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Fury From the Deep Format Reviewed: CD Review Fury From the Deep is a six part story that only now has an audio track due to the BBC's policy of destroying the videotape of old programs. The era most affected is Patrick Troughton, and again this is another second Doctor story lost to the mists of time. The location for this story is an offshore network of gas platforms, a subject that through work I have quite a lot of knowledge about so I was keen to use that knowledge to spot any errors that may have been put in. Also of note here is that Fury From the Deep marks the debut of a much loved piece of Doctor Who equipment, the sonic screwdriver. The sonic screwdriver is used relatively consistently right into the new series and has become one of the iconic things about the whole show. The TARDIS lands off the North Sea coast and the crew are attacked by tranquiliser darts only to wake in the control room in a gas refinery. They are accused of tampering with the pipeline as it is down on pressure from a set of gas platforms out to sea. Several strange events are going on however, and the impeller is losing power meaning gas isn't effectively coming out from the rigs. People are being 'stung' by seaweed and then being controlled by it, and eventually a race against time ensues with the Doctor just managing to find something to fight the seaweed effectively before the complex is overrun. Fortunately, all those affected by the seaweed are released from its control, and the Doctor can eventually depart but leaving Victoria behind as she is tired of being in peril with the Doctor. The concept of living seaweek creatures with a central intellignece feeding off natural gas is interesting, and akin to the Triffids stories that teffified me as a child. As this is an audio only adventure, it is an interesting point as to whether the special effects would have let down the story therfore meaning the audio works better, or would have enhanced the story meaning we have lost out. On balance, I believe that the effoects might have detracted from the story. What we don't get accross in the audio though is the sinister and terrifying nature of Oak and Quill who I firmly believe would have terrified me visually as a kid. Purely analysing this story as an audio adventure though, I would say that the suspense is very well managed, but certain elements don't work that well on audio that would on video. For example, the open mouthed hissing of toxic gas by people taken over by the seaweed would work so much better on video. It needs some clear narration for it to work on audio, and therefore doesn't really scare the listener. The regular cast does a solid job here, but Deborah Watling as Victoria is largely confined to screaming whenever the seaweed shows itself. Patrick Troughton as the Doctor gives one of his best performances, alongside which Frazer Hines as Jamie performs well. All of the guest cast are good, with Victor Maddern possibly slightly the weakest as Robson, The strongest performances come from Roy Spencer as Harris and more briefly Margaret John as Megan Jones who both come accross very well. A final mention should go to John Gill and Bill Burridge who played Oak and Quill respectively. They really do come accross as the sinister characters they are intended to play, and give powerful cameos both. Fury From the Deep is generally regarded as one of the better stories of this era, and that reputation is quite well founded. As an audio adventure though, there are some issues I have with it. THe first is that some parts feel a bit slapstick to me, with the foam especially seeming like comic padding in a serious environment. The seaweed and foam scenes also are predominently visual scenes and therefore do not come across marvellously well with lots of ooh's, argh's and screams accompanied by Farzer Hines' narration. That said, throughout the story there is a sinister air that really does make the story compulsive listening. When you finish listening to one episode you will have the urge to dive straight into the next. The continuity and correctness about the connected gas platforms was also impressive to me, as the setup they had there was realistic and similar to some other installations I have a working knowledge of. Overall, Fury From the Deep is a good story that in parts works excellently on audio, but fails in others to really convey what we should be watching on screen. It is therefore a real shame when a great but visual story is lost to us on videotape as I feel deprived of some great entertainment. Nevertheless, the CD presentation of Fury From the Deep is well worth listening too, and the air of suspense and the sinister tone really do keep the listener interested from the first scene to the end credits. Rating:  |