Fury from the Deep (TV story)

"There is little time. You know what you must do..."

- Maggie Harris

Fury from the Deep was the penultimate story of the fifth season of the 1963 version of Doctor Who. It was notable for being the final serial in which Victoria Waterfield appeared as a regular member of the cast, and concluded her overarching story arc by ostensibly giving her foster parents to replace the father she had lost in her introductory story, The Evil of the Daleks. It was further notable for introducing the sonic screwdriver.

Synopsis
The TARDIS lands on the surface of the sea, just off the east coast of England. The time travellers use a rubber dinghy to get ashore, where they are shot with tranquiliser darts and taken prisoner by security guards as they have arrived in the restricted area of a gas refinery.

At the refinery base, run by a man named Robson, the Doctor learns that there have been a number of unexplained problems with the pressure in the feed pipes from the offshore drilling rigs. It is later revealed that one of the rigs has sucked up a parasitic form of seaweed, which is capable of releasing poisonous gas or a strange kind of foam that allows it to take control of the minds of those it touches.

The weed spreads rapidly and seems set on establishing a huge colony centred around the rigs. The Doctor makes the chance discovery that it is very susceptible to high pitched noise; consequently he is able to use the amplified sound of Victoria's screams to destroy it. Victoria elects to stay with the family of one of the refinery workers, Harris.

The Doctor, although sharing Jamie's sadness at her departure, understands her decision to settle down to a quieter life.

Plot
to be added

Cast

 * The Doctor - Patrick Troughton
 * Jamie McCrimmon - Frazer Hines
 * Victoria Waterfield - Deborah Watling
 * Robson - Victor Maddern
 * Harris - Roy Spencer
 * Price - Graham Leaman
 * Guard - Peter Ducrow
 * Maggie Harris - June Murphy
 * Carney - John Garvin
 * Chief Engineer - Hubert Rees
 * Van Lutyens - John Abineri
 * Chief Baxter - Richard Mayes
 * Quill - Bill Burridge
 * Oak - John Gill
 * Megan Jones - Margaret John
 * Perkins - Brian Cullingford

Crew

 * Assistant Floor Manager - Margot Hayhoe
 * Costumes - Martin Baugh
 * Designer - Peter Kindred
 * Film Cameraman - Ken Westbury
 * Film Editor - Colin Hobson
 * Incidental Music - Dudley Simpson
 * Make-Up - Sylvia James
 * Producer - Peter Bryant
 * Production Assistant - Michael Briant
 * Script Editor - Derrick Sherwin
 * Special Sounds - Brian Hodgson
 * Studio Lighting - Sam Neeter
 * Studio Sound - David Hughes
 * Theme Arrangement - Delia Derbyshire
 * Title Music - Ron Grainer
 * Visual Effects - Peter Day, Len Hutton

Story Notes

 * This story had a working title of; The Colony Of Devils.

Ratings

 * Episode 1 - 8.2 million viewers
 * Episode 2 - 7.9 million viewers
 * Episode 3 - 7.7 million viewers
 * Episode 4 - 6.6 million viewers
 * Episode 5 - 5.9 million viewers
 * Episode 6 - 6.9 million viewers

Myths
to be added

Filming Locations

 * Red Sands Sea Fort in the Thames Estuary
 * Botony Bay near Kingsgate, Kent
 * Ealing Television Film Studios, Ealing Green, Ealing
 * Lime Grove Studios (Studio D), Lime Grove, London

Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors

 * Why does the Doctor rely on Victoria's hairpin to open doors rather than using the Sonic screwdriver? (The sonic screwdriver is new to the Doctor, at least in terms of carrying it around with him. He clearly had not yet thought to use it in its later regular role as a lockpick.)

Continuity

 * This is the sonic screwdriver's first appearance, it would continue to appear until The Visitation, and then not again until Doctor Who.
 * Victoria does not appear again until MA: Downtime.
 * The TARDIS can take off like a rocket; it's not seen to do this again until The Runaway Bride.

Timeline

 * This story occurs after ST: Screamager
 * This story occurs before ST: Twin Piques

DVD, Video and Other Releases
to be added

Novelisation

 * Main article: Fury from the Deep (novelisation)


 * Novelised as Fury from the Deep by Victor Pemberton in 1986.