Doctor Who: Fury from the Deep (Revisited) Episodes Four, Five and Six

 Episode Four

"Why can't we go anywhere normal, where there's no fighting?"

It's nice how the groundwork is already being laid for Victoria's departure- it's all very '60s, very reserved, but there's some top characterisation in Victor Pemberton's script. But what's different about the animated version is the visuals- the scene in which the Weed gets Van Lutyens is, I very much suspect, far more visually impressive than in the now long-wiped original.

The scenes in the pipe with the Doctor and Jamie more closely mirror the surviving clips, but the tension remains, and the narrative continues to be both masterful and bloody terrifying while balancing plot and character. This is how you do a six parter. The arrival of Megan Jones, the big boss, doesn't waste too much time with tiresome suspiction. And, right on cue, the ending raises the stakes.

Episode Five

"It's beginning to give me the willies..."

The Doctor, with Robson having seemingly broken down, is in charge and finally listened to, while Megan tells the distraught Robson to "pull yourself together". attitudes to mental health in 1968 were, shall we say, not quite the same as nowadays, much like management styles.

However, we soon move to kidnappings, helicopters and the sight of a Weed-infested oil rig that, I suspect, looks far more impressive than it did originally. Similarly impressive looking are the possessed characters, led by Robson, who are part-Weed in a way which surely can't have been done originally.

Episode Six

"You don't want to come with us, do you, Victoria?"

It's all wrapped up, rather quickly, as the Doctor conjures up a Macguffin. Yet is doesn't feel like a cop-out, with the sense of desperation persisting to the end and a real sense of a race against time. The use of Victoria's screams is, of course, very meta, but it's all played in such a way as not to refer to the fourth wall. And, animated, it all looks superb.

And yet a huge amount of screen time is left over for Victoria's departure. It's all very stiff-upper-lip, the emotions are repressed, but they're all there, in a slightly Terence Rattigan sort of way. It's nice to see the TARDISeers stay for an evening meal, though, with even Robson being comparatively friendly. So much so that we almost don't stop to question wny the Harrises would adopt a semi-permanent house guest, and extra mouth to feed, without even knowing Victoria that well. 

Overall, though, this is a perfectly crafted animation that confirms Fury from the Deep to be a superbly paced story, utterly terrifying, and with subtly excellent characterisation. It stands revealed as a fascinating artifact, full of anxiety about all this new-fangled North Sea oil, soon to be powering the nation's homes and workplaces and, perhaps, an anxiety about modernity itself.

Doctor Who: The Idiot's Lantern

“I am talking!”

“And I’m not listening!”


The teaser gives us some dialogue about television rotting your brain and ends with it seemingly about to happen to this Magpie chap- how very metatextual.

The Doctor and Rose exit the TARDIS all dresses up for Elvis at Las Vegas, complete with Vespa, and discover they are in fact in London, 1953. It’s a good joke but it immediately highlights one of the unfortunate things about the story; Britain in the ‘50s seems to have been a rather visually dull place (or so popular culture and documentary footage leads me to believe) and unfortunately come off on screen as exactly that. It’s one of a couple of things which prevent what is in fact an excellent script from coming off as well as it deserves.

It’s established early on that there’s an unpleasant undercurrent in the Connolly family. The balance is struck about right, with an emphasis on Eddie Connolly’s controlling tendencies rather than any actual physical violence. Lines such as “Forget that college nonsense” are effective enough. It’s also an interesting look back from, inevitably, a modern perspective at some of the assumptions and prejudices of the ‘50s English working class: the underlying homophobia; the suspicion of education; the obsession with “what the neighbours think”. It’s just a pity that the performances here are somewhat weak.

In fact, Tennant and Piper aside, the only performance to really impress here is that of Maureen Lipman as the Wire, whose delivery of her lines is fantastic. This is a great idea for a villain, although the name “The Wire” now instantly makes me think of McNulty and Bubble and Omar, which it certainly didn’t do at the time.

It all rattles along very quickly and it’s good fun, which is pretty much down to the script, although not always realised effectively. The big reveal of the grandmother with no face should in theory have been the dramatic centrepiece of the episode, but there’s something in the execution which doesn’t quite come off. There are some well-constructed scenes, such as the reversal of roles between the Doctor and the Detective Inspector and the scene in which Eddie Connolly is revealed to have been an informer; suddenly, his authority ebbs away and his wife gains the courage to reject him, seeming a lot happier and more confident afterwards. But the strength of the writing never seems to translate effectively to the screen, and I’m not sure why.

The ending’s very effective- a bit like Logopolis, only better- and I like the effect of a television switching off as the Wire dies. Death by Betamax, indeed. I suppose the question of the social stigma surrounding divorce at the time is brushed under the carpet somewhat as Rita and Eddie Connolly are obviously separating, but given the context and the light-hearted nature of the episode it feels right that it should be that way.

