The Ark In Space

The Ark in Space is one of the finest episodes of Doctor Who and Tom Baker was the BEST Doctor Who.

A forerunner to Alien

The Ark in Space begins with the TARDIS materializing aboard Nerva, a space station built during the 30th century. The Doctor (Tom Baker), along with his companions Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan (Ian Marter) find the last survivors of the human race resting in suspended animation. The earth has been devastated by solar flares, and the surviving humans have gone into stasis until the planet is safe and habitable once again. The story becomes a predecessor to Alien, as the Wirrn emerge. The Wirrn are an insect-like collective, threatening to devour and destroy the human survivors. The Ark in Space is classic Doctor Who, and very good science fiction to boot, written by the late Robert Holmes who was the most prolific and, perhaps, the greatest writer in DW history. This DVD has some great bonus features, including an interesting commentary track with Tom Baker, Elisabeth Sladen and Philip Hinchcliffe, who was the show's producer during Baker's first three seasons as the Doctor. Another great feature allows the viewer to watch the program with the original effects with models dangling on strings against a space backdrop, or with new CGI effects. The Ark in Space is one of my favorite stories from my favorite era of the Doctor Who classic series.

Reviewing the Ark in Space

Ark in Space, was one of the many Dr. Who Stories I had on VHS, recorded many years ago staying up late Saturday night on PBS. Having a fresh crisp DVD version of this story has been refreshing. In fact, that the whole series is being restored and released on DVD is a godsend. This episode is Tom Baker's first as a newly regenerated Doctor out in space and time operating without the safety net of U.N.I.T. with his companions in tow. The line-up of the Doctor, Sarah, and Harry has always been my favorite line-up. Harry Sullivan in particular is a favorite companion of mine and I always wished he (Ian Marter) stayed on for more stories. The story is first rate Science Fiction. In fact the basic storyline has been used again and again in big budget Sci-Fi blockbusters still to this day. The acting was even above par in this episode which allowed you to suspend disbelief of the cheezy "aliens of the week", i.e., the Wirren. This was the case of most of the Tom Baker Stories, with possible exception would be his last two seasons when The BBC started to slowly and methodically destroy the show. Overall when introducing someone to Doctor Who, this is a good episode to start with.