The Underwater Menace Episode 4

The one where the Doctor floods Atlantis and potentially drowns a load of innocent people...

This new Doctor's idea of a plan has so far left a lot to be desired. In The Power of the Daleks his plan led to the partial destruction of the Vulcan colony. In The Highlanders, he armed a bunch of angry Scotsmen and potentially caused the death of a number of highlanders and Redcoats. And now his crazy plan is to flood Atlantis to prevent Zaroff destroying the world.

"Can we all swim?" he flippantly asks. Most Atlanteans probably can, but a good few probably can't, such as children, the elderly, those who are ill, as well as the animals. It's as bonkers as the Fourth Doctor opening the TARDIS doors to flush the Master out in Logopolis, but here, there's a much higher potential loss of life. Sean admits himself that he's not a great swimmer, and there's also reference to some citizens who may have perished, including Lolem (poor Lolem).

The Underwater Menace Episode 3

The one where we're subjected to a laborious underwater ballet...

When it was only this episode which survived of the four, it's easy to understand why The Underwater Menace had such a poor reputation. Where episodes 1 and 2 build the story nicely, albeit with lashings of B-movie trappings, this third episode really pulls out all the stops in an effort to be as strange, bizarre, alienating and laughable as possible. It's not really an accurate representation of the story so far in tone and style.

Although his performance as Professor Zaroff never started off anywhere near subtle, here Joseph Furst cranks his crackpot up to 11 on the Bonkers Scale, giving the madman a swivel-eyed, Bond villain vibe which really does not match everybody else's performances. While all about him are treating the text as seriously as they can (or ought), Furst is chewing the scenery as if it's his last meal. His diction leaves a lot to be desired too, which is more unfortunate when you realise it's Furst's real accent, not put on...

The Underwater Menace Episode 2

The one where the Doctor realises Zaroff is a complete fruit loop...

Oh joy! The Underwater Menace episode 2 is the earliest surviving episode of Patrick Troughton's era, and so finally I can watch as well as listen! And what an absolute revelation Troughton is now that he can actually be seen! He had the most amazing face, so expressive and lived-in, and capable of interpreting entire scripts without a word. And the depth in his performance is astounding, and a lasting lesson in the art of the thespian for generations to come.

Troughton is a physical performer, but I don't necessarily mean in the action-packed, corridor-running way. I mean he's always doing something, and that something could be fiddling with a prop, or a revealing facial expression. You can see everything the Doctor is thinking behind Troughton's eyes, he's truly living the character. Troughton's not playing the Doctor; he is the Doctor.

The Underwater Menace Episode 1

The one where the TARDIS lands in Atlantis...

As this adventure opens, Jamie is introduced to the wonders and marvels of the TARDIS and its impossible interior, although the Scotsman seems to get over it all and accept things quite quickly. I suppose he had to, seeing as he was written into this serial rather hastily at a very late stage. This TARDIS scene is very grounding, as the new four-strong team seem to be very happy in one another's company, and keen to get on with things.

One particular joy about this scene is Patrick Troughton's Doctor, who so far has been something of a moveable feast. Cold and scheming in The Power of the Daleks, but a complete buffoon in The Highlanders, here he's much more the Second Doctor we recognise, and his child-like excitement is deliciously reassuring. The viewers share the excitement and mystery of the TARDIS landing in a brand new place, so it's lovely to have that expressed on screen, endearing this new Doctor to us. Not knowing where or when they've landed is fun, he says, and when we overhear the Doctor, Ben and Polly's thoughts about where they might have landed, the Doctor's hope for "prehistoric monsters" is delightfully innocent and wide-eyed. It puts me in mind of the Eleventh Doctor and how excited he'd probably be in the same situation.

The Highlanders Episode 4

The one where the TARDIS gains a fourth crewmember...

Luckily, action man Ben has slipped free of his bonds and swam away from the Annabelle and back to shore, affording viewers (well, in 1967) the splendid sight of a dripping wet Michael Craze. The surviving telesnap makes him look like he's shivering with ecstasy, which is fine by me. Ben later reveals that he escaped his bonds by using an old Houdini trick, by flexing his muscles when he was tied up, and relaxing them afterwards... "that way, you were half the size you were". Blimey, how muscly is Ben under there?

Once at the quayside, Ben encounters a wounded Redcoat with a silly moustache and a gruff Cockney accent, but it's alright because it's only the Doctor in disguise. Again. There's no sense to him being dressed this way at all, and certainly no need. He claims it's to prevent the other soldiers bothering him, but where exactly did he get the clothes from (presumably he's stolen them from a wounded, or even dead, Redcoat)? Why is he out at night wandering the quayside? Is it just so that he can plunder the dressing-up box again, like a child? Oh dear, I'll be glad when this Doctor settles down and forgets the tiresome disguises.