
This was an interesting Doctor Who adventure in that it transpired to be a prequel to the Second Doctor stories ‘The Abominable Snowmen’ and ‘The Web of Fear,’ with the latter story even being directly referenced. This was ironic, given that ‘The Web of Fear’ would be returned in its near entirety a few months later, courtesy of missing episode hunter Philip Morris. Perhaps Steven Moffat had a TARDIS.
‘The Snowmen’ is also notable for its guest star Richard E. Grant – no stranger to the Whoniverse, as he’d previously appeared as the unofficial Tenth Doctor in ‘The Curse of Fatal Death‘ and the (almost) official Ninth Doctor in ‘The Scream of the Shalka.’ He plays the wonderfully villainous Doctor Simeon in this adventure, who has been possessed by the Great Intelligence. He would continue to appear as a recurring baddie throughout Series Seven.
5) Last Christmas
Prepare to be both terrified and confused. ‘Last Christmas’ is like a blend of the aforementioned The Thing, Alien and the 2010 movie Inception, with some classic Doctor Who quirkiness thrown in for good measure. This is festive sci-fi horror at its absolute finest and, in a bizarre twist, even includes Santa Claus as a central character, played by the comedy actor Nick Frost.
To elaborate any further would spoil your enjoyment of the story, so really the best way to enjoy this Doctor Who adventure is to just sit down and watch, with no preconceptions. Certainly, after seeing the mini teaser at the end of Series Eight (where Santa Claus turned up in the TARDIS and asked the Doctor what he wanted for Christmas) fans may have expected something of a lightweight, comedy offering for the 2014 Christmas special, but ‘Last Christmas’ is the exact opposite. There are funny moments, for sure, but this is perhaps the scariest Doctor Who Christmas special of all time. And there’s a lot of snow.
So there we are. These aren’t the only ‘snowy’ Doctor Who adventures, of course. Which one is your favourite? And which stories would you add to this list? Let us know in the comments below.
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