Season 21, Episode 1 | 4 parts | First broadcast: 5–13 January 1984 | Writer: Johnny Byrne | Director: Pennant Roberts
Cast
- Peter Davison as the Doctor
- Janet Fielding as Tegan Jovanka
- Mark Strickson as Vislor Turlough
- Ingrid Pitt as Solow
- Tara Ward as Nilson
Summary
Arriving at an undersea military base in the year 2084, on the brink of a devastating global war between two power blocs, the Doctor and his companions find themselves caught between human paranoia and the reawakening of the ancient reptilian Silurians and their aquatic Sea Devil allies. As both sides prove unwilling to compromise, the Doctor’s desperate efforts to broker peace collide with the harsh realities of Cold War-era brinkmanship.
Interesting Facts
- This story reunites the Silurians and Sea Devils, two of the Doctor’s most sympathetic recurring adversaries from the Jon Pertwee era, in a single serial for the first time.
- Its bleak, morally ambiguous ending, in which the Doctor’s attempt at peaceful compromise ultimately fails, was unusually downbeat for the series.
- The story’s Cold War-inspired setting of two rival human power blocs reflects contemporary early-1980s political anxieties.
- Production difficulties with the reptile costumes and creature effects have made it a frequently cited example of the show’s budget limitations of the era.
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