The Seeds of Death [3.9]

Transmat technology has revolutionised the human race, with all cargos and shipments being beamed instantly from city to city via a transmitting station on the Moon. It's a perfect, failsafe system… until it fails. Enter the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe, who have landed in a rocketry museum and met the enthusiastic curator who is building a rocket in his back garden. The only way to save the world is to fly a rocket to the moon and mend the T-Mat.

Once on the Moon, the real trouble is unleashed. A crack team of Ice Warriors have taken over the base, and are preparing to invade the Earth. Their plan is to send some toxic seeds down to earth which will reproduce on an exponential scale, producing toxic gas and foam, destroying the human race and making the planet suitable for Martian colonisation. As always, only the Doctor can save the day.

The Majesty

“Seeds of Death” is directed differently from many of the other stories of this time. At least, I think so. It has lots of short shots and lots of thumping music which ramp up the tension and make for a much more entertaining story than it would be otherwise. Even a well-used concept of a countdown to ignition achieves something extra with the numbers 10-9-8… appearing projected onto Miss Kelly's face. The shots with the seeds exploding and the foam multiplying are great also.

Alongside the direction, the story is also pretty good. We have the welcome return of the Ice Warriors; a well-built global canvas, an intricate and novel plot, and some fun characters, led by the aforementioned Miss Kelly.

The Misery

The epic quality of the story makes the cheapness of the delivery stand out all the more. The entire globe is at stake, but we typically only see into a couple of small rooms. It would have been lovely to have got a sense of geography or internationality or of people getting in a car to drive from A to B. It all felt a little thin.

Equally, the plot has some gaping holes that seriously undermine the drama. Can T-Mat (or any cargo system) be so vital that vast populations will starve within hours of its failure? (I mean, surely people still have corner shops… and if not, then surely they have fridges and cupboards where they have two or three meals left… and if not, then surely they can manage to fast for a day or two without immediate death resulting?) And given this absolute reliance on T-Mat, the Doctor's (brief) intention to destroy it is quite baffling.

Further, is it credible that nobody has ever envisioned a need to repair the T-Mat system in the event of it's malfunction? Is it possible that a massive rocket can land on the Moonbase with nobody in the base noticing? Most egregious of all, is it feasible that the Ice Warriors best weapon against a planet which is 75% water would be a fungus that is destroyed by water?

Magical Moments

• Miss Kelly's whole desk wobbles alarmingly when she rests her hands on it.
• A chase in the Moonbase results in all the characters repeatedly running over the same piece of scenery in different directions.
• The cliffhanger where the Doctor is trapped against a wall facing a rising tsunami of poisonous foam is very memorable, even if the resolution is a tad predictable.

In Summary

“The Seeds of Death” could have been a really dull story, but is brought to life by strong directing and an entertaining idea. The plot is bonkers, but it is carried through with conviction. It's never going to be in the Doctor Who Hall of Fame, but it's a fun story and even at six episodes it keeps my attention.

Overall: 3.9