YMMV / Doctor Who S9 E3 "The Sea Devils"

• Alternate Character Interpretation: The bit with the Master watching The Clangers.
  • Does he really believe they are aliens?
  • Or, supported by watching the Master's reactions carefully, he knows full well that The Clangers is a TV show, but is toying with Trenchard by playing dumb.
  • Or maybe, the Master knows it is a children's show and is briefly amused by it: he's smiling and whistling along as he watches. Trenchard enters and catches him, and the Master has to pretend not to understand what he's watching in order to save face. He casually crosses the room to switch the TV off, and then out of Trenchard's view grimaces in exasperation at having to turn off a programme he was enjoying.
  • The Television Companion's interpretation is that the Master knows it's a children's show, and is making a joke. He switches off the TV in irritation when Trenchard takes him seriously.
• Better on DVD: Inverted, as Episode Three has a really long cliffhanger recap of a comical, over-the-top sword-fight between the Doctor and the Master. It goes without saying that what on first viewing is Refuge in Audacity becomes insufferable, gratuitous and full of Fridge Logic watched twice in quick succession. Best to have a little break between those two parts, if you can.
• Ho Yay: The Master admits that the only reason he keeps trying to destroy Earth is because it's the Doctor's favourite planet. This is part of a trend in which the Master deliberately targets Earth to infuriate the Doctor, much like a young boy pulling the hair of a girl they like because they don't know how else to express what they're feeling.
• Jerks Are Worse Than Villains: As always, the Master is the Master, while the Sea Devils are at least slightly sympathetic. Walker steps in to fill the role of someone the audience can really hate, just being astonishingly smug and unpleasant in every possible way (rude, lazy, pompous, selfish, sexist, and cowardly). And worse, he gets no comeuppance for any of this.
• Retroactive Recognition: Lieutenant Commander Tony Mitchell is played by David Griffin, who would later be best known for playing Clive Dempster in Hi-de-Hi! and Emmet Hawksworth in Keeping Up Appearances.
• Signature Scene:
  • The swordfight between the Doctor and the Master is the most famous scene of this serial, and one of the most iconic scenes in the Third Doctor's entire tenure.
  • The Sea Devil rising from the sea at the end of Episode Three is another iconic moment.
  • The Doctor setting off landmines with the Sonic Screwdriver is famous for establishing the device as the signature tool of the Doctor's arsenal, showing how invaluable it could really be.
• Special Effect Failure: It's painfully obvious how the Crystal Clear Picture of the television is rendered. The TV itself is just a frame in front of a set of yellow miniblinds, and "turning the television on" is done by closing the blinds.

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