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: Fury from the Deep (Revisited) Episodes One, Two and Three

 I am, of course, quite blatantly blogging it because the lovely Mrs Llamastrangler (with the equally lovely Little Miss Llamastrangler) bought it for me as a Christmas present. So it’s a somewhat out-of-sequence reminder that this blog originally existed so that I (alongside a bunch of other people on Gallifrey Base) could marathon ALL of Doctor Who, which we (and I) did. If you look at the Doctor Who index on this blog, it’s all there. 

However, whenever missing episodes are discovered (hooray) or animated (necessarily much smaller but nevertheless heartfelt cheer), I’ll blog them as I see them. This is a particularly exciting example.

Episode One

"Aye, and it’s always England...”

It’s a facile comment for me to always make in such circumstances, perhaps, but seeing a story animated, and with subtitles, makes it easier to follow, by orders of magnitude, than any recon could possibly be. That makes a huge difference to how I’m following the plot.

There’s another difference, though- this time I’m not watching this story in its chronological place, so I’m not watching my fourth (out of five) base under siege stories, with Robson as the latest (and most unreasonable) unstable base commander. I’m less frustrated this time round that the TARDIS crew so quickly come under suspicion and get locked up immediately, probably because I’m less cynical about seeing this thing all the bloody time. 

Also, the opening scene on the beach is far more fun with moving pictures, a bit of light relief to start off a story without much light in it. And the plot moves rather quickly. Robson is, indeed, unreasonable, but he’s not too far removed from a type of work colleague we’ve all met who insists that his experience is far more valuable than any of the fancy theories of the university educated young. It’s odd to see this type of person in charge, of course.

It’s also odd to see the sonic screwdriver in its first ever use- to unscrew some screws, with absolutely no indication that it does any more than that.

Episode Two

"It’s down there. In the darkness. In the pipeline. Waiting.”

In some ways the animation doesn’t really change things. Robson is perhaps a little more nuanced, but it’s the same story- and Victoria resolving the cliffhanger by screaming can’t just not be metatextual, certainly not in her last story.

But what’s very different is just how like a horror film this is when you have visuals. We can’t say, without the actual footage, whether it was directed that way, to unnerve and frighten us, but the terrifying surviving clip of Oak and Quill with Maggie is certainly like this. And so is the animation, simply suited by the pacing and the weird electronic music. In short, this is the episode where Fury from the Deep starts to get bloody terrifying. The scenes with Maggie, with quite a lot of screen time, have pretty much no other purpose. 

Episode Three 

"I don’t really like being scared out of my wits every second.”

This is an episode where the animation makes it much easier to follow the plot- it’s much easier what happens with Maggie and Robson at the end, for one thing. And all the stuff about Robson’s state of mind and the discontent among his senior staff is much easier to follow. Robson, again, somehow feels much more nuanced. We don’t see anyone other than a ranting, chippy sourpuss who seems frankly unprofessional- but we aren’t seeing him in a “normal” context.

The experiments in the TARDIS are, as I suspected last time round, much better with visuals. And following the plot much more firmly makes it clear how well written this is- a six larger with strong characterisation and that feels pacy, where every scene is justified for reason of either character or plot. And this episode, like the last one, is wonderfully effective at building up the scares.

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.

Doctor Who: The Ark

The Steel Sky

"Look, stop prancing about over there. What happens if you get lost?"

"I catch a bus back!"


A nice little mystery to open with, although I've no idea how obvious or not it may have been to the unspoiled that they were on a huge spaceship. I started this episode with some trepidation; we're about to get an exploratory episode one without a settled TARDIS crew. Instead we have a barely post-row Steven and Dodo who's... well, Dodo. There's an instability to the TARDIS crew that there hasn't been before, and a lot of this is down to the fact that Dodo as a character, with no hinterland whatsoever, is no more than a cipher. Incidentally, the comedy accent has been toned down but she sounds more northern than we're often led to believe.

From the moment Dodo leaves the TARDIS she's constantly annoying ("Earth? Earth? Well, it couldn't be anywhere else, now could it?"). But after a while, perversely, I start to like her, if not necessarily for the right reasons. Some combination of the lines and the delivery just makes me laugh- "I think I'm beginning to enjoy this space travel or whatever it is". I suspect to some extent I'm subconsciously rebelling against what I know to be fan orthodoxy (oh, to come to a story completely fresh!). Of course, the joke is quite likely to wear thin eventually and I reserve the right to perform a u-turn later. Or sooner.

