Day 102 — April 12th 2021
Fury From the Deep Episodes Three and Four
Fury From the Deep — Episode Three
One of the complaints that tends to be levelled at the middle Troughton season is that it’s all a bit ‘by the numbers’. Almost all of the stories riff on the Tenth Planet formula of a base of varied human characters under attack from the monsters outside. The details change — sometimes it’s a human scientific base, sometimes it’s a Tibetan Monastery, sometimes it’s a makeshift military HQ in the London underground, but the gist is that you’ve got a base and it’s under siege.
The other thing that seems to be a common component in that format is a figure who’s in charge of the base and doesn’t take to Doctor Who very well. Hobson in The Moonbase is very similar in approach to General Cutler in The Tenth Planet, and the ones who’ve come since — the likes of Khrisong, Clent and in this story Robson — have been cut from the same cloth.
What’s surprised me on this watch-through, though, is just how much variation there is in the format, and especially in the depiction of the various leaders. This episode is a good place to pause and consider it, because I don’t think we’ve ever had a situation where the leader of the week has a total mental breakdown half way through the story and then gets taken over by the enemy.
And Robson’s breakdown in this one is especially powerful;
Robson: ‘I will not listen! It’s you, Van Lutyens, isn’t it? Isn’t it? You’ve been undermining my authority ever since you came here. You and Harris. You’ve been stirring up trouble just to get at me, haven’t you? You’ve even got the Chief on your side now. One of my oldest and trusted friends.’
Chief: ‘Mister Robson...’
Robson: ‘At least I thought I could trust you.’
Chief: .Mister Robson, all we want to do is…’
Robson: ‘I know what you want! I know what you all want! You’re going to get at me, just so I’ll give up. I’m not going to give you that pleasure! Why don’t you go and join him? Go on, join Van Lutyens! Go on, join him! What are you standing around for? What are you starring at? I’m in charge! I’m in charge here!’
Elsewhere, this episode does things that aren’t just unusual for a Base Under Siege story, but are odd for Doctor Who generally. Our heroes return to the TARDIS (the narration tells us that it has ‘conveniently washed up on the beach’ by now) to run tests on the seaweed. Hartnell’s Doctor Who occasionally had a little laboratory on the ship, but it was only ever a few snatched gadgets in the corner of the Control Room. We don’t see much in the tele-snaps here, but the implication on the soundtrack is that they’ve got a special laboratory set up ready.
We also have Doctor Who digging out an old book of myths and legends to find the Weed Creature. That feels really unusual, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I’d totally forgotten that it happened, and it has to be said the glimpse we get of the book makes it look pretty cool.
And then there’s the cliffhanger to this one, with Maggie walking off into the ocean. I think that’s proper terrifying, and I’m actually surprised that it didn’t get cut out by the Australian censors. Maybe because it’s the cliffhanger it would have been tricky to excise?
On the whole, though… Oh, Fury From the Deep isn’t really doing it for me. I was hoping that I’d find a new appreciation for it in this marathon, but it’s still falling a little flat for me. I think I’ve had it in my head for so long that this one is an all-time classic (there’s that ‘fan wisdom’ rearing its head again) that it feels like a bit of a disappointment. A 6/10 for this one.
Fury From the Deep — Episode Four
I keep thinking of this story as being the end of Season Five. It seems strange that we’re in a phase of the programme at the moment which introduces a new companion in the final story of each season. It happens with Ben and Polly in Season Three, Victoria in Season Four, and it’ll happen with Zoe in a couple of days time. And it sort of happens with Steven in Season Two, but while the finale story of the year is his first proper story, he’s introduced at the end of the one before that. The thing is… I feel like this would be a good way to end the season, and especially because there’s a beautiful conversation between Doctor Who and Victoria in this episode which neatly bookends the one they had in The Tomb of the Cybermen at the start of Season Five.
Victoria: ‘Doctor, what’s happening?’
Doctor Who: ‘Well, I’m not sure, Victoria. I’m not sure. Looks so peaceful out there, doesn’t it?’
Victoria: ‘I heard that noise again.’
Doctor Who: ‘Yes.’
Victoria: ‘Well, what are they doing about it?’
Doctor Who: ‘We have to wait.’
Victoria: ‘Wait? But what for? For one of those awful creatures to come and attack us all?’
Doctor Who: ‘Now, Victoria, it’s not as bad as all that, you know.’
Victoria: ‘Isn’t it? Even you don’t know really how bad is it, do you?’
DOCTOR: ‘No, not exactly.’
Victoria: ‘Every time we go anywhere something awful happens. Daleks. Cybermen.’
Doctor Who: ‘Yeti…’
Victoria: ‘Yes, and Yeti. Why can’t we go anywhere pleasant, where there’s no fighting? Just peace and happiness.’
This whole episode feels like it was written as soon as Deborah Watling decided to leave the series — all of a sudden she starts voicing concern about the lifestyle they live, and expressing a desire to settle down in one time and place. I can’t complain, as it provides some brilliant material for her both with Doctor Who and Jamie, and it’s perhaps noticeable that all of my notes for this episode are related to the exchanges they share about her worries.
My only issue is… well, it’s Victoria being given less agency again. The character as she appears in The Tomb of the Cybermen and The Abominable Snowmen is so full of excitement and yearning for adventure, and it’s hard for me to reconcile that with the person we have here. I know she’s been made generally meeker as the series has progressed, but this just serves to throw further light on that fact.
Another 6/10.