The script really deserves better- it could even have got a 5/5 with better performances- but overall I can’t really give this more than a 3/5.

Doctor Who: Fury From the Deep

Part One


"You always seem to land on this planet."

"Aye, and it's always England."


Another Joint Venture recon, and so another BBC globe at the beginning, which is a nice touch. And the last story with all its episodes missing, I'm pleased to say!

So, the TARDIS lands from the sky. I don't think we've ever seen it do that before! And the other first is, of course, the sonic screwdriver, which, er, unscrews a screw with sonics. It may be a nicely understated introduction, but it still gives me a fannish thrill to hear the words. And, of course, it foreshadows the end of the story.

The obligatory tiresome bit where the TARDISeers fall under suspicion is mercifully not dwelt on, but it's immediately apparent that Robson is the most abrasive base commander yet to come under siege. Oh, and there's John Abineri!



Part Two


"There's something active in the pipeline. Down there. In the darkness. Waiting..."


My, Victoria's screaming at the start of this episode is truly magnificent! But things are indeed a bit scary, and the heartbeat in particular helps to make things very atmospheric. Another interesting sound effect is from the main refinery computer, which sounds exactly like WOTAN!

The footage with Oak and Quill is simply incredible, and makes me wonder exactly what visual treats we're missing. With nothing more than good direction and good sound effects, two men just opening their mouths is the single scariest thing yet to be seen in Doctor Who.



Part Three


"Oh, I'm not so sure. I don't really like being scared out of my wits every second."


I love the scene of the TARDISeers all doing chemistry together! It's a shame this doesn't survive- if there's one scene to perfectly illustrate this TARDIS team, this is possibly it.

Meanwhile, the tension is being ratcheted up nicely, and Robson is cracking up believably. It's done with a lightness of touch, but all the guest characters are believable, a testament to Victor Pemberton's writing.

I love the fact that Oak and Quill have their own signature tune! The tune and the pair's appearance together give the oddly sinister impression of an evil Laurel and Hardy.

It's hugely impressive how the build-up to Victoria's departure starts as early as the third episode. And although characterisation from story to story has never quite been the same since the end of Season Two, in the context of recent episodes the idea of Victoria being fed up with being scared is believable.

I wasn't sure what happened with Maggie at the end as my recon didn't make it clear- did she walk into the sea?


Part Four


"We don't know where we're going to land from one place to the next. That's the fun, isn't it."

"Is it?"


The conversations between Jamie and Victoria, and then Victoria and the Doctor, are wonderful, again foreshadowing Victoria's exit but good character development for both her and Jamie. And, of course, from another standpoint the fact that Victoria's so scared means we are too. For all that this excellently atmospheric tale succeeds mainly by atmospheric horror (in fact, this entire story is not really sci-fi at all, but horror), the characterisation is uniformly excellent.



Part Five


"Jamie, we're already in the lion's den..."


It's nice to get an explanation of who Oak and Quill are: the first two people to be taken over. But the explanations we get ion this episode aren't mere exposition- the situation seems all the more hopeless as our heroes have no idea where the Weed's nerve centre is.

I love the scene where Megan Jones confronts Robson- it's a shame she didn't become a therapist as she clearly has talents in that direction "Pull yourself together, man!". I like the character, mind. She's sceptical of the Doctor at first, but not long enough to annoy, and soon proves herself to be a capable, no nonsense leader.

Robson's infected hand looks great, and things are clearly gearing up to a climax as he kidnaps Victoria and steals Victoria. I love the bit where the Doctor talks to him in the helicopter- once again, it's clear that mind control and brainwashing is a particular bugbear of his.


Part Six


"Victoria, I want you to scream!"


The Doctor's confrontation with the weed-controlled Robson at the start drills home once again the Doctor's aversion to mind control. And then we get a very long helicopter scene with no dialogue and lots of screaming, which isn't ideal on audio!

It's a wonderfully postmodern moment when we realise that Victoria's screaming is what will defeat the monster- it's here that I completely fall in love with this script! The weed's defeat is suitably dramatic and scary, but is over with surprisingly early. For good reason, though- what follows is no less good as drama. It's nice that the TARDISeers and their new friends have time for a nice post-victory meal for once, which sounds most convivial and fuelled by good wine. There's a great exchange between Robson and the Doctor: "To think I wanted to keep you locked up, Doctor!" "Lots of people have tried..."

But the icing on the cake is the way Victoria's departure is dealt with- sensitively, not rushed, and surely the best companion departure since Susan. Dammit, I actually cried when Victoria and Jamie hugged for the last time. but it feels realistic that she's have had enough of the constant terror of travelling with the Doctor, and as she says it's appropriate for her to leave at this time period as she wouldn't find things easy as an "odd woman" in Victorian times.


Overall- well, I know I tend to give 5/5s out easily, but I mean them all. But this story really is exceptional, second only to The Massacre for me.