The Ark in Space by: Robert Holmes directed by: Rodney Bennett

 

The Ark in Space stars Tom Baker as the Doctor, Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, and Ian Marter as Harry Sullivan with Wendy Williams as Vira and Kenton Moore as Noah and the Wirrn.  It was written by: Robert Holmes and directed by: Rodney Bennett with Robert Holmes as Script Editor and Philip Hinchcliffe as Producer.  It was originally broadcast on Saturdays from 25 January to 15 February 1975 on BBC1.

 

The start of Season 12 included the final story under producer Barry Letts, who before his run had already directed a serial during Patrick Troughton’s run, The Enemy of the World, and essentially led the show through 1974, leaving after Robot and the end of the eleventh production block and handing it over to Philip Hinchcliffe.  Hinchcliffe was entirely new to the program, working closely with script editor and writer Robert Holmes to craft their 22 episode block, splitting it into five stories: three four part stories, one six part story, and one two part story.  The two-part story coming about only because Hinchcliffe and Holmes made the decision to decrease the number of six part stories to a single story per season, something which would become the norm until the end of Season 17 and the dismissal of six part stories overall.  This meant that in crafting the season the initial plans for production block 4B had to be split into 4B and 4C, in production a two-part story followed by a four part story, however their running order would be switched.  A further cost saving measure would commission serial 4D, what would be the season finale, to be set on the same space station sets of serial 4C.  The story was originally commissioned by Letts, Space Station by Christopher Langley in late 1973, however within five months Hinchcliffe and Holmes found that these scripts would be unusable.  Holmes turned to John Lucarotti who had penned three serials during William Hartnell’s time as the Doctor and commissioned The Ark in Space.

 

The Ark in Space under Lucarotti would have been a similar, yet surprisingly different story from what eventually was seen on screen.  Lucarotti’s scripts were similar in that they involved a space ark containing the last of humanity invaded by a parasitic alien, though this time it would be a fungus which was impervious to harm and multiplied rapidly.  These scripts would be abandoned due to transportation of the scripts from Corsica where Lucarotti lived, to the production office and the need for quick rewrites.  Script editor, Robert Holmes, would receive special permission to take over writing duties with Lucarotti losing credit, but being paid in full for his work.  Holmes’ story is entirely studio bound and was assigned along with 4B to Rodney Bennett in the first two of three serials of which he would contribute direction.  Bennett’s direction is perhaps a highlight as The Ark in Space could easily have become a serial famous for Doctor Who’s inability to subtly light sets, especially as Space Station Nerva is built with stark white walls, but the simple decision to start with the power off when the TARDIS arrives means that there is enough atmosphere built up through that first episode which lasts once the power is on.  There are also quite a few sets, especially below decks as it were, which are kept mostly in the dark without the white walls.  There are also some shots done from the overhead allowing some forced perspective in the cryogenics chamber to make it feel taller than it actually is.

 

The Wirrn themselves are already an interesting idea for a villain, something that Big Finish and the Eighth Doctor Adventures novels would use in future stories.  Having an alien species of essentially refugees makes them sympathetic, even if they take over a man and essentially wish to use the rest of humanity while each of the cliffhangers take advantage of the parasitic nature of the Wirrn.  The first is of the dead queen which entered the Ark in the past, the second being the character of Noah’s hand being taken over, while the third is Noah being completely taken over.  This makes for an exciting escalation of stakes as the first half of the story is allowed to deal with the awakening of humanity while the Wirrn remains a mostly off-screen threat, with the paranoia being directed at the Doctor, Sarah Jane, and Harry Sullivan as the interlopers in their carefully made plans.  The Wirrn transformations themselves have mostly aged pretty well, however, between the end of Part Two and Part Three there is copious use of bubble wrap to represent the transformation, though that wouldn’t have necessarily been well in use by the public at the time.  It also doesn’t look as cheap while Kenton Moore’s performance is selling losing his mind to this alien creature.

 

While Barry Letts was responsible for setting up most of this season, the eventual decision to have Robert Holmes writing this serial allows for the new team to make their mark.  Holmes’ script already plays to the strengths of Baker, Sladen, and Marter.  Tom Baker’s Doctor here already overcomes whatever shortcomings were in Robot being essentially a Jon Pertwee story, dialing up the charm with the mania while berating Harry for his poor decisions on his very first spaceship and caring for Sarah Jane.  Baker gets one of his iconic moments in this story, giving a speech on the persistent nature of humanity and there is a famous moment where the Doctor uses minor cruelty as a motivator to get Sarah Jane through the vents.  Ian Marter’s Harry Sullivan is essentially the audience insert character here, allowing viewers to ease their way into the gothic horror that this serial establishes for the new era as the newest companion.  Harry also shines perhaps at the detriment for Sarah Jane, who for the first half is sadly sidelined in places, though the second half allows Elisabeth Sladen to shine as well.  While Kenton Moore’s Noah makes a great villain, the Ark’s crew is supported mostly through Vira, played by Wendy Williams, who plays the role as this very cold and clinical scientist.  Holmes makes the humans of the future feel genuinely aliens to the way that people behave, as Vira and Noah are concerned about their genetic purity as they are responsible for repopulating an empty Earth.

 

Overall, The Ark in Space has all the makings of a classic Doctor Who story, bringing in a new production team with their own goals by putting to life a fantastic script.  This is a story that looks excellent in its restoration as well, being mostly on videotape so while the Blu-ray isn’t true HD, it is a consistent viewing experience like much of Season 12.  While some of the effects may not hold up on modern day viewing, the performances sell a script about the remnants of humanity living on and waking up after disaster to another possible extinction event.  This is a classic story which New Series fans can take delight in as an entry point into the classic series, and those who haven’t seen it in a while can perhaps delight in the Blu-ray release giving it new life.  9/10.