The Ice Warriors were one of Doctor Who’s better TV monsters. They had time on both sides of the goodie/baddie divide and were even given credible motivations in some stories. The presence of both the Ice Lord (to do the talking) and the Warriors (to do the killing) meant you could have a conversation with them without them losing their menace. And they were organic too which meant you didn’t have the inconsistencies that were the inevitable result of the Dalek/Cybermen techno-augmentation. In short, the Ice Warriors were a well designed foe/friend and with their distinctive voices they were perfect for audio. There was just one thing they didn’t have.

I don’t know much about the NA’s so it’s possible they covered it. I know they gave the Master and the Rani names – real ones rather than titles – so they may have christened the Ice Warriors too. But if they did it didn’t show through into the BF-verse. After thirty plus years you would think the Ice Warriors would be given a proper race name. "Ice Warriors" was just a description coined in their debut story because they were (a) warriors and (b) had been found in ice. Logically they could’ve ended up being Soil Warriors, Cupboard Warriors or Amber Warriors. To still be using the name smacks of a lack of imagination.

I don’t mind the Lord calling his henchpersons "Warriors". That’s fine – that’s what they are. Just as the henchpersons calling him their Lord. It’s a shame that science fiction and the public perception of it has made calling a race "Martians" just too laughably silly to even considerer. It’s not as annoying as Sea Devils calling themselves Sea Devils – that was just beyond rubbish – but I think it is about time to do something about it. If only to annoy the more anal sections of fandom so we can dispose of them before the new series starts and prevent them from embarrassing us in public.

Red Dawn marks the first – and to date only – appearance of the Warriors in Big Finish’s main Dr Who range. They’ve popped up to tangle with Benny but given how cute Lisa Bowerman is, who can blame them? It’s a much maligned story because very little seems to happen. Indeed, the title is fortuitous as it allows witty people to refer to it as Red Yawn. What larks. I think that ignores the fact that Red Dawn is meant to be a small story. Big Finish does too many "big" stories – tales where the whole of the universe is in peril. I actually prefer stories where the only immediate consequences are for those taking part. Of course there are wider implications but the Ice Warriors don’t want to kill the whole of the human race – just the ones that are intent on stealing their stuff.

Red Dawn is an atmospheric and at times claustrophobic story which tries to portray a semi-realistic view of space travel. It also gives us a semi-realistic view of an alien species. We hear a lot about the Draconians being a well rounded race but the Ice Warriors are given much greater depth. It doesn’t feel too much like an info-dump either – it’s just a look into the way an alien thinks rather than tales of Middle Mars.

Yes Red Dawn is slow, yes it is small but those aren’t necessarily a bad thing. There is much to enjoy in this taut little play and hints that BF could do a lot more with the audio-friendly Ice Warriors if ever they try.