3.6: The Ark
- Doctor: William Hartnell
- Companions: Steven Taylor, Dodo Chaplet
- Creators: John Wiles (Producer), Paul Erickson & Lesley Scott (Writers), Michael Imison (Director)
- Season 3
What's the rating?
Worth Watching.
What's interesting about it?
Yes, finally, this is the first of the season that wasn't wiped.
It's not a great story, but the many and varied pieces seem to form a stew of something that's more interesting than it should be, with many surprises.
I suggest watching the story with the idea that it's a retelling of The Sensorites. There are many similarities: aliens with wacky feet; a virus is killing everyone and strikes at the male lead, Steven (as happened to Ian previously); The Doctor has to find a cure so he plays around with some test tubes (differently sized and colored than before, I think)...and after a mere two episodes, having saved everyone our time travelers are back to the TARDIS and gone....
...to find themselves returned to the same location 700 years later, where they get to see the results of their previous influence, something that's never occurred before. And the similarities to The Sensorites continue, with numbered aliens in a strict hierarchical relationship and doors that open at a wave.
The story is almost too strange to recount here, and in any case it's better to be surprised.
The "Riverside Story" special feature is worth watching for a view into how studio space worked at the BBC, and the challenges of producing a story like The Ark.