Warriors of the Deep (novelisation)

When the TARDIS materialises on Earth in the year 2084, the Doctor meets an old enemy – the Sea Devils. Once the masters of this planet, they are now forced to live in the murky depths of the sea. But their intention is to reclaim their position of domination...

This will entail the infiltration of Earth's defence systems and the provocation of another World War, more terrible than any yet experienced, to bring about the complete annihilation of the human race.

Not only is the first stage of the Sea Devil's attack successful, their associates in this dastardly plan are the sinister Silurians, also known to the Doctor of old.

1992 Target Books edition[[edit] | [edit source]]

'LET'S FACE IT, TEGAN,' SAID THURLOUGH BRUTALLY. 'THE DOCTOR'S DROWNED.' AND HE DRAGGED HER AWAY.

When the TARDIS materialises on Earth in the year 2084, the Doctor meets an old enemy – the Sea Devils. Once the masters of this planet, they are now forced to live in the murky depths of the sea. But their intention is to reclaim their once-mighty position of dominance. And their associates in this deadly plan are none other than the sinister Silurians, old and evil enemies of the Doctor.

This is a novelization by Terrance Dicks of an original screenplay by Johnny Byrne and featuring Peter Davison as the Doctor. Broadcast in 1984, the story marked the first appearance of the Silurians in ten years.

Chapter titles[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Intruder
The Traitors
Hunted
The Sea Devils Awake
The Attack
The Myrka
The Breakthrough
Sabotage
The Hostage
Captured
Counterattack
Sacrifice

Deviations from televised story[[edit] | [edit source]]

The world of 2084 is explored in greater detail. Terrance Dicks makes no implication regarding the two sides in the human conflict, clearly referring to them as East Bloc and West Bloc. The West Bloc's use of the human brain in their synch-op systems provided a tactical edge that the East lacked. It also proved to be their weakest link due to the strict requirements of the position. The Sea Bases were constructed to offset the new vulnerabilities of space-based warfare in the latter half of the 21st century.
Icthar is identified multiple times, by the Doctor and the author, as the unnamed Silurian Scientist previously encountered by the Third Doctor in the televised Doctor Who and the Silurians. Poised between the Old Silurian initially leading the shelter and the Young Silurian who usurped him.
While the televised version implies the Sea Devils are hibernating in a bunker beneath the ocean floor, the novelisation describes them as sleeping in the lower depths of the Silurian craft itself. Their length of inactivity is stretched from hundreds of years to thousands.
Solow and Nilson converted to the ideology of the East Bloc, the power bloc opposed to the base. After the death of Solow's husband and parents, Nilson convinced her that the philosophy of the East Bloc was the answer to all of life's problems, but for the East Bloc to wipe out all suffering and injustice on Earth, sacrifices would have to be made. Conversely, Nilson is described as "a complete fanatic", if anything more ruthless than the people he serves.
The Myrka is described as a kind of "sea dragon", specially bred and adapted by the Silurians with cybernetic technology. It electrocutes its victims as with the televised story, but attacks with a lash-like tail that can send people hurtling across the room with its kinetic power alone. To the Doctor's knowledge, the creature is "almost invincible".
The novelisation clarifies that Tegan's foot is undamaged while trapped under the toppled airlock door "by a kind of freak accident".
When Nilson takes Tegan hostage, the Doctor follows them to the ultraviolet converter carrying the dead Karina's blaster for protection. He's forced to discard it when Nilson calls his bluff and threatens Tegan with his own weapon.
Icthar's belief to having twice offered the hand of friendship (possibly explained in the Virgin Missing Adventures novel The Scales of Injustice) is rewritten as the Doctor having twice tried in vain to make peace.
Terrance Dicks retains an attempted rescue of the Doctor by Turlough and Preston, cut from the televised version to emphasise Turlough's cowardice and selfishness.
The confrontation in the chemical stores between the Doctor's party and Sauvix plays out a bit differently compared to the televised version. Preston shoots one of the cylinders with her blaster-rifle as she dies, rather than Bulic attacking Sauvix with the Hexachromite gas as in the broadcast story.
While the novelisation ends on a similarly bitter note, the Doctor recognises that there will be other survivors hiding throughout Sea Base 4. Bulic will have to assume command of the base while the TARDIS is repaired and explain to their rescuers what transpired.
Some of the character descriptions do not match how characters appeared on screen: Vorshak is described as dark-haired and Karina as oriental.
It is specified that the marine guards normally function as radiation crew, explaining their uniforms.
The character of Paroli is omitted entirely, with some of his role being given to various unnamed guards.
It is made clearer that on screen that Vorshak is shot while shielding the Doctor.
Vorshak is referred to as sitting in a command chair, whereas on screen he tends to stand.
The Doctor is said to remove his disguise after surrendering his gun to Vorshak, instead of remaining in a guard's uniform until the end of the story.
The Doctor turns off the UV converter when the Sea Devils turn up instead of it being shorted out.
The humans' weapons can harm Sea Devils by striking the unarmoured portions.
Turlough is given a dead guard's gun during the Myrka's first attack, rather than wrestling one from the sergeant.

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

This was the first book to use the white outline version of the Target Books logo, which would be used for the remainder of the range's run. The previous colour logo appeared on one book published later before being retired.

Additional cover images[[edit] | [edit source]]

1984 Hardback edition
1992 edition.
Cover by Alister Pearson

British publication history[[edit] | [edit source]]

First publication:

Hardback

W.H. Allen & Co. Ltd. UK

Paperback

Target

Audiobook[[edit] | [edit source]]

In June 1995, BBC Audio released an abridged audio book version of the novel, read by Peter Davison. It was later reissued on Tales from the TARDIS: Volume Two.

The Target Book was again released as an audiobook on 4 May 2023 complete and unabridged by BBC Audio and read by Janet Fielding.

Audiobook cover

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]

On Target, a comprehensive guide to the Target novelisations by Tim Neal