The Abominable Snowmen Episode Three

The one where the Yeti come to get their ball back...

While there's not been an awful lot going on in the first two episodes of this story, at least it's been a slow-burning mystery laced with intrigue and moments of incident. It's not the most complex or exciting storyline, but it's been suitably entertaining and giving just about enough to keep the viewer interested.

However, episode 3 really does dip, with very little actually happening between beginning and end to move the plot on. Just about the only thing we learn is that the big bad is some non-corporeal alien thing called the Great Intelligence which is hoping to focus on Earth, grow and take physical form. This is all shared with the viewer via Wolfe Morris's fabulously sinister vocal delivery, swinging from peaceful and gentle to aggressive and rasping at the drop of a (Himalayan) hat. Without Morris's intensely creepy performance, Padmasambhava's threat would be void (the bit where Padmasambhava moans "Ohhhhhhh...", half in exhaustion, half in ecstasy, is very eerie). He's also got a really cool game board of the Himalayas and some beautiful carved Yeti pieces. Want.

In place of action and incident (although there is a little of that when the Yeti attack Khrisong), this story goes more for atmosphere and mystery. In the flickering torch-lit cloisters of Detsen, there sits a poisonous spider at the heart of a forbidden web. Nobody except for Songsten is allowed to enter the High Lama's inner sanctum, and it seems the man - or thing - inside is either possessed by, or the slave of, some greater alien entity which has its own plans for Earth. It has echoes of The Web Planet, which also boasted a wonderful vocal performance (from Catherine Fleming).

I love how obvious it is that writers Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln put a lot of work into making the scripts truthful and believable. The research they did is astonishing, and it shines through in moments where the monks encase the deactivated Yeti in a Buddhist ghost trap, with threads of yarn supposedly ensnaring the creature's spirit.

I also like how Victoria's strength of character has come to the fore in this episode, insisting that she wants to see inside the inner sanctum, and asking Thonmi why he does not have a curiosity about what Padmasambhava looks like (we don't know yet, Vic, but he's got standard issue evil gnarled fingernails, so don't hope for too much!). But what I don't like so much is Raymond Llewellyn's choice to play Sapan as a stereotype East Asian, with a higher vocal register and clipped tones. It wouldn't be so bad if everybody else was doing the same, but he sticks out for being the only one opting for the obvious. Norman Jones and David Spenser give much more truthful, and better, performances by not going for cliche.

The inevitability of the cliffhanger amused me. It takes 25 minutes for the silver sphere to bleep its way from the Buddha statue to the Yeti casing, and you just know that it's going to reactivate while screechy Victoria's in the room. Deborah Watling's screams are piercingly effective (no wonder the crew nicknamed her Leatherlungs!), and have been a favourite way to end an episode just lately (episode 1 ended with a scream too).

I hope the story picks up in its mid-section. It's intriguing, yes, but without major plot developments, it's going to be a long hike to the climax.

First broadcast: October 14th, 1967

Steve's Scoreboard
The Good: I can't praise Wolfe Morris enough for his vocal performance as Padmasambhava. He gives the story a truly eerie dimension.
The Bad: Move the plot on a bit faster, guys.
Overall score for episode: ★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆

NEXT TIME: Episode Four...

My reviews of this story's other episodes: Episode One; Episode Two; Episode Four; Episode Five; Episode Six

Find out birth/death dates, career information, and facts and trivia about this story's cast and crew at the Doctor Who Cast & Crew site: http://doctorwhocastandcrew.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/the-abominable-snowmen.html

The Abominable Snowmen soundtrack is available on BBC CD. Find it on Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Abominable-Snowmen-Collection/dp/056347856X.