What’s it about: UNIT is accustomed to dealing with visitors
from space, but nothing has prepared them for Ikiria, a beautiful artist
bearing gifts. Could Ikiria’s designs be something more than aesthetic? As the
Brigadier turns against him, Mike Yates goes on the run. Can he save the world?
Or will he just learn an important lesson in betrayal?
Camp Captain: Richard Dinnick’s portrayal of the Captain we
know and love is invaluable because we rarely get insight into his character.
It was rare even when he was a regular on the show. With so much plot to get
through in 25 minutes there was little time to concentrate on the secondary
characters. Mike has since featured in books and the wonderfully surreal Nest
Cottage series with Tom Baker’s Doctor but this is the first time I have felt
that somebody has looked at this character as he was during the days of the
Doctor’s exile and tried to really get under his skin. Richard Franklin is more
than up to realising this intimate peek into the character he has nurtured for
over three decades and proves to be a thoughtful narrator. You really feel for
Mike here, in a way that I don’t think I ever have before. Mike is portrayed as
something of a tragic character, one who indulges in poetic descriptions and
the sort of person who suspects as soon as he finds happiness he will lose it
again eventually.
There are some people you can trust right away and places
where you feel right at home, that’s what UNIT meant for Mike Yates. When Mike
talks about that all changing an ardent fan might think he is talking about the
events of Invasion of the Dinosaurs but The Rings of Ikiria has its own
hardships for the good Captain to endure. Back then Mike renting a flat in
Clapham which was stark and did not contain many personal belongings. Not much
to show for his life. Home had never held much meaning for him because all his
life he been moved from one institution to another. He felt as though he had
never really fitted in anywhere, like a piece of a jigsaw that keeps being put
in the wrong box, until he was seconded to UNIT. He felt supported and for the
first time liked. For the first time ever Mike was comfortable. As soon
as Ikiria emerges from her craft and Mike finds her ‘utterly beguiling’ I knew
he was in for all kinds of trouble. Cleverly the story doesn’t go down the
obvious route of having Mike charmed by her powers but everybody else and
suddenly the image of him on the run makes perfect sense. When the Brigadier
(under Ikiria’s thrall) accuses Mike of being delusion it feels as though he
has stuck a knife into him. UNIT was the only home he had ever had and he was
being threatened with expulsion. Mike realises that when things come to the
crunch he has no authority and no access to those who do. Mike proves to be
something a James Bond action hero, going rogue and running rings around his
own people in his efforts to bring down their seductress. When it comes to the
crunch he trusts the Brigadier and the Doctor, even if they are supposedly
under the influence. For a moment Mike wonders what a life travelling with
Ikiria would be like, to succumb to enchanting allure.
Good Grief: The Doctor might not agree with Mike’s methods
but he would be the first to admit that something had to be done. The Doctor
couldn’t wait to tell the first person he happens across that all he has to do
is reverse the polarity of the Etherean wavelengths! Well, what else? He has
the effect of surprising people when he keeps coming back from the dead. At the
conclusion and when it comes to dishing out thanks to Mike the Doctor tells him
that he has a strong mind. It would certainly be the case when he chooses to
join up with Operation Golden Age.
Chap with Wings: Why would the dependable old Brig be
shooting at Mike Yates? The Doctor has a habit of looking at the Brigadier as
though he is a particularly slow child.
Standout Performance: Franklin has had a chance to master
his narrative techniques in the Nest Cottage series and proves adept at guiding
us through this story, tinging every scene with a quiet sadness that only Mike
Yates could bring to a UNIT tale. I wasn’t quite so sure about his lisping
Doctor and country bumpkin Benton, though.
