For those who have felt rather underwhelmed with recent episodes of "Doctor Who", fear not—"Cold War" is everything previous installments "The Bells of Saint John" and "The Rings of Akhaten" were not. 

Set in 1983, this entire episode is a blast from the past. With the Cold War setting, a foe returning from 1974's "The Monster of Peladon", the TARDIS's "hostile action displacement system", Mutually Assured Destruction on more than one front and mentions of Duran Duran and Ultravox, "Cold War" is stuck squarely in the 80s in the best possible way. 

Written by Mark Gatiss, the episode is rife with tension, and while some of the effects may have been laughable, they were put far from mind—the episode was most frightening when the foe, Ice Warrior Grand Marshall Skaldak, was not on screen, but crawling about in the dark. "Alien" and "The Hunt for Red October" seem to intersect. 

We meet the members of a Soviet nuclear submarine in the cold open. While drilling for oil in the polar ice caps, they discovered what they assumed had been a mammoth and most certainly was not, but a Martian warrior trapped in ice for 5,000 years. Skaldak assumes his planet is dead and his race abandoned him, but, in a way, this proves him to be more dimensional than the two previous antagonists. The backstory provided, the mercy and compassion contrasted with honor and rage, sets up a more interesting foe than a parasitic planet killed by a leaf, like in "Rings". 

With the Soviets now fearing their not-a-mammoth thing, the submarine begins sinking. Cue the Doctor and Clara (Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman), who appear only to have the TARDIS disappear on them when things start going poorly. The double threats of suffocation looming and the enraged Ice Warrior hanging over them, the Doctor and Clara (who immediately arise suspicion as Western spies) must work with the Captain Zhukov (Liam Cunningham) and his soldiers to end Skaldak's endeavors. 

The Ice Warrior, enraged, lonely and fearful, declares war on Earth and her inhabitants, stating multiple times that an attack on one Ice Warrior is an attack on the entire race, and that the people of Earth are forfeit as collateral. The threat is imminent—if Skaldak can set off a single missile, it will set off a chain reaction that will end the world. Skaldak knows that with one spark, the rest of humanity will fuel the fire to end the world. 

Through words and diplomacy, rather than gunfire and violence, the Doctor and Clara must dissuade Skaldak from pressing the button. This is not a fair fight; Skaldak has almost all the power. With his defenses raised in his Martian armor, gunfire makes little to no damage; outside his armor, he is quick and stealthy, dissecting several soldiers onboard with lightning-fast efficiency. They are at the mercy of a soldier with nothing left to lose, under the impression that his people are dead and gone.

Over the course of the episode, Clara reflects on the dangers and responsibilities her new life has forced upon her. She shows a willingness to rush headlong into danger when it appears that no one else will be able to negotiate with a then-chained Skaldak (soldiers cannot negotiate diplomatically, the Doctor explains, and she is the only non-combatant onboard). Later, she shows just as much willingness to stay put and await further orders, giving her time to consider that even the best laid plans can go astray (and, in this case, lead to the deaths of several young soldiers). "It's all got very real," she tells the eccentric, West-obsessed Professor Grisenko (David Warner). 

The darkness of the setting lends itself well to a growing feeling of paranoia and claustrophobia. A nod should be given to Clara, whose fear feels extremely genuine but not screechy and overly-dramatic, especially her quiet, wide-eyed terror when Ice Warrior goes after her. Although the episode was largely standalone from the overarching "Great Intelligence Institute" and did not reveal any information about the "impossible" Clara Oswald, it was still a very enjoyable episode. Similar to "Dalek", in that it reintroduced an old villain with sympathy and mercy, Clara may have the makings of a Rose Tyler-reboot. Considering the recent casting decision for the 50th Anniversary episodes with Billie Piper and David Tennant making a comeback, I would be interested to see how that dynamic plays out. 

While the episode may lacked a bit in background characterization, and called upon famous horror and sci-fi tropes - "Alien" and "Close Encounters" references abound - it was still thoroughly enjoyable and certainly more memorable than previous episodes. 

Reach Staff Reporter Christine Bancroft here. Follow her on Twitter here.