April 12: Fury from the Deep Episodes 5 & 6

These two episodes are a definite improvement over the others.  Megan Jones is certainly a much more agreeable character than Robson, and she seems more willing to listen to the Doctor.  And this episode does a good job of developing the tension, as the Doctor tries to work out how to deal with the weed.  And with the foam and weed bursting into the refinery, we do get a sense of time running out.  Even if not much actually happens, we get some good moments where Megan tries to talk to Robson, to convince him to fight the weed's hold on him.

Mr Quill attempts to overpower Jamie. (Fury from the Deep Episode
5 - from Doctor Who Photonovels: Fury from the Deep - Episode
Five) ©BBC

The stuff with Victoria being kidnapped by Robson is also pretty good, primarily because it means that Jamie and the Doctor have to go after her to one of the rigs at sea (in what looks like a pretty impressive model shot), which is just covered in foam.  And the cliffhanger's nice too, as Robson emerges from all the foam and announces that they've been waiting for him.

Episode 6 is also entertaining, especially towards the climax, as the Weed Creature launches its assault on the refinery.  The clips and telesnaps make it look like it was quite impressive, with copious amounts of foam on display as the weed creature thrashes about -- it's rather less successful on audio, but we can imagine what it might have been like.  And the tension is well developed (other than the extended sequence of faffing about with a helicopter), so that the final climax feels worthwhile.  And there's still enough time for a proper goodbye for Victoria, as she decides to stay behind.  She's clearly had enough danger and she wants to be somewhere peaceful.  And there's a very touching scene with Jamie, who clearly doesn't want her to go, on the Harrises' patio, complete with what sounds like a kiss.  And so Victoria (a character who started reasonably well in The Tomb of the Cybermen and The Abominable Snowmen before becoming little more than a terrified screamer for the rest of her stories) says farewell, as she watches the TARDIS disappear (up into the sky like a rocket, it seems).

So by the end of this story you can see why Fury from the Deep has the reputation that it does -- it would appear based on the evidence that the Weed Creature was well realized, and the sense of tension created by the last two-and-a-half episodes was effective.  Yet this doesn't quite make up for the fact that the first half of this story is fairly slow and tedious, with the wrong sort of character conflict on display.  And the other problem is that we've just had a more effective version of this sort of thing in The Web of Fear, and in many ways Fury from the Deep feels like a step back, with an unhinged leader like General Cutler in The Tenth Planet prominently foregrounded for the first part.  Fury from the Deep may succeed in its finale, with an entertaining attack and a strong leaving scene for Victoria, but this success is despite the first half, not because of it.