Pausing only to marvel at the awesome computing technology of the far future, we're quickly introduced to our surroundings by means of, er, loads of exposition. But the ideas are good; this is a time when sci-fi was primarily seen as a literary, rather than cinematic, genre. Indeed, I recall the recently released BBC documents from the dawn of Doctor Who referred to the sci-fi novel as primarily based on ideas rather than character and as such it, er, shouldn't form the basis of television drama. But actually I rather like the fact that we're getting a literary sci-fi take on Big Ideas, and we certainly get some; a space Ark, with 700 years to reach its destination, most of the population of Earth miniaturised and frozen in filing cabinets (a detail that's dated somewhat!), and some individuals fated to be "guardians, living and dying on the Ark, never living to see their destination.

Incidentally, I assure you that I will endeavour never to write a sentence as long as that again. Clearly I need another stint in semi-colon rehab. But I'm enjoying the story so far.

The Plague

"That unfortunately tells me only one thing."

"What is that?"

"That the nature of man even in this day and age hasn't altered at all. You still fear the unknown, like everyone else before you."


Annoyingly, all the poncy things I've been wittering about have to be interrupted by the plot. And some recycled music from our first visit to the Dalek city, naturally. But I'm still enjoying this. There's no character development for the regulars here, of course, but there's a nice bit of acting from Hartnell early on as he starts moving to hug Dodo to comfort her but can't; he's not able to be tactile with Dodo as he was with her predecessors.

Nothing actually happens for ages, and the guest characters are all extremely bland. But the ideas nevertheless carry the story and carry it well; the idea of the travellers causing a fatal outbreak of the common cold amongst their far future descendants is actually quite good, and has a fair bit of mileage as long as it isn't dwelt upon too much, which it isn't.

The justice system aboard the Ark is a little dodgy, amounting effectively to mob rule, but fortunately that nice Commander manages to briefly gather enough strength to use his arbitrary dictatorial powers to sort things out. This is crude drama, perhaps, but I'm still quite impressed by the hard sci-fi ideas. This fantastic and radical season continues to experiment.

The ending rather glosses over the fact that people have actually died from the TARDISeers' carelessness, but rather more interesting is the treatment of the Monoids. Yes, the Doctor gets a line to a Monoid foreshadowing the next two episodes: "You're far more knowledgeable than most people realise". But I still feel uneasy that at no point have our heroes denounced what is pretty clearly a system of apartheid.

So far this story has been great, in spite of not actually being very good as such. A very nice cliffhanger, yet more gleeful experimentation with the concepts and format of the show. What a season! Oh, and apparently Michael Sheard was in this episode.



That's all for now cos I'm knackered- I'll post the rest tomorrow. In this story of two halves will the second half match up to the first, he said, trying not to exude too much dramatic irony...

The Return

"Are you up to something?"

"Um, no..."


There's something quite fundamentally comical about the Monoids' voices. And we hear a lot of them, as the first few scenes consist of lots of exposition. And the message suggested by the situation here (oppressed minority overthrows dominant majority due to "weakness" of dominant minority) seems on the face of it to be a bit Enoch Powell, even pro-apartheid. Or at least it seemed so at the time- fortunately the next episode makes it clear this isn't so. Phew. Don't worry, I'm not Lawrence Miles and this is not The Unquiet Dead.

The Monoids saying "Get back" reminds me of a certain most excellent video I've seen at a certain online location.

Still lots of exposition, plus a rather interesting take on science- so a solar flare turned the Refusians invisible, did it? And the cliffhanger is a bit artificial too. All of a sudden the fun and the great ideas seem to have gone. The concept of seeing the Ark again after 700 years and of the Monoids taking over was initially a great idea with real impact, but we've been treading water since a couple of minutes into the episode. This is very dull.

The Bomb

"Stupid trusting creature!"

Gosh, what imaginative names the Monoids all have. And why do they only communicate with each other through a device invented by the Guardians? Gah!

On a positive note, although none of the characters get any development worth mentioning Steven is at least shown to be resourceful and heroic in this episode, essentially acting as the Guardians' leader. But the episode is still infuriating. The bomb's going to explode in a whole 12 hours' time- oh, the suspense! How helpful of Monoid Four to tell a Monoid something he already knows just so he can be overheard by the hidden Doctor and Dodo. And what's motivating the Refusian to be so extremely helpful, to the extent of taking a shuttle to the Ark and staying there, in the full knowledge there's a bomb on it? Gah!

Oh, and the Refusians are pretty much the ultimate in (dare I say it?) deus ex machina. I mean, they're practically gods anyway and we know for the entire episode that at some point they're going to just walk in and stop the plot. But it's nice to see the Doctor's speech at the end, effectively denouncing South African apartheid. So the allegorical content is now clear, not that the story was in any way about this theme.

We end with Dodo's fab gear, Steven being allowed to operate the controls, and a truly bizarre cliffhanger...



Overall, it's a story of two halves. The first half, in spite of the stock plot and moments of clumsiness, was packed with interesting ideas and charmed me into liking it. But the second half was just plodding, dull, and lacking in any sense of real peril. sadly, this is below average overall and so gets a 2/5. But there's a lot I liked about the first two parts.