The Underwater Menace (TV story)

The Underwater Menace was the fifth story of Season 4 of Doctor Who. , its second episode was the earliest surviving Second Doctor telerecording. Currently, only episodes two and three survive in full.

Synopsis
The TARDIS arrives on an extinct volcanic island. Before long, the travellers are captured and taken into the depths of the Earth, where they find a hidden civilisation — the lost city of Atlantis.

The Atlanteans worship a goddess named Amdo and use fish people — men and women operated upon so that they can breathe under the sea — to farm the plankton-based food on which they survive. A deranged scientist, Professor Zaroff, has convinced them that he can raise their city from the sea, but actually he plans to drain the ocean into the Earth's molten core, so that the resultant superheated steam will cause the planet to explode.

The travellers meet up with two shipwreck survivors, Sean and Jacko, who persuade the fish people to rebel and stop work. The Doctor eventually foils Zaroff's plan, but only by breaking down the sea walls and flooding the city. Zaroff drowns, but everyone else escapes.

Episode 1
Jamie is blown away by the interior and the workings of the TARDIS. The Doctor quotes Robert Burns to him - which confuses him further due to the fact that Burns wouldn't be born until ten years after Jamie was taken. The TARDIS materialises on a volcanic island.

The crew explore their surroundings; Ben, Polly and Jamie climb up a shallow hill for a better vantage whilst the Doctor begins to investigate the rocks to give him a clue as to their whereabouts.

As the three companions climb Polly thinks she sees something in the distance but Ben and Jamie say she must be imagining it. Polly decides to wait for the boys as she is running out of breath. They leave her on a ledge to return for her when they reach the top. She begins to explore and finds a bracelet that she examines very closely before beginning to explore in a nearby cave. Here she is confronted by robed figures. She screams which alerts Jamie and Ben. They return back to the cave and begin to explore. They are ambushed by the robed figures who capture them and put them in a small room where Polly is tied up. They discuss what to do until the door opens again and the Doctor is thrown in with them. Once all four are together. The room begins to descend like an elevator. The companions suffer difficulty in breathing, nausea and a strange taste in their mouth before they fall unconscious.

They awake later in a compression chamber. The Doctor wonders when they are. Polly takes a stab at the 1970s. When challenged she reveals the bracelet which is a souvenir from the 1968 Olympics in Mexico alluding to the fact that it must be some point after that. A guard armed with a spear enters. Polly and Jamie try to communicate with him but to no avail. He gesticulates with his sphere indicating that they should go down a corridor.

They are taken to a dining hall and given a dinner of plankton. The armed guard is hostile towards a serving girl called Ara who the Doctor sticks up for. Lolem, a priest, arrives and says that their goddess Amdo prophesied visitors falling from the sky before one of their festivals. He orders his guards to seize the four travellers in preparation for their sacrifice. As they are dragged away the Doctor says he has something important he needs to say. Lolem humours him and says he has five minutes whilst his friends are dragged away. The Doctor says that Professor Zaroff, whom he has deduced to be there, would be very disappointed if he heard that Lolem had killed him. When questioned as to how he knew Zaroff was there the Doctor states that only he could produce such delicious food from plankton. Lolem says that this changes nothing and that the Doctor will still die. The Doctor asks for him to send a note to Zaroff. Lolem forbids this but the Doctor smuggles the note to Ara and asks her to deliver it.

The companions have been led into a temple surrounded by a moat of shark infested water. Ben, Polly and Jamie are tied up and placed on ramps that tilt into the water. The Doctor is led into the temple who is tied up and placed on the fourth ramp. The ramps slowly begin to lift. The four victims try and cling on as best they can.

Ara goes to Zaroff's quarters and is forbidden entry. She then asks to see someone called Damon. Damon is given the note which reads 'Vital secret will die with me. Dr. W.' Damon immediately gives the note to Zaroff who rushes out and stops the ceremony and orders the Doctor to be released. Initially his companions are to be consigned to their fate but the Doctor tells Zaroff that he will not tell his secret whilst his friends are in danger. They are sent to the labour controller. Zaroff and the Doctor speak privately. It is revealed that Zaroff faked his own death allowing the world to think he was assassinated or kidnapped in a plot between East and West Germany. The Doctor flatters him so much that when he admits that he has no secret, Zaroff praises him for his sense of humour and allows him to live.

