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Fury From The Deep

16TH MARCH 1968 - 20TH APRIL 1968

(6 EPISODES)

Fury from the Deep marked outgoing script editor Victor Pemberton’s return to freelance writing. His script would draw heavily upon his radio drama The Slide, repackaging that story’s surprisingly intelligent mud as surprisingly intelligent seaweed, and would bid adieu to companion Victoria Waterfield in a manner which, particularly for the time, was unusually refined.

With no existing episodes to look at, I’ve had to try and appreciate this tale through synchronised study of John Cura’s telesnaps and the BBC Radio Collection’s soundtrack. It’s a testament to this serial’s quality that it remains incessantly engaging even when enjoyed in such a convoluted manner. The telesnaps are particularly useful as the production is defined by some memorable visuals, director Hugh David – who was once considered for the role of the Doctor – vesting the piece with cinematic scope. Fury boasts a sequence in which the TARDIS materialises on the sea, not to mention several featuring helicopters, oil rigs and high-speed chases. Much like The Enemy of the World earlier in the season, this serial wears its James Bond influence on its sleeves. Even Pemberton’s foaming seaweed monster is realised astonishingly effectively, as evidenced by the few extant clips and the surviving soundtrack, which really emphasises the haunting, pulsating heartbeat that underlines its appearances.

“Anytime we go anywhere, something awful happens… can’t we go anywhere pleasant? Where there’s no fighting. Just peace and happiness.”

However, more than its visuals, more than Victoria leaving, more than the Doctor finally whipping out his sonic screwdriver, Fury from the Deep is most noteworthy for its stunning characterisation. The Harrises, who become Victoria’s guardians at the end of the story, are a very likeable couple who really get put through the meat-grinder. June Murphy’s Maggie Harris may get the worst of it physically, but Roy Spencer’s Frank Harris is a frighteningly credible audience anchor as he struggles with both the pressures of work and (what he thinks is) a sick wife. The feud between Van Lutyens and Robson is not all that interesting in itself, but for most of the story it serves as a scintillating red herring, leading to one of the narrative’s most surprising twists. I’m also fond of Megan Jones, a forerunner to the beautifully stubborn bureaucrats that we’d see much more of during Jon Pertwee’s reign.

However, although they don’t have nearly as much screen time as everyone else, without doubt the most memorable characters in Fury from the Deep are Mr Oak (John Gill) and Mr Quill (Bill Burridge). They must be two of the most sinister men ever to grace Doctor Who. Their every appearance underscored by an almost comedic, avant-garde electronic score, Mr Oak and Mr Quill have the same unsettling effect that clowns have on a lot of people, and when they open their mouths…

Victoria’s send-off is handled superlatively by all involved. Rather than impulsively electing to stay behind at the end of the final episode as many companions do (or worse, disappear half-way through due to contractual reasons as her three immediate predecessors did), Victor Pemberton litters subtle hints of Victoria’s unhappiness throughout the story, finally allowing Deborah Watling to sink her teeth into something a little meatier than innocence and blind terror. This in turn fuels the performances of Patrick Troughton and particularly Frazer Hines, whose character’s fondness for Victoria was evident in just about every exchange that they shared. Hugh David’s gentle closing shots encapsulate such sentiments completely, despite being marred by the Doctor’s ridiculous hat.

On a final note, as a viewer (and, indeed, reviewer) who’s done nought but deride Victoria’s incessant screaming, I have to take my hat off to Fury from the Deep for allowing her to wrap up her travels with a moment of glory that’s not only suitably climatic, but resplendently apt. Provided that you make sure you keep that volume low as the final episode nears its crescendo, Fury from the Deep can’t do anything but astound.

Copyright © E.G. Wolverson 2006

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