Fury from the Deep Episode 1

The one where the Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver for the first time...

OK, so why does the TARDIS materialise in mid-air and then descend to float on the surface of the sea? It seems so random, and goes unexplained, as if that was the plan all along. It also begs the question of how the Doctor manages to get an entire dinghy out of the TARDIS doors. It's all so wonderfully strange, but in a way, kind of wasted because there's no explanation. There's very little reference to what's happened generally, except for the Doctor saying that the TARDIS can float.

There's a fascination for the TARDIS landing on beaches in the 1960s. Off the top of my head I can remember the Ship landing beside open water in The Keys of Marinus, The Dalek Invasion of Earth, The Time Meddler, The Smugglers, The Enemy of the World, and now Fury from the Deep. In fact, since Victoria joined the TARDIS, it's only landed on a planet which isn't Earth once (Telos). She's one of the Doctor's least widely travelled companions. And we get some delightful larking about from the regulars once more, as we have in several Season 5 stories, proving just what a fun team Troughton, Hines and Watling were.

The music accompanying these beach scenes is reminiscent of that used for the infamous Fish People ballet in The Underwater Menace, so Dudley Simpson obviously believes this weird synth-organ music represents the sound of the sea!

The trio come across a gas pipeline further along the beach and it doesn't take long for the Doctor to be tampering with the tech by unfastening a control box with... a sonic screwdriver! It's the first time the Doctor uses the tool on screen, although here it's definitely more of a literal screwdriver than the all-things-to-all-men magic wand it becomes in the 21st century. I prefer the functionality it had in the 1970s, where it did far more than unscrew screws, but wasn't quite capable of physically moving stone doors (as it does in The Rings of Akhaten).

The Doctor, Jamie and Victoria are shot down by an unseen marksman, making this opening very similar to The Enemy of the World's. There's a suggestion that the tranquiliser rifle used is futuristic in some way, but as far as I understand it, Fury from the Deep is set in 1968, so I'm not sure why that should be the case.

Most of this episode is taken up introducing us to the staff of a gas refinery, led by a now de rigueur grumpy chief (played very naturally by Victor Maddern), his jumpy deputy Harris, as well as a Chief Engineer who is not allowed an actual name, and various operatives and guards. Plus a Dutchman. It's an interesting mix of people who it's quite easy to warm to or get used to as they're all played so well by a well-chosen cast. It's also nice to have a married couple in Doctor Who (the Harrises), and for us to see their home (it's so rare to see contemporary houses in Doctor Who, although we did get a near-future one in The Enemy of the World).

Victoria develops a super-handy new skill in being able to pick door locks with a hairpin, a talent she's never demonstrated before, but is seen to use not once, but twice in this episode alone. Simply because she needs to, which is a bit naughty of writer Victor Pemberton. Giving someone a particular skill is fine, but for them to suddenly have it out of the blue, and only when they need it, is a bit lazy. How many other times could Victoria have used lock-picking skills to get herself out of a tricky situation?

The main threat seems to be that there's something in the gas pipes, which is a pretty sinister idea. We can hear it as a throbbing heartbeat, suggesting it's a living thing, moving around in the pipeline (and it can breathe gas too). By the end of the episode we see that it's actually a weird seaweed creature, with grabbing tendrils, surrounded by globs of foam that pour through ventilation grilles. How the creature got out of the pipe and into the refinery's ventilation system is a little worrying, but no doubt that will be explained. As the episode ends, we're treated to perhaps the best ever Deborah Watling scream, a forceful and prolonged squeal which would put the very best companion screamers to shame. Now, where are those ear plugs?

First broadcast: March 16th, 1968

Steve's Scoreboard
The Good: As much as I flinch at Watling's screams, that's a doozy she hands in for the cliffhanger!
The Bad: That weird TARDIS arrival. It looks impressive, yes - but what's it all about? Why does nobody seem to comment on it?
Overall score for episode: ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

NEXT TIME: Episode 2...

My reviews of this story's other episodes: Episode 2; Episode 3; Episode 4; Episode 5; Episode 6

Find out birth/death dates, career information, and facts and trivia about this story's cast and crew at the Doctor Who Cast & Crew site: http://doctorwhocastandcrew.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/fury-from-deep.html

Fury from the Deep is available on BBC soundtrack CD. Find it on Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fury-Deep-Doctor-Radio-Collection/dp/0563524103.