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The Abominable Snowmen

30TH SEPTEMBER 1967 - 4TH NOVEMBER 1967

(6 EPISODES)

Doctor Who’s fifth season will forever be remembered for the debut of two new sets of monsters – the Ice Warriors, who would show up in the next story, and the Yeti, who make their auspicious debut here. The Abominable Snowmen was such a big hit with the viewing public that a sequel for later in the season was immediately commissioned, and whilst many do not reckon this six-parter to be quite as good as its moody sequel, The Web of Fear, it is still generally considered to be one of Patrick Troughton’s best and serves as a fantastic introduction to the Great Intelligence and their monstrous servants.

Being the first serial of fifth production block to be shot, this serial was afforded the luxury – still rare at this point in the series’ history – of a week’s location filming, which took place in Snowdonia, North Wales, at the start of September 1967. In the existing episode and the telesnaps from this story, the location footage looks superb on screen – the money really does show.

“There’s a great deal of difference between the Highlands and the Himalayas, Jamie.”

The first few episodes of the serial are slow moving, but nevertheless compelling. The surviving second episode (available on the Lost in Time DVD) is probably not the best showcase for the story, as the episode is bogged down for long periods in the Detsen Monastery, but even so the slow build-up allows the audience time to really get to know the characters, and they are a particularly fascinating bunch. Travers, the explorer, is played by Jack Watling (companion Deborah Watling’s father) who brings a lot of weight to the role and Krisong (Norman Jones), is also very memorable as the warrior monk who takes an instant dislike to the Doctor and his companions. This serial follows the tried-and-tested plot formula where the Doctor is initially suspected of wrongdoing and then eventually earns the trust of the people who initially suspect him, and although it has been done time after time throughout the series it never works better than it does here. To see the impish Doctor finally win over Travers, Krisong and the monks is a real joy to watch.

Unfortunately though, the serial is unusually light on dialogue and is therefore very difficult to enjoy on audio alone. Moreover, a lot of the gags are purely visual – for example, the Doctor and Victoria mistake the Doctor in his sheepskin coat for a “hairy beastie” early on, as does Professor Travers, who initially thinks that the Doctor may have attacked him (when in fact it was a Yeti). Fortunately, when the BBC Radio Collection soundtrack and its linking narration is listened to in synch with the telesnaps, one can follow the story relatively easily.

Jamie has a great story, even by his high standards, and is at the heart of most of the action throughout. One of my strongest memories of the Terrance Dicks’ Target novelisation that I read years and years ago is the underlying humour in the story, and Jamie is at the centre of most of that too. Along with the Doctor, the pair of them have some immortal one-liners: “They came to get their ball back”; “Bung a rock at it”; need I go on? Victoria, however, demonstrates exactly why she has the reputation of being the helpless ‘screaming young girl’ companion. Fair dues, she does strike out on her own for a large chunk of the story – in the fourth episode, for example, it is Victoria that discovers that the High Lama Padmasamb-hava is possessed by the Great Intelligence – but even so she spends far too much time running around and screaming for my liking!

The last half of the story is much more action packed than the beginning. The Yeti rampage through the Abbey; the Doctor confronts what is left of his old friend, Padmasambhava; and we are treated to an explosive ending that sees the Doctor immobilise the Yeti, but only at great cost. Songsten, Krisong, Padmasambhava, scores of monks… all lost. Despite the tremendous loss of life though, the serial still manages to conclude with another lovely little

moment of comedy, with Jamie declaring that he wants to go somewhere ‘warmer’ next time (blissfully unaware that he is on course for the second ice age...) and Travers discovering a real Yeti, which turns out to be a shy and timid creature!

Copyright © E.G. Wolverson 2006

E.G. Wolverson has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

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