My thoughts after rewatching 'The Ark in Space'

The other day I rewatched The Ark in Space which is a phenomenal Doctor Who story. It was a story that I took a long while to get to because I remembered seeing the larvae when I was about 3 or something and getting scares by it. I probably first watched it when I was 10 and watched it a couple more times before my dad moved with the videos to Sweden. My brother bought the DVD for us last year so we can watch it again.

I had a lot of thoughts watching it again and thought I'd share them in a blog post as I've seen others do this sort of thing and it's probably nicer than a Twitter thread. So here we go and I'll try to keep them chronological. THERE ARE SPOILERS AHEAD.

1. This opens with an intro to the monster of the story. Another story which does that which scared me into not watching it for years was The Claws of Axos.
2. Harry Sullivan is my favourite male companion but I would not be touching buttons if I didn't know exactly what they did.
3. I really don't like how the Fourth Doctor totally shrugs off the lack of oxygen until it's almost too late.

4. It's amazing how much Doctor Who would put women in leadership roles in Earth's future with a Prime Minister (then a President and then in this there was a High Minister.
5. I think I want one of those tranquillary beds.
6. Entering a sterile area and you can tell Harry sensibly fears there will be another security system but no the Doctor tells him to go first anyway. I don't know if that's the Doctor making Harry face his fear knowing there isn't a security system (or not being sure) or just being selfish really.
7. Ok, Harry has been a bit stupid but how can the Doctor shrug off Harry's claim of seeing an alien when the Doctor encounters them all the time?
8. Brilliant monologue but I actually find it not as great watching it in the story.
9. I can't believe the Doctor really just thought they couldn't revive Sarah and didn't look for something like Harry does.
10. Kudos to Harry keeping it cool and moving out of the way when the dead Wirrn falls out the cupboard. No screams from him.
11. Did they seriously not have female doctors when this episode aired because Harry is quite surprised by Vira.
12. I understand how first med-tech is woken up first to help everyone else wake up but how would have Vira woken up if Harry wasn't standing in front of her with the equipment she needed?

13. I don't understand how sometimes the Doctor keeps information about how he and his companions arrive in places when the situation doesn't seem to call for it.
14. I get the whole calling Lazar Noah as a  joke but I'm wondering if he did adopt the name Noah full time? The story seems to indicate yes but these people are so upper class that I doubt it.
15. Saying that Noah and the ark was a myth makes me wonder what happened to religion or if they even have one.
16. I wonder how this story fits in with the new series story The End of the World? Earth destroyed by solar flares but habitable again after thousands of years?
17. I think I'd like to have seen Noah/Lasar more before he was infected but I guess his actions as a Wirrn during the episode prove he was truly a good person.
18. I'm very curious about the Wirrn larvae. Was there loads roaming around the ark but budget meant we could only see one at a time or would the one we saw split into many pupae?
19. Noah is incredibly xenophobic and maybe a supremacist. The Doctor and co. are clearly passing through they weren't ever going to stay and mate with anyone lol.
20. Wouldn't it have been great to have a longer duration of Noah hiding his hand and interacting with everyone while Libri kept seeing him as a Wirrn?
21. The second Noah said "I am Dune" I'd have stunned him under grounds of insanity. I don't care who he is but anyone saying they are a dead person should then be questioned in a secure environment.
22. Why the hell did the Doctor send Libri after Noah? He clearly wasn't up for the job having been scared of Noah as he woke up and being very trusting of his leader. This is one time where the Doctor should have just done it himself especially as only he had an idea of what was going on and would have saved the loss of an innocent life.
23. That is a rousing speech by the high minister that I guess the people who had woken up needed to hear but I think everyone on the ark needed to hear it. How many times would that be replayed?
24. I like you Harry, and then you had to go and call Sarah/the High Minister a female chauvinist.
25. I think Rogin is all of us. Most relatable person we've seen on the ark.
26. I like how Noah was able to tell everyone about the Wirrn. Some characters like this keep it to themselves until it's too late.
27. This is the most human we've seen Vira when she encounters a mutating Noah.
28. Noah looks really horrific. I don't think they'd show that with updated prosthetics and effects in modern who.
29. To wake people up or not? Why not wake up soldiers because they've clearly gone for killing rather than reasoning with the Wirrn?
30. How can Rogin and Lycett not hear that larvae approaching?

31. So was Lycett absorbed? Is Lycett a Wirrn now too?
32. Harry and Rogin make a good team.
33. Have I said before I love Harry?
34. Sarah is very brave going through the vents. I've been 'caving' in concrete tunnels and the fact I couldn't be on my knees meant I wasn't confident at all.

35. Ironic how Rogin says he likes heat considering what happens to him.
36. I liked seeing the moment Rogin realises the Doctor's plan. It was something I always missed before.
37. I love Rogin's sacrifice. In fact I really like self-sacrifices as a plot device.
38. Noah's isn't as noble. I mean he kind of got himself into that mess being arrogant so high and mighty in the first place.
39. That was a very quick change for Sarah.
40. Vira laughs. She's become someone we can relate to and a doctor who cares. She's very different from the woman we first met.

Finally...

I think we need the Wirrn to make a reappearance. They would really benefit from a makeover (looking at you, bubble wrap larvae) and the horror aspect could be increased although that may exclude them from Doctor Who. They probably would have worked for a Torchwood story so I don't know if Big Finish plan on transporting them through space and/or time but that's a great idea right there.

Have you watched The Ark in Space? Do you agree with my thoughts or have any of your own you'd like to share?

Lotty
xx