The Sea Devils is a typical Third Doctor adventure in a fresh setting, held together by the Silurians' more interesting aquatic cousins.
Story: 7
What makes The Sea Devils feel fresh is its naval setting, something the show hasn't done very much. In that sense, it feels like Pertwee's version of Horror on Fang Rock.
Malcolm Hulke interestingly decides to reveal the Sea Devils early on, even though they don't so much until later on in the story. This builds up tension and anticipation while the unexplained events going on keep the mystery alive.
This story shows just how well the Doctor and Jo work together, without UNIT glued to their laps. That worked well in The Curse of Peladon (1972) and even better here. We are given some big-budget Navy action instead, which is awesome.
The Sea Devils suffer somewhat from its length which means that the first half of the story barely moves the plot forward and mostly focuses on prison escapes and people suspecting each other for different reasons. The second half moves onto the Sea Devils business properly. That's where the major shift into action film territory happens and those last three episodes are among Pertwee's best.
In a way, much of the basic plot is similar to the one in The Silurians. But instead of a rogue Silurian and a deadly virus, this story has the Master and his strange contraption. The last episode then flows much like a typical Master story of the era.
Acting: 8
Together with his turn in The Dæmons (1971), this story arguably features Roger Delgado's finest performance as the Master. Whether he's watching a children's programme on TV or fencing with the Doctor, you can't but love him!
This is probably the best double-act Pertwee and Jo has on the show until The Green Death (1973). Pertwee is fantastic with Katy Manning and Roger Delgado.
Clive Morton is quite good as the grumpy prison deputy Trenchard, who makes a good ally to the Master. Edwin Richfield is good as Captain Heart, placed between a rock and a hard place. And man do I hate Martin Boddey's Walker, who dies nothing but eat, drink tea, shout orders and order nuclear strikes. He comes across as this typical high standing politician who cannot see further than his nose.
The Doctor: 8
You often see the Doctor walk in space, but how often does he traverse the seabed? In The Underwater Menace (1967, kind of...) and here. This serial is a wholly unique one for the Doctor.
The Doctor is still stupid as to leave the Master unguarded and believe he won't escape and cause more trouble. Oh, Doctor won't you ever learn!
The Companions: 10
I can only admire the change in character Jo has been going through since Colony in Space (1971). She feels more fleshed out, gets more to do and plays well with the Doctor, sometimes even pulling him back to reality. She even goes on a rescue operation on her own! Katy Manning repeatedly puts in a great performance.
The Monster/Villain: 8
The Sea Devils are more fascinating versions of Silurians. They are similar to them and the Ice Warriors in that they aren't completely evil for the sake of it, only want to defend what they believe belongs to them. They aren't very original by this point in the show, but I prefer them over the classic Silurians.
Production: 8
This story features my favourite fight scene in all of Classic Who, the fencing in Episode Two. It's very well choreographed.
The Sea Devils are well-designed. They are among the best-looking aliens on the classic show. I particularly like their heart-breaking shrieks.
This is another big-budget production, which can be seen from the direction, cinematography and visual effects used.
I can't stand the incidental music here, its often loud and annoying, particularly whenever the Sea Devils appear.
Pacing: 7
Even after the turn of events in Episode 3, this story flows quite slowly. The naval action scenes in the final episodes aren't quite as exciting as I think they should be.
Atmosphere: 7
Unfortunately, the Sea Devils aren't as scary as intended and the actions scenes aren't as exciting as expected. This is more of a fascinating maritime adventure. That being said, the final episode is a pretty nice aquatic action-adventure, putting the puzzle pieces from earlier episodes together for the finale.
Impact: 6
The Sea Devils haven't proved as popular as their earthly cousins, but their successful design coupled with the unique premise of the serial helps make this a minor classic of the Jon Pertwee era.
Replay Value: 7
This is one of those cases where I'd be happy to rewatch the last there episodes over and over while leaving the first three episodes alone.
Random Observations:
There's something oddly satisfying about the Doctor visiting the Master in prison. That feels like something that shouldn't happen on Who. And the friendship between the two is genuine.
The Episode One cliffhanger is one of the worst ones ever. The sting is added smack in the middle of Jo's line, so you can't hear anything and then it just cuts to the credits.
Episode Two features the famous fencing sequence between the Doctor and the Master, along with the iconic line "Well, you haven't seen the quality of my footwork yet!" and the rather odd cliffhanger. And we get to see all of it again at the beginning of Episode Three!
Jo and the Doctor share a window conversation scene similar to the one between Donna and the Tenth Doctor in Partners in Crime (2008).
Episode Three ends on another classic moment, when the Sea Devils emerge from the sea.
This serial contains the only full version of the famed Third Doctor catchphrase "reverse the polarity of the neutron flow", which is usually heard without the "neutron flow" part.
