Writer: Geoffrey Orme
Format: TV
Broadcast: 14th January - 4th February 1967
Season: 4.05
Featuring: Second Doctor, Polly, Ben, Jamie
Synopsis
The TARDIS arrives on an extinct volcanic island. Before long, the travellers are captured and taken into the depths of the Earth, where they find a hidden civilisation - the lost City of Atlantis.
Verdict
The Underwater Menace was a fantastic serial to continue the high standard of adventures thus far since Patrick Troughton took over the helm as the Doctor. I love the difference seen in the Doctor over the last three stories! In each serial the Doctor has been extremely different to anything imaginable from his predecessor which is great to see. Change is a constant in this glorious programme and the first major change has been extremely successful so far. Back to this serial, and I'm extremely thankful that episode two was recently found allowing me to view half of this serial in its entirety. My thanks must also go out, yet again, to Loose Canon productions who are just phenomenal. Thanks to their superb recons I was able to view episodes one and four successfully and in turn allowed a comfortable viewing format for the entire story. I liked how Jamie was getting used to his new surroundings after arriving in The Highlanders and his reaction to the TARDIS and its travelling was excellent. I noticed during this serial that having four members in a main cast is a really good idea. I mean really good. It worked so effectively and allowed us to have the foursome split into varying pairs which will always allow for some fantastic dialogue. I'm really loving Polly as companion and as I've previously mentioned in previous blogged stories, I think she's continuing to climb the ranks of best companion. Here she was wonderful! I loved how she sported the fish-like attire and she pulled it off rather elegantly. I love how the three companions, at some point in the serial, questioned the clothes of the Doctor, particularly those trousers. Comedy is always a bonus. And whilst I'm talking about clothing, I think I should mention how good the disguises of the Doctor were for a second straight story. Another new ability for the renewed Doctor. I thought the cliffhangers were all great and I found that I was eager to watch the next episode which I always look for. The guest cast were all strong with Ramo, Thous and Damon all impressing. But the standout guest cast member was undoubtedly Professor Zaroff. I really loved the character and thought he was played extremely villainously which was fantastic. I always like a good villain rather than enemy in stories now and then. To me, there definitely is a difference. The setting of Atlantis was a wonderful surprise! Such audacity to place an entire story there in what was pretty much modern day. The reference to the 1968 Mexico Olympics, with the serial broadcast in early 1967, was terrific. The plan of Zaroff was just crazy, which made it brilliant. A mad scientist villain always makes for a good antagonist! He wanted to destroy Atlantis, and in doing so cause the destruction of the entire planet! The way the Doctor showed this was tremendous. I loved the reference to The Smugglers, a story which seems to have cropped up subtly in a lot of stories lately. Not that I'm complaining at all! I love references to past stories. The relationship between the Doctor and Ben, something we haven't seen a great deal of, was good to see. I liked how well as a team they worked and thier plan in trapping Zaroff just before he could destroy the planet was cleverly done. I wasn't overly keen on the costume design of the fully fledged Fish People but then I remember this was 1967 so I can let it slide. However, things I can't let slide irrespective of the year are blatant production errors and sadly there was more than one here. My final issue with the serial was how a trio of men failed to jab Polly with a syringe in about five minutes. That just wasn't believable. On the other hand, the story as a whole was really good with the destructive and demolishing plot. I loved how we got Doctor Who's take on the mythical sinking of Atlantis. An extraordinary account really! Overall, lots and lots of good, a few errors but the quality of the story as a whole and the fantastic emotionally reuniting of the TARDIS crew allowed this to be a joy to watch.
Rating: 8/10
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