Quotes
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"It's my own fault. I should, er, I should have changed it for a Type 57 while I had the chance." ~ The Fifth Doctor"Please hurry, Doctor. That thing isn't going to lie there contemplating its navel forever." ~ Tegan
Tegan: Must be some kind of research station.
The 5th Doctor: No, no, it's a Sea Base. A rather special kind of undersea military colony. Help me get this open, would you? Armed with the sort of missiles that kill life but leave everything else intact.
Turlough: Proton?
The 5th Doctor: Very probably.
The 5th Doctor: Hexachromite gas. It's part of a sealing compound for undersea structures. It's lethal to marine and reptile life. I thought they would have banned it by now.
Tegan: Progress doesn't seem to have solved anything.
The 5th Doctor: No.
Tegan: Why have we come in here?
The 5th Doctor: You didn't read what it said outside?
Tegan: That's why I'm asking. I don't like running into chambers that have Radiation, Keep Out written on the door.
"When I say run, run. Run!" ~ The Fifth Doctor
Tegan: Doctor, I thought you were dead.
The 5th Doctor: Yeah, so did I for a moment.
Turlough: I've told him, and now I'm trying to tell you. We are not enemy agents, saboteurs
Nilson: Then why were you attempting to destroy the reactor?
Turlough: If the Doctor had intended to destroy it, it would be lying in pieces at your feet.
Tegan: What in the world can I hope to achieve out here?
The 5th Doctor: My peace of mind.
PrestonN [OC]: We've found the intruder's craft. It's amazing. It isn't of this planet.
Vorshak: Is it armed?
Preston [OC]: Not that we can tell.
Tegan: When did you meet the Silurians, Doctor?
The 5th Doctor: A long time ago. I let them down then, it seems I'll do so again.
Tegan: Are they hostile?
The 5th Doctor: They're honourable. All they ever wanted to do was live in peace.
The 5th Doctor: Brave heart, Tegan.
Tegan: Brave heart? That thing's going to kill us.
Tegan: What do we do if the Myrka breaks in, Doctor?
The 5th Doctor: Well, hopefully we can stop it before it does too much damage.
Tegan: You said yourself it's practically indestructible.
The 5th Doctor: Yes, we all have an Achilles' heel, Tegan, including the Myrka.
Vorshak: I should have you shot.
The 5th Doctor: After I've dealt with the Myrka.
The 5th Doctor: The Myrka is a creature of the inkiest depths, or it was until the Silurians tinkered with its biology. Anyway, it has little tolerance to light and hopefully none at all to ultraviolet rays.
Tegan: Can you be sure?
The 5th Doctor: No, Tegan. Perhaps you should ask it nicely to go away.
"All right, Tegan, close your eyes. Make a wish!" ~ The Fifth Doctor
Ichtar: Defensive war, Doctor. There is a distinction. Silurian law forbids any other.
The 5th Doctor: Defensive? There's no such thing. When we last met, your supreme wish was to live at peace with the other inhabitants of this planet. Now, why change such an enlightened policy now?
Ichtar: Our policy has always been peaceful survival. All that has changed is the means by which it can be achieved.
Tegan: There is, Doctor. A final solution.
The 5th Doctor: Genocide? When everything you Silurians hold sacred forbids it?
Tegan: We will harm no one. These ape primitives will destroy themselves. We, Doctor, will merely provide the pretext.
The 5th Doctor: You'll trigger the war this Base was designed to fight.
Tegan: Yes. And these human beings will die as they have lived, in a sea of their own blood.
"The technology of these creatures predates yours by millions of years. If they intend to fire those missiles, they have the means, I assure you." ~ The Fifth Doctor
"You forget. Twice we offered the hand of friendship to these ape-descended primitives, and twice we were treacherously attacked, our people slaughtered. It will not happen again." ~ Ichtar
Turlough: Back to the Tardis.
Tegan: No, not the Tardis, the bridge. They've got the Doctor up there as well as the Commander. Do you think we can get them both away?
Turlough: What is it about Earth people that makes them think a futile gesture is a noble one?
The 5th Doctor: And kill them?
Preston: Why not? They're about to start a war that will destroy everyone on Earth.
The 5th Doctor: I sometimes wonder why I like the people of this miserable planet so much. The Silurians and Sea Devils are noble races. They have skills and talents you pathetic humans can only dream about.
Turlough: That doesn't alter what they're about to do.
Turlough: They're all dead, you know.
The 5th Doctor: There should have been another way.
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Trivia
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"Warriors of the Deep" marked the first appearance of the Silurians since 1970's "Doctor Who and the Silurians" and the Sea Devils since "The Sea Devils". The original Sea Devil costumes were all lost or destroyed at the time of production. All that remained was a head, which was on display in the BBC museum. The head was used to make a mold for the new Sea Devil costumes, with the side fins removed in order to incorporate their helmets.
