Ships appear to be going missing in a part of the British coastline where, coincidentally, the Master is currently being held as a prisoner of the state on an island. The Doctor and Jo go to pay a visit and see what they can gleam, and despite the fact that his guards appear to have allow him the use of a rowing machine (no, really), all seems normal. Checking out another island in the area though, it soon becomes clear that other forces are in play, although the involvement of the Master (or not) is not fully realized.
In the opening episode there is a good set-up to the story and it was fun to see the Master back again; most notably it tickled me no end to see that the cardio exercise machine that he is allowed is a rowing machine – which seems an odd choice for a man held prisoner on an island specifically to make escape more difficult. From here the basic plot is familiar in so much as it involves the Master trying to reach out to aliens or monsters of some form, so that he can use them to conquer earth, all while the Doctor tries to stop it of course; he has done it with gloopy aliens and the devil, so why not sea creatures? While this is basically what it then does, I really did enjoy this because it seems to be more ambitious that previous examples of this story have been. Although it is probably longer than it needed to be, the six episodes didn't feel overly padded, with a decent pace but also a good sense of tension and forward motion. The story plays out pretty well – although yet again they fail to learn the lesson of always taking the keys out of a vehicle when the Master is around, whether it be a bus or, in this case, a hovercraft (although it is quite a cool way to end the serial).
The high production standards help with, and there is frequent use of external locations – and very good ones at that, with a good sense of actual ships etc being used. The final episode pulls out all the comparative stops and we get jet-skis, a hovercraft, and all sort of things that feels like the BBC had money to spend before year end. Unfortunately the music throughout the serial is really poor; an odd electronic thing – and not electronic in a cool retro- 80's pop way, but electronic in an "afternoon with a metal detector on a field full of old bottle cans" way. I guess it is meant to be all sci-fi and creepy, but it is actually just quite hard on the ears and it didn't work for me.
The cast do good work across the board. Although it felt a bit odd to have such a large Earth-based serial and not have Courtney's Lethbridge-Stewart, the good work from others meant it was not too big a gap. Pertwee is good in action mode but also as a character; he also works well with Manning who I also enjoyed here – although, to be fair, I think that the gradual shift over the seasons for companions to be more in her mould than in the mould of the original Barbara, is part of me accepting her. Delgado is a welcome face and does well with some small moments of humor and action. In supporting roles Morton, Mulholland and others are good value. The Sea Devils themselves are good creatures – okay nothing too different, but I liked their design, their restrained use at first, and also the fact that they moved fast and were not just the usual awkward lumbering beasts – the first contact the Doctor makes where he is chased is a much better scene because you really feel the speed of the chase is a threat.
Overall a very enjoyable serial even if base element of it feel familiar. The characters, the creatures, the plot, the locations and the whole general delivery all work very well together to produce a very enjoyable serial.
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