The Sea Devils

"We have other colonies hidden round the world. We shall be the victors in the war against mankind!"

The Doctor and Jo Grant visit their old enemy the Master, who is the sole inmate of a top security prison on a remote island off the south coast of England. Local shipping has been plagued by a series of tragic accidents and several ships have been lost. Joining forces with Captain Hart of the H.M.S. Seaspite naval base, the Doctor learns that there have been garbled reports of sea monsters. Colonel Trenchard, Governor of the Master's prison, believes that the ships are being attacked by enemy spies. The Master himself seems to be a reformed man and claims to have turned away from his life of crime.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The Master has in fact made contact with the Sea Devils, aquatic cousins of the prehistoric Silurian race encountered by the Doctor some time ago. Having slept beneath the sea for millions of years, the Sea Devils have awoken and intend to reclaim what they consider to be their planet. Aided and abetted by the evil Master, who will stop at nothing to take revenge on those who imprisoned him, the Sea Devils plan to eliminate the human race, a species they regard as nothing more than upstart apes . . .

• Following on the heels of the popular Silurians (see "Doctor Who and the Silurians"), the Sea Devils were created as an underwater version of the ancient reptile civilization.

• Roger Delgado also returns as the Master, picking up where the story left off in "The Daemons."

• Although Delgado had an aversion of swimming (and indeed, had never learned how to in his life), he pushed forward and filmed some key scenes in the water.  A testament to the man's professionalism.

• One interesting footnote, apparently the Doctor Who Restoration Team spent some time repairing a copy of episode 5.  However, when the story was released on video, the BBC used an earlier version of poorer quality.  Exactly why this happened is unknown.

• Pay close attention to Katy Manning (Jo Grant) as she climbs the ladder of an abandoned oil rig.  Miss Manning's stunt double is a man!  :)

• Also take time to note the huge overwhelming army of Sea Devils that storms the naval base... all five of them.  Sends a chill up your spine, doesn't it?

• The Sea Devils, although a popular enemy, wouldn't return to Doctor Who until 14 years later in the Peter Davison story "Warriors of the Deep."