It was decided that the lights on the Silurian heads should flash as they were speaking. This was because the mouths of the costumes could not move, and there was otherwise no way of knowing which Silurian was speaking.
Problems arose with the Silurian and Sea Devil costumes. The actors within experienced ventilation issues, exacerbated by the heat wave afflicting England at the time. Furthermore, the Silurian outfits had a tendency to buckle around the neck, and this resulted in the mask being improperly fitted to the body on some occasions. The Sea Devil costumes, with their large webbed feet, hindered mobility, and the helmets were too heavy, making the heads tilt to one side and cause the actors' vision to be obscured.
Johnny Byrne wrote the story as a Cold-War allegory. He wanted to explore the dynamics of a world in which two supremely powerful blocs sit in opposition to one another, each waiting for the other to pull the trigger. In particular, Byrne was interested in the notion that those in charge of the weapons might not be reliable in an atmosphere of such heightened tension.
The story, however, was largely re-written by Eric Saward, who added more death and violence to the story, much to Byrne's dismay. For example, Icthar, Vorshak and Preston had all survived in the original script. Saward decided to kill them off to portray the brutality of the events.
Drawing inspiration from the Space: 1999 episode The Guardian Of Piri, which he script-edited, Byrne intentionally avoided using any recognizable names for the two power blocs involved in his adventure; to this end, he implied that his supporting characters emanated from a variety of nationalities.
Byrne was disappointed by the look of Sea Base 4. It was decided that the sets should be brightly lit. This had the effect of downplaying the elements of intrigue, horror and suspense in the story. Byrne recalled, "I was very specific in my description of the base - rusting, leaking, virtually forgotten by all except those on board - the atmosphere and look was something like Alien with the Myrka essentially a lurking deadly presence waiting to reveal itself."
Byrne was particularly unhappy with The Myrka. "Nowhere did I describe it (the Myrka) as a four-legged beast on loan from Panto-Horses-Are-Us".
"Warriors of the Deep" ran into problems early in its production when Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher announced a Parliamentary election. This created a sudden demand for BBC studio space, and as a result the production schedule for the story unexpectedly lost two weeks. Production was completed, but many signs of hurried production are evident. Many scenes had little or no rehearsal, and many scenes received only one take.
Many in the cast and production crew have expressed a sense of disappointment with the quality of the finished show. The DVD commentary by visual effects designer Mat Irvine, script editor Eric Saward, Peter Davison and Janet Fielding contained many criticisms of Pennant Roberts' direction of the story and John Nathan-Turner's production of the program, as well as comments on the special effects, sets and other production problems.
For example, Davison relates that at the end of episode one, he actually performed the stunt where The Doctor jumps into a pool of water, which was ice cold. He was assured that the water would be warm, but the BBC didn't have the budget for warm water.
Perhaps the biggest problem came with the Myrka costume. It was supposed to be ready for the first studio day, to give actors John Asquith and William Perrie an opportunity to rehearse. The Myrka had been designed in the manner of a pantomime horse, with two operators positioned in either end of the costume. However, John Nathan-Turner was informed that not only would the Myrka be unavailable for rehearsals, but the costume would not be physically ready. JNT informed Visual Effects that he had no choice but to use the Myrka, regardless of its condition.
In the end it was completed only an hour or so before it was scheduled to be used, so that the two puppeteers inside could not be fitted. The costume smelled strongly of paint and adhesive, which one puppeteer said made him feel like he was sniffing glue. The paint on the costume had not dried by the time filming started, and tended to rub off on the sets and other costumes, as can be spotted in several scenes.
Furthermore, Asquith and Perrie found the costume very difficult to manipulate, and consequently the Myrka was not nearly as mobile as anticipated. This resulted in many of the scenes involving the monster coming across as very awkwardly staged. It is regarded as one of Doctor Who's least impressive monsters.
In the third episode there is a comical scene where Solow attempts to fight the Myrka by dealing it a karate kick. This was actress Ingrid Pitt's idea, drawing from her knowledge of martial arts. Solow is electrocuted as a result. It was this footage, amongst others, that was later to be presented by BBC executives who wanted to axe Doctor Who.
It was during production of this story that Davison and Fielding announced their departures from the series. JNT had offered Davison a fourth season in his role but, reportedly advised by Patrick Troughton, Davison chose to limit his time in the role to three seasons to avoid typecasting (the unwritten "Troughton Rule")
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Trailer & Links
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DVD available for purchase from Amazon.com,
download from iTunes, or watch via streaming on Hulu Plus.
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