An enjoyable adventure and the first appearance of the Ice Warriors an ancient race from Mars that have not been used enough. This has 2 missing episodes that had a reconstruction made from the audio and stills for VHS, but exists other than that, but has not been released on DVD as of yet.

Earth of the future at Brittanicus Base they are trying to slow the progress of glaciers that are rolling over Britain. Leader Clent (Peter Barkworth) says they will be able to stop the ice age, but the others including technician Jan Garrett (Wendy Gifford) know they are close to being forced to leave and losing Britain to the new Ice Age. Clent is pissed at a maverick scientist named Penley (Peter Sallis) who left the team. The remaining scientist Arden (George Waring) is searching for archeological finds in the glaciers and he finds an armored warrior in a block of ice. Arden doesn’t listen to Clent’s appeals to come back and help with the ioniser and instead works on digging out the man from the ice. They are watched by Penley and Storr (Angus Lennie) who have given up on Technology. When their is an avalanche, Storr has his arm badly broken.

The Doctor (Patrick Troughton), Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines) and Victoria Waterfield (Deborah Watling) arrive in the TARDIS outside the base, and the Doctor offers to help Clent with the Ioniser. The Doctor manages to stabilize the Ioniser, realizing the Ice Age is caused by a drop in CO2 levels after all the plant life has died.

Arden and Walters (Malcolm Taylor) arrive with the frozen man, and he realizes it is n Ice Warrior from Mars entombed since the last Ice Age. An emergency meeting is called, and no one notices that the ice on the Warrior has started to melt.

REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS…

The creature awakens, knocking out Jamie and taking Victoria hostage.

The Doctor realizes that their could be an Ice Warrior ship under the glacier with atomic power which the Ioniser could explode the engine and destroy the base and cause the Ice Age. Jamie arrives and tells them what has happened.

Victoria learns the Ice Warrior is named Varga (Bernard Bresslaw), and he insists she helps him find his crew, where they will decide to either return to Mars or conquer the Earth.

Penley heads to the base to steal medical supplies, but sees Victoria and Varga and follows them. Varga knocks out Clent, and Penley tries to revive him, and is found by the Doctor. Penley leaves without helping on the Ioniser.

Varga finds four more Ice Warriors and starts to revive them. Zondal his lietenant (Roger Zones) sets up defenses while the others dig out their spaceship.

Penley returns to Storr with the medicine, but finds Miss Garrett who implores him to return and help them. He refuses and she pulls a gun, but Storr grabs it, and she is sent back to check on the Omega Factor. The Doctor checks the new data and finds that the Ioniser can be made more effective.

Jame and Arden go and find the Ice Warriors and tell the base, but are gunned down by Ice Warriors. Penley finds them, and Jamie is still alive and he takes him to his home. Storr goes to talk to the Ice Warriors himself.

Victoria contacts the base and tells them of the danger of the ice warriors, but Zondal aims the ships weapons at her, but is stopped by Varga, learning of the base’s concern for their engine, and uses it against them. Victoria is taken again as bate.

The Doctor goes to get her with some ammonium sulfate which will be noxious to the Ice Warriors. Victoria flees into the ice caves and is chased by an Ice warrior who is crushed under an avalanche, and she is still head by his dead claw.

Storr is killed, but Victoria is allowed to live.

Penley brings the Doctor to Jamie and he finds that Jamie’s paralysis is only temporary and so he heads to the Martian spaceship. The Doctor leaves his communicator on so that Clent can hear and talks to the Ice Warriors, and is allowed into the ship, but locked in the airlock and almost killed, but Varga releases him when he believes his motives and give VIctoria to him.

Varga believes the Ionizer is a weapon, and the Doctor lets Clent know that in an emergency he must use it to destroy the Martian ship. Varga takes the communicator and locks up the Doctor, but he sees an Ion Propulsion system.

Varga decides to destroy the base with his sonic cannon.

Penley returns to the base with Jamie and with Clent they decide to use the Ioniser, as the Doctor’s new formula has been working in other bases.

Zondal is working on the Sonic Cannon when the doctor uses the ammonium sulfate on him and he collapses, but activates the cannon as he falls.

The blast causes only minor damage, but Varga threatens Clent that he will fire again, and Clent suggests a meeting, and Varga heads for the Ioniser room. A technician shoots at the Warriors, and Varga takes the fuel from the ionizer for his ship, which starts the glaciers moving again. Penley though turns the heat up in the base, which the Ice Warriors can’t take.

The Doctor set the Sonic Cannon to only hurt Ice Warriors, and forces the Warriors to leave the base.

The Doctor returns to the base and works with Penley to recalibrate the Ioniser and to fire it at the ship. The computer things it will explode, but they get CLent to ignore it, and activate it, destroying the martial ship and stopping the glacier.

The Doctor, Jamie and Victoria take off in the TARDIS leaving as plants start to pop through the melting snow.

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Another enjoyable Troughton adventure. Really such a seminal doctor, it really sucks that so many of his episodes are missing!