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?