Hidden Depths: The Seas of Titan

"This moon will kill you."

Writer: Lizbeth Myles

Format: Audio

Released: November 2022

Series: Ninth Doctor Adventures 7.01

Featuring: Ninth Doctor

Synopsis 

Out on Saturn's moon, Titan, an outpost all-but-forgotten by Earth struggles on against the odds.

As the Doctor joins explorers deep in the methane seas, they discover a hidden civilisation. But will the Sea Devils prove to be the colony's salvation or its final destruction?

Verdict

The Seas of Titan was a great story to kick off the Hidden Depths seventh volume of Ninth Doctor Adventures! I’m loving that Big Finish is giving us further stories for the Ninth Doctor and it’s lovely for him to get to encounter some classic foes. We’ve had Cyberman and Sontarans which we unfortunately didn’t get on screen, and now the Sea Devils join the fray! With an expected theme of going underground for this boxset, it was inevitable that either the Silurians or Sea Devils would be featuring and I thought the latter were a smart choice. With so much of the Ninth Doctor’s time focused on Earth, it really is brilliant to have this one set on Titan. I thought it was a really strong setting and the impossibility of life made it a perfect place for human curiosity and potential discovery. That was what Diana was interested in and even when it appeared that she would die, the fact she had confirmation and a visual of life beneath the depths was more than enough to warrant the trip and expedition. Rachel as her assistant was a decent character too and I liked the later revelation that she was the culprit of sabotaging the submarine because she already knew there was life below and didn’t really want the news getting out. A submarine setting on a moon is a tremendous setting, but I think one thing that could have been improved was the atmosphere. It didn’t have the kind of underground feel associated with so many other Doctor Who stories set underground or similar. Diana describing herself and Rachel as the dregs of Earth because they were the only ones left on the mission looking for like was good and showed how much she cared about the discovery. I enjoyed that there was dissension amongst the Sea Devil ranks and Mirtar being one of the good ones and not wanting to see innocent life killed was good. It was a worthy sentiment of the Chief Councillor and he maintained those good qualities throughout. The issue of sickness in the colony was really good and I liked how with Taroth being the one to release that, it showed the advancements of Sea Devil science. She was the Chief Scientist after all! She was against what the humans had been doing to her species in subjugation, and with Solomon’s fishy comments it initially seemed like that was warranted! He was an interesting character as the Governor and he was solely interested in harvesting hydrocarbons to stop with. A typical businessman. Diana kidnapping him to show him the Sea Devils and those he would be impacting was good despite the criminal means, and the Doctor wasn’t wholly against it! She needed to get him to talk to the Sea Devils and it actually ended up working pretty well! In a world where one attack by humanity was met with a retaliation from the Sea Devils, and vice versa, the concept of Solomon offering Mirtar the chance to see their colony was unlikely so it was a nice surprise when it happened! The humans not exactly being receptive to the Sea Devils was expected and I liked that Mirtar was the one to get injured in the ambush. It initially seemed that any possibility of harmony was a no go, but Solomon stepping up and convincing his colony that uniting and living together was right made for a triumphant conclusion! The idea of humans and Sea Devils living together in an underwater secret colony was delightful, and it was nice for a happy ending with reptilians! Overall, a strong start.

Rating: 8/10