Damon is in charge of the labour and sends Jamie and Ben to the mines. When left alone with Polly he slightly intimidates her before showing her Zaroff's plans. Outside are farmers who have been given plastic hills in order to farm food under the water. Polly marvels at this but blanches when she discovers that this is the fate that Damon has in mind for Polly.

The Doctor and Zaroff talk and the Doctor deduces that they are in the lost city of Atlantis. Zaroff reveals that in return for raising Atlantis he was allowed to practice his experiments in the city. Ara comes and informs the Doctor of Damon's plans for Polly. The Doctor tells Ara to go back to Polly, watch over her and, if she has a chance, to get her away from Damon.

However it seems too late as Polly is on the cusp of being anaesthetised by Damon.

Episode 2
The Doctor sabotages the lighting, affecting the operating room. While Zaroff's assistant Damon checks on the lights, Ara rescues Polly. Zaroff explains his plan to the Doctor, who realises it will blow the planet apart. Down in the mines, Ben and Jamie meet Sean and Jacko, and join them in an escape into the tunnels. The Doctor escapes from Zaroff. He meets with the priest Ramo, who also mistrusts Zaroff. The Doctor shows Ramo what Zaroff intends to do. Ben and Jamie, with Jacko and Sean, meet up with Polly and Ara behind the idol of Ramo. The Doctor, dressed as a priest, and Ramo go to the Thous, leader of Atlantis, with information about Zaroff's plans. Thous hands the Doctor and Ramo over to Zaroff, to do with as he wishes.

Episode 3
The Doctor and Ramo are brought by Lolem and the priests to the idol of Amdo, about to be beheaded as a sacrifice. A voice issues from Amdo, commanding all present to bow their heads. The Doctor, recognising the voice as Ben's, escapes with Ramo and meets up with his friends. Lolem tells Zaroff and Thous of the miracle — the Doctor and Ramo vanished as Amdo accepted the sacrifice. Zaroff is suspicious and orders Atlantis searched. The Doctor makes his plans: Sean and Jacko will convince the fish people to stop supplying the perishable plankton to Atlantis, and the rest will kidnap Zaroff. Both plans succeed. The Doctor takes Ben and Jamie to the laboratory to check on Zaroff's progress while Polly and Ramo guard Zaroff, who fakes a heart attack. He fools Polly and Ramo, stabbing Ramo and escaping with Polly as hostage. The Doctor realises he needs Ramo as a guide; heading back, they discover Zaroff has killed Ramo and captured Polly. Jamie rescues Polly but Zaroff gets away. Zaroff and his guards seize power; Zaroff shoots Thous and triumphantly exclaims, "Nothing in the world can stop me now!"

Episode 4
The Doctor and Ben discover the wounded Thous, then meet up with their friends and allies. Zaroff proceeds with his plans. The Doctor plans to flood lower Atlantis to stop Zaroff, and sends Sean and Jacko to warn the people to move to higher levels. Meanwhile, Zaroff's guards are dealing with a populace panicking over starvation, as the fish people have stopped providing food. Polly and Jamie, in the lower levels, climb to higher ground; elsewhere, the Doctor, Thous, Sean, and Jacko move to higher ground. The Doctor confronts Zaroff in his laboratory. Lolem appears in the lab, ready to kill Zaroff. Zaroff shoots at Lolem, while the Doctor flips switches on Zaroff's control panel. As the water levels rise, the Doctor and Ben want to save Zaroff, but he is trapped. Jamie and Polly, and other survivors of Atlantis, make it to the surface. Ben and the Doctor join up with Jamie and Polly and head for the TARDIS. Before it dematerialises, Sean and Jacko reach the surface and watch as it disappears. Inside the TARDIS, all is well until, as usual, the ship goes out of control.

