TV Review - Doctor Who- Legend of the Sea Devils

 

Can the turtle's power be restored in Jodie Whittaker's penultimate run out?

It is surprising that any Doctor Who has been made in the past two years and its worth remembering how difficult a production it is in normal times never mind in the midst of a pandemic. This iteration of the programme has actually delivered some of its best moments under these restrictive conditions. Several episodes of the six part `Flux` last year were excellent while the New Year special `Eve of the Daleks` made a virtue of its limited resources. `Legend of the Sea Devils` though seems to be showing the strain a little. While it is pacy and great to look at there is something missing from the final production though our aquatic cousins have never looked cooler!

"There be spoilers past here.."

The real life legend of the Sea Devils rides on a story first broadcast fifty years ago, a tale elegant in its simplicity and robust in execution. Their second appearance nearly forty years ago though was something of a mess. Now their third story marshals all of the impressive effects possible while remaining true to the inspired design of these “ocean demons”. A sumptuous visual feast includes a flying pirate ship, a massive sea monster and Sea Devils brandishing electric cutlasses rather than CDs. Yet the story’s full potential remains unfulfilled with characterisation and narrative lagging behind the visuals.

You can overlook some rather drastic changes in the weather between scenes but there are several moments when we seem to have missed a scene altogether while the edits are so quick. It feels like this was supposed to run for an hour but had to then lose ten minutes. Also the characters really need to have been developed further to allow the actors more to work with.

The story sees nineteenth century pirate Madame Ching searching for a magic stone to free her crew. When she unwittingly unleashes the Sea Devils on a small village the trail leads to a ship originally sunk in the sixteenth century. There’s a breezy Pirates of the Caribbean approach to the story and a similar ransacking of pirate lore (though oddly nobody talks like a pirate!). It does feel though like one of those Doctor Who stories with a list of must haves that struggles to create an interesting plot.

The supposedly feared pirate Madame Ching gets surprisingly little to do and doesn’t seem very fearsome at all. By the end she’s merely grumpily amiable. Given how carefully real historical characters have been used in recent years by this production team it is a shame she’s not given the same focus as the likes of Tesla or Rosa Parks. There is potential too for an ongoing animosity between Madame Ching and the village’s Ying Ki  whose father dies as a result of her interference at the start. Yet they’re bantering away soon after. The editing means we have no clear idea how much time is elapsing but surely there is space for a classic `enemies gradually become friends` sort of plot for these two. Meanwhile Ji Hun seems to be kept alive solely so he can make one of those sudden sacrifices Chris Chibnall produces like rabbits from a hat.

If you know the original story you’ll be aware how diligently the build up to the monster reveal was, how atmospheric and spooky the sea fort scenes were and how Malcolm Clarke’s distorted electronic music provided a unique signature for these turtle based creatures. Here we have exactly the same intro that every monster gets and after a few seconds  of awe from nineteenth century folk we’re swashbuckling like nobody’s business. Nobody seems even the least bit scared by the Sea Devils.

The opening sequence where a village is slaughtered by Sea Devils has bite and the sea monster is fearsomely realised yet the episode relies too much on the Doctor’s babbling explanations to create the urgency. Give or take the odd reference, the Sea Devils could be any generic creature. That said  they have been faithfully resurrected and it’s a nice touch they’ve kept the same whispery voice and with some CGI assisted work the faces are now more moveable. And we see more than six of them! Yet I still hanker for the spookier Sea Devils of yore. 

I’m never a fan of the Doctor being able to wander in and out of the villain’s lair because you think- why would the latter allow this to happen? Yet during this episode she seems to come and go, chattering away to the Chief Sea Devil in what is actually an attempt to put the plot over to the viewers. Call me old fashioned but I prefer an episode to earn that vital Doctor / antagonist confrontation which should happen at the end. Here I felt the Chief Sea Devil was going to offer her a cup of tea she’s hanging around there so long.

I’m all for subtle stories of unrequited love but Yaz’s infatuation with the Doctor has been so `subtle` nobody noticed it till she mentioned it in the last episode. With just one episode to go the scene between them under the sea should have been made to count. They should actually have kissed but then the Doctor immediately regrets it. I suppose that was out of the question that early in the evening but is shows how in some respects the series is still behind the curve when it comes to representation and it feels tokenistic like a box ticked. They should do this sort of plot properly or not at all. Or they should have started talking about it sooner. That being said the scenes between the Doctor and Yaz are well played.

What it does show is how effective Jodie Whittaker is when she slows down. I’m not sure why all the modern Doctors have taken as a template the need to shout a lot, talk really quickly and run around like mad. The classic era Doctors never did this but somehow its become shorthand for what the Doctor is like. She remains a likeable Doctor but I’m disappointed we’ve not seen more light and shade and rather like Matt Smith she’s always `on` and rarely reflective. Whoever the next Doctor turns out to be it would be good to have some contrast in their performance.

Where the episode works a treat is with its effects which are pretty special. The flying ship and sea monster are very impressive. Near the end there’s some full on sword fighting action which is really what this production should be about. Dan proves  surprisingly adapt with a cutlass though even more surprisingly unaffected by the fact he’s just sliced through several Sea Devils.

Given the conditions under which it was made `Legend of the Sea Devils` is a good romp and at least restores the undersea reptiles to a place of dignity. The Myrka versus this sea monster? No contest. I suspect that for fans and maybe a lot of viewers the impact of the story has already dissipated thanks to the trailer for this Doctor’s final episode which seemed to feature, well, everyone! I’m sure I spotted Uncle Tom Cobbley in there!