Review by Theo KallströmVIP 6BlockedParent2020-06-14T15:45:50Z
The Sea Devils is a typical Third Doctor adventure in a fresh setting, held together by the Silurians' more interesting aquatic cousins.
Story: 7
What makes The Sea Devils feel fresh is its naval setting, something the show hasn't done very much. In that sense, it feels like Pertwee's version of Horror on Fang Rock.
Malcolm Hulke interestingly decides to reveal the Sea Devils early on, even though they don't so much until later on in the story. This builds up tension and anticipation while the unexplained events going on keep the mystery alive.
This story shows just how well the Doctor and Jo work together, without UNIT glued to their laps. That worked well in The Curse of Peladon (1972) and even better here. We are given some big-budget Navy action instead, which is awesome.
The Sea Devils suffer somewhat from its length which means that the first half of the story barely moves the plot forward and mostly focuses on prison escapes and people suspecting each other for different reasons. The second half moves onto the Sea Devils business properly. That's where the major shift into action film territory happens and those last three episodes are among Pertwee's best.
In a way, much of the basic plot is similar to the one in The Silurians. But instead of a rogue Silurian and a deadly virus, this story has the Master and his strange contraption. The last episode then flows much like a typical Master story of the era.
Acting: 8
Together with his turn in The Dæmons (1971), this story arguably features Roger Delgado's finest performance as the Master. Whether he's watching a children's programme on TV or fencing with the Doctor, you can't but love him!
This is probably the best double-act Pertwee and Jo has on the show until The Green Death (1973). Pertwee is fantastic with Katy Manning and Roger Delgado.
Clive Morton is quite good as the grumpy prison deputy Trenchard, who makes a good ally to the Master. Edwin Richfield is good as Captain Heart, placed between a rock and a hard place. And man do I hate Martin Boddey's Walker, who dies nothing but eat, drink tea, shout orders and order nuclear strikes. He comes across as this typical high standing politician who cannot see further than his nose.
The Doctor: 8
You often see the Doctor walk in space, but how often does he traverse the seabed? In The Underwater Menace (1967, kind of...) and here. This serial is a wholly unique one for the Doctor.
The Doctor is still stupid as to leave the Master unguarded and believe he won't escape and cause more trouble. Oh, Doctor won't you ever learn!
The Companions: 10
I can only admire the change in character Jo has been going through since Colony in Space (1971). She feels more fleshed out, gets more to do and plays well with the Doctor, sometimes even pulling him back to reality. She even goes on a rescue operation on her own! Katy Manning repeatedly puts in a great performance.
The Monster/Villain: 8
The Sea Devils are more fascinating versions of Silurians. They are similar to them and the Ice Warriors in that they aren't completely evil for the sake of it, only want to defend what they believe belongs to them. They aren't very original by this point in the show, but I prefer them over the classic Silurians.
Production: 8
This story features my favourite fight scene in all of Classic Who, the fencing in Episode Two. It's very well choreographed.
The Sea Devils are well-designed. They are among the best-looking aliens on the classic show. I particularly like their heart-breaking shrieks.
This is another big-budget production, which can be seen from the direction, cinematography and visual effects used.
I can't stand the incidental music here, its often loud and annoying, particularly whenever the Sea Devils appear.
Pacing: 7
Even after the turn of events in Episode 3, this story flows quite slowly. The naval action scenes in the final episodes aren't quite as exciting as I think they should be.
Atmosphere: 7
Unfortunately, the Sea Devils aren't as scary as intended and the actions scenes aren't as exciting as expected. This is more of a fascinating maritime adventure. That being said, the final episode is a pretty nice aquatic action-adventure, putting the puzzle pieces from earlier episodes together for the finale.
Impact: 6
The Sea Devils haven't proved as popular as their earthly cousins, but their successful design coupled with the unique premise of the serial helps make this a minor classic of the Jon Pertwee era.
Replay Value: 7
This is one of those cases where I'd be happy to rewatch the last there episodes over and over while leaving the first three episodes alone.
Random Observations:
There's something oddly satisfying about the Doctor visiting the Master in prison. That feels like something that shouldn't happen on Who. And the friendship between the two is genuine.
The Episode One cliffhanger is one of the worst ones ever. The sting is added smack in the middle of Jo's line, so you can't hear anything and then it just cuts to the credits.
Episode Two features the famous fencing sequence between the Doctor and the Master, along with the iconic line "Well, you haven't seen the quality of my footwork yet!" and the rather odd cliffhanger. And we get to see all of it again at the beginning of Episode Three!
Jo and the Doctor share a window conversation scene similar to the one between Donna and the Tenth Doctor in Partners in Crime (2008).
Episode Three ends on another classic moment, when the Sea Devils emerge from the sea.
This serial contains the only full version of the famed Third Doctor catchphrase "reverse the polarity of the neutron flow", which is usually heard without the "neutron flow" part.
Score: 76/120