Full motion video be praised! No
reconstructions are necessary for this story as all four episodes are in
existence in glorious black and white. “The Ark” is a bit of an odd duck as far
as stories go. There are parts of it that bother me to no end, and parts that
are just weird, but for some fannish reason, the story works for me. The
four-parts-but-two-halves is a natural idea for a time travel show, and I’m
really surprised it hasn’t shown up more in the series. Spread out over the
course of different stories, the concept of time travel repercussions can make
a sweeping arc (I’m thinking here of Series One of the New Series). When
condensed into one story it makes for an intimate time travel adventure spread
over hundreds of years.
What bothers me about this story?
Dodo. First and foremost. She barely had an introduction at the end of “The
Massacre” which, while irritating, could have been rectified in this, her next
story. Instead, we have her burst out of the TARDIS, after inexplicably
changing her clothes, sneeze all over the place, and basically be insufferable.
Her belief that they just have to be in London (even after presumably wandering
the TARDIS until she found the wardrobe) is nonsensical. Throughout the story,
she wanders from one characterization to the next, and is just nails on a
chalkboard to me. She kind of seems to rub the Doctor the wrong way, and Steven
doesn’t seem overly keen on her either. I don’t place the blame entirely on
Jackie Lane, as the story and direction have some weaknesses that aren’t Dodo
related at all.
I’ll be clear, I really sort of like “The
Ark”, warts and all. In fact, some of the “warts” make it endearing (Dodo
aside). The dialogue is kind of wonky, with exchanges like “Don’t touch them!”
followed almost immediately by “Seize them!” Steven doesn’t fare much better,
as he calls the Monoids “terrifying”. Let that sink in, won’t you? Steven, who
was held captive by the DALEKS, for crying out loud, is terrified by the
Monoids. Their design is, to be honest, sort of silly, and I kinda dig it, but
no matter how apologetic I can be, I would never call the Monoids “terrifying”.
As far as the guest cast goes, well…
OK, they’re all kind of bad, but in a “1950’s space movie” kind of way. The
Commander is ridiculously pompous, but kindly. Zentos, the second-in-command is
ridiculously over the top, and the Monoids in Episodes Three and Four are
ridiculous mustache twirling villains. Well, if they had mouths over which they
could grow mustaches. Zentos in particular seems to flat out HATE the Tardis
crew with no provocation, hates them more when the virus hits, and just before
he murders them all and the virus is cured, he’s all “Haha, no hard feelings.
Sorry I was about to murder you.” Insane.
I think it’s that insanity that makes
me like “The Ark”. As strangely as the actors seem to have been directed, there
are some truly stylish touches. There are actual video feeds to some of the
controls and video screens on the bridge of the Ark. I really like the
leaving/arriving TARDIS scene at the end of Episode Two. The statue which
eventually is built to be a Monoid is a pretty nice piece of design, although I
still think 700 years is a bit too long. The Refusians, whilst a design cop out
(frankly the Monoids were enough in this one) are presented well, the echo of
their voices a nice little touch to their non-corporeal forms. Of course, the
best bit in all four parts? The Ark under Monoid control has a security
kitchen! No layabout prisoners on *this* Ark, no sir! Prisoners make the food
for their alien overlords, which seems a fast way to poisoning, if you ask me.
It is by no means a classic, and Dodo
needs a couple stories to really hit her stride, I think. But where “The Ark”
succeeds for me is in the sheer Doctor
Who – ness of the story. It’s one of the few early stories to really deal
with the vagaries and consequences of time travel (in New Series terms it is
definitely “timey-wimey”). There are decent motivations for the villains,
regardless of the ping pong ball eyeball. There are rockets and invisible
aliens and a marked lack of expository dialogue at the end – we never hear the
Doctor tell Steven the location of the bomb. Lost in editing? Never filmed?
Misplaced? I have no idea. It makes me shake my head, but smile while I do it. “The
Ark” is many things – weird, strangely acted, and bizarrely costumed, but the
sin it never commits? “The Ark” is never dull.
NEXT
EPISODE: The Celestial Toymaker
"The Ark" novelization cover, courtesy The TARDIS Data Core at tardis.wikia.com
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