Cast

 * Dr. Who - Patrick Troughton
 * Ben Jackson - Michael Craze
 * Polly - Anneke Wills
 * Jamie McCrimmon - Frazer Hines
 * Professor Zaroff - Joseph Fürst
 * Ara - Catherine Howe
 * Ramo - Tom Watson
 * Lolem - Peter Stephens
 * Damon - Colin Jeavons
 * Damon's Assistant - Gerald Taylor
 * Overseer - Graham Ashley
 * Zaroff's guard - Tony Handy
 * Jacko - Paul Anil
 * Sean - P. G. Stephens
 * Thous - Noel Johnson
 * Nola - Roma Woodnutt

Crew

 * Assistant Floor Manager - Gareth Gwenlan
 * Costumes - Sandra Reid, Juanita Waterson
 * Designer - Jack Robinson
 * Fight Arranger - Derek Ware
 * Film Cameraman - Alan Jonas
 * Film Editor - Eddie Wallstab
 * Incidental Music - Dudley Simpson
 * Make-Up - Gillian James
 * Producer - Innes Lloyd
 * Production Assistant - Norman Stewart
 * Script Editor - Gerry Davis
 * Special Sounds - Brian Hodgson
 * Studio Lighting - George Summers
 * Studio Sound - Bryan Forgham
 * Theme Arrangement - Delia Derbyshire
 * Title Music - Ron Grainer

Culture

 * The Doctor quotes Robert Burns.

Individuals

 * As they land, Polly hopes it is 1966 Chelsea, Ben wants to avoid the Daleks, and the Doctor wishes to see prehistoric monsters.
 * Jacko calls Jamie "Jock".

Story notes

 * This story had the working titles of The Fish People, Doctor Who Under the Sea (also referred to as Under the Sea) and Atlanta.
 * Since Jamie isn't actually shown inside the TARDIS in The Highlanders, part one of this story has his "bigger on the inside" moment.
 * This story continues an early Second Doctor trait of assuming different identities, vaguely similar to the Master's penchant for disguise. In this adventure, he briefly dresses up as a local merchant.
 * At the end of episode three, Professor Zaroff utters the timeless line, "Nothing in the world can stop me now!" Davros and the Fifth Doctor would say similar lines in TV: Journey's End and The Caves of Androzani respectively.
 * In the opening TARDIS scene, Polly, Ben and the Doctor are each heard "thinking" about where they would like to land next in a rare example of internal monologue. This was achieved by pre-recording the actors' voices and playing them back during the making of the episode.
 * The name of the mad scientist, Zaroff, is similar to that of Dr Zarkoff, a scientist featured in the classic Flash Gordon adventures,
 * While The War Machines still remains the only time in the history of the series where the Doctor is referred to explicitly as "Doctor Who," the Doctor's note to Zaroff in the first episode is signed "Dr. W," making this the closest the Doctor has ever come to referring to himself as "Doctor Who."
 * Episode two was recovered on 19 September 2011.
 * This was the first story about the lost city Atlantis.
 * One music cue from this story exists, entitled 'The Fish People'.

Ratings

 * Episode 1 - 8.3 million viewers
 * Episode 2 - 7.5 million viewers
 * Episode 3 - 7.1 million viewers
 * Episode 4 - 7.0 million viewers

Myths

 * Joseph Furst adopted an outrageous East European accent in his portrayal of Zaroff. (Furst spoke in his own natural accent.)

Filming locations

 * Winspit Quarry, Worth Matravers, Dorset
 * Winspit Beach, Worth Matravers, Dorset
 * Ealing Television Film Studios, Ealing Green, Ealing
 * Riverside Studios, Hammersmith, London

Production errors

 * At the start of episode three, the director's voice can be heard.
 * During the underwater scenes in episode three, the Kirby wires holding up the Fish People are clearly visible.
 * When Zaroff fires his pistol (a contemporary Beretta) at the end of episode three, there is a sound effect, but no evident smoke, recoil, or discharged cartridge.

Continuity

 * Another explanation for Atlantis sinking is given in TV: The Time Monster and The Dæmons.

Home video and audio releases

 * Episode three was released on the Lost in Time DVD in 2004. Episode two is expected to be released sometime in 2014.
 * Editing of episode three's DVD release was completed by the Doctor Who Restoration Team.
 * The soundtrack was released with linking narration by Anneke Wills on 7 February 2005. It was re-released on 4 August 2011 as part of the box set Doctor Who: The Lost TV Episodes - Collection Three.