Sparkling Dialogue: ‘Ma’am, I must insist that you refrain
from distributing your jewellery to my men!’ is a line I never expected to hear
Mike Yates to say! Or maybe I did…
‘You and whose army, Doctor? Because I already have yours…’
Great Ideas: Five stranger circular shapes have appeared in
fields of wheat, rings, pictograms. The Doctor suspects they are letters of an
alien language but what are they trying spell? The Doctor thinks they are from
a non aggressive, trans dimensional race. There is a real anticipation about
the next pictogram that is due and once it is carved into the wheat he soon
realises it spells Ikiria which is Etherean for craft. There is an authentic
feel of the era with the sequence of the UNIT family surrounding the alien
craft, it feels as though it has leapt straight from The Claws of Axos. Ikiria
is a multi coloured, ethereal, smooth limbed being – the most heavenly creature
that Mike had ever set eyes on. She manipulates forms to creates works of
beauty, an artist. The pictograms were to signal her arrival because she
understood that arriving unannounced is considered inappropriate. Campbell dies
and his face turns up carved out of wheat in a field, a powerful image. It’s a
pre-cursor for a far more chilling moment (and effective cliffhanger) when the
Doctor’s lined face can be seen in wheat from the height of a helicopter. The
Doctor’s plan was to fake his own death so Ikiria’s attention would be focused
elsewhere whilst he worked. To achieve this he intentionally provoked her into
a psychic battle which he nearly lost and his face appeared in the field.
Mercer was a psychic illusion, someone to lure them to the rendezvous with
Ikiria. Her character had been pieced together out of Mike’s memory from people
he had served with over the years to create someone familiar.
Audio Landscape: Running through puddles and crops,
gunshots, snoring, land rover, helicopter, screaming kettle, the ringing phones
of the incident room, a Geiger counter, approaching craft, a sonic boom, a ramp
extending to the ground, birdsong, the exploding diesel engine, waters lapping,
gulls screaming, the barrage of psychic energy crackling towards the Doctor,
Ikiria’s defeat is a world of sonic wailing and screams.
Musical Cues: Yason and Fox are back in their natural home,
the companion chronicles, and they bring a great deal of energy and pathos to
this story. I especially enjoyed their choice of military drumbeats as Mike
goes on the run. They have a wonderful way of building momentum with their
score, the music growing steadily louder and faster as the situation becomes
more urgent. They are invaluable to this range.
Isn’t it Odd: I realise this is supposed to be a more
discreet alien takeover than usual but I have seen plenty of old Star Trek
episodes with gorgeous women intoxicating the heroes and taking over their
minds for this idea to be old hat. I was waiting for the scene where Mike
contacted somebody he thought he could trust and they turn out to be under
Ikiria’s thrall, Body Snatchers style and the narrative does not disappoint. I
was a little disappointed when the technobabble started – all this talk of
psionic projectors and Etherean telepathic wavelengths. Its no excuse for an
actual conclusion.
Result: An odd companion chronicle because it contains all
of the elements that make a good early Pertwee; the Doctor patronising the
Brigadier, an alien visitor to Earth, humanity brought to its knees by its own
failings…but it captures the era a little too well and none of this
material feels especially original. If you’re approaching the companion
chronicles as an exercise in nostalgia then you wont be disappointed but if you
are after an unique piece of science fiction then look elsewhere. Its all
pretty predictable (crop circles, enchanting alien women and their powers of
persuasion) and only elevated by Ken Bentley’s strong direction and Fox and
Yason’s superb score. However I was enchanted by the choice of narrator, Mike
Yates, and the way that the author managed to get under his skin in a way that
felt genuine and revealing. He’s a character that has been denied much
exploration over the years and being able to see why UNIT means so much to him
is invaluable because it also explains his late defection. I hope Dinnick gets
to write for the character again, he has proven that he can unearth treasures
from such a long forgotten companion and I would love to see what he could do
with a story set before Mike joined UNIT or after he was retired honourably.
There is clearly more tragedy to be eked out of this character: 7/10
2 comments:
I wasn’t quite so sure about his lisping Doctor and country bumpkin Benton, though.
Yes! Agreed! I loved this story, but their voices just grated on me after a while.
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