To be honest, not much happens story-wise in part three. The primary set-piece concerns the Doctor trying to learn what happened to the Wirrn queen (as we discover that that's the name of the insect species) during its final moments on the Ark. He achieves this by linking up the dead queen's eye to a computer screen via his cerebral context. Intriguingly, Tom Baker chooses to play this as great fun even though the script indicates that this is supposed to be a dangerous procedure -- another sign of how different Baker is playing the character from how Pertwee played it. This manner of smiling inappropriately is present throughout the whole story. "Vira, if you fail," the Doctor says, "your people will die in pain and fear. If I fail," he adds with a grin, "they'll die anyway, but at least only the six of us will know anything about it." Add into the mix the way the Doctor behaves right after the link with the Wirrn is severed, as he almost seems ready to join the Wirrn, and it makes this new Doctor feel wonderfully off; you get the sense that almost anything could happen.
There are also two more characters revived from the Ark. Lycett ends up dying pretty quickly, but Rogan makes it quite far. Of course, his manner of speaking is so different from that of Vira's and Noah's that it ruins the "future humans are different" effect that was established in the first two parts -- but at least he's entertaining to watch.
But while the Doctor and company are learning that electricity is what killed the Wirrn queen, and Rogan and Harry are finding weapons, the Wirrn themselves are shutting down the power on the Ark, while Noah is undergoing his final transformation into the Wirrn swarm leader...
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A Wirrn makes its way through the Ark. (The Ark in Space
Part Four) ©BBC |
Part four actually has quite a bit of plot to get through; we learn some backstory about the Wirrn, and the whole sequence with electrifying parts of the Ark is entirely within this episode -- complete with the sequence of Sarah crawling through the ventilation ducts, with the Doctor egging her on by insulting her until she gets mad enough to get through the ducts so she can hit him. Of course, this does mean that the resolution of things happens pretty quickly -- the Wirrn (led by the transformed Noah) are led onto the transport shuttle on the Ark as the Doctor and Rogan release the synestic locks holding the shuttle down. Rogan sacrifices himself to save the Doctor's life (who seems quite ready to sacrifice himself for the sake of humanity) and sends the shuttle into space, where Noah deliberately allows the rocket to explode. The Wirrn are no longer a threat, and so the Doctor volunteers to transmat down to Earth to fix the matter transmitter so that the rest of humanity can safely transmat down (eh? if the transmitter's not working, how can the three regulars transmat down?), leading into the next story.
The most striking thing about
The Ark in Space is how deadly serious everything is played. There's a clear intent to make this as scary as they can get away with, and it pays off for them. It's hard to imagine a story like this being made during Barry Letts's time, but new producer Philip Hinchcliffe hits the ground running. It's still a little too slow at points for my personal taste, but it definitely works much better in the context of the larger progression of the show, and it's easy to see why people like it. If only the rest of
Doctor Who had as much confidence and conviction as this story has.