Doctor Who "The Sea Devils - Episode Five" (1972)

This is my favorite episode of the serial as it is a showcase of the Doctor and the Master dueling for the trust of the Sea Devils with the fate of humanity, or rather whether there will be a devastating war with humanity, in the balance. Both the Doctor and the Master possess the ability to persuade people to their point of view and the Master has the advantage in that he has already offered help to the Sea Devils to repair their hibernation units. The Doctor on the other hand is desperate to prevent what happened to the Silurians from repeating here and knows that the humans will not wait long for him to reach a peaceful solution. This is the Doctor at his best, advocating peace between two hostile and uncompromising sides. Unfortunately the fact that the Master is urging the Sea Devils to distrust the Doctor and the arrival of Walker (Martin Boddey) at the naval base it makes the tragedy inevitable.

The Chief Sea Devil (Peter Forbes-Robertson) is forced to make a decision based on the conflicting words of two strangers. The raspy voiced leader is a well-reasoned and logical individual, much like the Old Silurian in the previous serial. The intelligence of the Chief is apparent here as he realizes the Doctor is not lying even if the Master's claims of a weak humanity may be a bit more palatable for the Sea Devils. The main issue is that both species have a legitimate claim to the planet and recognizing that the Doctor is adamant to come to a compromise. If not for the ill-timed attack ordered by Walker, the Doctor would have succeeded in his mission and tragedy could have been averted.

Walker is an obvious desk jockey who has a high opinion of himself and his ability to bring a solution to this disaster. He has probably never been out in the field and only has a vague notion of how the decisions he makes so lightly will affect real people and their actual outcomes. He sees everything in black and white and is more concerned with feeding his face than listening to those who have witnessed the events that have led up to his being sent to the naval base. He quotes the national anthem and Shakespeare without giving any thought to the actual meaning of the words or the ramifications of his actions. In his mind he can do no wrong and it is a wonderful scene where the Doctor gives him a dressing down in front of everyone. Of course, the Doctor is forced to stroke the man's ego a bit when he wants to return to the Sea Devil base to make another plea for peace. The Doctor is at his manipulative best when he can convince a man he called an idiot a few minutes before to go along with his plan and hold off another attack.

Captain Hart and Jo get little to do other than protest Walker's decisions but it's nice to see how far Hart has come from his initial meeting with the Doctor. He's concerned for the Doctor's safety as equal to that of his own men. He only goes along with the attack as Walker has the authority and desire to replace him if he does not and by staying he can at least keep an eye out to make sure things don't get worse. Hart is also instrumental in convincing Walker that the Doctor is a man who should be listened to and if not for his support the Doctor may not have been successful in convincing him to go along with his plan.

Favorite moment: While in the Sea Devil base, the Doctor is able to rescue the submarine that had been captured and helps the captain and first officer to make good their escape. Once they re-take the bridge, the captain coldly kills the Sea Devil standing guard despite the Doctor's protests. The Doctor is outraged at the senseless murder and it's a great moment for Pertwee to showcase how the Doctor is not always so good-natured with regards to humans. He is equally frustrated with Walker when telling him his attack only succeeded in making the Sea Devils very angry. Despite the animosity between the Doctor and the captain after this exchange, the captain is forced to trust the Doctor's judgment in order to escape. Even when the Doctor is seething with anger he can convince anyone of just about anything.