Serial X, in four parts:
- The Steel Sky - 3/5/66, 5.5m viewers
- The Plague - 3/12/66, 6.9m
- The Return - 3/19/66, 6.2m
- The Bomb - 3/26/66, 7.3m
Sound Bytes:
"The story was mine, at least from the conceptual point of view. I had this idea of an enormous ship that was so big that you could get the whole of south London into it. You could drive cars, ride bicycles -- the whole notion of forests floating in the air. It seemed a marvelous idea but it lacked story material, so we gave it out to two writers with whom I had a very enjoyable time working to shoot a storyline." - John Wiles, producer, quoted in The Handbook: The First Doctor by Howe, Stammers and Walker (Virgin, 1994)
"What makes The Ark a successful story is the fact that...a new twist is put on the 'revolution' story so oft-repeated by the series [...] The first half of the story occurs in one era, and the second part brings the Doctor and his companions back to judge the result of their earlier actions. This adds a different context to the adventure, and also shows the inevitable result of interfering in an alien culture." - John Kenneth Muir, A Critical History of Doctor Who on Television (McFarland & Company, 1999)
Comments:
Reviews of The Ark tend to be a little condescending. The Discontinuity Guide's verdict -- which sounds like damning with faint praise -- is that The Ark "is by no means perfect, but at least it tries." The Pocket Essential Doctor Who, meanwhile, criticizes the serial's "slow, predictable narrative" and slaps it with a mediocre two-star rating.
I think these judgments are a bit harsh. The Ark certainly lacks an aura of greatness, but it's still a solid, above-average serial that actually feels like proper science fiction (instead of the science-fantasy you usually get on Doctor Who). At four parts, the story never wears out its welcome; in fact, it radically shifts gears and even time zones halfway through, and thereby manages to sustain viewer interest well beyond the point where many other stories get stale. By contrast, The Daleks' Masterplan endlessly recycled the same tedious plot points over the course of twelve parts. There's a lot more creativity and energy in evidence here, I'd say.
Of course, The Ark does have undeniable weaknesses. Like other stories in the late Hartnell era, it is burdened with pretty lame companions. While Steven is acceptable here, Dodo is silly, unbelievable, lightweight, and generally excruciating. In fact, the more I see of Dodo and Vicki, the more I miss Susan; sure, she was whiny, but she was also mysterious and (sigh) kind of sexy. I mean, really, what kind of replacement is Dodo for the Doctor's weird, sexy granddaughter, hmm?
The guest cast is not entirely satisfactory, either. Some of the human characters are well-played, while others are wooden. The Monoids are a little silly, but not all that bad. At least their eyeballs move, and their voices are clear and not obnoxious in any way. Believe me, by Doctor Who standards, those pluses make them pretty decent monsters!
Besides, the rest of the production is nicely polished. The sets for the jungle and the planet Refusis are excellent, and the spaceship meeting area manages to look roomy and reasonably futuristic. The model effects are quaint, but not embarrassing. Sure, I can sometimes see the wires holding up the models, but I can also see wires in Star Trek V, not to mention certain Godzilla films made during the 1990s. So, I'll give the BBC special effects boys a pass for their occasional sloppiness.
What ultimately matters, I think, is that The Ark is chock-full of good ideas. The story makes clever use of time travel and, in an interesting twist, makes the Doctor and his friends ultimately responsible for the troubles on the spaceship. Okay, so it's not quite a home run -- but it's interesting and generally well-made. The fan critics underrate this one.
Grade: B+
Next Serial: The Celestial Toymaker