| FURY FROM THE DEEP by Victor Pemberton |
| Story 42 Synopsis: The TARDIS lands at sea, and the Doctor uses a dinghy to get him, Victoria and Jamie to the beach. He is soon investigating a series of mysterious attacks on a set of oil rigs off the south coast of England. Robson, the Refinery chief, is dismissive of talk, and angry about sabotage. It soon becomes clear that something is infesting the pipelines, emitting a gas, and foam. Though the Weed Creature grows in strength and influence, Robson refuses to heed the Doctor's warnings, until eventually he succumbs to it. Finally, Victoria inadvertently provides the solution, when her screams repel the creature. The Doctor rigs up an apparatus to amplify her screams, and such is the volume that the Creature is destroyed. As the rigs return to normal, Victoria decides to stay behind with the Harris family who have befriended her, and a sad Doctor and Jamie leave in the TARDIS. |
| Review:- The "monster season" draws onwards, with another trip to Earth, but this time, a maritime monster threat... It was only a few years back that I was corrected from my misapprehension that this story was set off the coast of Scotland somewhere. I suppose I associated oil rigs with the North Sea, rather than off to the East of England somewhere as they are supposed to be. The origins of this story seem to stem in part from a radio drama written by Pemberton a year or two before this, involving an attack from a sentient mud creature. Here, the seaweed manages to convey a formidable fear, through clever script touches, and the production. The main anxiety is between the Doctor and the worried Van Lutyens, against the cold determination of Robson. Meanwhile, two very sinister men named Oak and Quill are effective servants of the weed creature, terrorising people. It's the gas that really does the trick, rather than the foam, which is slightly silly in any aspect. With tension and a claustrophobic atmosphere, it is the cast who make this work so well, and the characterisation that starts them off. Base-under-siege may be a tired genre, but not when done so well as here. If there is any sense of letdown, it's the end. Almost as if there were no logical answer to a menace that works with gas and foam, the usage of Victoria's screams must be one of the silliest resolutions ever managed. It also cobbles a method to allow Victoria to leave the TARDIS, staying on her own planet, but a century into her future. This mystery was never really resolved, except in Downtime. Nevertheless, the overall excitement is enough to make this worth recommending. It's just a shame that nobody will now ever see it again. |
| Disclaimer: I've read the book, and heard the audio. |