Brought in to show a new side to the menacing Ice Warriors of Mars, Patrick Troughton's second battle with the hugely popular creatures in Brian Hayles' overlong but highly watchable The Seeds of Death, saw the debut of one of their calculating leader class, in the subtly menacing Commander Slaar, as played with distinction by Alan Bennion.
Visually, as has been often noted by fans, the Star Wars saga's icon heavy-breathhing villain Darth Vader, as played by Dave Prowse, does bear some visual similarities to Slaar. When in pre-production in 1974/75, did George Lucas, in one of his many trips to London in getting his film off the ground, possibly have watched Who at that time on BBC 1, or even caught some of the Pertwee Ice Warriors tales on US TV via Lionheart in 1972/73, and been subconsciously influenced? It's not impossible...
Interestingly enough, the amiable Sonny Caldinez, who played many an Ice Warrior in the Classic Series, told me a few years back that he went to see George Lucas in London during late 1975 to be interviewed for the role of inhabiting the Vader costume, though Prowse eventually won out, having been recommended to the director by friend Stanley Kubrick.
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