This was actually the last-ever classic Who serial I saw—by the time I got the audio CDs for all the lost episodes, there was news that a DVD/reconstruction for this one was brewing, so I held off on listening to it. The two missing episodes are reconstructed through telesnaps rather than animation, which I generally like better (although I thought “The Web of Fear” did a better job of keeping it dynamic—this one has a lot more static images, with no cuts between characters talking, etc.)
The Second Doctor, Ben, Polly, and Jamie (the latter on his first trip in the TARDIS) find themselves, quite unexpectedly, in the lost city of Atlantis in the later part of the 20th century. They nearly get sacrificed to gods, narrowly escape becoming genetically-modified fish slaves, and tangle with a mad scientist who disappeared from regular Earth society years before. All in a day’s work for our heroes!
“The Underwater Menace” is generally regarded as middling at best, but I really enjoy it. Maybe in part because it was my last classic Who serial—I knew there wasn’t any more after this, so I savored it. Either way, I get a kick out of it. The fish people look cool (in a supremely low-budget, cheesy, classic Who kind of way,) I like the thematic mix with the ancient temples/rituals and the advanced scientific technology, and it’s just fun.
Pretty much everyone gets their good moments in. As usual, Polly gets a bit of a short shrift, being the most overtly-damseled early on, but she makes up for it later. There are disguises, secret tunnels, technological meddling, rebellions to incite (wonder just how many of those the Doctor and co. have been behind over the years,) and just generally all manner of goodness. It’s neat to see the Doctor with Professor Zaroff, a brilliant scientific mind that the Doctor clearly admires, but we get that sinking revelation along with the Doctor that the ole professor has lost some screws and is out to prove that in a big way. (Zaroff’s plan, by the way, is totally out there without even the slightest semblance of sense, but I’m not too bothered by it.)
With the new addition of Jamie to the team, the story mixes it up right away, giving us different character combinations as they all run around Atlantis trying not to get captured/killed/enslaved/etc. And I think that’s probably my favorite part of this serial, the various character interactions. I enjoy Jamie’s wide-eyed bewilderment throughout and Ben and Polly’s different ways of dealing with his confusion. Whenever all four of them are together, there’s good bickering and/or planning to be had, and I love that image of the Doctor, Ben, and Jamie poking out from behind their fish masks. Also, this story has a line that makes me realize just how much Eleven takes after Two: when Polly, watching the Doctor tuck into some seafood, observes to the guys, “I’ve never seen him go for food like this before. It’s usually hats.” Don’t worry, Doctor—hats and seafood are both cool.
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