This is part of a series of reviews of Doctor Who in chronological timeline order.

Previous Story: Ringpullworld

After the fairly dire Season 20, this is an excellent return to form. This story seems to have somewhat of a bad reputation, which I don't understand. It's a tightly-written and action-packed story. It's great to have a proper base-under-siege story again and to have it set in a submarine makes it all the more claustrophobic and intense. The set design for this story is really great, it looks significantly less flimsy than usual. While I'm disappointed that the Silurian mask is unable to talk, it looks phenomenal in this and a lot easier to picture as a real alien.

The main cast here are similarly great. Mark Strickson coldly reminds you that Turlough is not human throughout this story. It was great to witness him go all out to save the Doctor and Tegan however, really cementing him as a genuine companion. Janet Fielding is also really good, she bounces off Peter Davison really well and really grounds both him and Turlough. Speaking of Peter Davison, this might be his best TV performance yet (though I'm sure that will change). He's a lot more present here and is a really driving force in this story. His sarcastic wit is a great way to further differentiate himself as the Doctor, though it's a shame that's only coming towards the end of his run. Similar to Turlough he gets his own alien moment where he scolds the humans for wanting to commit genocide, absolutely selling his disappointment.

This is a terrific start to Davison's final season as the Doctor. For once the cast of companions feel fully fleshed out and are just really enjoyable to watch onscreen. The ending was fairly tragic, though I much prefer how it was handled here than say, Horror of Fang Rock which ends in a similar way. In a way I suppose it's a great way to highlight the differences between Davison and his immediate predecessor. Aside from a few stilted action sequences and a lacklustre cliffhanger to Episode 1, this adventure is fantastic from start to finish and I sincerely hope the rest of the stories in this season can live up to it.

Next Story: Meanwhile Turlough