Stories Television Doctor Who Season 4 Serial: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 The Underwater Menace Original Story TV Soundtrack Animation Original Story TV Soundtrack Animation 1 image Overview Episodes Characters How to Watch Reviews 9 Statistics Related Stories Quotes 2 Transcript Overview First aired Saturday, January 14, 1967 Production Code GG Written by Geoffrey Orme Directed by Julia Smith Runtime 100 minutes Time Travel Present Tropes (Potential Spoilers!) First TARDIS trip, It's bigger on the inside, Under the Sea Inventory (Potential Spoilers!) Recorder Location (Potential Spoilers!) Atlantis Synopsis The TARDIS arrives on an extinct volcanic island. Before long, the travellers are captured and taken into the depths of the Earth, where they find a hidden civilisation — the lost city of Atlantis. Watch Watched Favourite Favourited Add Review Edit Review Log a repeat Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Owned Save to my list Saved Edit date completed Custom Date Release Date Archive (no date) Save 4 Episodes Episode 1 Missing First aired Saturday, January 14, 1967 Runtime 25 minutes Written by Geoffrey Orme Directed by Julia Smith UK Viewers 8.3 million Appreciation Index 48 Synopsis The TARDIS materialises on a deserted beach where the Doctor and his friends are captured by primitive warriors and taken to the fabled city of Atlantis. Episode 2 First aired Saturday, January 21, 1967 Runtime 25 minutes Written by Geoffrey Orme Directed by Julia Smith UK Viewers 7.5 million Appreciation Index 46 Synopsis While Ara tries to save Polly from being turned into a Fish Person and Ben and Jamie try to escape from the mines, the Doctor discovers the full extent of Zaroff's plans. Episode 3 First aired Saturday, January 28, 1967 Runtime 25 minutes Written by Geoffrey Orme Directed by Julia Smith UK Viewers 7.1 million Appreciation Index 45 Synopsis The Doctor and Ramo are sentenced to be sacrificed to the goddess Amdo and must escape to put a stop to Zaroff's plan. Episode 4 Missing First aired Saturday, February 4, 1967 Runtime 25 minutes Written by Geoffrey Orme Directed by Julia Smith UK Viewers 7 million Appreciation Index 47 Synopsis With Zaroff's plan nearing completion, the Doctor and Ben realise the only way to save the world is to destroy Atlantis. Show All Episodes Characters Second Doctor Patrick Troughton Jamie McCrimmon Frazer Hines Ben Jackson Michael Craze Polly Wright Anneke Wills Fish People Professor Zaroff Atlanteans Show All Characters (7) How to watch The Underwater Menace: Watch on iPlayer Blu-Ray The Underwater Menace [Steelbook] Blu-Ray The Underwater Menace DVD The Underwater Menace DVD The Underwater Menace DVD Lost in Time Reviews Add Review Edit Review Sort: Date (Newest First) Date (Oldest First) Likes (High-Low) Likes (Low-High) Rating (High-Low) Rating (Low-High) Word count (High-Low) Word count (Low-High) Username (A-Z) Username (Z-A) Spoilers First Spoilers Last 9 reviews 26 May 2025 · 163 words Review by RandomJoke I really like this one. Is this one, a very compelling Narrative? No. Is it very stupid? Yeah, but it’s the entertaining stupid. This Serial is, to me, 60s Doctor Who doing a B-Movie and doing it quite well, because it’s just really entertaining. Professor Zaroff is such an overacted Character, and I am all for it. His Cliffhanger around Episode 3 is iconic for a Reason. Similarly, we are continuing the Path of ‘Throughton being a silly total Menace’, which he does very well. The setting itself is realized quite well for the most Part, I don’t really have anything to complain with it, it gets its Job done and is charming. I think this Serial is a bit of an Improvement in terms of Polly, she feels much more like herself, similarly I really enjoyed the Chemistry between Ben & Jamie in this one. While the Side cast is by no means anything to write home about, they still are memorable enough. RandomJoke View profile Like Liked 0 11 March 2025 · 41 words Review by Scottybguud 1 Not great. Due to lost episodes, episode 2 of this is when we finally get to see Troughton in live action. That's one plus for this. Another would be Zaroff, who is like a Bond villain but that just makes him funny. Scottybguud