"Doctor Who" The Sea Devils: Part 1 (1972)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Michael E. Briant

Writer:

Malcolm Hulke (writer)

TV Series:

"Doctor Who" (1963)

Original Air Date:

26 February 1972 (Season 9, Episode 9)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Reverse The Polarity Of The Neutron Flow | Dandy | Master | Time Lord | Alien

Cast

Jon Pertwee	...	The Doctor
Roger Delgado	...	The Master
Katy Manning	...	Jo Grant
Edwin Richfield	...	Captain Hart
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hugh Futcher	...	Hickman
Pat Gorman	...	Sea Devil
Brian Justice	...	Castle Guard Wilson
Clive Morton	...	Trenchard
Declan Mulholland	...	Clark
June Murphy	...	3rd Officer Jane Blythe
Neil Seiler	...	Radio Operator
Royston Tickner	...	Robbins
Alec Wallis	...	Leading Telegraphist Bowman
Terry Walsh	...	Castle Guard Barclay

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Norris Castle, Cowes, Isle of Wight, England, UK

Trivia:

This episode was watched by 6.4 million viewers on its original transmission.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Jon Pertwee at Panopticon (2003) (V)

Good opening episode.

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Doctor Who: The Sea Devils: Episode One starts as the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) & his assistant Jo Grant (Katy Manning) sail to a small island just of the coast of England on which the Master (Roger Delgado) is being held prisoner in a converted castle. The Doctor & Jo talk to the governor of the prison Colonel Trenchard (Clive Morton) who says that the Master hasn't given him or his guards any trouble or tried to escape, Trenchard also happens to mention in passing that several ship's have mysteriously disappeared in the surrounding area without trace. After visiting the Master the Doctor decides to investigate the ship disappearances, he pays a visit to the Naval base HMS Seaspite & learns from Captain Hart (Edwin Richfield) that at the very center of the disappearances is an old run down sea fort. The Doctor thinks he will find at least some of the answers he is looking for there...

Episode 9 from season 9 this Doctor Who adventure originally aired here in the UK during February 1972, the third story from Jon Pertwee's third season playing the Doctor one has to say like a lot of Doctor Who serials The Sea Devils has started off very well. I just hope that unlike a lot of Doctor Who serials, especially the long six parters, that The Sea Devils continues in that way. The script by Malcolm Hulke was originally called The Sea Silurians & was a sort of sequel &/or remake to Hulke's season seven story Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970) in that it had roughly the same story & featured what were intended to be aquatic versions of the Silurians. The Sea Devils also sees the return of renegade Timelord villain the Master & picks up his story after he was arrested at the end of The Dæmons (1971) at the end of the previous season, here he is seen watching the infamous British kids show The Clangers (1969 - 1974) while stuck in prison. The Sea Devils is also very unusual for an Earth bound Pertwee story as it doesn't feature UNIT or any UNIT regulars, in fact I think I am right in saying The Sea Devils is the only Pertwee story set on contemporary Earth that doesn't involve UNIT. This opening episode is typical Doctor Who as the script sets up some mysterious events & a race of monsters, this is actually a very good episode that has just the right balance between intrigue & exposition. It moves along at a decent pace although I am not too sure about the cliffhanger ending.

During season eight producer Barry Letts had managed to get the RAF involved with filming The Mind of Evil (1971) so for The Sea Devils he asked the Royal Navy for help, the Ministry of Defence agreed to their participation, the use of men, equipment & locations as long as the Navy was shown in a positive light. The scenes set here in the fictional HMS Seaspite were actually filmed at HMS St. George in Portsmouth in Hampshire. The castle where the Master is kept prisoner is in fact Norris Castle on the Ise of White. The sea fort location was No Man's Land Fort in the Solent just off the Isle of White, originally the script called for a disused oil rig but permission to film on one could not be found so the location was switched to a fort. The interior fort sets are excellent & very atmospheric, it's just a pity about that wobbly ladder. Talking of ladders there's a sequence where the Doctor & Jo are supposed to climb the ladder on the outside of the fort, it's painfully obvious that a bloke was doubling for Katy Manning! Just check out those broad shoulders & that rather chubby waistline!

The Sea Devils: Episode One is a cracking start to what I hope will be another top Jon Pertwee serial, I liked it.