The Abominable Snowmen [TV/1967.9.30 ~ 11.4]

★★★☆☆

  There's nothing quite like The Abominable Snowmen, even 56 years after it was first released. There's no incidental music, no breakneck chase sequence, and the main villain doesn't even make a proper appearance... well, at all, really. The Great Intelligence remains one of Dr. Who's most interesting villains, someone who has no corporeal existence in this serial other than a state of total mental control over Padmasambhava -- and a being with incredible power and malice that cannot simply be defeated for good by destroying some machinery. It rocks that the introduction of such a villain turns out to be such a disquieting suspense mystery set in the Himalayan mountains, with Buddhist imagery galore and a wealth of robotic Yeti to accompany the fanfare. It's a good thing Episode 2 remains in the archives, because it gives us a taste of how accomplished Gerald Blake's direction for the serial was. Candle-lit corridors, dimly lit caves with glowing pyramids, ominous Buddha statues and booming voices... oh yes, this is what I signed up for.

  Is it a bit of a shame that the most interesting thing Victoria gets to do here is to become possessed by the Intelligence? Yes, but I'm not terribly heartbroken about it when the hypnotisation/posssession scene is one of the creepiest scenes in the serial and helps sell the scare factor of the malevolent being. Plus, she gets to be a joy to watch here; no wonder Jamie's visibly head over heels for her. The Abominable Snowmen is something I would recommend to new viewers for many reasons, and Patrick Troughton's layered performance is definitely one of them. He's cautious, sad over the presumable death and decay of his old friend and genuinely terrified by the Intelligence. The scene in which it torments the Doctor's mind in the final episode may just be one of the most harrowing moments of the Troughton era; to see our normally goofy and infallible hero scream in agony is quite something. Moving at a slower pace than the status quo but more enrichening because of it, this is one serial you won't ever really forget. It haunts you. Every aspect of its production (from the sound of the sphere recall signal to the lack of ambient music) feels like it was geared to end up in your nightmares... and that's amazing.