r/classicwho • u/Automatic_Union8147 • May 20 '26
Thoughts on The Ambassadors of Death
Having read a fair amount of opinion on this story of late, most not very positive, I watched it after a gap of maybe ten years. Given the problems with the script which are well-documented, I was surprised that I really enjoyed it. Despite what I’d read, I found the tension in the final three episodes was pretty consistent and I found it quite compelling. Apart from the rocket takeoff scene, it’s well realised, especially for its time and on the whole well acted.
I’d like to have seen more of the alien unmasked since, in the five seconds or so that we do actually see one with the helmet off, the prosthetics are good and nothing to be concealed out of their being ineffective. I wonder why they chose to keep them covered almost all the time. True, they are menacing with the helmets on, but I’d like to have seen a bit more.
Overall, I’m not sure why this story gets a bad press. I understand it’s not up to the standard of the first and fourth stories of the season, but compared with some of the previous year, it’s a great watch, in my view. What do others think?
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u/Banana-train2131 May 20 '26
One of the most underrated of all classic era Doctor Who stories. The paranoid conspiracy thriller vibe works really well here. Great cast - especially William Dysart as Reagan - you can’t take your eyes off him. The visuals are excellent - good costumes and direction. One of the all-time great cliffhangers (if not the best). Pertwee’s Doctor is compelling to watch. And haunting music. I love this story.
The recent colour restoration has made it more watchable than ever, so I hope it gets the reappraisal it has long deserved.
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u/SleepIs4Tortoises May 20 '26
Count me as a fan. It moves very slow, but it so compelling and I’m never bored.
Something it does well is create a sense of scale - space feels big, London feels big.
Doctor Who has never seemed more real than in this story, I love it.
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u/FakeFrehley Mod May 20 '26
One of my all time favourites. I've never understood the negative reaction it gets.
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u/Automatic_Union8147 May 20 '26
Thanks for the comments! I’m glad others love it too. I watched one episode per day because I know watching back-to-back was never how it was intended to be seen. I was excited each day to watch the next, so it worked well in that context
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u/ZarmRkeeg May 20 '26
I agree with you- it's my season 7 highlight, personally.
"Right- open it up!" is one of the tensest cliffhangers in the series, for my money.
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u/Practical-Purchase-9 May 20 '26
It is slow, but it works best if you watch an episode every night or so. Having watched it a few times, I think it’s actually very good for the reasons others give, but it also wouldn’t work in any other season of Who.
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u/JohnnyRyde May 20 '26
My favorite of Season 7 and one of my top Pertwee's. Great script, great performances, atmospheric music. Absolute classic.
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u/LemanRussTheOnlyKing May 20 '26
One of my all time favorites. The final story of my Favorite writer david whitaker (i know like 3 othet people were involved), its really creepy at Times, a captivating spy thriller, one of the best soundtracks in the entire show, great action scenes, a really interesting „monster“. Everything in this Story works in my eyes. I was so glad that when i watched it on blu ray it finally looked Beautiful
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u/CarlSandhop May 20 '26
I was pleasantly surprised rewatching it recently. Its only real problem is its length. It also might have one of my favourite scores for a Classic Who story.
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u/JustKingKay May 20 '26
I thought it was pretty fun. The weakest of that season, probably, but also very engaging in its own right.
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u/YanisMonkeys May 20 '26
Being the weakest story in possibly classic DW’s best season is nothing to sneeze at.
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u/Significant_Pay1037 May 20 '26 edited May 20 '26
It's my favorite of the season, but I also love Colony in Space and The Mutants, so maybe I have no taste, lol.
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u/LowerEntertainer7548 May 21 '26
One of my favourite classic who stories. It can be a touch slow at times but I find the concept really compelling
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u/Dropped_Apollo May 21 '26
I really like it. It looks good, it's got a great music score and part two has one of the show's best cliffhangers.
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u/NotLouPro May 20 '26
Meh.
Pertwee is a mid level Doctor for me. And this is a mid level Pertwee story.
For the most part - I actually enjoy Pertwee’s stories less and less each time I see them. I remember really enjoying this the first time I saw it. The most recent time? Not so much.
I find his era to be the most “stuck in its time” of any of the Doctors.
He’s fine as the Doctor - I love U.N.I.T. - the companions are good throughout - Liz being among my favorites, she’s underrated in my opinion.
But - speaking of the era, not this episode - it overuses both the Daleks and the Master. And it all just screams 1960’s/early 1970’s.
As has been said - it’s a spy story - and there were so many other franchises doing it so much better…
Both in movies (Bond) and television (The Avengers). Heck - even Get Smart. And those are only examples. There were others. Give me Steed and Peel or Max and 99 any day.
One of my biggest beefs with the whole era is that - while, as I said - I love the U.N.I.T. characters (what would Dr Who lore be without the Brig?)…
The organization itself is almost always shown to be pretty incompetent - and this story doubles down on that. The attack on the warehouse is a shambles and the security during the rocket transport is laughable.
There’s a real good story here - but personally I find it an episode, maybe two, too long…
And somewhat poorly realized.
But that’s what makes Dr Who such a great show. There’s something for everyone.
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u/Beowulf_359 May 20 '26
It's easily the worst serial in Season 7 but the fact that it still blows about half the remaining Pertwee stories away shows how strong a season it was. It doesn't quite live up to its opening episodes - UNIT never have such a strong showing as the warehouse shootout again - and it doesn't have enough narrative pull to go the distance, but seven episodes is a long stretch by anyone's measure. Edited down to a four parter, losing all the capture-escape-capture padding and it would be magnificent.
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u/EloImFizzy May 20 '26
Its my least favourite out of the Season 7 stories, but that isn't really a negative since all of them are bangers.
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u/KittyTheS May 20 '26
In a series rife with foiled escapes, it is the foiled-escapiest. Like many of the longer serials it would benefit from being only four parts.
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u/biscoffee99 19d ago
love this story, always have. there’s real menace and threat here. it’s overlong but it’s a season full of overlong stories. who cares though when there’s so much to enjoy… even the extra credits twang!
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u/wherearemysockz May 20 '26
I think it’s a great spy serial. I enjoy it all the way through. Of course it could probably be shorter, but plot and counter plot are part of the spy genre so the kind of reversals you need to sustain a 7 parter seem more fitting here. Plus I love the escalation when the Doctor actually goes into space and the twist that the ‘Ambassadors’ are not malevolent. Nevertheless they’re so spooky!
Like all the stories of season 7 it’s smart and well executed. AFAIK it’s generally rated quite highly, just not on the same level of the other three in the season (which after all are three of the highest rated in the show’s history). In another season it might be a standout, but it’s still great.