THE HORROR CHANNEL'S DR. WHO ADVENTURE: THE ARK IN SPACE

Having just discovered a new freeview channel on UK TV called the Horror Channel [803] and with time to kill on Sunday just gone, I settled down to some serious Sci-Fi over a long breakfast.

First up was an old Tom Baker Dr.Who series called the Ark In Space, which I must say I enjoyed a great deal. It was an omnibus of all the episodes in one. I like Tom's Doctor along with John Pertwee's more than any and I found this story both engaging and nostalgic in equal measure. The acting was good, the music subtle and downplayed and the effects, despite being done on a shoe string, were plausible and inventive. Some of my favourite features were:

Obviously this is bubble wrap sprayed green but I thought Noah's transformation into a Wirrn was very effective!

Even more green bubble wrap was used for the Wirrn pupa, which I assume had a child crawling around in it. Again, simple but productive.

The adult Wirrn reminded me greatly of the alien insects in the 1960's movie Quatermass and the Pit. I love a good insect and the Wirrn are great.

The Ark: on first glance I thought they'd used a SWORD Booster rocket for the central tower!

Not sure what they've used but I bet someone's worked it out!

The cryo-chambers were simple opaque casts of human forms. I don't know how expensive they will have been but I thought they worked well. They reminded me of a similar translucent action doll I had as a kid. It may not even have been jointed. No idea any more what it was.

and finally I spotted various futuristic bits of furniture on the Ark and one looked a lot like this Cartell cart. Can't find a screengrab of it in the show though so I can't be sure. Anyone have one?

What do you think of the Ark In Space readers? Is there any merchandise from the series?

In the meantime I hope the Horror Channel run my fave Doctor Who stories, the Sea Devils and the Curse of Peladon.