Doctor Who – The Seventh Doctor Adventures: Silver and Ice

#1.02. The Ribos Inheritance ~ 10/10

◆ An Introduction

I’ve made no attempts to hide my love for Season 16: it’s easily the best run of adventures with the Fourth Doctor, and every story brings a smile to my face… even that misfire, ‘The Power of Kroll’!

That being said, I was rather shocked to discover Jonathan Barnes had written a sequel to one of those stories for this set. It’s time the Doctor returned to the planet Ribos, and reunited with an old acquaintance too…

◆ Publisher’s Summary

The Doctor and Mel arrive expecting Suntime on Ribos, but find a world still shrouded in snow and ice – but it’s not just the climate that’s gone awry… As forces plot against the young King, a soothsayer predicts doom. And out in the wilds, the Doctor finds wily conman Garron caught up in events on Ribos once again.

◆ The Seventh Doctor

Sylvester McCoy delivers a magnificent performance in ‘The Ribos Inheritance’.

The Doctor doesn’t think he’s been himself for a while, and feels like this incarnation has more changes ahead of him. He’s apparently been very firm with the TARDIS, to make sure that she lands them during Ribos Sun-time… whether or not his faithful Type 40 takes any notice is another matter entirely! The TARDIS is supposedly watertight, but like many of us, she’s starting to feel her age. The Doctor wouldn’t go as far as to say he’s enjoying himself, but fresh air, a mystery and some cardio-vascular exercise… there are worse ways to spend an afternoon. His people specialise in the impossible, including changing their forms. The Seeker accuses him of being a sorcerer and an emissary of the underworld, which he finds to be rather hurtful. There is very little that the Doctor wouldn’t do to stop a war. After the events on Ribos, he goes to the market vendor that sold the terraformer to Garron and tells her that he’ll be watching, and he will make sure she gives up selling vile items that cause harm.

◆ Mel Bush

Bonnie Langford really gave a phenomenal performance in this adventure.

Mel observes that the crumbling stone and creeping vines of the Cloister room are rather depressing. She tries cheering the Doctor up, reassuring him that everyone changes as they get older, that nothing stays the same. Change is the law of life, that’s what the American presidents said: her point is that there’s no point moping and worrying about it, and that he should just live in the moment, taking each day as it comes. The Doctor believes that this is a very human perspective, but Mel thinks that’s why he keeps her around: to remind him of the little picture, the human picture. She’s hoping that it will be sunny on Ribos, as it’s about time they had somewhere warm and relaxing. Mel must be bricking it – trapped up a tree and being hunted by a Shrivenzale; she’s starting to wish she hadn’t pulled the Doctor out of his melancholy! Garron claims that she’s a beautiful woman, and the Duke of Hishtar can clearly tell that she’s well-travelled. Mel hopes that their next destination is somewhere interesting and fun… but above all, somewhere warmer!

◆ Story Recap

The Doctor has been suffering from a bout of melancholy in the Cloister Room, when Mel convinces him to just live in the moment, prompting him to set the co-ordinates for Ribos during Sun-time: that way, the pair of them can soak up some rays in the blistering heat.

Ribos is known for having only two seasons, each lasting for a period of thirty-two years: the blistering heat of the Sun-time, and the sub-zero temperatures of Ice-time.

The Doctor is more than a little worried when he arrives to find the planet gripped by frost and chilly weather, a decade after the Ice-time should’ve ended. If only the weather was the most pressing concern: a young King has appeared from nowhere and taken the Ribosian throne, and an uprising is brewing amongst the people!

To make matters even more complicated, the thoroughly unreliable and disreputable crook known as Garron is back on Ribos… posing as a wizard in a cave!

◆ Garron’s Ribosian Resort World!

Let’s kick things off by discussing the charming con-man, Garron, who has returned to Ribos in hopes of executing another con… said con also happens to be the reason the planet has been stuck in Ice-time for a decade too long!

Garron purchased a terraformer from some far-off alien bazaar: it had the power to extend any meteorological conditions, thus making them last longer than they naturally would. He had the intention of setting off the device during Ribosian Ice-time, so that he could turn the whole planet into a frosty resort world for the rich and famous of this galaxy. Given the feudal nature of Ribosian society, he even sees the potential of tapping into the cosplay market!

Jonathan Barnes has struck upon an original and incredibly entertaining concept. Being completely honest with you all, I would happily be a punter of Garron’s Ribosian Resort World: I absolutely cannot cope with hot weather, so the prospect of a planet in perpetual frost is pretty enticing.

I would also like to mention that the recasting of Garron was absolutely excellent: David Rintoul does a marvellous job! I’m holding out hope that we might get another adventure featuring Garron and King Kari.

◆ Sound Design

Frozen wastelands tend to be some of my favourite soundscapes, and Steve Foxon has done an incredible job with Ribos.

Bones rattling around as the Seeker observes the future. A crackling fire in the background. The creaking ice of a frozen lake, which soon starts to crack and give way… resulting in the TARDIS making a splash into the chilly depths. The growling of a fully grown Shrivenzale, as it bounds after the Doctor and Mel. The electronic voice of the “Ribosian Gods”. Horses gallop towards the King’s castle, as the rebel army begins its advance. Fighting between the King’s loyalists and rebel forces; the metal of swords clashing against each other. Melting ice and running water, as Sun-time finally returns to Ribos.

◆ Music

Foxon’s score really fits the feudal society of Ribos. Very nicely done.

◆ Conclusion

“We are the gods of cold and flame.”

Garron has returned to Ribos hoping to execute another con: he wants to keep the planet in perpetual Ice-time, so that he can charge the rich and famous to come and stay at his frosty resort. Unfortunately, an uprising is threatening to throw the planet into disarray, and the young King is seeking council from a very peculiar set of gods…

I enjoyed this story a lot more than I expected: top tier performances across the board, and a whacky premise that wouldn’t seem out of place in Season 24. Jonathan Barnes might just have created my favourite story from the 2022 Classic Doctor reboot!