Classic Capitology completes a thoroughly unofficial ‘Warrior’ trilogy with a new set of caps for Warriors of the Deep, a story which, unlike certain types of candy, goes to prove that often two great tastes do not go great together, the chocolate and peanut butter in this case being two Pertwee classics: the Silurians from (Doctor Who and) The Silurians and The Sea Devils.
They may have been established as related species back in the day, but this was JN-T indulgently plundering the past for no seeming discernible benefit. Throw in a bit of petty international intrigue and and a hall-of-shame quality even bigger, badder sea monster and you get one of the deservedly least loved stories in the Davison era. The Hungry Earth / Cold Blood in nu-Who may have had its own problems, but the portrayal of the Sea Devils there, unlike Warriors of the Deep, is not one of them.
Even if you like the structural bones of Warriors of the Deep and can forgive the plethora of over-lit sets which make up Sea Base 4, its just hard to get past the Myrka, especially when it gets as much screen time as it does. At least in The Caves of Androzani when confronted with a similar problem Graeme Harper had the good sense both to under light and greatly limit the exposure given to the Magma Creature in that story. Pennant Roberts, who otherwise had a fairly good Doctor Who pedigree to this point, probably didn’t have that option.
The Myrka is such an embarrassment as these things go it just takes you out of the story, but Classic Capitology seems undeterred, as they will demonstrate … next time.
