The Sea Devils (TV story)

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For the titular race, see Sea Devil.

The Sea Devils was the third story of Season 9 of Doctor Who. This episode marks the first appearance of the Sea Devils and the reappearance of The Master.

Synopsis

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

Plot

Episode One

The Doctor and Jo visit the the Master, now held in captivity on a small island prison, after being captured 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 mysteriously disappearing. The Doctor cannot resist investigating and he and Jo are soon attacked, while examining a Sea Fort, by a Silurian lookalike.

Episode Two

This man-sized bipedal lizard is called a "Sea Devil" by a crew member who's been driven half mad. They escape to the nearby naval base, HMS Seaspite run by the efficient Captain John Hart; despite the Doctor's eccentirc behaviour (such as claiming to have known Nelson personally), an alliance forms. Hart is in charge of the adaptation of the sea fort for use as a SONAR testing station. The Doctor meanwhile discovers that the Master, assisted by a misguided Trenchard, is stealing electrical equipment from the naval base to build a machine that will control the Sea Devils.The Master throws a dagger at The Doctor's back.

Episode Three

The Doctor survives and hears The evil Time Lord intends to use the reptiles as an army to enable him to conquer the planet, and 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.

Episode Four

Soon, however, a battle for the prison ensues, during which Trenchard, who had believed he was aiding his country against enemy agents, is killed. The Doctor and the Master duel with swords, but eventually he and Jo are forced to 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, who take him to their leader. The Doctor enters the Sea Devil's 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 provoking war, but matters are left unresolved when the base is attacked by depth charges. Jo then realises the bell is empty.

Episode Five

This attack has been ordered by a gluttonous and short-sighted politician, Robert Walker, who 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, but 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 initial attempt to sue for peace.The sea devil aims its gun at the three people.

Episode Six

The Doctor persuades Walker to allow him a final attempt at negotiation, but in the meantime the Sea Devils capture the naval base. They have been inspired to such actions by the Master, who still wishes to instigate a war. The Master then 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, whereupon the Sea Devils imprison both Time Lords as they are now both equally useless to them. However, The Doctor has sabotaged the machine and he and the Master escape the base using escape 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 can begin. As usual, the Master is able to escape capture (this time by faking a heart attack, hypnotizing a man into switching places with him, and hijacking a rescue hovercraft) and flees the scene.

Cast

Crew

References

Foods and beverages

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

Races and species

The Doctor

  • The Doctor is a trained diver and accomplished golfer.

The Doctor's items

Vehicles

Story notes

  • This story had the working title The Sea Silurians.
  • The scene involving the Master watching The Clangers was a last-minute addition, added because the first episode was missing 90 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 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.

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.
  • The Master believes The Clangers are real aliens and has to be told they're puppets. He's joking. When Trenchard "explains" they were puppets, the Master politely responds "Oh!" and then shows visible irritance when Trenchard isn't looking." *(Or perhaps it was a look of disappointment?)

Filming locations

  • The exterior of the Master's prison was an actual sea defence fort in the Solent built in the 1860s off the 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 become 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
  • 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

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 moves backwards.
  • A Captain of one of the ships sent to attack the Sea Devils base wears glasses although this is against Navy Regulations.

Continuity

Timeline

Home video and audio releases

  • This was released on video in episodic format
  • It was also released on DVD in the Beneath the Surface collection

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

Novelisation and its audiobook

Sea Devils novel.jpg
Main article: Doctor Who and the Sea-Devils

External links

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According to one account, the Master had the appearance of Roger Delgado while on Gallifrey. According to another, he had Anthony Ainley's likeness. According to another one, the one with James Dreyfus's appearance was the incarnation who ran away from Gallifrey.

Divided Loyalties, A Brief History of Time Lords and The Legions of Death feature, or otherwise acknowledge, the War Chief, but in the process contradicted the notion put forward by other stories that he was an incarnation of the Master.

One account suggests that the incarnation portrayed by Roger Delgado may be the same as the one portrayed by Peter Pratt while some others distinguish them.

According to one account, the incarnation portrayed by Gordon Tipple is the one portrayed by Anthony Ainley, while some others state that the Ainley one was already lost by then.

While fighting to extend his life at the end of his regeneration cycle, many bodies were possessed by the Beevers incarnation, but all kept somehow reverting to his real being until he finally regenerated into the MacQueen one. Hence, these sections cannot be strictly chronological

Template:Silurian & Sea Devil stories

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