The Abominable Snowmen [2.8]

Emerging in Tibet, our intrepid heroes find themselves stuck between a band of paranoid monks and a rampaging herd of Yeti. (What's the collective noun for Yeti? No idea...) Anyway, after getting split up, accused of murder, imprisoned, attacked and hopelessly entangled in plot twists, the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria realise that everything is connected.

A Great Intelligence – disembodied, unseen and unheard – is manipulating everyone and everything. Under his control, the Abbot and a strange old man with an unpronounceable name have built the robot yeti as a private telepathic army. Today the mountain, tomorrow the world.

The Majesty

There are a lot of great elements to this story: the mystical monks, the Himalayan setting, and especially the Yeti. The dialogue is light and whimsical and the Great Intelligence is a magnificent, underused enemy. If less of this story was missing, I'm sure I'd enjoy it a lot more.

The Misery

Sadly, however, only the first episode exists, and as a result there is only a limited connected we can make with the characters and the story. And in any case, at six episodes it feels far too long.

Magical Moments

• “Look at that!” cries the Doctor, rummaging in a chest in the TARDIS. “I haven't seen it for ages.” -“What is it?” -“No idea, but it's nice to see it again!”
• The monks have a habit of dropping truth-bombs: “Harsh words are like blunted arrows: the truth makes them sharp.”
• “Oh dear,” mutters the Doctor. “Jamie has a plan. Run away!”
• The Doctor isn't much better himself, when he and Jamie are faced with a yeti. “Have you thought of a clever plan, Doctor?” -“Yes, Jamie, I think I have.” -“What is it?” -“Bung a rock at it!”
• The Doctor tries to hypnotise Victoria. “You are feeeeeling sleeeeepy.” But it is Jamie who nearly drops off.
• “You may not take weapons into the sanctum.” the Abbot gravely informs the Doctor and Khrisong. And the moment Khrisong hands over his sword, the dignified Abbot stabs him through the belly.

In Summary

The first time I watched this story, I had only one word for it: “Abominable”. This time round, I am more sympathetic, but it's still a difficult watch. In the reconstruction, the various monks blur into one another, the yeti lose their charm and the various twists of the plot get a bit muddled. At the same time, I appreciate the flavour and texture of this story. It's still the same formula of base-under-siege, but here the nondescript colony or spaceship is replaced by a Buddhist monastery – that alone gets it a point.

Overall: 2.8