The Ambassadors of Death: Episode 1
- Episode aired Mar 21, 1970
- TV-PG
- 25m
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
601
YOUR RATING
While the Brigadier investigates a loss of contact with Mars Probe 7, the Doctor realises signals coming from the probe are of extra-terrestrial origin.While the Brigadier investigates a loss of contact with Mars Probe 7, the Doctor realises signals coming from the probe are of extra-terrestrial origin.While the Brigadier investigates a loss of contact with Mars Probe 7, the Doctor realises signals coming from the probe are of extra-terrestrial origin.
Alan Chuntz
- Thug
- (uncredited)
Max Diamond
- Technician
- (uncredited)
Pat Gorman
- Technician
- (uncredited)
David J. Grahame
- Control Room Technician
- (uncredited)
Billy Horrigan
- Collinson's Man
- (uncredited)
Eric Kent
- UNIT Soldier
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- David Whitaker
- Sydney Newman(uncredited)
- Trevor Ray(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn an interview years later, Terrance Dicks recounted the experience of rewriting David Whitaker's story:
"One of the situations I inherited [as Doctor Who (1963) script editor] was Ambassadors of Death and the ongoing tangle with that. David Whitaker...had gone through four or five drafts and you come to a stage where you write so much it just gets worse. What was happening was that the need for the script was very urgent and I stormed into [producers] Peter [Bryant] and Derrick [Sherwin] and said, "Look, we've got five drafts of this. David's fed up with it, he doesn't know what to do. What we need to do is pay David in full and Mac [Hulke] and I will finish." And that's basically what we did. I made sure that David got a full script fee for all his episodes because he had been buggered about by the establishment and Mac and I took the bare bones of his story and almost did a "War Games" - wrote new scripts very quickly - and it shows. It had its moments though".
- GoofsEverything the aliens touch violently explodes, except the capsule, their prison, the gates and doors they open, and many other things that would be inconvenient to the plot.
- Quotes
The Doctor: [shouting down the lift] My dear fellow, I simply don't happen to have a pass!
[pause for inaudible query]
The Doctor: Because I don't believe in them, that's why!
- Crazy creditsThe opening credit sequence for all episodes of the story is split into two parts and the episode title is presented in two separate lines, the second "OF DEATH" part being larger and accompanied by a dramatic audio sting.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Mars Probe 7: Making the Ambassadors of Death (2012)
Featured review
Very good, action packed story (Story #53, The Ambassadors of Death)
"The Ambassadors of Death" doesn't exactly have a bad reputation, just one that isn't particularly inflated. Fans go on and on and on about how great season 7 is but half the time they appear to be speaking strictly of the first two stories, and the one that follows this, "Inferno". I hold the opinion that "The Ambassadors of Death" is a bit of a forgotten gem. It looks great, it's action-packed, it's got a great concept and good writing (despite going through multiple rewrites to accommodate entirely new characters and ideas), and has a wonderful atmosphere which it manages not to lose over its seven episodes.
"The Ambassadors of Death" struck me as only slightly padded as opposed to the well-padded "The Silurians" and (God help us all) the later Pertwee seven and six-parters. In fact, this struck me as a six-parter padded to seven parts as opposed to a four-parter padded to seven parts. Anyway, much of this story only survives in black and white, which is a shame because it lends itself quite well to color. Menacing villains and good model work and, unusually for Doctor Who, a couple of shootouts and chase scenes (the fans annoyed by this are the sort of fans annoyed by the chase in the TV movie, which was also a good bit of fun) make this a fun and always, at least slightly, gripping Doctor Who story.
Oh, but the best was yet to come!
Episode Ratings:
Episode 1: 9/10 Episode 2: 8/10 Episode 3: 8/10 Episode 4: 7/10 Episode 5: 7/10 Episode 6: 7/10 Episode 7: 8/10
Overall: Average amounts to 7.7/10 but I will give this story a good, solid 8 out of 10 stars over its seven episodes
"The Ambassadors of Death" struck me as only slightly padded as opposed to the well-padded "The Silurians" and (God help us all) the later Pertwee seven and six-parters. In fact, this struck me as a six-parter padded to seven parts as opposed to a four-parter padded to seven parts. Anyway, much of this story only survives in black and white, which is a shame because it lends itself quite well to color. Menacing villains and good model work and, unusually for Doctor Who, a couple of shootouts and chase scenes (the fans annoyed by this are the sort of fans annoyed by the chase in the TV movie, which was also a good bit of fun) make this a fun and always, at least slightly, gripping Doctor Who story.
Oh, but the best was yet to come!
Episode Ratings:
Episode 1: 9/10 Episode 2: 8/10 Episode 3: 8/10 Episode 4: 7/10 Episode 5: 7/10 Episode 6: 7/10 Episode 7: 8/10
Overall: Average amounts to 7.7/10 but I will give this story a good, solid 8 out of 10 stars over its seven episodes
helpful•52
- ametaphysicalshark
- Jan 17, 2008
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
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- Filming locations
- TCC Condensers, Wales Farm Road, North Acton, London, England, UK(UNIT gun battle)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
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