The Doctor and Ice Warriors

The TARDIS lands in the 21st century in what The Doctor, Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Heriot, soon discover is a space museum. They learn from Professor Eldred, who runs the museum, that a matter transmission system, called T-Mat which allows people and objects to travel instantly anywhere on Earth, has replaced all other forms of space transport - thus making his contribution to space travel, via more conventional rockets, more-or-less redundant.

Unfortunately T-Mat has recently become unreliable. Even though the system is controlled from Earth a vital relay centre is on the Moon. Scheduled transmats have fallen behind schedule and even though a technician has been sent to the Moon, to find out what is going wrong, he has not reported back and T-Mat has gone off-line altogether. Commander Radnor and Gia Kelly - who is the technical brains behind the operation - are under immense pressure to get the system working again. They have no way of contacting the Moon or travelling there without the T-Mat system and so they have no choice but to seek the assistance of Professor Eldred.

What no one on Earth realises is that the T-Mat relay station, on the Moon, has been taken over by a group of Martian Warriors led by a high ranking Martian called Slaar. The Martians plan to turn the Earth into a new Mars by spreading special seeds over the Earth which will alter its climate, and they intend to use T-Mat to carry out their plans.

The Doctor and Professor Eldred

On arriving at Professor Eldred’s space museum Commander Radnor and Gia Kelly are initially unable to persuade Professor Eldred to give them a rocket – even though they know that he secretly been building one that could be used. Eldred is eventually persuaded to let Commander Radnor use the rocket after news reports of widespread famine, caused by vital shipments not getting through, and when The Doctor, Jamie and Zoe volunteer to fly it. The rocket is launched and after a few problems, reaches the Moon. While in transit The Doctor is able to make contact with the T-Mat relay station. However, it turns out to be a technician called Phipps - who had managed to escape from the Martian invaders by hiding in a Solar Power room. When he describes the invaders to The Doctor he and Jamie recognise their description as the Ice Warriors.

On arriving The Doctor goes off to locate Phipps, leaving Jamie and Zoe to refuel the spaceship. The Doctor discovers that Phipps had managed to kill one of the Ice Warriors and that they intend to use the T-Mat as part of their invasion of Earth. What they don’t know is the Ice Warriors have managed to force other technicians to repair the T-Mat which is now working again – albeit only to receive transmissions from the main control centre on Earth. Gia Kelly notices that T-Mat is functioning again and so uses it to travel to the Moon along with two technicians. She manages to fix the T-Mat, so it is fully functioning again. The Ice Warriors then emerge and kill her two technicians and take Gia Kelly prisoner. But it is not long before The Doctor and Phipps manage to rescue her. However, in escaping they are forced to split up and The Doctor is captured by two Ice Warriors.

The Doctor with Professor Eldred, Gia Kelly and Commander Radnor

Back at the spaceship Zoe discovers that the rocket's motors are so badly damaged, by the landing, that they cannot return to Earth except by T-Mat. Jamie and Zoe therefore make their way to the Solar Power room where they meet Phipps and Gia Kelly. On learning of The Doctor’s capture they decide to use the maintenance tunnels to reach the temperature controls and so make the station uncomfortably hot for the Ice Warriors.

Meanwhile the Ice Warriors start to send the Martian seed pods to Earth. The Doctor is curious as to what the pods are for but when he gets a chance to inspect one it swells up and bursts in The Doctor's face causing him to collapse. On Earth the pods are arriving in different cities around the world where they explode dispersing into the atmosphere a white powder. Slowly, a strange white fungus begins to spread around the world.

As The Doctor starts to come around, from his experience with the pod, Slaar orders that the still unconscious Doctor is placed into a T-Mat chamber and transported into space. The Doctor though is rescued by Phipps and Jamie before the T-Mat controls are activated. Zoe manages to change the temperature and the Ice Warriors collapse – but not before one of them is transported to Earth. Its task is to capture a weather control station, in London, and render the weather control machinery inoperative so as to ensure good conditions for the growth of the fungus.

Ice Lord Slaar

Assuming they have defeated the Ice Warriors, and with the news of the spreading fungus, The Doctor, Jamie, Zoe, Gia Kelly and Phipps return to Earth. A technician called Fewsham decides to remain on the Moon, and with the temperature returning to normal, the Ice Warriors retake the T-Mat relay station. It appears though that he is helping the Ice Warriors. However, Fewsham secretly switches on a view-screen so that everyone at the T-Mat control on Earth can hear Slaar announce that the Martian fleet is homing in on a signal that they are broadcasting from the Moon. When Slaar realises what Fewsham has done he has him killed. However, it is too late as The Doctor has managed to obtain a recording of the homing signal. Commander Radnor arranges for a satellite to be sent into space that will transmit a duplicate of the Martian homing signal – and so prevent the Martian fleet arriving as intended.

The Doctor also analyses the spreading foam and discovers it can be dispersed with water. When they try to contact a nearby weather control station, so as to make it rain all over Earth, no one answers. Jamie and Zoe therefore go and investigate. However, at the weather control station, they find the equipment sabotaged and then they realise that there is an Ice Warrior guarding the building. When The Doctor finds out that an Ice Warrior had been seen earlier heading for the weather control station, he follows. There, The Doctor creates a solar energy transmitter, based on the one Phipps had used before they had arrived on the Moon, to destroy the Ice Warrior. He then repairs the controls so that rain can be created.

With the foam dispersing The Doctor returns to the Moon via the T-Mat so as to put Slaar's own homing signal out of action. Whilst tampering with the device he is captured by Slaar. But Slaar realises that he is too late when it is discovered that the Martian fleet has followed the wrong signal and so they have gone too close to the Sun. With the entire Martian fleet destroyed Slaar is furious and orders The Doctor to be killed but before his order is carried out Jamie arrives via T-Mat. In the confusion, caused by his sudden and unexpected arrival, The Doctor manages to grab an Ice Warrior's gun arm and point it at Slaar who is killed. Jamie then kills the remaining Ice Warrior.

With the Ice Warriors defeated, and with rain falling across Earth, The Doctor and his two companions slip quietly away back to the TARDIS – leaving Gia Kelly and Professor Eldred arguing about the future use of rockets and T-Mat.