Ark in Space

Isn't it odd how everyone in "The Ark in Space" looks so young? Elizabeth Sladen even manages to look younger than she did the previous year. Otherwise, this is quite simply the most perfect "first story" of any Doctor, and one that gives lie to the myth (as created by "The Twin Dilemma") that all new Doctor's should debut with a big monster. Not that the Wirrn are unimpressive here; on the contrary, the way they are expertly handled makes the concept of them one of the scariest the series had shared with us up to that point, but it's probably a good job they never returned. They are tied so neatly into "The Ark in Space" that they wouldn't work in any other kind of story (certainly not one within the budget of Doctor Who; a re-telling of the human's Star Pioneer Colony Ship running the Wirrn out of Andromeda sounds like a feature film worth telling). I shudder to imagine them lurching incongruously round modern day London for example! All this makes it all the more odd that "The Ark in Space" doesn't open the Tom Baker era, although clearly most of us wish it had, so we could be spared "Robot".

Nothing wrong with that story, of course, but as has been mused over already it largely ushers in Tom Baker's Doctor by an almighty effort of distraction, rather than by making him the central focus and allowing him to shine. Almost everything else is textbook Pertwee, so the addition of this wild, new character is easily palatable (although it's clear from the start that he's just the breath of fresh air the show was going to benefit from). The fact is, at the end of "Robot" the Doctor is exactly where he was at the start; revitalised, raring to go and trying to slip into the TARDIS and be off. He almost has his first adventure as a favour to the Brigadier, a gesture for old times sake. "The Ark in Space" not only launches a run of linked stories that would see us through until "Terror of the Zygons" the next year but also infamously clears away everything we are familiar with from its opening episode; there are no supporting cast or familiar faces and no recognisable sets or locations. Tom is not so much given the chance to make his mark, as chucked in at the deep end and forced to swim.

We found it amusing that for the recent DVD issue of the story, Elizabeth Sladen had cunningly re-written the past by claiming she was at this point considering confronting the production team over the direction of her character and threatening to leave. Perhaps she's telling the truth, although to be fair it's very difficult to see the barely-established Sladen confronting a new producer and making demands about her character, especially when they would have been busy trying to integrate a new Doctor into the show; anecdotal license and all that, but this isn't Dynasty love. It's handy to have Sarah-Jane carried through into this new Doctor's era because she provides a handy link back to the past on several occasions (referring to the "old" Doctor in "Brain of Morbius" amongst others) and no doubt helped Tom settle in. But really, she's as new here as he is, the hard-bitten journalist and feminist gone in favour of dizzy, lovable Silly Sarah "I feel so muzzy". What's more, the rest switch has been pressed to such an extent with "The Ark in Space" that she's just about the only evidence of what Doctor Who was previously. For those who consider Sarah one of the great companions, it's very fortunate she didn't go all "diva" and flounce out, because the show could easily have added one more new face to its ranks.

That Ian Marter didn't stick around for the ride is doubly regrettable given his usefulness in this story. The notion of him becoming redundant because the new Doctor could handle more physical acting chores than had been expected has always baffled me. It's the kind of planning-meeting talk that should have had someone stand up and say "hang on, we've got a great character here! Are you saying he's only good for lifting things?". Surely it's the job of the writers, and some of them must have been able to handle the mind-blowing concept of two reasonably fit male companions without leaving one of them with nothing to do. It reminds me of when JNT did away with the sonic screwdriver and K9 for the same reason; they make things too easy for the Doctor. I always watch those mid-era Tom stories and marvel at how the writers were EASILY able to utilise these devices intelligently and didn't have THAT much trouble explaining it away when they needed to be lost or didn't work. You have to make your writers work a bit, or you might as well leave the Doctor in the TARDIS in Part 1 because it "creates too many problems" if he steps outside it. Harry is brilliant in "The Ark in Space" and it's a crying shame he was phased out soon afterwards.

It all goes to prove that a new broom sweeping clean could do wonders for Doctor Who. Either that or the presence of its best writer gave the Tom era the best start, or best almost-start that it could possibly have asked for.