Doctor Who and the Silurians Episode 7

The one where the Brigadier blows up the Silurians...

For the second time in as many stories, the Doctor is abducted by monsters while wearing a white smock, only this time the abductors don't try and make off in an ambulance, but through the wall! The scorch mark the Silurians leave after resealing the wall is rather lovely too. It looks like something you might see on the wall at the Tate Modern. Perhaps there's a market for Silurian art?

It's a shame the Silurians have become a generic monster race by episode 7. After the death of the Old Silurian, it seems the entire race of revived creatures bowed to the will of the bloodthirsty Young Silurian, who wobbles around proclaiming very proudly that he is the leader now. This new leader just wants to wipe out the apes and take back the planet, and his means of doing so is both extreme and unexpected.

His ultimate plan is to destroy the Van Allen Belt of asteroids which surround the Earth, resulting in the Sun's rays heating up the planet' surface and making it too hot for humans to survive, but perfect for reptiles. It's a damn good idea, but comes rather out of the blue at the last moment. It would have been a little better to have some of the Silurians continue to try and make peace with the humans, carrying on their former leader's ideology and continuing to demonstrate that they are a reasonable, intelligent, compassionate race, rather than just rubber monsters. It's a shame Malcolm Hulke reduced them all to merciless killers by the end because a bit of inter-racial friction would have nicely reflected that going on among the humans and the Doctor.

The Silurians are pretty violent though, killing Sergeant Upton and Captain Hawkins (so that's why he doesn't come back in another story!) as well as a handful of innocent atomic scientists. Ralph Walton's lighting after the base suffers power failures brings the atmosphere right down, and often the Silurians are seen in shadowy silhouette, hiding their obvious rubber-suited shortcomings. The masks look marvellous in half-shadow, and the shots of the Doctor and the Silurians talking in front of the glowing red atomic generator are gorgeous.

In the end the Doctor saves the world dressed like an off-duty sailor, and the climactic scenes in the research centre as the atomic leakage threatens to spill out are tense and cacophonous. It's all rather convenient that the Silurians believe the Doctor's story of radiation leakage and opt to place themselves back into hibernation for 50 years until it's all over. It feels a little too neat for me, although the final demise of the nasty Silurian leader is quite satisfying, if a little strong (the Brigadier empties a full six bullets into the Silurian). I'm also unconvinced that an underground atomic research centre would only have access from the surface via lifts. They are sealed off here, trapping the Brigadier and his men, but I find it very hard to believe that there would be no staircase whatsoever! That certainly wouldn't get past modern day health and safety policies!

One thing that irks me is the Doctor referring to the Silurians as aliens ("They were intelligent alien beings"). No, they weren't alien at all, they were indigenous to the planet Earth, just like humans are. It's the Doctor who's the alien here, and he really should know better (although I suppose they're all alien to him).

It's interesting that the Doctor wishes to revive the Silurians straight away in order to plunder their advanced scientific knowledge and technology. It makes him no better than poor old Dr Quinn, and in fact it may even make him slightly worse, because at least Quinn was well-intentioned. The Doctor only really wants to access the Silurian tech in order to try and fix his TARDIS and get away from 20th century Earth. He's being just as selfish as Quinn, if not more so.

The famous ending, where the Brigadier blows up the Silurian base, sealing it permanently, is a fitting one, as it prevents the Doctor seeing his selfish intentions through, and also avoids the Earth's governments having to agree to allow a bunch of scaly monsters to co-exist with them. Now that would be just silly, wouldn't it...?

Doctor Who and the Silurians (for that is its name) is one of the most intelligently written stories the series had yet attempted. The characterisation is very well done, more so for the humans than the Silurians, who sadly degenerate into monsters of the week, and Timothy Combe directs with flair. There's some remarkable lighting from Ralph Walton too, which really brings Barry Newbery's detailed cave sets to life. There are moments where the story gets quite talky, sagging in the middle, but overall it's entertaining and pretty epic in theme. It's just a shame about the awful music.

First broadcast: March 14th, 1970

Steve's Scoreboard
The Good: Ralph Walton's lighting is wonderful.
The Bad: An underground research centre with no staircase or tunnel to the surface? Sorry, but no. Plus, it's too convenient that the Silurians decide to retreat to their hibernation chambers again.
Overall score for episode: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ (story average: 7.3 out of 10)

"Now listen to me" tally: 2
Neck-rub tally: 0

NEXT TIME: The Ambassadors of Death...

My reviews of this story's other episodes: Episode 1; 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.com/2014/04/doctor-who-and-silurians.html

Doctor Who and the Silurians is available on BBC DVD as part of the Beneath the Surface box set. Find it on Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Beneath-Silurians-Warriors/dp/B000ZZ06XQ.