Doctor Who and the Silurians

The Doctor, Liz and UNIT investigate power losses at the Wenley Moor research station, where it found that ancient reptilian humanoids have been awoken from hibernation and intend to reclaim their planet from its human usurpers. The Doctor has to help the humans, but things are not as cut and dried as they usually are…

Spearhead from Space dealt with an alien invasion and the reintroduction of the Doctor and the story whizzed past as a result. Doctor Who and the Silurians presents a more complex tale and it is only at the end that we find out who the ‘bad guys’ really are. The reptiles, unlike any other adversary the Doctor has faced, have a right to live on the Earth and merely defeating an invading force will not be enough. Hulke uses the near three-hour length of this story to expertly examine the issues brought up by this story. The reptiles are not seen clearly until the end of episode 3. We see the fear they instil in those who have encountered them, and the fact that they control a large carnivorous dinosaur. Yet when Quinn speaks to them, they do not threaten him, but merely expect him to help them in exchange for information. The Doctor points out that the dinosaur is called off before it can inflict any real damage. Even when they harm humans, it is only in self-defence. It is Quinn’s imprisonment of the lone Silurian (who was rashly wounded by Major Baker) which sets off the reptiles’ desire to pursue a more aggressive route. The Silurians are clearly not just ‘monsters’.

Characterisation is expertly utilised by Malcolm Hulke in driving this story. Dr Lawrence is adamant that the research station not be closed down, in the face of overwhelming evidence that it should be. He is portrayed as a man desperate to protect his career at all costs, in a masterful performance by Peter Miles. There is also the very interesting relationship between Dr Quinn and Miss Dawson. Miss Dawson clearly holds a torch for Quinn and her reaction to his death is to give an inaccurate account of Quinn’s dealings with the Silurians, which plays a part in deciding the course of action to take. The great Fulton Mackay is great as Quinn, a man who is by no means bad, but lets his ego lead him to his doom. Thomasina Heiner makes for a sympathetic Miss Dawson. Then, there is the welcome fact that the Silurians are given different personalities as well. There is the headstrong young Silurian who wants to have the ‘apes’ exterminated, and the old Silurian leader who is willing to consider peace with the humans. This leads to a power struggle that results in the young Silurian authorising the release of a plague to destroy the humans. These strands are woven expertly to make full use of seven episodes.

Visually, this story was the start of ‘Classic 70s Doctor Who’- colour videotape for the studio, colour 16mm film for location. It is a good time to point out something important here- PAL videotape looks a lot better than NTSC videotape, not just because of its higher resolution, but because of its superior colour bandwidth (Ironically, as the PAL masters are lost, we have to rely on the colours from an NTSC conversion). Even so, colour videotape is less ‘cinematographic’ than black and white videotape, but there is some excellent use of lighting in the cave sets. The location scenes are very exciting, with helicopter shots (and the helicopter used to shoot them!) and scenes of a large scale search party. The scenes where the plague takes London is shot with cinematic slickness and helps make part 6 a very exciting episode. Timothy Combe directs with great energy (despite a couple of gratuitous zooms) throughout. Barry Newbery’s set design is exemplary as usual, with special mention for the aforementioned cave sets and the cyclotron room, with the cyclotron itself being a simple, yet visually interesting design. The Silurians themselves, although a bit wobbly headed, have moving lips and actually look different from each other. The voices, by Peter Halliday, are also very effective. The less said about the dinosaur, the better, but it’s only in a couple of shots, as is the (soon to be ubiquitous) use of CSO.

The main quibble I have does not really relate to the story, but the science. If there is one area of science that the average child knows a lot about, it’s prehistoric life and I could have told you at the age of four that amphibians had not evolved in the Silurian, let alone intelligent reptiles. Still, I don’t think that Doctor Who and the Maastrichtians would have been anything like as effective a title. There are also problems with the nuclear physics and a misunderstanding of protective layers of the atmosphere. The story is, however, good enough to make me forget these inaccuracies. There is also the question of the music. It is mostly fine apart from, unfortunately, the ‘Silurian theme’ for which Carey Blyton, for some reason decided to use a crumhorn, an instrument famously described by Terry Pratchett as having ‘a sound like the ghost of a refried bean’. It sounds bizarre at the best of times and does threaten to undermine the action.

Jon Pertwee is captivating throughout as the Doctor. He is given a problem that is different from any other he has faced- save the humans, but attempt to make peace with the Silurians, and Pertwee performs marvellously with this in mind. Caroline John continues to make Liz an interesting and strong character- when she awakes after being knocked out by the fugitive Silurian, she doesn’t scream, she merely states ‘I saw one.’ Nicholas Courtney presents the Brigadier as a strong, intelligent man of action and his interplay with Pertwee is very interesting. The Doctor and the Brigadier clearly like each other, but they are still a long way from being friends.

This leads me to the ending. The Silurian plan has been thwarted and they remain in hibernation. As we prepare for the expected conclusion, we see the Doctor and Liz going to drive away in Bessie, after the Doctor has been assured the Silurians will be revived slowly, in order to negotiate peace. Then, we see the caves being blown up. The Government cannot take the responsibility of an intelligent race joining the humans on earth, so the Brigadier has been ordered to take drastic action. The Doctor is disgusted, a feeling we share. It is a shocking twist, ending a truly first rate story.

NEXT: The Ambassadors of Death