Writer/s: Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincolm
Original Broadcast Date: 30 September 1967 - 4 November 1967
The Doctor, Jamie and Victoria land in the Himalayas, where the previously shy and timid Yeti are reported to appear violent, attacking travelers. When the Doctor visits a Bhuddist monastery, the least he expects is to become ensnared in the plans of an extra-dimensional being.
After a mediocre outing with the Cybermen, Season 5 fails to redeem itself with this boring, drawn out six-parter that shows hints of what could have been a riveting adventure.
These glimpses mainly are in the first one and a half, and the fifth episodes, the former extremely atmospheric and compelling in its introduction, mirroring those of The Time Meddler and Marco Polo. But unlike these two masterful serials once the side characters are brought in I found myself stifling yawns during what is best described as tedious politics between the monks. These monks in question are one of the biggest problems with its story: their costumes look cheap and glued together with sequins, their characters are very one-dimensional and in places incredibly annoying, and I'm pretty sure there were no Caucasian Buddhist Abbots living in Tibet in 1935!
Beyond the first two parts, the most enjoyment I got from this story was from the chemistry between Victoria and both Jamie and the Doctor. A stark contrast to her previous story, Victoria is much more active, and is delightfully inquisitive throughout the six parts, leading scenes with great confidence and experience. Even her excessive screaming has its pluses, with it being played for the laughs early on in the story:
"If you need me for anything just yell your head off."
"Don't worry, I will!"By the fourth episode there is a definite feeling of claustrophobia, where the setting is severly underused: the story sticks to the first three settings it stumbles upon, making for some tedious to-and-fro. Despite this the setting makes up for some great visuals in the second and only existing part, with some gorgeous and incredibly clear location shots, some that looked less grainy than the dimly lit sets of the monastery.
The big-bad of The Abominable Snowmen, the Great Intelligence, is also the big-bad in the story's quality, never feeling like the proper villain, but rather a servant of the great (but tellytubby-like) Yeti, which is ironic considering the actual standings. While a interesting concept, the Great Intelligence doesn't actually do very much, rather than saying things in an echo-y voice and hypnotizing people (which is used as a plot-device far too often).
From this story alone I would question the sanity of the man who decided bringing them back would be a good idea, but then again they also decided to broadcast this abominable second outing in a so far poor season.
5/10
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