The Sea Devils (TV story): Difference between revisions

The Sea Devils was the third story in the ninth season of Doctor Who. It marked the first appearance of the Sea Devils and the reappearance of the Master.

Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks had decided they wanted a sea-based story and asked Malcolm Hulke to write it. Instead of bringing back the Silurians, Hulke invented an aquatic version called the Sea Silurians. Unlike their counterparts, the Sea Devils were given clothing designed by Maggie Fletcher.

To answer the insistence by fans that the Silurian era could not have spawned man-sized life, Hulke introduced a line in which the Doctor says they should correctly be called Eocenes. However, some considered it also unlikely that the Eocene period could produce such life.

After appearing in all five stories of season 8, Letts had decided to restrict the Master to a few appearances each year. This story joins him where The Dæmons left off, with his imprisonment. The dialogue implied that the Doctor and the Master were once friends.

Letts had secured the involvement of the Royal Air Force for The Mind of Evil and decided to try to do the same with the Royal Navy. He found the Ministry of Defence eager to take part. Shortly after broadcast, the BBC was visited by officials from the MOD who believed their top-secret submarine had been used in the show. It was in fact a model, adapted to show the features they were secretly testing.

This story saw the only use of "reverse the polarity of the neutron flow", during the Pertwee era. The phrase became associated with the Third Doctor, so he used it again in The Five Doctors, some eleven years later. Pertwee did use a shortened version of the phrase, "reverse the polarity" several times.

Like many of Hulke's stories, it included a moral dimension. The Sea Devils are caught between the Master, the Doctor and the humans. Ultimately, they are betrayed by all three; like their land-based cousins, it is the humans who hurt them the most.

Synopsis

The Doctor and Jo visit the Master in his high-security prison on an island off the south coast of England. The governor, Colonel Trenchard, says ships have been disappearing mysteriously at sea.

Plot

Episode one

The Doctor and Jo visit the Master in his cell.

The Doctor and Jo visit the the Master, now a captive on a small island prison, after capture by UNIT.

The Master is being held indefinitely and is the only prisoner. He is watched by CCTV and the island is patrolled by armed guards – trained to resist the Master's hypnotic powers – and even protected by minefields. He claims to have reformed – but refuses to reveal the location of his TARDIS. As they depart, the old-school, patriotic governor, Colonel Trenchard, tells them that some ships have been disappearing mysteriously

The Doctor cannot resist investigating, so they make their way to the sea fort. Jo and he are soon attacked by a Silurian lookalike.

Episode two

A Sea Devil is discovered by the Doctor.

This man-sized, bipedal lizard is called a "Sea Devil" by a half mad crew member. They escape to the nearby naval base, HMS Seaspite, run by the efficient Captain John Hart; despite the Doctor's eccentric behaviour -- he claims to have known Nelson personally -- an alliance forms. Hart is in charge of the adaptation of the sea fort to a SONAR testing station. The Doctor finds the Master, assisted by a misguided Trenchard, is stealing electrical equipment from the naval base to build a machine to control the Sea Devils. The Master throws a dagger at he Doctor's back.

Episode three

The Master working in his cell.

The Doctor survives. He hears the evil Time Lord intends to use the reptiles as an army to conquer the planet. He begins by using the machine to summon some of them from the sea – forcing the Doctor to employ his sonic screwdriver to repel them by exploding mines on the beach.

The Master returns to his cell to begin work on a new device. He activates it and it calls the Sea Devils to him. They attack the prison, killing the guards and Trenchard.

Episode four

The Sea Devils attack the submarine.

A battle for the prison rages. Trenchard, who believed he was aiding his country against enemy agents, is killed. The Doctor and the Master duel with swords, but eventually the Doctor and Jo must flee to HMS Seaspite, where Hart tells them a naval submarine has disappeared. The Doctor investigates in a submarine bell and is seized by the Sea Devils. They take him to their leader. The Doctor enters the Sea Devils' base and tries to encourage peaceful negotiation, recalling how he had failed to broker an agreement between mankind and the Silurians. The Master, too, ventures to the Sea Devil base, intent on inciting war, but matters are left unresolved when the base is attacked by depth charges. Jo realises the bell is empty.

Episode five

The Master and Sea Devils converse.

