Let's be kind and point out that some of the problems with this story were outwith the production team's control. Mrs Thatcher announced a surprise General Election in the UK, which meant that TV studios had to be made available for political programming. JNT could have asked for Season 21 to be held back, but elected to push ahead. Added to this, VFX designer Mat Irvine was delayed in joining the production as he was still working on something in Scotland. Instead of the usual 8 - 10 weeks lead time, he had to deliver effects in only 3 - 4.
The biggest issue was the inclusion of the Myrka, which not only had to be built but the two-man team operating it needed time to rehearse in the finished costume. As they were seasoned pantomime horse performers, having worked the horse Dobbin in children's comedy series Rentaghost this wasn't felt to be too big a problem. They were experienced working together in this sort of setup.
Unfortunately, the Myrka simply couldn't be finished in time to allow them the rehearsal they needed. They only got to don the costume on the day it was due to be recorded, when the paint was still wet and the glue hadn't dried properly.
Janet Fielding would get green paint on her costume, and you can actually see it getting onto the set in the finished programme.
Irvine and director Pennant Roberts urged JNT to drop the creature, rejigging the script to replace it with a Sea Devil vanguard. JNT, intending the Myrka to be a selling point for the story, refused to budge.
The Myrka quickly came to be regarded as a joke, a dodgy costume on a par with the Ergon and the Taran Wood Beast.
It's not just the actual Myrka costume which is a problem. As well as its bizarre off-centre walk, the door it breaks through is obviously not metal. You see it bend.
There are some poor performances. Ingrid Pitt claims that she simply didn't have time to properly rehearse her martial arts attack on the creature, leaving her looking rather stupid.
Tom Adam is wooden, and Ian McCulloch gives the impression of someone not taking things very seriously at all.
Design-wise, writer Johnny Byrne wanted the Sea Base to look dark and dank, with low lighting and rusty surfaces, as though it had been under the see for decades. This would have really helped the Myrka.
The harsh lighting affords no atmosphere whatsoever.
It is often claimed that this was an unused Space: 1999 script by Byrne, or a remake of one of the broadcast episodes. None match, however, though one of the very last shows of the second series - "The Beta Cloud" - sees a large monster moving inexorably through Moonbase Alpha, with the base personnel attempting to stop it.
Warriors of the Deep is supposed to be a direct sequel to The Silurians and The Sea Devils but - despite Byrne having had the chance to see the episodes and read the scripts - the new story does not match up with what went before.
The 1970 story did feature three prominent Silurians - the Old, the Young and the Scientist. They are never named - only in the novelisation - yet here we have a Silurian named Icthar who is supposed to be one of these, and that this group were known as "The Triad". The Old Silurian was killed, and the Young apparently so - shot by the Brigadier before the cave roof collapsed on his head - so Icthar can only be the Scientist. Where has the name come from, and how did the Doctor know that their leadership was known as "The Triad"?
It certainly can't be that the Doctor recognises the scientist, as Icthar looks nothing like him thanks to the costume redesign.
Part of this redesign is the third eye losing all of its earlier powers, reduced to flashing just to let you know who's talking.
Other knowledge which the Doctor gets from nowhere is the recognition of a Silurian battle cruiser, when no such thing has ever been seen before. He also knows about the Myrka, when he has never met that either.
He's not the only person demonstrating knowledge he shouldn't have. Vorshak starts talking about "Sea Devils" when no-one has told them what they are called.
Fans have tried to square the circle by postulating an unseen story in which all these things featured - but the problem with that is that the dialogue here clearly states that the Doctor has attempted peace twice before - which can only refer to the pair of Pertwee stories.
The monster costumes pose problems. The Sea Devil actors trip over their feet and the heads droop to the side or wobble when they move. The costumes come unstuck in places and you get to see the white T-shirts being worn underneath. You can see the eyes of one of the Silurian actors through their mask.
There's some terribly clumsy plotting - like the mention of both reptilian and marine life being susceptible to Hexachromite gas seconds after the Doctor steps out of the TARDIS. How lucky to have a big stock of it when Silurians and Sea Devils are going to attack. And it's one of those coincidences too far when the enemy agents just happen to pick the day the base is invaded by monsters to carry out their sabotage.
Maddox is the back-up Synch-Operator, but is only a student and clearly mentally unfit. If this base is so vital then why was an experienced Operator not jetted in immediately to replace the dead one? That death alone should have been treated as suspicious and acted upon.
The Doctor decides that it would be a good idea to wander around the base and ask for permission to carry out TARDIS repairs - despite knowing that he's in the middle of a war zone and the ship has only just been attacked.
Why leave the ship to carry out the work in the first place? He knows that no-one can get in, unless he's really, really stupid and leaves the doors open... Oh look! He's been really, really stupid and left the doors open...
And when the Doctor does come across some crew, he hides!
Not for the first time, seeing that he really does travel in a weird spaceship makes everyone automatically accept that everything he says must be true.
Not for the first time either - the monsters kill every single person they meet until they encounter a regular or guest star, then switch to just taking prisoners, like they've been working their way up the cast list in Radio Times.
I did notice that Tegan's limp suddenly vanishes in the final episode, but failed to spot that she acquires a bra between episodes...
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