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 8 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 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 8 reviews 11 March 2025 · 41 words Review by Scottybguud 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 0 23 February 2025 · 14 words Review by dema1020 Ho boy, where is my t-shirt that says "I survived watching The Underwater Menace"? dema1020 View profile Like Liked 0 1 February 2025 · 52 words Review by greenLetterT 1 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 1 13 November 2024 · 115 words Review by Dogtor 1 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 1 16 August 2024 · 330 words Review by 15thDoctor Spoilers 1 This review contains spoilers! It turns out that there is a mad scientist under the sea in Atlantis barbarically turning people into fish-people so they are able to breathe in their new habitat. This man promises to raise Atlantis to the surface in order to blow up the world, for the sheer achievement of it; which is the most ridiculous set up for a story ever. Then The Doctor gets dressed up... again! This time he looks like a cross between Bob Dylan and a member of Def Leopard. An insane chase begins between The Doctor and Zaroff, Troughton is clearly trying to differentiate himself from Hartnell's Doctor, he is more agile, less serious, more fun. Perhaps the funniest moment of Part Three is the Irish guy trying to convince the fish-people to go on strike, and not getting very far at all, at least initially riling them up instead. Zaroff kills the priest in another gruesome scene... it's odd it flits between comedy to horror. After yet another fight, Zaroff kills the emperor after being challenged by him, then we have the famous quote, "Nothing in the world can stop me now!!" Which actually comes across much better within the context of the episode than it is ever portrayed within fandom. Part Four definitely feels like the end of an action film, the underwater base being flooded and an evil mastermind intent on completing his work would rather die trying than give up; our heroes have to get out of there before the place is completely flooded, or worse - blown up! It is fantastically realised (even without visuals). There is an interesting anti-superstition element to the ending, no more temples, no more worshiping Goddesses; today this would be read as an anti-religious story, I wonder if that was in the mind of the writer. No-one comments on the fact that a whole group of mutated humans have been left to fend for themselves in the water. I demand a Big Finish sequel! 15thDoctor View profile Like Liked 1 Show All Reviews (8) Open in new window Statistics AVG. Rating425 members 2.89 / 5 Trakt.tv AVG. Rating254 votes 3.30 / 5 Member Statistics Watched 762 Favourited 27 Reviewed 8 Saved 6 Skipped 6 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: 3.20 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: 3.03 Story Skipped Animated Reviews(3) 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
