(5/5 - vague spoilers towards the end)

Just finished The Ark in Space for the first time, and man, was that a fun ride! Well, 'fun' might be a stretch - the tone was darker and less, well, silly than I'm used to (coming from mainly watching 3's era and parts of 7's so far), and although I usually prefer my entertaining Sillies, for this particular story, the graver tone worked in it's favour. Good start for Philip Hinchcliffe!

Apart from the tone, the pace was also not what I was used to - it was slower, more methodical, more well thought-out than what I've seen of Classic so far. It really felt like everything had been carefully planned so it wouldn't feel like too much was squeezed into one episode, and that paid off. This serial was well-made and full of suspense; a classic that'll leave you on the edge of your seat!

I do have a few minor gripes - Sarah Jane's damsel-in-distress demeanour was often too much for me to take, though nicely offset by having another woman who was both in charge and not at all damselly. Still, could've done with a little less of the hysterical screaming! I did also notice the odd flub here and there. I remember there was one that annoyed me early on but I've forgotten it now - the other more serious one was that the station was repeatedly said to be in deep space, and then suddenly they seemed to have moved as Earth was nearby and in the shot! But these things can easily be explained away, even if the serial itself did not explain them, and so they weren't such major issues as to in any way diminish my enjoyment of the story.

Tom Baker's performance was marvellous, and I really felt like I got a taste of the new TARDIS crew dynamic, and the new crewmember! The romance/loyalty between the doomed lovers was actually quite moving. I'm normally a bit biased against these hetero romances because they often feel like they're shoved in just for the sake of it, but this one was plot-relevant and genuinely heartrendering. The monsters were interesting (and reminded me rather of Dot and Bubble's slugs - RIP Wirrn, you would have loved those slugs! Fellow racist-eating creatures). All in all, a very well made and well thought out story!

If you've read any of my reviews before, you'll know I always comment on the politics - and oh, what a juicy one this was! Again, a little like Dot and Bubble - we got a crew full of uptight upper class racist nationalists who were worried about the contamination their species might face by aliens... sound familiar? The way the Doctor theorised that this ship was carrying all that was left of humanity, all differences forgotten, *all colours and creeds*, only to find out just how wrong he was... marvellous. Breathtaking. We were immediately faced with a bunch of white people looking down on the Doctor and his companions for the way they talked, people who had been chosen, the best of the best, to survive while all the other humans perished. They would be the saviours of the human race, and all else is, what, filth? Ah, no, that's right - 'regressives'. The idea of these select snooty white rich (well, upper-class, so the rich part was more implied) people thinking that they represented the best of the human race and their disregard for other species (and even other humans!) certainly stinks of white nationalism. Perhaps my mind is drawn there because of the race riots that are rampaging across the UK right now, a bunch of white people thinking that all other people are lesser, that they are somehow more human, more patriotic, 'better' than everyone else... yeah, this serial really hit home. 50 odd years later and it's still relevant.

And then at the end, how (real spoilers here!) Vira seemed to be more open to the idea of aliens, and of other humans who weren't 'chosen', simply because a few of them had done nothing but help her. Positive human interaction being the way to change people's mind, the way forward, instead of immediately resorting to violence - I think that's a lesson we can all learn from.

So, interesting and relevant politics, excellent acting and storytelling, and a dark tone with well-thought-out pacing have really paid off to create one of the - rightfully! - most beloved and consistently highly-rated serials of Doctor Who.