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Do you prefer listening to us rant about episodes we really liked or disliked? Coolio, then head on over to the stats section and find an episode we rated exceptionally highly/incredibly disparagingly!
And there are PLENTY of ways to get involved beyond listening to the show and exploring the article archives. Point your eyestalks at some of these links to learn more! - Merch!
Hi folks
Right, it’s Mark Gatiss time. Let’s spin the wheel and see what sort of Gatiss we are getting this week.
*Spin*….
And the answer is…mediocre.
The British Army claiming Mars for the Empire? Other than a flag-shagger’s wet dream, it is rather striking imagery I suppose. And as it’s a Gatiss script there’s a ton of references: Bill referring to the ice warriors as being like Vikings directly leads back to 1967’s The Ice Warriors (as does Catchlove calling them upright crocodiles), and of course the alpha centauri cameo (of the Peladon stories). Fortunately we don’t see too much of it unlike the 70s stories so no dick jokes.
I dunno, it’s alright I suppose…but just feels a little dull. Like the plot and character motivations feel familiar. Hell, the Silurian stories (series 7 and series 5) effectively do the same plot and threatening to trap the Ice Warrior army under ice forever is straight out of Planet of the Daleks.
Just bit meh from me. Still Doc and Bill were good, shame there wasn’t more Nardole 3.0/5
Cheers
Kieren
Likes
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Summary
Pretty bog-standard stuff – but hey, Victorian Imperial dudes on Mars, Ice Warriors kicking bottom, and those guns.
Rating: 4/5 of Her Majesty’s finest being imploded into footballs. Horrific. More please.
Hey WhoBackWhen, it’s your second favorite geologically named listener (after “Ridge”way of course (so big)) back with my two cents on The Empress of Mars. I’m a big fan of the Ice Warriors, so this episode already gets bonus points from me for their inclusion. It did a wonderful job of remaining true to the spirit of the race whose canon goes back decades. It definitely has that “Monster of the Week” feel to it but is a fun romp nonetheless. I’m getting this review in somewhat last minute, so I’ll keep it brief.
The guest stars are done very well in this. The “villain” of the episode is somewhat basic but manages to make you really want to slap that mustache off his face, it also makes you sympathize with the commander despite his flaws, and the Empress is believable as a dangerous force while remaining honorable and even likeable by the end. The psychic paper making an appearance always makes me happy.
The Doctor saying “I can never resist a countdown” immediately made of think of Drew. Also, shouldn’t the Sonic have a wood setting after the events of the 50th Anniversary episode? I did however geek out quite a bit at the cameo by Alpha Centauri at the end, especially considering her already established link to the Ice Warriors
Overall I give this episode 3.6 out of 5 promises to keep this brief thrown out the window. Till next time ROCK ON!
– Eddie Rock
@TheEddieRock