The Sea Devils (TV story)

"There are many thousands of our people in hibernation in this base. We have other colonies hidden all round the world. We will be the victors in the war against Man."

- The Chief Sea Devil

Synopsis
The Doctor and Jo visit the Master in his high-security prison on an island off the south coast of England and hear from the governor, Colonel Trenchard, that ships have been mysteriously disappearing at sea.

Investigating, the Doctor learns from Captain Hart, commander of a nearby Naval base, that the sinkings have centred around an abandoned sea fort. He and Jo then visit the fort and are attacked by what one of the men there terms a Sea Devil - an amphibious breed of the prehistoric creatures encountered by the Doctor shortly after his exile to Earth.

The Master, aided by a misguided Trenchard, is stealing equipment from the Naval base in order to build a machine to revive the Sea Devils from hibernation.

The Doctor takes a diving bell down to the Sea Devils' underwater base to try to encourage peace. His efforts are frustrated by a depth charge attack ordered by a pompous politician, Walker, but in the confusion he manages to free a captured submarine and escape back to the surface.

The Sea Devils then capture the Naval base, and the Master has the Doctor taken back to their control centre, where he forces him to help finish the machine. The Doctor sabotages the machine and the two Time Lords escape together just as the base is destroyed in an explosion.

Plot
to be added

Cast

 * The Doctor - Jon Pertwee
 * Jo Grant - Katy Manning
 * The Master - Roger Delgado
 * John Hart - Edwin Richfield
 * George Trenchard - Clive Morton
 * Robbins - Royston Tickner
 * Radio Operator - Neil Seiler
 * Clark - Declan Mulholland
 * Hickman - Hugh Futcher
 * 3rd Officer Jane Blythe - June Murphy
 * Ldg. Telegraphist Bowman - Alec Wallis
 * Castle Guard Wilson - Brian Justice
 * Castle Guard Barclay - Terry Walsh
 * Sea Devil - Pat Gorman
 * C.P.O. Smedley - Eric Mason
 * Commander Ridgeway - Donald Sumpter
 * Lt. Commander Mitchell - David Griffin
 * Ldg. Seaman Lovell - Christopher Wray
 * Castle Guard Drew - Stanley McGeagh
 * C.P.O. Summers - Colin Bell
 * Lt. Commander Watts - Brian Vaughan
 * A/B Girton - Rex Rowland
 * Walker - Martin Boddey
 * Rear Admiral - Norman Atkyns
 * Chief Sea Devil - Peter Forbes-Robertson
 * C.P.O. Myers - John Caesar

Crew

 * Assistant Floor Manager - John Bradburn
 * Costumes - Maggie Fletcher
 * Designer - Tony Snoaden
 * Fight Arranger - Derek Ware
 * Film Cameraman - Peter Sargent
 * Film Editor - Martyn Day
 * Incidental Music - Malcolm Clarke
 * Make-Up - Sylvia James
 * Producer - Barry Letts
 * Production Assistant - Colin Dudley
 * Script Editor - Terrance Dicks
 * Special Sounds - Brian Hodgson
 * Studio Lighting - Mike Jefferies
 * Studio Sound - Tony Millier, Colin Dixon
 * Theme Arrangement - Delia Derbyshire
 * Title Music - Ron Grainer
 * Visual Effects - Peter Day

Story Notes

 * This is one of two stories where the Third Doctor utters the full line"I reversed the polarity of the neutron flow.". The other is in The Five Doctors.
 * This story had the working title The Sea Silurians.
 * The Sea Devils are never named as such (except the fort survivor rambling about sea devils).
 * The Doctor remarks that he was a personal friend of Horatio Nelson.

Ratings

 * Episode 1 - 6.4 million viewers
 * Episode 2 - 9.7 million viewers
 * Episode 3 - 8.3 million viewers
 * Episode 4 - 7.8 million viewers
 * Episode 5 - 8.3 million viewers
 * Episode 6 - 8.5 million viewers

Myths

 * Roger Delgado was afraid of the water and it took great courage for him to film the scene in which the Master and the Doctor are rescued from the sea by the Navy. (This was frequently recalled by Jon Pertwee in later interviews, but according to Delgado's widow Kismet it is untrue. Delgado was actually worried about getting his costume wet, as there was no spare available.) (Delgado's fear of water is also recalled during the DVD commentary of The Sea Devils by Barry Letts and Terrance Dicks)

Filming Locations

 * The exterior of the Master's prison was an actual sea defence fort, the Solent, built in the 1860s off the coast in anticipation of a feared French invasion which never came to pass. Abandoned at the time of the story's filming, it has since become a hotel resort. In July of 2007 the fort came up for sale after the company owning the hotel collapsed and its owner was jailed.
 * Fraser Gunnery Range, HMS St George, Portsmouth
 * No Man's Land Sea Fort, Solent
 * Whitecliff Bay, Isle of Wight
 * Bembridge Harbour, Isle of Wight
 * Norris Castle, East Cowes, Isle of Wight
 * Red Cliff, Sandown, Isle of Wight
 * Bembridge Sailing Club, Bembridge, Isle of Wight
 * Priory Bay, Isle of Wight
 * BBC Television Centre (Studio 8), Shepherd's Bush, London

Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors

 * The clock in the Master's prison moves backwards.
 * In episodes 6, why does the Master wait before turning the Doctor's machine off?
 * Why don't the Sea Devils shoot the escaping submarine?
 * In the Speedboat chase, it is obvious the Master is a stunt-double

Continuity

 * The Master was captured in DW: The Dæmons.
 * The Silurians first appeared in DW: Doctor Who and the Silurians.
 * The Sea Devils are a next seen in DW: Warriors of the Deep.
 * Sea Devils and Silurians appear in NA: Blood Heat.
 * The Master watches the Clangers in a similar fashion as he does with the Teletubbies in DW: The Sound of Drums.
 * The Master mentions fighting Sea Devils in DW: Last of the Time Lords.
 * The Doctor uses the oft-repeated phrase, 'I've reversed the polarity of the neutron flow'. 'Reversing the polarity' became a standard piece of Doctor techno-babble used throughout his regenerations.

DVD, Video and Other Releases

 * This was released on video in episodic format
 * It was also released on DVD in the Beneath the Surface collection

Novelisation

 * Main article: Doctor Who and the Sea-Devils


 * The Sea Devils was released as Doctor Who and the Sea-Devils By Malcolm Hulke it was first released in 1974 before being re-released in 1981 with a new cover.