Doctor Who Series 9 Episode 3 - Under The Lake (Part 1) - Review

Starring: Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, Sophie Stone & Zaqi Ismali

Written By: Toby Whithouse

Directed By: Daniel O'Hara

 

Zombies, werewolves, mummies and vampires – Doctor Who has touched on and featured all of them in some way. However, ghosts have never really enjoyed the same treatment. While they've been touched upon in episodes like Hide and The Unquiet Dead, the ghosts have always been revealed to be either aliens or there's been a sci-fi mumbo-jumbo explanation to be found. So could Under The Lake and Before The Flood be the story to feature Doctor Who's first proper ghosts?

 

The TARDIS brings the Doctor and Clara to an underwater base in the year 2119. Ever since the crew discovered an alien spaceship on the seabed, and have brought it aboard, they have found themselves under attack from ghosts – one of them being the ghost of their former commander Moran. Whilst trying to void off attacks from the ghosts, the Doctor and Clara must figure out what led to their arrival, and what it has to do with some strange alien symbols engraved into the wall of the spaceship.

 

Under The Lake manages to strike a perfect balance between old-fashioned storytelling, and new, original ideas. This is a classic base-under-siege story, and I really appreciate this return to a simpler kind of story. At the same time, there's a lot of complexity and timey-wimey business going on. Surprisingly, this two-parter is the first time that we've seen a Doctor Who story where we start quite late on into the overall events that led to this episode, and next week, we'll be going back in time to see what led to the arrival of the ghosts and their spaceship. It's only when watching this episode that you'll think “Why has the show never done this before?”. This is also the first time that we actually get to question whether our main adversaries could actually be full, proper ghosts. As I've said, Doctor Who has touched on ghosts in previous stories, but never quite to this extent and in this much depth.

 

Building a convincing underwater seabase set was always going to be a challenge, but it's brilliantly realized in this episode. Not only does the set design look wonderful, but its amazing on every front, including the lighting and direction. This is an incredibly well-lit episode, with all the light looking industrial and artificial, in both the “Day” and “Night” mode, and it's helped enormously by the blue and green hue that runs throughout. Combine this with some very well-made sets, especially the base's corridors, and I'm entirely immersed in this futuristic location. (Spoiler Warning!) We also have some stellar direction from Daniel O'Hara, that becomes particularly praiseworthy in scenes where the crew are being chased by the ghosts, and again towards the end, when the main corridors start flooding.

 

One terrific visual creation was the ghosts themselves. They're a simple design but at the same time, they're equally chilling. The mix of practical make-up effects on the face, and CGI to give a foggy and cloudy aura all around them works really well. Not to mention, being able to see through the gaping holes of their eyes, and being able to make out the back of their skull was pretty spooky, especially when we first see Pritchard's ghost. The ghosts also provide some genuinely scary moments throughout the episode. For example, at the start of the episode, where the Doctor and Clara meet the first ghosts, I honestly had a little jump-scare moment when Moran's ghost suddenly appeared through the wall next to Clara. However, special mention has to go the moment where Pritchard's ghost corners Lunn and looms over him, as if he's studying him. It's an incredibly tense moment, and once again, it's well-shot by Daniel O'Hara.

 

But Under The Lake is more than just ghosts and attractive production design. For one thing, this episode can boast what is easily the strongest supporting cast since Mummy On The Orient Express. All of the crew make for really good supporting characters, and I do care about whether or not they'll make it out alive in next week's instalment. Everyone gets their own scene that helps to flesh them out, such as O'Donnell being so clearly thrilled about the Doctor's arrival on the base, and Cass having to quickly adjust to, and assume command of the crew after Moran's death. That being said, there is one supporting character that doesn't fare anywhere near as well as the others, and that's Pritchard. Pritchard comes across as incredibly one-note and clichéd, and his single motive of money is exaggerated far too much for the character to be taken seriously. (Spoiler Warning!) I understand that he's not the most important character here, but it feels as though the script made the wrong decision of saying that it was okay to kill him because he's so unlikeable.

 

When watching this episode, it struck me just how refreshing it feels to have a story with its own elaborate mystery, but for it to be self-contained. Under The Lake benefits hugely from this, and so far all of the pieces fit together in Toby Whithouse's complex, timey-wimey mystery. Unlike a lot of Doctor Who's recent series-long arcs and mysteries, everything makes sense and the pieces all fit together, but there are still questions to be answered and I'm eager to get them in Before The Flood. Peter Capaldi's Doctor is another to benefit from the self-contained nature of this episode – it gives him his time to shine, and show off just how well he works with Jenna Coleman. Seeing the Doctor just getting on with solving the mystery in front of him, and getting worked up over the idea of proper ghosts actually existing is just so great to watch. The Doctor and Clara also get to share some great scenes together, particularly the prompt cards scene.

 

If there's one part of Under The Lake that doesn't work for me, it's the cliff-hanger. I'm aware that it has been highly praised by both fans and critics, and I won't spoil what happens here, but the fact that Under The Lake comes straight after The Magician's Apprentice and The Witch's Familiar, spoils it for me. The Doctor apparently “dying” or having to die yet again, so soon after the last two-parter, just felt repetitive and frankly got on my nerves. There's only so many time that you can threaten to kill off the main character before it becomes notably tedious. If it weren't for the Doctor being convinced he was going to die for the last two weeks, then in this case, the cliff-hanger would have been very effective.

 

Overall, Under The Lake is a very strong opener to what appears to be a brilliant two-parter. It's Toby Whithouse's strongest contribution to the show since School Reunion, with very strong production values, great writing, both on a character and story front, and an intriguing timey-wimey mystery that's free from plot holes and inconsistencies – something that has become increasingly rare in Doctor Who as of late.

Find my review of Part 2 here: https://ojgreviews.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/doctor-who-series-9-episode-4-before.html
 

 

Under The Lake



8/10

 So far ...