Jo Grant…just get behind me and shut-up
The Master (Roger Delgado) is a prisoner of UNIT and appears to be agreeing with his captors led by Colonel Trenchard (Clive Morton). When ships begin disappearing off the coast, the Doctor (Jon Pertwee) and Jo Grant (Katy Manning) investigate. They discover a race related to the Silurians called “Sea Devils” and the Sea Devils intend to take back Earth for themselves…working with the Master himself.
Doctor Who: The Sea Devils fell in the ninth season of the popular BBC series Doctor Who. The story aired in six parts from February 26, 1972 to April 1, 1972. Following Doctor Who: The Curse of Peladon, Doctor Who: The Sea Devils was collected in The Jon Pertwee Collection as Story #62.
I always like a Doctor Who episode with a monster and the Sea Devils are fun creatures. While the Silurians were fun lizard characters (who first appeared in Doctor Who and the Silurians (Story #52)), their cousins are like stumbling sea monkeys.
Why can’t two Time Lords just get along?
The story for Doctor Who: The Sea Devils is of course too long like most six episode serials, but as mentioned, they are aided by the Sea Devils who first appeared here. I also always love a Master serial so with a new creature plus the Master you have a good pair though the Master
I think that Jon Pertwee is one of my favorite Doctors. His uppity nature and constant tolerance of the often idiotic Jo who is slow to catch on to anything is fun. Here, Jo gets some nice solo action by being separated from the Doctor on multiple occasions and actually helping him by rescuing him from imprisonment by the Master (instead of just being a helpless victim). Delgado still relishes being the Master and there are also some nice scenes with his mental slave Clive Morton.
A little help getting out of the ocean here guys…
The Sea Devils are ridiculous. They can barely walk and stumble along (especially in scenes where the poor actors can barely get out of the surf). I can not imagine that the creatures would be that much of a threat (even with their advanced weaponry). The goofiness of Doctor Who episodes from this period are what really sells them and the struggling Sea Devils are no exception.
With the modern version of the Silurians appearing in the current Doctor Who, I’d love to see a modern Sea Devil show up…one that can actually swim and walk. Despite being a long episode, this is a rather fun serial and should probably be seen by fans of old Doctor Who. Doctor Who: The Sea Devils was followed by Doctor Who: The Mutants.
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Preceded By:
Doctor Who: The Curse of Peladon (Story #61)
Followed By:
