The third Pertwee story on my list, this one is a little bit more “normal” than the rest – it’s not the debut of Spearhead, or the anniversary celebration of The Three Doctors; it’s a lot more bread & butter 3rd Doctor stuff.
When Barry Letts took over as producer from Derrick Sherwin straight after Spearhead From Space, he and Terrance Dicks very quickly developed a winning formula of what they wanted their show to become. They may complain about being lumbered with the Earth-bound setting of The Doctor’s exile, but they did little to change it for the first 2 years – working round it instead – and when they did, The Doctor still returned to UNIT just as much as he left. They quickly turned UNIT into a family for The Doctor, giving him recurring characters that were not quite companions but not far off it; and out went the strong minded scientist for someone equally strong minded but more in the classical exposition mould. They gave him an arch-nemesis; a Moriarty to play against his Sherlock Holmes. And as for The Doctor himself, what was initially a sharp tongued father figure eventually mellowed into someone more like a kindly grandfather. The 3rd Doctor’s era is a time of action, adventure, excitement, but ultimately it’s good storytelling. That’s where it succeeds, in the consistently good stories it tells. There’s very few turkeys in this era, but more than a couple of stand out stories.
Take this one, for example. It has everything you’d want from a Pertwee story. It has a classic monster! Letts & Dicks were very savvy when it came to their monsters: this era gave us Autons, Silurians & Sontarans – all monsters that will come back at various points – but they were very rarely brought back within the era. They preferred to create their own classics from scratch. The Sea Devils are a bit of a cheat in that they are a new version of a previous monster (underwater Silurians – makes you wonder what other creatures could be brought back as amphibious versions?) but that just lets you have the best of both worlds. The design here is a classic, right down to the modesty preserving string vests, and the scenes of them coming out the water to attack the base are some of the most iconic in the last 60 years – I know that when I watched this for the first time back in the early 90s I was bursting with anticipation of that bit coming round.
It’s got Action by HAVOC! By the boatload! HAVOC were an integral part of the excitement of this era, throwing themselves into every story – and off of every building – with wild abandon. What could have just been lumbering beasts are now turning somersaults, falling off of high buildings; generally dying in exciting ways. It’s an extra layer added to the story!
It has UNIT!! Well, sort of… Maybe… It has the next best thing!! The actual Royal Navy!! Messrs Courtney, Levene & Franklin do their best, but there’s something exciting about having the real life armed forces turn up – and Captain Hart makes a very adequate stand in for The Brig (just this once).
It has Jo Grant!! We get three, glorious seasons with Katy Manning; in her first one she is very much finding her feet but by now she is heart & soul of the show. While in the previous season Jo’s role is a lot more stand-over-there-and-look-pretty-while-I-tell-you-what’s-going-on, by the time we hit S9 she has a great deal more to do. Her relationships with King Peladon & The Controller drive parts of the the preceding two stories forward, but she really shines here. She’s given a great deal of agency by Mac Hulke’s script, and a great set of skills: she’s running round picking locks, driving hovercrafts1, getting The Doctor out of trouble with the Navy… This is a Jo that doesn’t take his shit anymore either, more than ready to take the piss out of him when needs be to bring him down to Earth. It gives their relationship a sense of balance and mutual respect.
It’s got The Master…!!! Delgado’s Master is considered the GOAT2 by many people, and it’s easy to see why: he’s suave & sophisticated, and utterly deadly. He puts such an indelible mark on the role, and casts a very long shadow: very few have managed to get that balance of manic and menace without going over too far in one direction. Here we catch up with The Master as he’s enjoying his imprisonment following the events of The Daemons, so it’s an unusual situation we find him in – although, of course, it’s barely above board. Watching The Master give Trenchard the runaround, having him under his thumb from the start of the story is a delight, and Delgado is on top, top form here. It’s a classic Delagdo Master plot: a hairbrained scheme that goes against him & he barely escapes from at the end, but it’s a tremendous amount of fun watching him go through it.
Pertwee is also on top form here. His Season 8 edges have smoothed, but he’s still the anti-authority figure he’s always been, strutting around like he owns the place in the Naval base, and leaving Walker in no doubt as to what he thinks of him. He’s in full on Doctor Bond mode here, dashing around the waves in a succession of boats; but it’s the sword fight with The Master that is the crowning glory of this story – if not his tenure. IKEA!! This is a spectacular scene, as Pertwee & Delgado dance around the set, stopping only for a quick butty, before showing the quality of their footwork. It ends as only it can: with The Doctor getting the upper hand before the Master (literally) tries to stab him in the back. It’s a joy from start to finish, and worth the entry fee alone.
And I think that’s what Letts & Dicks understood about Doctor Who: it should be fun. It’s entertainment for the whole family, and so it should be totally watchable. That doesn’t mean it has to be lightweight or meaningless, or without danger; quite often they are serious about what they do, but not necessarily about the way they do it. More than that, though, they were totally united in their vision; when other editors & producers didn’t have that cohesion, the show suffered. But even more than that, they were both bloody good at what they did. Put them together & let them crack on, and it’s little wonder this era is one that people come back to. Again and again…
COMING TOMORROW: “Shall I destroy…? Shall I destroy…?”
Skies Full of Diamonds 