Gatiss has done his best to turn the typical formula of a doctor who episode on its head in this story. Something else that gatiss and the episode does is make strong use of the ice warriors. A nasa probe in present day discovers a message written on the surface of mars. Empress of mars friday promised this expedition treasure if they helped him get home, but so far their ship has crashed, theyre stuck underground where theres plenty of. Empress of mars mark gatiss delivers a fivestar tale of victorians versus ice warriors, and even manages to find time for a classic alien cameo share on facebook. The shows fifth most iconic monsters ice warriors are back as team tardis take a jolly to the red planet. Intrigued, the doctor, bill and nardole go to investigate. With peter capaldi, pearl mackie, matt lucas, michelle gomez. Empress of mars, the latest story penned by polarizing writer mark gatiss, is a passable entry to the series, but its not one youll be remembering any time soon, and it certainly isnt strong enough to pull the show out of the mini slump its been stuck in since we visited a certain pyramid. The means by which the victorian soldiers end up on mars is relatively straightforward and sets the scene well enough, but the inherent conflict of the doctor having to decide between his favoured species and the native species is unfortunately one that empress of mars simply chooses to sidestep, the moral conundrum it initially draws. They arrive on mars in the middle of the victorian era. Read our recap below for the top five takeaways from the new episode. On the one hand, empress of mars feels like a classic episode of doctor who.
The doctor, bill and nardole arrive on mars, and find themselves in an impossible conflict between ice warriors and victorian soldiers. They could slaughter whole civilisations, yet weep at the crushing of a flower. The empress of mars photos 31 images after a brief visit to modernday nasa, or thereabouts, the doctor, bill and nardole journey to mars of 1881 where they discover a. The result is not a new classic, but its definitely a refreshing and enjoyable take on familiar concepts. Empress of mars might be the last script that mark gatiss writes for doctor who for a long time chris chibnell has expressed an interest in putting together an americanstyle writers room upon taking over the series. Upon their landing, they encounter victorian soldiers, who have arrived to try to conquer. Mark gatiss pens doctor who series 10 episode 9, as we head off to the red planet in empress of mars. It is written by mark gatiss and was broadcast on 10 june 2017 on bbc one.
The doctor contacted alpha centauri who promised to send a fleet to rescue the ice warrior survivors from mars. This is the third televised who story with mars in its title, and the other two use this trope as well. British soldiers prepare for an ice warrior siege in empress of mars. There were moments of greatness, and i will always appreciate the return of such a brilliant classic monster, but it fell a little flat towards the end and really could. Empress of mars is at once a colonial tale and a refutation of so many of its tropes all at the same time. The doctor finds a band of victorian soldiers stranded below the martian surface, claiming the planet as part of the british empire. Now its up to the doctor to convince her that the humans will come in peace, will the ice warriors grant the humans mercy. Empress of mars was almost about brexit thursday 8 june 2017. Oddly, all three stories involve a different alien race the osirans in pyramids, the flood in waters, the ice warriors here and crisis. Plus, in a move that i have no doubt left even some hardcore fans a bit confused, doctor who went and got 92yearold ysanne churchman to voice the androgynous alien alpha centauri, thus directly linking empress of mars with the ice warriors two appearances in the peladon stories of the jon pertwee era. The tardis leaves with nardole for literally no reason except to leave the heroes. The doctor, bill and godsacre created the message that had led the doctor and bill to mars in the first place and then departed in the tardis after nardole was able to return with missys help. Empress of mars has great villains but not much else. Watch online doctor who the empress of mars season 10 episode 9 megavideo.
