Review of The Ark (#23)

DVD Release Date: 08 Mar 11
Original Air Date: 05 – 26 Mar 1966
Doctor/Companion:   One, Steven Taylor, Dorothea “Dodo” Chaplet
Stars:  William Hartnell, Peter Purves, Jackie Lane
Preceding Story:  The Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Eve (One, Steven)
Succeeding Story:  The Celestial Toymaker (One, Steven, Dodo)

Although we don’t really figure it out until halfway through, The Ark is sort of two stories wrapped into one. Beginning with a rather typical “outsiders bring harmless-to-them germs into a closed population, threatening to wipe out said population” plot, the story soon takes a turn toward more socio-political themes.  Groups are set against each other and make plans of varying degrees of stupidity and brutality.  Obviously, this being Doctor Who, there’s also a time-travel twist to the tale (which I won’t completely spoil here), but that is primarily clever storytelling rather than a necessary element for plot advancement.

Perhaps the most memorable aspect of the story, at least on the surface, is the abysmal quality of the monster-of-the-week, which is poor even by Doctor Who‘s standards (and that’s saying quite a lot!).  The actors playing the Monoids could not have been comfortable with body-length rubber sheaths that included huge (clearly visible) zippers up the back, mangy wigs draping down over half their faces, and ping pong balls painted as eyeballs in their mouths.  Every time one of these pathetic critters waddles on set, you can’t help but snicker and think about the mechanics of wearing the costume (particularly the moutheyeball – nor does it help to learn that it actually was ping pong balls they used).  Yet somehow, the Monoids manage to fulfill their literary roles in (both parts of) the story relatively well.  Clearly that’s a testament to the quality of the tale the writers had to tell.

Once you get past the man-in-a-rubber-suit-ness of the Monoids, The Ark is a worthwhile tale.  The overall plot is engaging enough that we’re willing to overlook some of the rather egregious problems with details like the aforementioned costumes, the somewhat bizarre presence of a “security kitchen,” and a ship millions of years in our future yet barely beyond modern technology.  In fact, I think these details highlight a very insightful point made in one of the extras that, strictly speaking, Doctor Who isn’t “science fiction,” because the science is bollocks – but we don’t care.  These stories aren’t about the places strange new scientific advances take us; all that is mere background to the narratives being woven – in essence, a sort of “temporal local color.”  So the people and the situations are what draw us in, perhaps especially in The Ark.

This is a bit of a notable episode for the TARDIS crew, too.  It’s Dodo’s first full serial, since she only appeared in last minutes of Massacre, and one of only two of her four stories to survive intact (only 1 episode of The Celestial Toymaker survives, and none of The Savages).  Further, it seems to hark back to the era when the Doctor was the MacGuffin for the story, not its hero; as Ian before him, Steven seems clearly the protagonist of this tale.  Sadly, that appears to have been a conscious decision, part of “phasing out” Hartnell as the Doctor.  As Hartnell himself was painfully aware, his failing health was beginning to affect his memory, resulting in more frequent line flubs in an era where no time or resources could be spared to reshoot (which is why we hear them so often).  In that sense, The Ark essentially marks the beginning of the end for One.

DVD Extras (highlights)

All’s Wells That Ends Wells

H.G. Wells’ work undoubtedly influenced Doctor Who, as it did all sorts of SF in general.  This documentary covers some of the specific ways that influence can be seen in The Ark (including aspects of at least 5 stories, most notably The Time Machine) and beyond.

One Hit Wonder

Contrary to popular perception, most adversaries in Doctor Who are one-off (or at most two-time) monsters.  We get to see here why that is.

Riverside Story

Many of the early serials (seasons 2-5, with One and Two) were recorded at Riverside Studios.  In this extra, an interviewer talks with Peter Purves (Steven) about his experiences recording there.  It’s a bit unnerving after watching the story to see Purves more than 40 years later (he’s a bit hard to recognize at first), but his recollections add insight and give us a glimpse at what it was like to work with William Hartnell.

Although there aren’t a whole lot of extras, and it’s populated by some of the most ridiculous-looking Doctor Who creatures of all time, The Ark is still quite a good story; look past the ocular oddities, and it’s a charming, entertaining adventure.  If nothing else, it gives excellent context for the history of both Doctor Who and science fiction of the 1960s, and is well worth viewing.