The Sea Devils [4.2]

The Doctor and Jo go to visit the Master in his fortified island prison, just to ensure that he is securely locked away. But as they are checking up on him, they discover that a number of ships have been mysteriously going missing in the area. The culprits, it transpires, are the Sea Devils – marine cousins of the Silurians – who have woken up from their epochal slumber, ready to reclaim the planet for their own.

The Majesty

The opening sequence is really impressive. After a combat on board a ship, we have the Doctor and Jo approaching an island castle by boat, hopping in a car and driven through the main gate. Jo is also wearing a rather splendid new trouser suit, and the whole compilation makes it all look like we are in for quite the adventure.

And it is indeed quite the adventure. Somehow swapping out the familiar figures of Unit for the world-famous Royal Navy gives this story a more grounded flavour. It also give the Master the chance to don a Naval cap, which makes him looks very dapper. And the amount of different vehicles (from hovercraft to motorbike) driven by the cast in this one story is quite jaw dropping.

The Misery

Perhaps inevitably, in a six episode story, there's a bit of back and forth and going round in circles. For the longest time, Captain Hart refuses to believe the Doctor and Jo, and that does get a little unexciting after the third interview in his office. Strangely, however, there are some key moments or elements which we don't see. Trenchard is a great character, but ends up dying offscreen, for example. And the Sea Devil base is a featureless maze of dark corridors on a studio floor. (Maybe they blew their budget on renting a battleship!)

Magic Moments

• When the Doctor sees the Master in his jail cell: “He's putting on weight”
• There's a wonderful moment when the Master is watching an episode of the children's TV show “The Clangers” about a bunch of mice who live on the moon. He seems disappointed to discover they are only puppets.
• Jo has a really strange way of climbing a ladder – it involves a lot of hopping.
• The Doctor is all ready to demonstrate his prowess with electronics when his improvised microphone suddenly starts broadcasting BBC radio. “I must have got my wires crossed,” he chuckles. It's quite a nice moment between him and Jo, showing his ability to laugh at himself.
• The Doctor pauses his vital investigation for a blindfolded round of minigolf.
• For some inexplicable reason there are a rack of fencing swords just outside the Master's prison cell: perfectly positioned so he and the Doctor can have an impromptu duel.
• “Violent exercise makes me hungry” says the Doctor, midway through his duel, as he eats the Master's sandwich. “Enjoy your meal,” replies the Master, “as it might well be your last”
• Jo knocks out a guard with a karate chop to the throat
• The third episode has a great cliffhanger, with the Doctor and Jo trapped on all sides between a minefield, a bunch of psychotic soldiers, the Master and an emerging Sea Devil. These Sea Devils actually look pretty good (for a man in a rubber suit). There is something about their 'dead fish' eyes that looks suitably aquatic.
• The Doctor takes away the plate of sandwiches from Jo (“No time for a picnic”) and then proceeds to stuff his face like there's no tomorrow. He hands the plate back to Jo with nothing on it but a limp piece of lettuce.
• The arrival of Parliamentary Private Secretary Walker is magnificently horrible – and very good writing. He is depicted as an arrogant, self-obsessed misogynistic fool all within the space of two minutes.
• Despite slithering around a ventilation shaft, Jo's white suit emerges spotless from the other end.
• The Master gives a cheeky little wave as he sails his hovercraft off into the sunset.

In Summary

This is the Third Doctor at his action-hero best, leaping from hovercraft to speedboat, dealing out Venusian karate moves on aquatic reptiles and ultimately killing a large number of them in his efforts to prevent a world war. It's fast-paced and has a lot going on, and with the Royal Navy providing the military support there's a chance for the kind of warfare and photography that we don't usually see on the show. It's a far cry from the principled pacifism of some later stories, but it's very fitting in this context. As a story, its certainly not perfect – there is a lot of repetitive running back and forth between the prison, the naval base, the Sea Devil's lair and a variety of boats. Everyone gets captured and escapes several times. But there's always enough plot development to keep things moving forward, and the core trio of the Doctor, Jo and the Master are as charismatic as always.