Fictional alien from Doctor Who
The Ice Warriors are a fictional extraterrestrial race of reptilian humanoids in the long-running British science fiction television series "Doctor Who". They were originally created by Brian Hayles, first appearing in the 1967 serial "The Ice Warriors" where they encountered the Second Doctor and his companions Jamie and Victoria. In "Doctor Who", the Ice Warriors originated on Mars, which within the series narrative is a dying world. Their early appearances depict the Ice Warriors as attempting to conquer the Earth and escape their planet as early as Earth's Ice Age. A frozen group are discovered by an Earth scientific team, one of whom, Walters, dubs them 'Ice Warriors' in their first appearance. Despite this not being the name of their species, an Ice Lord later refers to his soldiers as Ice Warriors in the 1974 serial "The Monster of Peladon". Similarly there is a fleeting reference to themselves as such in "The Curse of Peladon". Although originally appearing as villains, subsequent appearances have depicted Ice Warriors that have eschewed violence and even ally themselves with the Doctor. They have also been featured in flashback and cameo appearances, in addition to appearing frequently in spin-off media such as novels and audio releases.
Serials were planned for both 1986 and 1990 that were to have featured the Ice Warriors: "Mission to Magnus" featuring the Sixth Doctor and the villain Sil, and "Ice Time" featuring the Seventh Doctor. In both instances, the series was placed on a hiatus and the serials scrapped; however, "Mission to Magnus" was novelised by Target and adapted as an audio drama by Big Finish, as was "Ice Time", retitled "Thin Ice" in audio form.
The Ice Warriors returned in the revived series in the seventh series episode "Cold War" (2013) and the tenth series episode "Empress of Mars" (2017).
Creation.
The fourth season of "Doctor Who" ended with "The Evil of the Daleks", a serial intended to retire the Daleks from the series; their creator Terry Nation intended to produce a spin-off in America. The production office was keen to find new recurring monsters to be used instead of the retired Daleks and alongside the popular Cybermen. Brian Hayles was approached to create a suitable monster that could be used as a new recurring antagonist for the Doctor. He drew from newspaper reports of a baby mammoth found in 1900 in the Siberian ice, and from his interest in Mars, to create his monster. James Chapman suggests that director Derek Martinus drew from the Christian Nyby film "The Thing from Another World" in realising Hayles' scripts, particularly the concept of an alien frozen in ice near an isolated science base.
Hayles had envisioned the Ice Warriors as cybernetic creatures, but designer Martin Baugh, fearing comparisons to the established Cybermen, instead designed costumes with vaguely reptilian features. After their first appearance, in 1967's "The Ice Warriors", they were a success and were brought back in 1969 for a second serial. Peter Bryant, the producer of "Doctor Who" by 1969, also felt that a second appearance might better justify the expensive Ice Warrior costumes employed in their debut serial.
Physical characteristics.
Martin Baugh was the costume designer for "The Ice Warriors" and was responsible for the decision to make the Ice Warriors reptilian humanoids. As a costume designer, Baugh preferred to work with new materials, with Piers D Britton and Graham Sleight noting that, in designing the look of the monsters, Baugh crafted the armour from fibreglass. Sleight further comments that the sculpting of this armour is reflective of crocodile skin, suggesting their reptilian nature.
Actors like Bernard Bresslaw (who portrayed the Ice Warrior Varga in their first appearance) used a sibilant whisper to demonstrate both the reptilian qualities of the monsters as well as to suggest that the Martian atmosphere is composed differently from that of Earth. The hissing voice is believed to have been developed by Bresslaw. Ice Warriors also have sonic weaponry built into their wrists. "The Seeds of Death" introduces an officer caste often referred to as Ice Lords. They are less armoured than their soldier counterparts and lack their mounted sonic weaponry. Common to both the Ice Warriors and Ice Lords are claw-like gloves.
For the return of the characters in 2013's "Cold War", these became three-fingered gloves, similar to another Doctor Who alien, the Sontarans.
Neill Gorton chose to make the creatures appear "beefier and stronger", redesigning the Ice Warrior armour to resemble plating. Urethane rubber was used, which is more flexible and comfortable than fibreglass. Mark Gatiss says that he insisted on remaining true to the original Ice Warriors' design for their return appearance.
"Cold War" also depicts an Ice Warrior removing its armour for the first time within the series, something that the Doctor says is the ultimate disgrace for an Ice Warrior. The episode does not feature an entirely unclothed Ice Warrior; however it includes shots of clawed hands in scenes that some reviewers have compared with "Alien", in addition to a revealing of the Ice Warrior's face during the episode's climax. "Cold War" also reveals that the Ice Warrior armour is a bio-mechanical shell intended to protect the Ice Warrior from the cold; as a cold-blooded species, they are susceptible to temperature fluctuations. The shell can be controlled remotely using sonic technology.
History.
The Ice Warriors first appeared in the 1967 story "The Ice Warriors", set during a future ice age in the year 3000. A scientific team sent to halt the advance of the glaciers discovers a spacecraft buried underneath the ice, where it has lain for thousands of years together with its Ice Warrior crew. The Martians are revived and attempt to take over the scientific base, but are defeated by the Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) and their ship destroyed as it tries to take off.
They returned in the 1969 serial "The Seeds of Death", which takes place in the mid-21st century. In this story, the world has grown dependent on the matter transmission system T-Mat, which an Ice Warrior strike force intends to exploit to conquer Earth. After seizing the T-Mat relay on the Moon, they use it to send seeds that are intended to reduce the atmosphere's oxygen, resembling the Martian atmosphere and making the Earth hospitable for Martian life. This plan is foiled by the Second Doctor and his companions Jamie (Frazer Hines) and Zoe (Wendy Padbury), and the invading Martian fleet is sent into an orbit around the Sun.
