History Recap / DoctorWhoS21E1WarriorsOfTheDeep

'''Production code:''' 6L

Written by Johnny Byrne. This four-episode serial first aired from January 5--13, 1984.

* ExtyYearsFromPublication: The story is set hundred years in the future.

** Crosses into BondVillainStupidity[=/=]WhyDontYouJustShootHim territory when Sauvix corners the Doctor and instead of, say, pulling the trigger on his disruptor, he radios Icthar who annoyingly responds "You ''have'' your orders. Kill him!''. This give Preston time to go for her gun, and while Sauvix does fatally shoot her, it gives the Doctor's companions time to do him in with the hexachromite gas.

As the Doctor explains this, we get introduced to our RedShirtArmy of the week, unisex eyeshadow and all. The "Them" bloc is acting up again, and the brave crew snap into action, as their computers say it's time to prepare the nukes. Well, maybe. As [[TheKirk Commander Vorshak]] [[AsYouKnow explains to his men]], it could be real or it could all be a drill: they won't know until it's time to press that button. As a further failsafe, they also need [[WetwareCPU someone lashed up to the machine itself]] to make sure the nukes can be launched by giving the final authorization. Cue Ensign Maddox, who's actually the inexperienced backup of someone unimportant who died offscreen. Maddox never really thought he'd be needed, as he was just there to observe, so he freaks out a little at the pressure despite Commander Vorshak [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure telling him he's doing a great job]]... and it turns out it was all a drill, anyway.

Ensign Maddox, suffering from a panic attack, goes to the medical bay to lie down for a while. However, Senior Officer Nilson and Doctor Solow are up to no good, deciding to take advantage of Ensign Maddox's [[WetwareCPU special computer brain]] to brainwash him. Because Nilson [[TheMole works for the "Them" Bloc!]] Doctor Solow follows along with this... because, [[CloakAndDagger presumably, she's also with the "Them" Bloc.]] Maddox is reprogrammed to sabotage the systems of Sea Base 4, but it's unknown if Nilson and Solow are trying to either capture the base or start the third (fourth? fifth?) World War.

Finally involved in the story again, the Doctor and his companions decide to meander around the top secret undersea nuclear missile base for no reason, exploring the area and getting a feel for the future. Since they landed in a storage closet, the Doctor decides that pointing out the barrels of hexachromite gas, [[ChekhovsArmory which is a gas that's lethal to all marine and reptile life]], would be a cool fact of the day for his companions to know. And then they're immediately chased around by guards, because [[GenreBlindness Turlough]] accidentally sets off some alarms. While trying to provide a distraction ''by intentionally triggering the nukes'', the Doctor is shoved into a giant pool of water. [[FantasticRadiationShielding Inside the reactor]] everyone was just running through. Tegan frets about the Doctor for about two seconds, after which Turlough decides "[[MemeticMutation HE'S DROWNED.]]" Tegan and Turlough are then quickly captured by the soldiers of the "Us" Bloc, and the ''Series/DoctorWho'' franchise ends in the Doctor's permanent death...

* PlotArchaeology: The story sees the return of two classic monsters from the Third Dotor era, the Silurians and the Sea Devils, who appeared in 1970 and 1972, respectively.

JustForFun/{{The one w|ith}}here Creator/IngridPitt karate-kicks a pantomime horse.

-> ''"There should have been another way."''

JustForFun/{{The one w|ith}}here Creator/IngridPitt karate-kicks a pantomime horse, and the cameras catch Creator/PeterDavison realizing mid-filming that he wants out.

JustForFun/{{The one w|ith}}here Creator/IngridPitt karate-kicks a pantomime horse.

The one where Creator/IngridPitt karate-kicks a pantomime horse.

Ensign Maddox, suffering from a panic attack, goes to the medical bay to lie down for a while. However, Senior Officer Nilson and Doctor Solow are up to no good, deciding to take advantage of Ensign Maddox's [[WetwareCPU special computer brain]] to brainwash him. Because Nilson [[TheMole works for the "Them" Bloc!]] [[HotScientist Doctor Solow]] follows along with this... because, [[CloakAndDagger presumably, she's also with the "Them" Bloc.]] Maddox is reprogrammed to sabotage the systems of Sea Base 4, but it's unknown if Nilson and Solow are trying to either capture the base or start the third (fourth? fifth?) World War.

