Doctor Who and the Silurians

"They only attack for survival."

Writer: Malcolm Hulke

Format: TV

Broadcast: 31 January - 14 March 1970

Season: 7.02

Featuring: Third Doctor, Liz

Synopsis

The Doctor and Liz Shaw are summoned by the Brigadier to a new facility at Wesley Moor. The facility is a new type of power station, but oddly enough there appears to be something wrong with the staff. Investigating nearby caves the Doctor discovers the Silurian race that has been in hibernation for millions of years and now wants their planet back from the uppity ape descendants. To aid them in their plans to take back the Earth, they release a deadly virus...

Verdict

Doctor Who and the Silurians was just a masterclass of a Doctor Who serial. It deserves to have the show’s name in its title which is just wonderfully quirky and it absolutely works. Seven parts feel like a breeze and I honestly think this could have gone on even longer which is a huge compliment because seven episodes is a mammoth task to get through! I watched this all in the same day but it’s so easy to see how well this would have worked in a weekly episodic format. It’s just enthralling and the pace is just beyond perfect. I can’t compliment it enough. I really like how the first three parts are just focused on what the Silurians actually are and the slow increments to reveal their appearance at the part three cliffhanger is magnificent. It’s been over twelve years since I last watched this story which feels baffling to me, but it’s one I have always loved. I’ve watched it multiple times and I remember ensuring I’d watched it in 2010 after the Silurians were confirmed as returning for Matt Smith’s first series as the Doctor. It was an instant hit and I’ve loved it ever since. Season 7 is such a fascinating time in the show’s history and this just feels so different. It’s absolutely in a great way, but this is such unique Doctor Who. The dynamic with the Doctor being in exile is great and that is barely referenced here. His relationship with Liz is lovely and I really loved how she stood up for herself. She was a scientist and it’s excellent to see her here aiding the Doctor. The politics involved in the serial with UNIT is just magnificent and so contemporary of the 1970 broadcast. I’m a massive fan of that too and there are some very real issues debated here. The Doctor trying to show the side of the Silurians here is impressive and he’s understandably empathetic to their cause. They’d been asleep for millions of years and woke up to find that their planet had been overrun by humanity, the climate was completely changed, and the disaster they hid away from never actually happened. I understand why they are irked! The Doctor trying to convince everyone that they only attacked in self defence was always going to go on deaf ears when talking with a military mind, and once the plague was released all bets were off. The guest cast in the story are so impressive with Dr Quinn and Major Baker being obvious standouts. The Brigadier’s standing up to the latter is a moment I really enjoyed. I thought the introduction to Bessie here was good fun and it’s quite subtle too given the significance she will play for the rest of this era. I thought the caves setting was brilliant and the way it was realised here was superb. I actually think the grainy image quality helps sell that underground feeling. I was fascinated to learn after watching today that the story is technically missing with the master tapes being wiped! Thank goodness it was recorded by other means to keep it available to view. It would be tragic to lose a story as good as this one. It’s a cult classic. The concept behind the Silurians is excellent and their appearance here is outstanding. I think there’s a sense of retro nostalgia for me, but the shape of their head and that sonic emitting is iconic. It just works. Their voices could probably have been improved, but they were millions of years old! I think the Doctor and Liz spending a lot of time to find the cure to the plague is great in its simplicity and it was really important to differentiate that containing it was very different. The threat worldwide once it reached Paris was fantastic and really set the politics going. The Doctor sending the reactor critical and the radiation fear was very real. The Silurians not being too fussed and just returning to hibernation was actually quite amusing, but things do take a sour turn at the end as UNIT blow up the Silurians under military instruction. That’s such a powerful ending because they absolutely should have been offered another chance. I think it’s so important for future encounters that the Doctor establishes his belief here that there can be cohabitation. It will never be achieved, but the desire there is terrific. Overall, just sublime.

Rating: 10/10