Season 9, Episode 3 | 6 parts | First broadcast: 26 February – 1 April 1972 | Writer: Malcolm Hulke | Director: Michael E. Briant
Cast
- Jon Pertwee as the Doctor
- Katy Manning as Jo Grant
- Roger Delgado as the Master
- Clive Morton as Captain Hart
Summary
Investigating a string of mysterious ship disappearances near a coastal naval base, the Doctor discovers an aquatic reptilian species, cousins of the Silurians, awakening from their undersea hibernation, and finds the imprisoned Master secretly inciting them toward war with humanity. Determined to avoid repeating the tragedy of his earlier failed peace attempt with the Silurians, the Doctor tries once more to broker a truce between man and Sea Devil before all-out conflict erupts.
Interesting Facts
- This is the first television appearance of the Sea Devils, an aquatic cousin species to the Silurians, and one of the era’s more ambitious effects productions.
- Extensive location filming took place around a real naval base and at sea, including footage of a full-scale hovercraft chase.
- It marks one of the more overtly heroic outings for Roger Delgado’s Master, who is show to have a code of honour despite his villainy.
- Malcolm Hulke revisits the moral ambiguity of his earlier Silurian story, again refusing to cast either humans or reptiles as simple villains.
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