Underworld

I feel just like a goldfish looking out at a new world.

The Fourth Doctor

Synopsis

On the edge of the universe, the Doctor, Leela and K9 encounter a Minyan ship on a quest to find their race banks…but their people have encountered the Time Lords before.

Review

When reviewing Doctor Who, it is always difficult to avoid a story’s reputation. I’ve recently reviewed The Monster of Peladon, which has a bad reputation and enjoyed parts of it more than I was expecting. Underworld does, however, live up to its’ poor reputation.

There are some good ideas in Underworld, most notably setting a story at the edge of the universe and the history of the Miryans and their history with the Time Lords. Season 15 features two stories in which alien races have encountered the Time Lords, namely the Fendahl in Image of the Fendahl and the Minyans here. Both stories depict them as not being as altruistic as they would have been shown to be prior to The Deadly Assassin. The Minyans’ society was ultimately set on their path to disruption by the Time Lords and had were seen as Gods. The Doctor mournfully tells Leela that Minyos was the origin of the non-interference policy. Ultimately, Underworld devolves into a story about a society ran by an insane computer and it just feels as though we’ve trodden this ground far too much and far better in this decade of Doctor Who.

Underworld almost feels as though it is the show processing the change in producer on screen. Bob Baker and Dave Martin were solid and dependable writers for Doctor Who, as demonstrated by the fact that both Barry Letts and Philip Hinchcliffe would use the ‘Bristol Boys’ so frequently. It’s unsurprising then that Graham Williams may have turned to them in Season 15, needing steady hands at the tiller as the show steered away from the darkness and gothic tone of the Hinchcliffe era towards a lighter tone that would be encapsulated by the emergence of Douglas Adams in the following season and a move towards more comedic tones. This does feel like a Baker and Martin script by the numbers though, and it feels as though it could have benefitted from another couple of passes or at least a little more attention.The budget was also spent by the outgoing production team and no story in Season 15 betrays this more than Underworld.

When Wild Blue Yonder came out last December, some on social media pointed out the parallels between that story and this one, with the main difference being that Wild Blue Yonder had a budget. That is certainly the crux of the difficulties that Underworld has. It does not help that the caves of the planet are superimposed on the background by means of Colour Separation Overlay, meaning that as actors walk (or trundle) through the caves, they frequently lose their limbs as they clip the background. It also possibly doesn’t help that the flight deck of the R1C features some rather uncomfortable looking beige sofas. Despite the lack of budget, there is some good model and effects work, such as the debris sticking to the hull of the ship or taking off from the P7E. The direction feels very static and stationery, which really doesn’t help a story that has nothing really visually stimulating, and the colour palette feels as though it is overwhelmingly beige.

There’s really nothing in the guest cast that really stands out. I feel as though we are supposed to feel attached to the crew of the P7E. The most interesting one is Herrick, played by Alan Lake, who indicates that he does not trust the Doctor given the Time Lords’ history with the Minyans, but again, the story doesn’t really do anything with this. The story also wants the audience to believe that Herrick has been killed on a raid on the Seers compound, but Herrick is symptomatic of a wider problem with the guest cast, which is that they are just not fleshed out enough.

Equally, Tom Baker feels off here. I appreciate that the production of this story was probably not the easiest to work on, but Baker seems particularly spiky which adds an edge to this story which feels unnecessary. He still gets some good moments, like his final exchange with the Oracle, which feel quintessentially Doctor-y, but the rest of the story feels almost uncomfortable. This is the first time that I’ve really felt that Baker and his co-star, Louise Jameson, are not getting on. I think it may be clearer here because the story isn’t really sure what to do with them and so it feels as though they spend more time together.

Verdict: Underworld has some good ideas but doesn’t do enough with them to elevate it beyond the production problems that it is unfortunately a victim of. 2/10

Cast: Tom Baker (The Doctor), Louise Jameson (Leela), John Leeson (Voice of K9), James Maxwell (Jackson), Alan Lake (Herrick), Jonathan Newfe (Orfe), Imogen Bickford-Smith (Tala), James Marcus (Rask), Godfrey James (Tarn), Jimmy Gardner (Idmon), Norman Tipton (Idas), Jay Neill (Klimt), Frank Jarvis (Ankh), Richard Shaw (Lakh), Stacey Tendeter (Naia) & Christine Pollon (Voice of the Oracle).

Writer: Bob Baker & Dave Martin

Director: Norman Stewart

Producer: Graham Williams

Composer: Dudley Simpson

Original Broadcast Dates: 7th – 28th January 1978

Parts: 4

Behind the Scenes

• The story had the working title of Underground.
• Bob Baker and Dave Martin were tasked by Anthony Reed to write a story based on Jason and the Quest for the Golden Fleece.
• As the budget had been hit by inflation, this story featured the most Colour Separation Overlay in the show’s history. In order to preserve the budget for The Invasion of Time, the entirety of the alien planet had to be realised through this technology. This had a negative impact on the cast, especially Tom Baker, who became increasingly agitated and caused further strain on the relationship between him and Louise Jameson.
• In the Doctor Who Magazine polls held in 1998, 2009, 2014 and 2023, Underworld has been ranked lowest of all the Fourth Doctor serials. The 2003 poll used a different voting system and Underworld was one of six stories not to receive a vote.
• All four episodes run short of their allotted time, meaning that there had to be longer recaps.

Cast Notes

• James Marcus had previously played a peasant in Invasion of the Dinosaurs.
• Jimmy Gardner had previously appeared in Marco Polo playing Chenchu.
• This was the third and final appearance of Jay Neill, whose three appearances were all in the Fourth Doctor era. He had previously played a pikeman in The Masque of Mandragora and Silvey in The Invisible Enemy.
• Frank Jarvis had previously played a corporal in The War Machines and would go on to play Skart in The Power of Kroll.
• The third and final appearance of Richard Shaw in Doctor Who. He had previously appeared in The Space Museum, playing Lobos, and Cross in Frontier in Space.

Best Moment

It is a small moment – it always would be in Underworld. When the Doctor and Leela are told by Jackson that they are not allowed to join the expedition to the planet’s surface. They turn and walk away from the airlock, then in unison, turn and exit the ship. It’s a lovely, if brief, moment, in a story that has few shining lights.

Best Quote

There are no gods but me! Have I not created myself? Do I not rule? Am I not all-powerful?

Well, yes, here you are, but nowhere else – you’re just another machine with megalomania, heh, another insane object! Another self-aggrandizing artifact! You’re nothing! Nothing but a mass of superheated junk with delusions of grandeur!

The Oracle and the Fourth Doctor

Previous Fourth Doctor review: The Sun Makers

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