"Doctor Who" stories in the late eighties would frequently be described as a triumph of style over content. I would apply this label to "The Ark" as well. The story's central idea is compelling and powerful, and it is designed to the hilt, but sadly much of the dialogue, and worse, the acting, does not really live up to the premise. There are some good performances- the leader of the Monoids manages to convey the megalomania of the being through a costume that allows him no facial expression at all bar the ability for some truly prodigious eye-rolling, with a spot of Hitler-like gesticulation to go with it, and the Doctor occasionally approaches the heights of his brief appearance in the previous story, but sadly there are all too many of the witless and charismaless Guardians taking turns to jump on to a podium and wave their arms about, and while Peter Purves struggles manfully against the 'hero' characterisation Steven has erroneously been lumbered with, Jackie Lane makes no effort at all to lift Dodo into three dimensions, or even two. Having said that, of all the Guardians, it is the most determined podium-jumper, the paranoid Zentos, who most approaches watchability in his performance. Inigo Jackson takes an unusual character for "Doctor Who"- a villain who isn't really a villain at all, just rather nervous and good at his job, and plays him fairly effectively. Unfortunately he does over egg the pudding on occasion, and like Maylin Tekker in "Timelash" his sometimes overdone performance stands out all the more oddly for the non-existent ones surrounding him. For my money, the most interesting idea in these first two episodes is nothing to do with:
"We're in the future!" "On a spaceship!" "The sun's going to explode!"- well presented as these elements are (at least on the production side)they are simply sci-fi backing, the most interesting aspect is the battle of wills and politics in which, in fact, it is the democratic process which produces the unfair cruel result, and the old autocrat who saves the day. Chilling, and performed excellently by Jackson, the scene in which Zentos seems to be suggesting that the Doctor and Dodo should accept their death sentence simply because the majority wish it underlines how cold and injudicious democracy can be. We have seen Zentos manipulate the people to his will:
"Never mind the arguments for the defender because now they are nothing.", but always within the letter of the law "This is a fair hearing", and in the end it is their word, not his, which condemns the time travellers. However, lovely as this idea is, it is not developed at all, simply offered, and then whisked away. Equally we have our glimpses of Monoid culture- interesting perhaps because of their very brevity, but again, not developed. The Refusians, whose name must be a joke, are the 'transcended beings' of hard sf, the Vorlons, the Guardians (in the sense of the Key to Time) and I personally feel a BBC book author in sequel hunting mode (hello, Chris Bulis) could do very well to consider what would happen between humans, Monoids, and their new 'big brothers' in a few generations time. Still, again, the idea is thrown up at us, then just abandoned. So many ideas in a script is surely the mark of a wonderful story, but to leave all these ideas only so faintly examined is the mark of a strange one.
I have, I must admit, recently changed my mind about "The Ark" rather, hence the fairly drastic re-writing of this review. The reason for this is quite simple- despite all the abuse I heaped upon it in the past, I still found my fingers reaching for it from the video shelf. So, there must be something to recommend it bar the qualified remarks I made above. Well, the camera direction is simply amazing, with high-angled shots, sophisticated inlay and model shots at least ten years ahead of their time, and a general sense of a director who knew exactly what he was doing, and furthermore how to do it. The script grows on you and contrary to popular myth the Monoids are actually rather good, and their single eyes can really look quite sinister on occasion, with One in parts three and four taking over from Zentos in one and two as an effective character, but the guardian costume design, what there is of it, is simply laughable. I can't honestly see or guess at a reason for the strange costumes worn by the characters, and they look aesthetically horrible. Given the polished nature of the rest of the direction, it's strange to find such a blunder here, and it could be argued that the odd, not to say embarrassing costume design detrimentally affects the performance of the actors, although this is no excuse to the diabolical Dodo. As I said, the story manages to gain your dislike in several important areas while you watch it, but still drags you back to watch it again. For a story made to be only watched once, this is perhaps a mistake, but the writers are either idiots or geniuses, I just can't quite decide which.
