The Abominable Snowmen

It's a cold winters day and I'm not very well. What is it about illness that makes you want to watch rubbish Doctor Who stories? I always theorised that it was a matter of taking advantage; if I didn't seize this opportunity to watch "The Sensorites", then it'd never get done. Unfortunately though, Mr Rayner won't let me watch that particular gem (and begin the search for all of Lissa's "reasons to love" the story) until his vidfired copy has made its way down here. And this may seem surprising, but "pack the Sensorites" isn't always the uppermost in his list of things to do when revisiting his hometown.

So it's "The Troughton Years" then. What a thoroughly rubbish and enjoyable tape it is. Who cannot love it's "Des O'Connor Tonight" style theme tune, and the way the Hartnell square tantalisingly spins towards you and away again at the start (almost as if teasing you with the lure of something better, like "The Crusade" Part 3). Still, on one of the later releases you can spot what looks suspiciously like "Axons: the Early Years" and "Daleks: The Middle Years" on that big cube. Oh for a video release that offers lone episodes from "Death to the Daleks" and the like. After Jon Pertwee has informed us of the name of the hospital in which Patrick Troughton was born (but not any details preceding the episode we're about to see, natch) we're away. "The Abominable Snowmen" Episode 2.

Immediately I'm struck by the quality issues this episode has. This being the days before Peter Finklestone handpaints all the cracks out a frame at a time, the swirling butterfly wings are as dark and as murky as the day outside. Then we're into the adventure proper, and Jamie and Victoria are trapped inside a gloomy cave with a fearsome Yeti! They just manage to escape down the mountain as the Yeti pushes aside the rocks that have buried it and lumbers after them. It's scary stuff. I don't know who said these Yeti are cuddly but I certainly wouldn't like to have one of the huge beasts (who, in what has to be a first for Doctor Who monsters, possess the ability to jog) chasing after me.

It's not the only Doctor Who story involving a mysterious alien power invading a monastery, the return of a stolen symbol of power and a boy named Tommy/Tomni, but the Det Sen monastery is dark and cold, unlike the trendily furnished meditation centre in "Planet of the Spiders". And while the lack of any music buggers up the enjoyment of the audio, on screen the relentless billowing wind provides an eerie reminder of the lost hills and caves isolating our heroes from any help. Padmasambava has a voice that easily equals Sutekh in the chilliness stakes too.

I can see why you need to be cosily tucked up ill to enjoy this one. It's a quiet, haunting story devoid of much humour (the Doctors quip to Victoria about running away when Jamie has an idea seems oddly out of place) and is not in any hurry to contrive regular reasons to keep its viewers on the edge of their seats. I've never understood the fascination with the Yeti's in the underground, because it's largely one-trick window dressing with little to offer beyond novelty. The Yeti don't make use of the Underground, they're just in it. But I'd like to see more of "The Abominable Snowmen". The strange floating silver spheres, the odd voice deep within the monastery... and the howling wind, which makes me feel safe and cosy. I think I'll get my recon out and carry on. I can probably live without "The Enemy of the World" Part 3 for today.

I once foolishly loaned "The Troughton Years" to a friend of my Mum's who was hankering after childhood thrills. She particularly wanted "a Yeti episode" and, since I couldn't be bothered to argue the merits of "The Mind Robber" via my easily-confused Mum, she got the hotchpotch of crumby episodes and the dematerialising Jon Pertwee. She gave it back after about three months, the lengthy loan period being not, I fear, down to her wanting to repeatedly watch "The Abominable Snowmen", but probably the superhuman effort needed to make it to the end of "The Space Pirates" episode. When I finally did get the tape back, the passed-on verdict was that the Yeti weren't quite as scary as she remembered.

Well each to their own. On this cold, flu-ridden day a visit to Det Sen will do me just fine...