Doctor Who #148: The Underwater Menace Part 2

"This is what will happen. Zaroff intends to raise Atlantis... but in little pieces."TECHNICAL SPECS: Though this episode was recovered late last year, it has yet to be released to the public. A reconstruction will have to do in the meantime. First aired Jan.21 1967.

IN THIS ONE... Everybody escapes their fate and Zaroff reveals his plans to blow up the Earth.

REVIEW: What does this episode have in common with Galaxy 4 Part 3? Both were found in 2011, and it may be that both deserved to be missing. But where Galaxy 4 is simply noisome and boring, The Underwater Menace may have performances of interest to offer on video. Troughton's in particular. I can't wait to see how he does Zaroff's crazy eyes, how he plays with a headdress (this week's hat?), or his subtle sabotage of the power control to save Polly from her fishy fate. Maybe Polly, Ben and Jamie will also benefit. It's hard to imagine the guest cast doing any better though. Ara is all "I'm helping you because the script tells me to", and there's little to make Ramo, Damon, Thous, Sean and Jacko particularly memorable. Zaroff IS memorable, but for being completely insane. Has there been a crazier villain in Doctor Who, EVER? He wants to blow up the world just because he can. The achievement! Yes, well...

Of course, the science behind it is all bad. The Doctor says the Earth is BELIEVED to have a molten core as if it weren't fact, and Zaroff's plan is to drain the ocean away into a drill hole, like the planet is some giant bathtub. No matter how brilliant he's supposed to be, why is this even the idea of a scientist whose claim to fame is feeding the masses with plankton? The story is DUMB, plain and simple. Zaroff's "Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!" line is surely the Whovian equivalent of Ed Wood's "Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!" The only people in Atlantis who listen to reason are those who have already decided they dislike Zaroff, but since reasoning with people is what drives the plot, we're only ever frustrated. It just can't be done. These characters are all cartoons.

Take Sean and Jacko. Ben and Jamie meet up with them in the mines, and they've got an escape plan. But that escape plan is as dumb as everyone else's plans. They've found a tunnel that leads to somewhere unknown, and they can't return to the mine under penalty of death if they take it. It's foolhardy in the extreme. Why Ben and Jamie follow is anyone's guess, and they're real lucky that it coincidentally reunites them with Polly in the temple. The audience isn't so lucky though, as the trip through the tunnel maze is long and dull, especially on audio-only, and even its bit of jeopardy ellicits a yawn.

REWATCHABILITY: Low - I could have picked at a lot more nits, but at some point, you've just go to throw in the towel and admit it's just not very good and leave it at that. When Lost in Time 2 is released, the episode might go up to Medium-Low, but I doubt it'll achieve more.