Under the Lake

"They can walk through walls. They only come out at night..."

Writer: Toby Whithouse 

Format: TV

Broadcast: 3rd October 2015

Series: 9.03

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Clara

Synopsis 

When an underwater base comes under attack, the Doctor and Clara must save the frightened crew and defeat an impossible threat. But what is behind these terrifying events? And can they really be haunted by ghosts?

Verdict 

Under the Lake was an excellent episode of Doctor Who to continue along this already superb ninth series! We kicked off in epic style with a finale-standard opener in The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familar and it seems like the high quality is going to continue with this two parter. If the first part is anything to go by then we've got one exciting adventure on our hands! Toby Whithouse is a brilliant writer so I'm confident he'll follow this up majestically. It started off well giving us an immediate insight into the process of how somebody would go from living to being a ghost. Upon the arrival of the TARDIS, three days following the conversion of Moran, the Doctor immediately disputed the existence of ghosts. How preposterous was that? It echoed what he had said in Hide but after a lengthy spell on the Drum, his thoughts were changing somewhat. I thought Peter Capaldi was absolutely sublime as the Twelfth Doctor in this adventure. He's slowly becoming a very favoured incarnation of mine though I must say I'm very worried with the latest viewing figures. At less than four million, a figure which saw the show cancelled 26 years ago, is the future in jeopardy? I sincerely hope not. I place blame on the BBC schedule. Doctor Who always has been, and always will be, a family show. So why the hell is it starting at 8.25pm? It should be on two hours earlier. The production schedule should also have ensured that the show didn't clash with Strictly again but that wasn't avoided. Just put it on before the bloody dancing! Anyway, back to the story before I get too carried away. I'm still not sure about the Doctor replacing his sonic screwdriver with sonic sunglasses, but it's something new I guess. It certainly adds some humour and also an element of surprise in that you wouldn't expect even the Doctor to have sonic sunglasses! I really enjoyed Clara's sense of adventure and after her emotional whirlwind last series, she just wants the thrill of travelling in the TARDIS. She loved what was going on and ironically so did the Doctor! He was delighted at the prospect of ghosts. It was impossible but yet it seemed the only explanation. He referenced Autons and the Nethersphere wonderfully as things they weren't. He just seemed so happy and despite the threat they provided, he just wanted to ask them questions! Although, if anyone should know about death then it's the Doctor. He's died enough times. His relationship with O'Donnell was magnificent! Her accent is simply stunning. Cass was a wonderful character and I must say how impressed I was with Sophie Stone. I can't imagine how difficult life is being deaf but I loved how she was leader of the base. I wholeheartedly agree with Toby Whithouse's comments in the DWM preview that actors should be cast in spite of disability, not because of it. Whithouse relying back to The God Complex was very good and I liked how the Doctor referenced the Tivolians. The Doctor working out that what the ghosts were saying was actually a transmitter of coordinates was most intriguing. They didn't sound like them at all but once explained it made sense! The reference to Orion must have been nice for the Doctor. The chase to capture the ghosts was very entertaining and the aftermath which saw the Doctor and Clara get separated opens up a whole batch of opportunities. The first being the incredible cliffhanger - one of the best in recent memory. It was just superb! The Doctor had gone back in time to before the flood, not that we'd seen him arrive yet, to get an idea of what caused the happenings at the Drum. But for Clara, all she saw was an echoe of the past more than come to haunt her! The Doctor was now a ghost, just floating about in the open ocean. Where this leaves things I'm not quite sure, but it was a phenomenal cliffhanger! An excellent episode - bring on part two.