The Sea Devils

Way back in 1992, the BBC had thrillingly decided to begin a season of Doctor Who repeats on BBC2. But despite the continuity announcer mentioning "the seven faces of the Doctor" just before the start of "Resistance is Useless", which (proceeded by "The Time Meddler") kicked off the season, the repeats shuddered to a halt after the close of "The Sea Devils". 15-year old Disappointed from Clacton-on-Sea immediately wrote in to complain. The BBC duly wrote back, promising to air the later incarnations the next year, and secretly deciding to give this young upstart everything he deserved by eventually dishing up familiar favourites "Genesis", "Caves" and.. er.. "Battlefield".

The screening of those stories, wonderful though they all are (even "Battlefield"), didn't really count because they were widely available or, in the case of "Battlefield", not even that exciting a prospect - it took me a whole week to work out to which story the voice over the end credits of "Revelation" was referring when she promised "warriors from another dimension" the following week. But for the first half of the repeats, the choices just about damn-near perfect. It's hard to remember a time when there were a mine of classic stories that nobody had ever seen; "The Sea Devils" was an inspired choice for a repeat viewing, because it sat comfortably at some point halfway up the totem of fan opinion; not over lauded like "Tomb", and yet not cruelly mocked like "Meglos" or "The Time Monster" either. Best of all, it was a story designed to be watched over six weeks in twenty-five minute doses, which was exactly how they were intended to repeat it.

The story also had, and to some extent still has, a cosy aura of nostalgia fuelled by those gorgeously shot publicity photos of Jon Pertwee karate chopping a Sea Devil in the eerily lit Sea Fort. There were days when such beautifully rendered stills seemed like doorways to a magic dimension when Doctor Who was always brilliant. When eventually seen, and lacking the same clarity of colour, many old episodes would shatter these illusions many years later, and even "The Sea Devils" looks better when captured in those moody, motionless frames. But the real thing offers some pleasant surprises too, like the suspenseful way the Fort scenes in Episode 1 are filmed, the Doctor and Jo's exploration being shown from a number of strange and dizzying angles with continual tantalising flashes of the pursuing Sea Devil hiding in the gloom.

The 1992 screening gave new viewers the chance to see the episodes as they were made to be seen, even prompting swearing and fist-waving by deciding to show episode 5 five minutes earlier than usual. It's only when given such chances that you realise how much better Doctor Who is when watched in context. I looked forward to every new week of that story, with each new episode offering the required helping of suspense, run-around and lots of rampaging monsters attacking Captain Hart's Naval Base. When you watch a six part story in one go, the same events cooked up to entertain for twenty five minutes are invariably going to add up to a whole lot of padding. When watched week for week, its more a case of being entertained for just the right stretch of time.

Unfortunately the Sea Devils themselves come unstuck a bit later on when fully revealed; having one on the submarine was a mistake, especially as for some reason it's been painted a different colour. And carelessly they always emerge from the sea in packs of exactly six, as my Dad took joy in pointing out as we watched the story. But there is again a cosy familiarity now gleaned from watching the odd, gangly creations lurching up the beach to the accompaniment of a bizarre score by Malcolm Clarke. Seemingly stitched together by a tone-deaf futurist on a randomly operating electronic organ, it refuses to avoid forming a permanent association with the story.

I feel sure I wouldn't have loved "The Sea Devils" half as much had I bought it as an expensive video double pack some years later and tried to absorb it in just a couple of sittings. Away from being able to switch on each week and lose oneself in the fun for half an hour, the endless to-ing and fro-ing between Naval Base and Sea Devil base via mine field and submarine would leave the pondering of unwelcome wider questions... contemplating the destination instead of enjoying the scenery. "The Sea Devils" is a trip worth enjoying a little at a time, as they first did back in 1972. And luckily our generation were given the same chance to enjoy it as intended all those years later.