So put on your diplomat hat, Governor, it’s time to represent the human race.
The Ninth Doctor
Synopsis
As the Doctor joins explorers deep in the methane seas, they discover a hidden civilisation. But will the Sea Devils prove to be the colony’s salvation or its final destruction?
Key Facts
| Doctor | Ninth (Christopher Eccleston) | Director | Ken Bentley |
| Range | The Ninth Doctor Adventures – Hidden Depths | Producer | David Richardson |
| Original release date | 23 November 2022 | Music | Howard Carter |
| Writer | Lizbeth Myles |
Cast
| Sasha Behar (Diana Hendry), Yasmin Mwanza (Rachel Bates/Taroth), Ferdy Roberts (Soloman Read) & Nicholas Briggs (Mirtar/Sea Devils). |
Review
The Seas of Titan kicks off the seventh Ninth Doctor box set from Big Finish since Christopher Eccleston returned to the role. That seemed inconceivable ten years ago. Now Eccleston seems to be firmly in the Big Finish fold. This story sees him face off against another of the show’s classic foes in the Sea Devils.
It’s clear from the behind-the-scenes on this and other releases in this range that Eccleston really appreciates the quality of the writers working for Big Finish. In this case, that is Lizbeth Myles. That’s an opinion that I happen to share of Myles’ writing. From her contributions to the now sadly ended Verity podcast, she clearly understands how storytelling in Doctor Who should work. The Seas of Titan does create a compelling environment and atmosphere for the moon of Saturn. We really get the feeling that the human colony has been forgotten by Earth, Rachel describes it as the dregs, a victim of progress that has outgrown the need for the colony as technology has developed. That is contrasted with the city beneath the methane sea, which is technologically advanced. In a weird parallel to the recent spin-off The War Between the Land and the Sea, the story culminates with the human colonists living with the Sea Devils under the sea.
This story is contained on the Hidden Depths box set, and this is particularly literal here, as under the seas of this moon, there is a colony of Sea Devils, living in a technologically advanced city. The Sea Devils, or reptilia sapiens, to give them their preferred name, and the humans are both colonists on Titan, however, as with the Earth, humanity reached this outpost after the reptilian species. That gives us an interesting new spin on the relationship between these two species, as neither has a historical claim to the territory. Where the story does fall down though is that it does not do anything particularly new with the Sea Devils. Stories featuring the Sea Devils and their Silurian cousins always tend to boil down to negotiations between them and the humans since their debut. I will say though that I have not listened to all stories featuring these two races. It feels particularly egregious here when the Sea Devils are using a mutation of the virus used in Doctor Who and the Silurians on the human colonists. Thinking about another foe, the Ice Warriors, who went under a significant change in The Curse of Peladon, made me think that both the Silurians and Sea Devils could do with a similar treatment. A story where maybe humanity have arrived on a planet first would at least turn the dynamic on its head. Nicholas Briggs and Yasmin Mwanza do a good job of playing the main two Sea Devils, Mirtar and Taroth. Mirtar is the more diplomatic and trusting character, whilst Taroth is the more aggressive chief scientist who opposes dealing with the Doctor and the humans in any form. The distrust of the humans feels more developed – they do not like the fact that the colony are dependent on the minerals in the methane sea. There is also resentment from the humans, but this does feel a bit last-minute. Perhaps this story would have benefitted from being two parts.
What do you prefer, death by fire or by ice?
I’d really like a third option.
The Ninth Doctor and Diana Hendry
Christopher Eccleston has definitely seamlessly stepped back into the role of the Ninth Doctor, and gives another commanding performance here. There are moments that reflect moments in his series on television, like his frustration with humanity and lack of awareness of social cues, which I appreciated. He is definitely here in the role of a mediator, as with Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor in The Hungry Earth and Cold Blood, trying to find some way of the two races to coexist peacefully. One of my favourite parts of this wisdom was that the Sea Devils and humans both want to kill each other, which is common ground for negotiations!
The Doctor is joined for this story by companion of the the week, Diana. Diana is a research scientist who is interested in the seas of Titan, which she explores in a submarine made out of satellite wreckage due to limited available resources. She is played well by Sasha Behar, with real fire and passion to explore once she discovers the Sea Devils beneath the sea. She does not tolerate any uncertainty in the negotiations between the two races, knocking out and kidnapping the Governor to ensure that he makes it to the underwater city, making the Doctor a little uneasy. Her assistant, Rachel, played by Yasmin Mwanza, knows more than she is letting on and attempts to stop the Doctor and Diana reaching the Sea Devils.
Verdict: The Seas of Titan is a good story, let down by a seemingly rushed conclusion. Eccleston is great and the worldbuilding is strong, but it could have benefitted from being a two-part story. 6/10
Cast Notes
| Sasha Behar | Played Spurrina in The Fires of Pompeii. She has also appeared in the Big Finish audio plays Songs of Love and Stop the Clock. |
| Yasmin Mwanza | Mwanza has appeared in a number of other Big Finish audio plays, including The Slaying of the Writhing Mass, The Miniaturist and Intelligence for War. |
Best Quote
Look, if I was going to sabotage your little project, I wouldn’t land in it and introduce myself, would I?
Depends on how stupid you think we are.
Right now, very!
The Ninth Doctor and Rachel Bates
Previous Ninth Doctor review: Break the Ice
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