View profile Like Liked 1 23 February 2025 · 14 words Review by dema1020 1 Ho boy, where is my t-shirt that says "I survived watching The Underwater Menace"? dema1020 View profile Like Liked 1 1 February 2025 · 52 words Review by greenLetterT 2 A bit of a mediocre story that isn't confident enough in itself to be camp or good enough to be.. well, good. The scene in the third episode with the Fish People felt like something out of the Web Planet with less charming costumes, but the Fish People Communism subplot was fun greenLetterT View profile Like Liked 2 13 November 2024 · 115 words Review by Dogtor 2 Original (French) Translation (English) “Just one small question. Why do you want to blow up the world ?” C’est The Web Planet mais carrément réécrit par Kropotkine et Marx, et c’est aussi le premier chef d'œuvre de Troughton ! Un an avant Mai 68, la série nous fait en effet le récit de poissons en grève et de joyeux rebelles de tous les pays qui renversent un empire déchu ! Mais si en plus on nous embarque voir tout un monde foisonnant de vie, c’est un monde où les prêtres doutent, les servantes résistent, et où les victimes d’expériences atroces s’émancipent et se révoltent. C’est franchement une histoire de résistance populaire, d’internationalisme et de lutte de classe. Mais c'est surtout notre Histoire. "Just one small question. Why do you want to blow up the world?" It's The Web Planet but completely rewritten by Kropotkin and Marx, and it's also Troughton's first masterpiece! A year before May 1968, the series indeed tells us the story of striking fish and cheerful rebels from all over the world toppling a fallen empire! But if we are taken to see a world teeming with life, it is a world where priests doubt, maids resist, and victims of horrific experiments emancipate themselves and revolt. It's frankly a story of popular resistance, internationalism, and class struggle. But it's especially our History. (Translation generated by AI, so mistakes are possible). Dogtor View profile Like Liked 2 Show All Reviews (9) Open in new window Statistics AVG. Rating440 members 2.90 / 5 Member Statistics Watched 788 Favourited 28 Reviewed 9 Saved 6 Skipped 9 Related Stories Other adaptations of this story: We define an adaptation as a recreation of a similar story but on a different medium or with different characters. Target Collection Doctor Who: The Underwater Menace Rating: 3.15 Story Skipped Book More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: Target Collection Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved Other variations of this story We define a variation as another way of experiencing the exact same story - like an autiobook, a reconstruction or an omnibus edition. BBC Audio Soundtracks The Underwater Menace (BBC Audio Soundtrack) Rating: 3.17 Story Skipped Soundtrack Reviews(1) More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: BBC Audio Soundtracks Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved Animated Reconstructions The Underwater Menace (Animated Reconstruction) Rating: 2.97 Story Skipped Animated Reviews(4) More Actions View Sets Close Related Sets Set of Stories: Animated Reconstructions Add Review Edit Review Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Save to my list Saved Quotes Add Quote Link to Quote Favourite ZAROFF: Nothing in ze world can stop me now! — The Underwater Menace Show All Quotes (2) Open in new window Transcript Needs checking (Transcribers note - episodes 1, 2 and 4 only exist in audio format) Episode One [TARDIS] (Polly has led Jamie from Culloden moor into the TARDIS. The doors close and the dematerialisation sequence starts.) JAMIE: What's this?DOCTOR: You'll find out.JAMIE: Ah, I don't think I want to.BEN: It's a machine, my old haggis, which will take us away from Scotland forever.JAMIE: Where to?BEN: Ah, well, that as the Doctor would say, that is in the lap of the gods. We never know.JAMIE: Aye, you'd not be leading me on now, would you? Is it a fact you don't know where we're going?POLLY: Quite true, and what's more we don't even know what year it will be either.JAMIE: Ach now, I don't believe it.DOCTOR: Nae man can tether time nor tide. Robert Burns. Show Full Transcript Open in new window