Home forums episodes the twelfth doctor empress of mars this topic contains 170 replies, has 28 voices, and was last updated by missy 2 years, 9 months ago. We open with empress of mars, where in the present around 2017 nasa is getting new images from mars and team tardis is casually interrupting this important event because the doctor wanted a day trip with the kids. In empress of mars, british army soldiers circa 1881 who have been transported to mars carry the martinihenry rifle as their standard weapon. Empress of mars is a 70s throwback doctor who story using trappings of hammer horror. Empress of mars, which is in no way a sequel to cold war indeed, it takes place a hundred years before its predecessor, is another score for gatiss, and enough so that we must. Doctor who season 12 episode 9 the empress of mars full episode hq. Doctor who season 10 episode 9 the empress of mars full episode bbc one. The plot of empress of mars is a nice, straightforward tale which is welcome after the previous chapters of the monk trilogy a. Now its up to the doctor to convince her that the humans will come in.
The tardis registered multiple life forms below the surface, so this seems like the best place to look. They built themselves a sort of biomechanical armour for protection. The doctor, nardole, and bill travel to mars, but upon arrival, they find themselves in the middle of a conflict between the ice warriors and victorian soldiers. The monks have been defeated and the doctor can see again so the third and final block of series 10 can begin. The episode marks the return of the ice warriors, last seen in. After all, we actually only saw one ice warrior in cold war. In doing so they discover an ice warrior who appears to have befriended a group of british imperial soldiers. God save the queen has been scrawled on the surface of mars. They could build a city under the sand, yet drench the snows of mars with innocent blood. Youd be forgiven for thinking theyd be back, en masse, the following year. Iraxxa, empress of mars, is resurrected but the mars she ruled is gone. Mars is dead and friday is the last of his kind, the last of the indigenous species, the ice warriors.
The empress of mars is a science fiction novella published in 2003 by kage baker. Written by emmy winner mark gatiss sherlock and directed by wayne yip, empress of mars premiered on june 10. But with empress of mars, gatiss echoes one of his earlier stories in particular, one that similarly attempted to leave an indelible mark on who history and similarly fell short. Empress of mars is the ninth episode of the tenth series of the british science fiction television series doctor who. At the time of its first airing, mark gatiss became the longest serving writer of doctor who since the revival, his first contribution being the third episode of series 1, the unquiet dead. The empress of mars s10e09 doctor who episode 9 online. The empress of mars doctor who into the time vortex. Empress of mars is the ninth episode of doctor who 2005 that is written by mark gatiss.
Even fridays claim to be the last of his kind was an obvious untruth, since the doctor previously saw a whole bunch more in doctor who. Empress of mars tv story tardis fandom tardis wiki. In the cave tunnels of mars, the doctor and bill soon came across a. According to the tardis, thats when the message was made. The empress of mars didnt sport a ton of surprises. That said, we only have three regular episodes of peter capaldis. It does wonders for the ice warriors, but the british are unbecoming. In empress of mars, the twelfth doctor, nardole and bill travel to mars, after nasa discover a message reading god save the queen under the ice on the surface of the red planet.
But, in contrast with the other episodes in the series, it was definitely one of the best. Scripted by actorcomedian and longtime whovian, mark gatiss, the story is a perfect example of the series planets and history and stuff mantra, first referenced in night terrors also written by gatiss. Doctor who series 10x09 the empress of mars mirror. Another oldfashioned doctor who episode, empress of mars is enjoyable but doesnt leave any great lasting impression. The empress of mars gives fans an entertaining standalone breather between major arcs that makes the most of its leads considerable chemistry. This episode was notable for introducing the first female ice warrior onscreen, the ice queen iraxxa, 50 years after the species were introduced in 1967s the ice warriors. It won the 2004 theodore sturgeon award and was nominated for the 2004 hugo award for best novella as well as the 2004 nebula award for best novella. Adventures across time and space with the timetravelling hero. This doctor who story, as the title suggests, quickly finds the doctor, nardole and bill landing on mars, and its an odd situation they find. The doctor, bill and nardole arrive on mars and find themselves in an impossible conflict between ice warriors and victorian soldiers. What are victorians doing on the home of the ice warriors. The doctor, bill and nardole discover a tomb of the queen of the ice warriors on mars in 1881. Doctor who puts victorians on mars, which isnt quite as.