This attack has been ordered by a gluttonous and short-sighted politician, Robert Walker,. He has arrived at HMS Seaspite to take control of the situation and is intent on repeating UNIT’s actions on Wenley Moor: blowing up the creatures, this time with nuclear weapons. Hart and Jo are opposed to the attack but at least it allows the Doctor cover to flee, even if he has failed in his suit for peace.The Sea Devil aims its gun at the three people.

Episode six

File:Hibernation.jpg

The Sea Devils send out the wake up call.

The Doctor persuades Walker to allow him a final attempt at negotiation, but the Sea Devils have captured the naval base. They have been inspired to this action by the Master, who still wants a war. He forces the Doctor to help build a machine to revive Sea Devil colonies all over the world. Returning to the Sea Devil base, the Master activates the device; the Sea Devils imprison both Time Lords, now equally useless to them. However, the Doctor has sabotaged the machine. The Master and he escape the base, using equipment from the captured submarine.

As they are rescued, massive power feedback from the sabotaged machine destroys the Sea Devil colony before the military attack starts. As usual, the Master escapes capture (this time by faking a heart attack, hypnotising a man into switching places with him, and hijacking a rescue hovercraft) and flees the scene.

Cast

The Doctor - Jon Pertwee
Jo Grant - Katy Manning
The Master - Roger Delgado
John Hart - Edwin Richfield
George Trenchard - Clive Morton
Robbins - Royston Tickner
Radio Operator - Neil Seiler
Clark - Declan Mulholland
Hickman - Hugh Futcher
3rd Officer Jane Blythe - June Murphy
Ldg. Telegraphist Bowman - Alec Wallis
Castle Guard Wilson - Brian Justice
Castle Guard Barclay - Terry Walsh
Sea Devil - Pat Gorman
C.P.O. Smedley - Eric Mason
Commander Ridgeway - Donald Sumpter
Lt. Commander Mitchell - David Griffin
Ldg. Seaman Lovell - Christopher Wray
Castle Guard Drew - Stanley McGeagh
C.P.O. Summers - Colin Bell
Lt. Commander Watts - Brian Vaughan
A/B Girton - Rex Rowland
Walker - Martin Boddey
Rear Admiral - Norman Atkyns
Chief Sea Devil - Peter Forbes-Robertson
C.P.O. Myers - John Caesar

Crew

Assistant Floor Manager - John Bradburn
Costumes - Maggie Fletcher
Designer - Tony Snoaden
Fight Arranger - Derek Ware and HAVOC
Film Cameraman - Peter Sargent
Film Editor - Martyn Day
Incidental Music - Malcolm Clarke
Make-Up - Sylvia James
Producer - Barry Letts
Production Assistant - Colin Dudley
Script Editor - Terrance Dicks
Special Sounds - Brian Hodgson
Studio Lighting - Mike Jefferies
Studio Sound - Tony Millier, Colin Dixon
Theme Arrangement - Delia Derbyshire
Title Music - Ron Grainer
Visual Effects - Peter Day

References

The Master was captured at Devil's End. He is imprisoned at Fortress Island.

Foods and beverages

The Doctor consumes several sandwiches at the naval base, and whilst visiting the Master.
Hickman is seen drinking Old Oak Light Ale.

Species

The Sea Devils are the 'aquatic cousins' to the Silurians.

The Doctor

The Doctor is a trained diver and accomplished golfer.

The Doctor's items

The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to detect mines and cause them to explode.

Vehicles

Jo can operate a hovercraft.

Story notes

This story had the working title The Sea Silurians.
The scene involving the Master watching Clangers was a last-minute addition, added because the first episode was missing ninety seconds of the standard run time.
This is one of two stories where the Third Doctor utters the full line "I reversed the polarity of the neutron flow.". The other is in DW: The Five Doctors.
The Sea Devils are never named as such (except the fort survivor rambling about sea devils).
The Doctor remarks that he was a personal friend of Horatio Nelson.
This serial's director, Michael Briant, provided the voice of the radio DJ in episode two.
Originally, Episode one was to include the Doctor water-skiing, which was to be used as the excuse for Jo and him being being late to the Master's prison. Increasingly inclement weather made the shoot impossible.
Along with Mission to the Unknown, Doctor Who and the Silurians, The Sontaran Experiment, Genesis of the Daleks and Midnight, this is one of only six televised stories in the history of Doctor Who not to feature the TARDIS (Inferno and Day of the Daleks feature the central console, but not the TARDIS itself).
The series' producer, Barry Letts, and Clive Morton (George Trenchard) had both previously appeared in the 1948 film Scott of the Antarctic in which they played Apsley Cherry-Garrard and Herbert Ponting respectively.