* SelfServingMemory: Icthar tries to justify wiping out humanity by claiming that between them the Silurians and Sea Devils twice tried to forge alliances with the human race, but were "treacherously attacked" on both occasions. In actuality, only the lead Silurian in their debut story favoured trying to set up an alliance and was quickly killed by his subordinates when they refused to go along with the plan. Icthar's statement is a ''little'' more accurate to what happened in the Sea Devils' first appearance, though leaves out the fact that the Doctor was never able to communicate the offer of peace before the humans launched their attack, and the Sea Devils refused an offer of mediation afterwards. (The ExpandedUniverse adds a ''third'' event which is closer to Icthar's claim: the ''Literature/DoctorWhoMissingAdventures'' novel ''Scales of Justice''.)

* SelfServingMemory: Icthar tries to justify wiping out humanity by claiming that between them the Silurians and Sea Devils twice tried to forge alliances with the human race, but were "treacherously attacked" on both occasions. In actuality, only the lead Silurian in their debut story favoured trying to set up an alliance and was quickly killed by his subordinates when they refused to go along with the plan. Icthar's statement is a ''little'' more accurate to what happened in the Sea Devils' first appearance, though leaves out the fact that the Doctor was never able to communicate the offer of peace before the humans launched their attack, and the Sea Devils refused an offer of mediation afterwards. (The ExpandedUniverse adds a ''third'' event which is closer to Icthar's claim in the ''Literature/DoctorWhoMissingAdventures'' novel 'Scales of Justice''.)

* SelfServingMemory: Icthar tries to justify wiping out humanity by claiming that between them the Silurians and Sea Devils twice tried to forge alliances with the human race, but were "treacherously attacked" on both occasions. In actuality, only the lead Silurian in their debut story favoured trying to set up an alliance and was quickly killed by his subordinates when they refused to go along with the plan. Icthar's statement is a ''little'' more accurate to what happened in the Sea Devils' first appearance, though leaves out the fact that the Doctor was never able to communicate the offer of peace before the humans launched their attack, and the Sea Devils refused an offer of mediation afterwards.

This serial was a nightmare behind the scenes. As production was starting up, then-Prime Minister UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher announced a Parliamentary election, which resulted in the production for this serial losing two weeks to election coverage. Rather than cancel the serial and funnel the leftover money into the other productions that season, it was decided to push ahead anyhow. The green paint on [[PantomimeAnimal The Myrka]] literally didn't have time to dry before its scenes were filmed, and one shot is from a technical rehearsal because there was no alternative footage available.

* DownerEnding: The story concludes with every single character dead. The Doctor, Tegan and Turlough are horrified, and the serial ends with the line "There should have been another way."

* RippedFromTheHeadlines: The story was written as an allegory for UsefulNotes/TheColdWar.

* KillEmAll: The surviving characters, even including the regulars, can be counted on one hand.

* NotImportantToThisEpisodeCamp: Kamelion doesn't appear at all.

Written by Johnny Byrne. This serial first aired January 5-13, 1984.

It doesn't take long for the Silurians to take over Sea Base 4, and they begin repairing all the damage done by the saboteurs, so they can launch the missiles themselves and begin WorldWarWhatever. [[FridgeLogic Don't bother asking why they didn't just sit and wait for mankind to do the job for them]], otherwise we wouldn't have an episode. The Doctor does his best to argue that everyone should just get along, but Icthar will have none of it. After all, some jerk ''also'' named the Doctor promised that [[Recap/DoctorWhoS7E2DoctorWhoAndTheSilurians last time]], and his people [[OhCrap all wound up dead]]. Also, it's time to launch the missiles, destroy the Humans, and generally rule the world.

!!This episode of ''Doctor Who'' contains examples of the following tropes:

* ActionGirl: The episode tries to set up Preston and Solow as examples of this. Unfortunately, Preston never really gets the chance to do much of anything, and the less said about Solow's big action scene with the Myrka, the better.

* ExtyYearsFromNow: The story is set hundred years in the future.