When the Ice Warriors returned in 1972, in "The Curse of Peladon", it was decided by the production team to subvert the audience's expectations, featuring them as allies of the Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee) rather than villains. The serial depicts the Ice Warriors having renounced violence and become members of a Galactic Federation that, besides Mars, also includes Earth, Alpha Centauri and Arcturus. They had been sent as members of a delegation to negotiate for the planet Peladon to join the Federation, where the Third Doctor encounters them after he and his companion Jo Grant (Katy Manning) are mistaken for the delegates from Earth. The Doctor initially suspects that the Ice Warriors are behind attempted sabotage to the proceedings; however, he accepts that the Ice Warriors have changed when they save his life. With the help of the Ice Warriors, the Doctor uncovers a plot by the High Priest, Hepesh (Geoffrey Toone), and the delegation from Arcturus, a world which is an old enemy of Mars, each with their own motives, to prevent Peladon's admission to the Federation.
A sequel, "The Monster of Peladon", aired in 1974 and was set 50 years after the events of "The Curse of Peladon". Here, the Ice Warriors are depicted serving as Federation peacekeeping troops. The Ice Lord Azaxyr, however, leader of this force, was working with Galaxy 5, which was at war with the Federation. Seeking a return to the race's warrior past, he tried to impose martial law and take over Peladon but was stopped by the Peladonians, who were aided by the Third Doctor.
As popular recurring monsters, the Ice Warriors have appeared in flashbacks and been referred to throughout the series history. During the Second Doctor's trial during "The War Games", he lists the Ice Warriors as among many threats he has defended the universe against. During the Third Doctor serial "The Mind of Evil", when forced to confront his fears by the Keller Machine, he sees images of his past enemies, including the Ice Warriors. The newly-regenerated Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison), during a moment of initial instability, makes mention of the Ice Warriors and the Brigadier in the 1981 serial "Castrovalva". This has been seen as perhaps alluding to an unseen adventure. When confronted by alien sentient water in the 2009 episode "The Waters of Mars", the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) theorizes that the Ice Warriors froze it in an underground glacier to prevent its escape, testing the virus by addressing it in Ancient North Martian as it reacts to his words, referring to them as "a fine and noble race who built an empire out of snow".
The 2013 episode "Cold War" is the first to depict the Ice Warriors in the revived series and features the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) encountering Grand Marshal Skaldak, a legendary warrior who had been trapped in the ice for 5000 years, on a sunken Soviet submarine. It is also the first televised story to depict an Ice Warrior without its armour. After Skaldak escapes from the ice, the crew manage to subdue him, which under Martian Law he believes is a declaration of war by humanity. After failing to communicate with his fleet for rescue or reinforcements, Skaldak leaves his armour and tears apart crew members to forensically study the weaknesses of human anatomy. One crew member, Stepashin (Tobias Menzies), reveals to Skaldak that the submarine is armed with nuclear missiles that could destroy the planet. Upon returning to his armour, Skaldak prepares to fire the missiles. However, he relents and is rescued by an Ice Warrior spaceship that pulls the submarine through the ice to the surface. Before the spaceship leaves, Skaldak deactivates the warheads.
The Ice Warriors reappear alongside the Twelfth Doctor in the 2017 episode "Empress of Mars," featuring the first female Ice Warrior. While female Ice Warriors have been mentioned before, this marks their first onscreen appearance. In the episode, a crew of soldiers in the Victorian era help an Ice Warrior who they nickname Friday to get home after his crashed ship is salvaged and he is awoken from suspended animation, only for him to discover the planet is dead. Friday awakens the Ice Queen, Iraxxa, who wants to kill the humans. Despite a rebellion by one of the soldiers, Colonel Godsacre, the mission's true commander, negotiates his death as long as she spares the rest of his men and the Earth. Iraxxa is impressed with his bravery, and offers him the chance to join their ranks. Iraxxa awakens several dormant Ice Warriors, and the Doctor calls the Galactic Federation's Alpha Centauri to pick up the remaining Ice Warriors, realizing this is the beginning of the Ice Warrior golden age.
Other appearances.
Prose.
Target released a novelisation of "Mission to Magnus" in 1990 written by Phillip Martin. This is based on a serial intended for Season 23, but this was scrapped after the series was put on an 18-month hiatus in March 1985. The novel features the Ice Warriors allying themselves with the villain Sil and facing the Sixth Doctor and Peri. They intend to move the planet Magnus Epsilon away from the sun, shifting it into a perpetual winter and turning it into their new home planet. After the Ice Warriors abandon Sil as unnecessary to the completion of their plans, he offers to help the Doctor and Peri defeat them. The Ice Warriors are ultimately destroyed when Magnus Epsilon returns to its original orbit.
After the cancellation of "Doctor Who" in 1989, Virgin Publishing secured a license to publish original "Doctor Who" fiction continuing the adventures of the Seventh Doctor. The Ice Warriors make several appearances in the Virgin New Adventures. The 1992 Ben Aaronovitch novel "Transit" is set after a war between humanity and the Ice Warriors called the "Thousand Day War" and depicts a war veteran, Old Sam, making a gesture of peace at the novel's conclusion. Craig Hinton's 1996 novel "GodEngine" novel