Ratings

Episode 1 - 6.4 million viewers
Episode 2 - 9.7 million viewers
Episode 3 - 8.3 million viewers
Episode 4 - 7.8 million viewers
Episode 5 - 8.3 million viewers
Episode 6 - 8.5 million viewers

Myths

Roger Delgado was afraid of the water and it took great courage for him to film the scene in which the Master and the Doctor are rescued from the sea by the Navy. (This was frequently recalled by Jon Pertwee in later interviews, but according to Delgado's widow, Kismet, it is untrue. Delgado was actually worried about getting his costume wet, as there was no spare available.) (Delgado's fear of water is also recalled during the DVD commentary of The Sea Devils by Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks.) Delgado also looks very uncomfortable during his scenes in the water.

Filming locations

The exterior of the Master's prison was in fact Norris Castle, East Cowes, Isle of Wight. The Sea Fort was an actual sea defence fort built in the 1860s in the river Solent, off the South Hampshire coast, in anticipation of a feared French invasion which never came to pass. Abandoned at the time of the story's filming, it has since been a hotel resort. In July of 2007 the fort came up for sale after the company owning the hotel collapsed and its owner was jailed.
Fraser Gunnery Range, HMS St George, Portsmouth
Royal Navy ship HMS Reclaim
No Man's Land Sea Fort, Solent
Whitecliff Bay, Isle of Wight
Bembridge Harbour, Isle of Wight
Norris Castle, East Cowes, Isle of Wight
Red Cliff, Sandown, Isle of Wight
Bembridge Sailing Club, Bembridge, Isle of Wight
Priory Bay, Isle of Wight
BBC Television Centre (Studio 8), Shepherd's Bush, London
The set for the Wardens office is the same one heavily used for the Doctors laboratory in the previous season.

Production errors

If you'd like to talk about narrative problems with this story — like plot holes and things that seem to contradict other stories — please go to this episode's discontinuity discussion.

The clock in the Master's prison runs backwards.
An Admiral of one of the ships sent to attack the Sea Devils base wears glasses. This is against Navy Regulations.

Continuity

The Master was captured in DW: The Dæmons.
The Silurians first appeared in DW: Doctor Who and the Silurians.
The Sea Devils are next seen in DW: Warriors of the Deep.
Sea Devils and Silurians appear in NA: Blood Heat.
The Master watches Clangers in a fashion similar to his watching Teletubbies in DW: The Sound of Drums.
The Doctor attempts to attribute the misnomer "Silurian" to their discoverer.
The Master mentions their encounter with the Sea Devils to the Tenth Doctor in DW: Last of the Time Lords.
The Doctor and the Master would later engage in another sword fight in 1215. (DW: The King's Demons)

Timeline

This story occurs after ST: The Switching.
This story occurs before EDA: The Eight Doctors.

Home video and audio releases

Editing for both VHS and DVD releases completed by Doctor Who Restoration Team.

VHS Releases

This was released on video in episodic format.

UK VHS cover
US VHS cover
Australian VHS cover

DVD releases

This story was released on DVD as part of the Beneath the Surface collection along with Doctor Who and the Silurians and Warriors of the Deep.

Region 2 cover
Doctor-who-and-the-sea-devils-20080902051737012-000.jpg

Region 1 cover
Region 4 cover

Beneath the Surface

Beneath the Surface Region 2 cover
Beneath the Surface Region 1 cover
Beneath the Surface Region 4 cover

Audio releases

A soundtrack CD of the programme was released in January 2008. It was also included in the Monsters on Earth box set along with Doctor Who and the Silurians and Warriors of the Deep.

CD Release
Monsters on Earth cover

External links

Template:Silurian & Sea Devil stories

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 |companions     = [[Jo Jones|Jo]]
 |enemy          = The [[The Master (UNIT years)|Master]]<br />The [[Sea Devil]]s<br />[[Trenchard]]
-|year           = [[England]], the [[1980s]]
+|year           = [[England]], the [[1970s]]
 |writer         = [[Malcolm Hulke]]
 |director       = [[Michael Briant]]
@@ Line 242: / Line 242: @@
 {{TitleSort}}
 {{ImageLinkTV}}
 [[Category:Doctor Who (1963) television stories]]
 [[Category:Third Doctor television stories]]

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