| Ice Warriors | |
|---|---|
| Doctor Who race | |
 The 2013 redesign of the Ice Warriors. | |
| First appearance | The Ice Warriors (1967) |
| Last appearance | "Empress of Mars" (2017) |
| Created by | Brian Hayles |
| In-universe information | |
| Home world | Mars |
| Type | Reptilian humanoids |
| Affiliation | The Galactic Federation The Martian League |
The Ice Warriors are a fictional extraterrestrial race of reptilian humanoids in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. They were originally created by Brian Hayles, first appearing in the 1967 serial The Ice Warriors where they encountered the Second Doctor and his companions Jamie and Victoria. In Doctor Who, the Ice Warriors originated on Mars, which within the series narrative is a dying world. Their early appearances depict the Ice Warriors as attempting to conquer the Earth and escape their planet as early as Earth's Ice Age.[1] A frozen group are discovered by an Earth scientific team, one of whom, Walters, dubs them 'Ice Warriors' in their first appearance. Despite this not being the name of their species, an Ice Lord later refers to his soldiers as Ice Warriors in the 1974 serial The Monster of Peladon.[2] Similarly there is a fleeting reference to themselves as such in The Curse of Peladon. Although originally appearing as villains, subsequent appearances have depicted Ice Warriors that have eschewed violence and even ally themselves with the Doctor.[3] They have also been featured in flashback and cameo appearances, in addition to appearing frequently in spin-off media such as novels and audio releases.
Serials were planned for both 1986 and 1990 that were to have featured the Ice Warriors: Mission to Magnus featuring the Sixth Doctor and the villain Sil, and Ice Time featuring the Seventh Doctor. In both instances, the series was placed on a hiatus and the serials scrapped; however, Mission to Magnus was novelised by Target and adapted as an audio drama by Big Finish, as was Ice Time, retitled Thin Ice in audio form.
The Ice Warriors returned in the revived series in the seventh series episode "Cold War" (2013) and the tenth series episode "Empress of Mars" (2017).
- ^ Lofficier, Jean-Marc (8 May 2003). The Doctor Who Programme Guide: Fourth Edition. iUniverse. p. 68. ISBN 0595276180.
- ^ "The Monster of Peladon Episode Guide". Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- ^ "The Ice Warriors". Retrieved 14 April 2013.