August 25: Underworld Parts Three & Four

The Doctor and Leela listen to Idas's plight. (Underworld
Part Three) ©BBC

Part three might be the best episode of the bunch -- it certainly seems to have the most going on, with the Doctor, Leela, and a local Trog called Idas breaking into the Tree at the End of the World at the center of the planet (which has a convenient shaft that they're able to gently float down (due to the low gravity), complete with incredibly inappropriate elevator-style incidental music) while the Minyans try to make their way to the race banks in the P7E.  This means there are some acceptable battles, such as Herrick's defense of the retreating Minyans, and the scene where the Doctor gets everyone out of the control room of the P7E and then rallies them together to figure out how to get back inside the P7E to the race banks gives one a glimpse of how epic this story wants to be (despite being on another CSO backdrop -- but again, none of them are that bad here, and in fact the "can't tell which tunnel is which" problem has gone away).  The interrogation of Herrick is also a nice touch, and the revelation that the servants of the Oracle are robots is a good one.

Unfortunately, part four spoils it rather by solving things too early, giving Herrick the race banks without a fight.  Of course, this turns out to be a ruse, but it means that there's a lot of doubling back with the real race banks and the false race banks (actually fission grenades) that feel more like padding than genuine incident or peril.  This does mean that this last episode therefore drags a bit, even if it does mean that the Doctor is able to rescue all the Trogs before the P7E is destroyed.  Nice planet explosion though.  But yes, everyone is saved, and in case not everyone's worked out what's going on, the Doctor points out the similarities between this story and that of Jason and the Argonauts.

And maybe that's the main problem with this story.  The Hinchcliffe years took older Gothic horror tales (Frankenstein, mummies, those sorts of things) and similar stories and used them as jumping-off points to tell their own stuff.  Underworld wants to do the same type of thing with an older, more epic story, but unfortunately it doesn't really have anything to add to the original.  If this is indeed supposed to be the Argonautica or a related story, it has an odd way of going about it -- we see almost nothing of the problems encountered by the Argonauts on the journey to and from Colchis, and the Golden Fleece has been reduced to a couple small cylinders.  It's also a rather jumbled version -- it's not clear what Persephone and the underworld have to do with Jason's quest, and a lot of it just feels like a hodgepodge of Greek myths just for the hell of it.  There's no sense of import to events here; it's as if they've decided that taking an ancient Greek story and chucking SF elements in it is good enough.  It isn't.

And, perhaps most frustratingly, Bob Baker & Dave Martin miss a huge trick in the relation between the Doctor and the Minyans.  The Time Lords are the Minyans' gods!  That means that one of their gods is walking among them, assisting them and chatting with them, and yet none of them react as if this is in any way unusual or awe-inspiring.  No, instead it's just business as normal as the Doctor wanders around some tunnels and eventually saves the Minyans and their future.  Not once does anyone bow down in worship, or treat the Doctor as special in any way.  If they'd gone this path, even a little, it might have lent the story the epic quality it's lacking.

But look, there's not really anything wrong with Underworld.  There are some dodgy effects shots, and it's occasionally clear that most people are uncomfortable acting against plain blue backcloths.  Plus the script is often frustratingly unambitious at times.  But it's not the worst thing ever, and there are some nice moments scattered throughout to keep you interested.  Part three is actually pretty good, and Baker & Martin's knack for catchphrases appears here as well ("the quest is the quest").  And Alan Lake is clearly having a good time.  Yes, it's a bit silly and a bit dull at times, but what's perhaps more surprising is how well it works in places (the sacrifice scene in the P7E is nicely atmospheric, and the Doctor and Leela's cliffhanger at the start of part four is far better than it has any right to be).  It'll never top any polls, but Underworld is better than its reputation would have you believe.