Doctor Who - Beneath the Surface (The Silurians [1970] / The Sea Devils [1972] / Warriors of the Deep [1984]) [DVD]

Another Who boxset so here we go...

The Silurians. Classic Pertwee and possibly one of the darkest stories of that era. The real strength of this story lies in the beautiful parallels between Mankind and the Silurians. The Doctor and the elder Silurian leader have the wisdom & know that the two races can happily co-exist, but unfortunately they are backed up by headstrong idiots who kill first, ask questions later. This is one of Pertwee's finest performances & he is ably backed up by a strong supporting cast, especially the joy that is Fulton MacKay (who of course so nearly became the Doctor himself). The Silurian costumes are a bit clunky but do the job, their presence strengthened by their hyped-uped somewhat demented voices. To top it all off, no-one can say Silurian like Pertwee.

Sea Devils. Amazing. It is right up there with Spearhead for best Pertwee storyline. The most striking aspect is the Sea Devils themselves. Blimey, they could SHIFT. How often has a Who monster been turned into a laughing stock because it drags itself along slower than a one legged tortoise? Not these guys! They are a genuine threat and look fantastic, especially when rising out of the sea & raiding the naval base. The co-operation of the navy and the huge amount of location filming really help add an air of authenticity to the story, whilst the doorless 2CVs & oddly uniformed soldiers just give that bizzarre & uncomfortable slant. Again, the cast is flawless, but Roger Delgado still manages to stand out with a captivating performance. And then there's the soundtrack. Yes, insane power electronics that out-weird half the Warp back catalogue! Just the complete Who package.

Warriors of the Deep. Yes, the Davison story lets the side down YET again. Davison himself is fine, but the script is weak & uninspiring and the whole batch of episodes are just, well, BEIGE! There are huge continuity errors for starters. The big offender runs as follows... In the first Pertwee story, the Silurians don't call themselves Silurians, it is merely the name of the period they are believed to orignate from. Indeed, in Sea Devils the Doctor informs Jo that Silurians was probably the wrong name to give them. So why are they waddling around in Warriors declaring themselves Silurians? Ditto the Sea Devils. Again, this is merely the nickname given to them by unsuspecting nautical casualties. The costume update is rubbish, the Seas Devils especially now lumber uninspiringly around the place, and the Silurians are too rubbery. Then there's the "legendary" Myrka. Yes, it really is a pantomime horse manned by the men who were Dobbin in Rentaghost. The cast is pretty uninspired, but as with many Davison stories they've not got the material to work with. Furniture advertising legend Tom Adams does do a solid job as Vorshack, but he's the only one that sticks in the memory past the end titles. BOO!

Extras maintain the usual Who standards, laods of in depth insightful documentaries & little oddities. Well worth investing in for The Silurians, Sea Devils and a free doorstop.

A bit of a mixed bag this boxset, featuring all the appearances in DR WHO of the Silurians and Sea Devils - the super-intelligent reptiles who ruled the Earth millions of years before the appearance of homo sapiens. However, the wealth of extras makes it a must have for the serious fan and especially so if you like your WHO Pertwee-flavoured.

DR WHO & THE SILURIANS, originally transmitted in 1970 is the strongest of the 3 serials. A dark, morally-ambiguous QUATERMASS inspired tale that improves on repeated viewings, even if Carey Blyton's weird musical score (using the medieval crumhorn) can sound a bit funny first time around. With an excellent cast including Fulton Mackay, Peter Miles and Geoffrey Palmer this often absorbing and intense tale of Jon Pertwee's Doctor trying to make peace between humanity and the Silurians living in Derbyshire caves is arguably one of the most grown-up scripts DR WHO had attempted at that time. Production values are mostly high (give or take the occasional dinosaur) and Timothy Combe's direction is excellent. The Silurians largely succeed here despite the obvious rubber suits, because of the low lighting and their bizarrely distorted voices. If the story has a fault, it is that it is probably an episode or 2 too long, so probably best not to view all 7 installments in one go. The superb documentary: WHAT LIES BENEATH, charting the fictional, political and social influences on the serial enhances the viewing experience and features not only surviving cast and crew members, but an unusual appearance from Roy Hattersley! Those interested in the more conventional "Making of..." extra are also catered for by GOING UNDERGROUND.

