The Underwater Menace

“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.

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!

If there is 100 fans of this story I am one of them if there’s 10 fans I’m it’s number 1 supporter if there is 1 fan that’s me and if there is no fans I’m dead

A perfectly fine story, but nothing to write home about.

The Doctor, Ben, Polly and new companion Jamie discover the long-lost city of Atlantis hidden below the surface. While there, they meet with a professor Zaroff, who is planning to return the majestic city to the surface. However, he has very little qualms about the destruction such an operation might bring.

First things first, this episode is missing. Which seems like a bit of a given for this season. We are now 13 episodes into our new doctor, and this is the first chance you have to actually see him in the flesh. And even then, only for half of the story. It’s kind of interesting how I’ve never really seen that as a talking point. Still, there is a new and pretty decent animation that covers the gap. It does the job. I’d recommend watching the live action episodes between the animated ones for the best experience.

As for the story itself, as mentioned at the start, it is nothing really exemplary. Professor Zaroff is the clear highlight with his insane ramblings and his famous “NOTHING IN THE WORLD CAN STOP ME NOW”. But other than that, it is a story that has trouble standing out.

Sure, there’s ideas! We are in Atlantis, that alone should bring out some creativity. But the city has no real consequences. There is also some religion vs. science discussion hidden in there, but nothing concrete enough to make it a true talking point. And, most disappointingly of all, there is a race of artificially made fish people that get one real scene and are never seen again. What a waste!

At points it feels like this story deliberately chose the easy (and more boring) route instead of doing something interesting. A particular scene I noticed was the climb with Ben and the Doctor at the very end. As Atlantis is crumbling at their feet, they climb to save themselves from the rising water. This would have been the perfect moment to redeem the fish people. Why not have them show up to save our heroes, as thanks for their freedom? Or why not show a shot of them living in Atlantis now that it is completely submerged? It would give the ending a little more weight.

There is plenty of other moments just like that, where it would’ve been relatively easy to make a change that would make the story a bit more impactful. Little moments that make the whole package shine. But very few of those little moments actually make it to screen.

Our cast isn’t exactly at their best either. The Doctor gets one moment, where he tries to go back to save Zaroff. Doing the right thing even in dire circumstances. Other than that, we are completely defaulting. Polly is a damsel. Ben is action guy. Jamie has no personality yet because he was hastily written in. Except for the first Tardis scene at the beginning. It is nothing to write home about.

And that sentiment goes for the whole story. It is a story of averages. Some good ideas, but a failure to really take them anywhere. The only thing that raise it up a bit are some neat effects on the fish people and the batshit insane villainy from Doctor Zaroff. Other than that, it really is one in a million. A drop in the ocean.

Oh. My. GOD. This is the most ridiculous Doctor Who story I've ever seen. Atlantis is real, and there's an evil doctor named Zaroff who wants to "raise Atlantis" by draining the ocean and blowing up the Earth as a result. For the achievement. And also he turns people into fish people for some reason. It's so absurd.

I've seen some vitriol online for this story that I just cannot understand; sure, it's poorly written, the plot makes no sense, and Zaroff's actor is insanely hammy, but there's a joy I get from watching the ridiculousness unfold. I have no idea how you can dislike this story.

Also shoutout to the two minute sequence of fish people randomly swimming around in episode three. It feels like abstract art and I love it.