02 January, 2023

It's beginning to a look a lot like fishmen

"The Underwater Menace" is a semi-lost story with only 2 of the 4 episodes known to exist. The book's cover is highly misleading as it features the Fish People - some of the cheesiest Doctor Who costumes, perhaps second only to the Menoptera - who, while underwater, are not the menaces of the story.

Along with new companion Jamie, the Doctor, Polly, and Ben find themselves in the lost city of Atlantis. The senescent King Thous has been bamboozled by Professor Hermann Zaroff who is so comically villainous that he makes Snidely Whiplash seem like a character from the pages of a James Joyce novel. Zaroff is a complete psychopath who has a Dalek-worthy plan to destroy the Earth by drilling a hole in the crust to allow the oceans to drain into the core. There the water would be turned to steam and cause the planet to burst into pieces from the pressure.

"Prepare to witness the power of a fully-armed and operational mega-drill!"

Zaroff gets in a few jabs at religion, which I didn't expect from such an early story. His evil plans are thwarted in large measure by a labor dispute instigated by Ben and his new-found pal, Sean, who convince the Fish People to go on strike. You see, they harvest plankton for the inhabitants of Atlantis to eat but no one has come up with a way to preserve the fine seafood stew so a fresh supply must always be available.

There's a lot of running down corridors, or cave tunnels, rather, and a distinct lack of interesting characters beyond Zaroff and his caricatured villainy. The Doctor does go into disguise again, though, and I am wondering just how long this trope lasts. Sadly, the humor of "The Highlanders" is gone. At one point, the Doctor concedes that Zaroff has won, which seems rather out of character as he should be instilling hope.

Thankfully, Jamie's dialogue is not written in pidgin Scottish but he doesn't do very much nor is he given much of a change to build a rapport with the Doctor.

This is a minor and rather bad Doctor Who story. But I am looking forward to seeing the remaining 2 episodes anyway. Anyone expecting the fish people to be these hideous homo-ichthy hybrids with narrow heads, flat noses and bulgy, stary eyes will be disappointed and scoff at the costumes but I find that, as I get older, I enjoy the show's cheesy elements more. The Menoptera, Fish People, the Myrka - some of the lowest fi costuming ever to grace a TV screen but I love them all the same.

ADDENDUM:

I have watched the 2 extant episodes of this story. A few thoughts.

I like how Zaroff is splayed out on the stairs as he fakes his heart attack.

The priestly headdresses are pretty hoopy as are the fish masks used in religious rites.



The Doctor's disguise in the marketplace is really hip, daddy-o. Groovy, man.

And I rather liked the Fish People underwater waltz.

Watching these episodes reminded me of how much I like the show's early electronic scores and just how they stand in such stark contrast to the rather rote orchestral music of the show today. The Fish People get a surreal waltz and listen to the eldritch choral pieces sung in the temple during rites. And then there's the scenes in the mine which have this weird and very dissonant sound.

Also, Zaroff's Austrian accent was perfect.

The story is still awful but there are some wonderfully creative little moments.

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