THE SEA DEVILS from 1972 is one of the most popular stories from the Pertwee period and though more comic-strip in tone and less weighty than its prequel, still entertains. The Sea Devils, turtle-headed marine cousins of the Silurians, are beautifully designed; possessed of spooky hissing voices and looking great especially when emerging from the ocean to menace humanity. But the story actually belongs to Roger Delgado's Master. Here, trying to stir up a war, the evil Time Lord has one of his finest hours. Whether viciously fencing with the Doctor, impersonating a Naval officer or shrewdly manipulating Clive Morton's Colonel Trenchard he proves why the character was so popular. The location filming, use of real naval hardware and personnel adds a welcome touch of authenticity to this action-heavy tale. Again the extras are a treat for fans (HELLO SAILOR sees an enthusiastic cast and crew looking back with obvious affection) and include some amateur camera footage from the time of the location filming.

In utter contrast to both of the above is the rather woeful WARRIORS OF THE DEEP from 1984 starring Peter Davison. The extras on this disc show a cast who are either ruefully amused by the production's shortcomings or possibly still slightly traumatised by the experience. A lack of studio time and an inadequate budget clearly did not help matters here, but add the embarrassment of ("Oh no!") the highly unconvincing Myrka creature and you have a minor disaster. Not only this, but the stiffer, redesigned Silurian and Sea Devil costumes simply don't work (you can see jeans and T-Shirts poking through the gaps in some shots) and the cast are far from sparkling. Tom Adams' Commander Vorshak is particularly wooden (witness the ludicrous moments of his death) and the less said about Ingrid Pitt the better. Sadly, all of these problems mask the good qualities of the story. The script, when taken on its own merits isn't that bad - a different cast along with more time and thought given to the show's realisation might have created a decent little yarn. Also Davison and Janet Fielding act their socks off. The last line: "There should have been another way!" is highly appropriate.

If you can overlook or even forgive WARRIORS OF THE DEEP's many faults (some people might love the silliness of the Myrka) then there is much to enjoy here. Commentaries, photo galleries etc are all included in the package and the newly remastered SILURIANS with its more sharply defined picture made this fanboy's month.

I had seen both Dr Who and the Silurians (1970) and The Sea Devils (1972) on VHS and I enjoyed them both. The acting from Jon Pertwee (The Third Doctor), Caroline Johns (Liz Shaw ), Nicholas Courtney (Brigader Lethbridge Stewart), Katy Manning (Jo Grant)and Roger Delgardo (The Master) was excellent. Both Producer and Scrip Editor (Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks) picked the right supporting cast and characters in both the two Jon Pertwee stories, such as Peter Myles (Dr Lawerance), Fulton MacKay (Dr Quinn), Norman Jones (Major Baker), Jeffrey Palmer (Masters) Hugh Morton (Colonal Trenchard), Edwin Richfield (Captain Hart), June Murphy (Jane Blyth) and the actors who played the Silurians and The Sea Devils are brilliantly acted and play their parts with great passion and panche. As the Third Doctor stated that it doesn't matter if you have green skin you can share the planet and live in harmony with both human, silurian and sea devils, but its always the same you get some silurians, sea devils, or a renegade time lord (The Master) who do not want peace and alway throws a spanner in the works.

I had to knock off a star due to the 1984 Dr Who Peter Davison adventure The Warriors of the Deep. This is worst story that ever came out the Peter Davison era and a waste of space. Peter Davison 1st and the first two stories from his 2nd season as the Doctor were his best. This should have been a twin pack displaying Jon Pertwee Dr Who at his best. We get two outstanding adventures and one totally embarrisment at the end. My advice is to display both Dr Who and the Silurians and the Sea Devils and hide the Warriors from the Deep along with Silver Nemesis (Out of sight, out of mind)