Season 7 I can now say is the only Season in the shows history where every story is a 10/10.
The Ambassadors of Death for years was regarded as the weakest of the bunch for years. In fairness it is up against three solid opponents, one of which may be the best story ever made (next review). But rather it is a continuation of a run of fantastic stories.
I have to admit I was a bit worried before re-watching it: The other three I all saw years ago and re-watched endlessly. I only saw this in 2015 and only found the chance to re-watch it once last year. So whilst I knew it was good, I was worried it would be the weak one of the season and score less than a 10. Its also 7 parts so it may have dragged...
Thankfully it never... Just. If it had been an episode longer then yes it would have. Its like how The Invasion is a 10 right until halfway through Episode 8: if it'd been trimmed ever so slightly it'd have got full marks. I do admit it is probably the weakest of the four but when all four of them are straight 10's is that a bad thing?
It has some similarity to The Silurians, with how we communicate with alien lifeforms, how we interact with them etc, although unlike in that one we actually have a clear enemy here with the rogue military forces led by the General.
UNIT get their greatest time to shine here since The Invasion in terms of action scenes. I would have included Web of Fear but that wasn't UNIT. We start with the raid on the warehouse which starts off kind of slow but then gradually builds up into a very vicious fight which looks very realistic. No campiness here, but that's Season 7 for you. As well as that we get the space capsule theft sequence which I just find hilarious with Bessie capturing the men, the car and foot chase for Liz Shaw, Reegan's skilled and efficient assault on the space centre where he kills everyone who gets in his way, the isotope factory raid, UNIT taking control of the Ambassadors and using them as basically a walking battering ram and so on.
The Ambassadors themselves are very creepy. Not showing them for 99% of the story was a good move. Brief glimpses are enough to gauge your interest. I also like how they are in fact actually the good guys. The general is the bad guy and pretty much half of the supporting cast (Its like Invasion of the Dinosaurs: everyone is essentially in on it.
The Doctors exit is pretty well handled as well. I like how, problem solved, he just decides to stroll out of there: he can't be bothered with the details.
Yeah if this had been in any other Pertwee Season it would have had a much easier time. If it had been in Season 22 it'd probably be considered the best of the bunch by most (that's them though, personally I actually like Colin Baker though and his stories, at least the ones I've seen. It'll be interesting if The Twin Dilemma is as bad as its reputation suggests when I get there).
Inferno I'll start tonight, hopefully finish it, although I may have to finish it after work tomorrow (I can't believe how easy this era is to get through compared to what I've already sat through. You can see why I've been looking forward to it since October/November last year when I started). I already know its a 10, I've seen it a lot. It has been since 2016 when I last watched it though so what will be interesting though is if it remains my view that it stays the jewel in the crown of the season. Taking Inferno out of the equation and today I would say Silurians, although tomorrow I could just as easily say Spearhead. I love them both and this one as well, but I hope Inferno tops them.
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