 As a script this story was in development for over a year. Despite this because of the late completion of Geoffrey Orme's scripts (partially due to Frazer Hines, as Jamie McCrimmon, becoming a regular member of the cast barely a month before this story was due to start production) a planned New Year's Eve start date for the studio recording had to be delayed by a week (to the 7th January 1967). The result of this meant that as of this story the show was being recorded just one week ahead of transmission, an undeniably precarious situation which permitted the production team little room for error.
The normal studio recording of part four, on 28th January 1967, was unusually, prefaced by the taping of its very last scene: out-of-order recording was still a rarity for Doctor Who. This episode also featured the last appearance of The Doctor's stovepipe hat - the more overtly clownish elements of Patrick Troughton's costume had been gradually been toned down or removed since his debut in "The Power of the Daleks".
This story constitutes Jamie's first journey as a travelling companion with The Doctor in the TARDIS.
Noel Johnson, appearing as King Thous, was better known as the voice of Dick Barton in the famous radio serial Dick Barton: Special Agent. He would later play Grover in the 1974 Third Doctor story "Invasion of the Dinosaurs".
This story provides the first of three different explanations for the sinking of Atlantis in Doctor Who, the other two being in the 1971 and 1972 Third Doctor stories "The Dæmons" and "The Time Monster". Whereas "The Underwater Menace" depicts the destruction of an already sunken civilisation in the late twentieth century, "The Dæmons" has it as one unspecific claim by Azal as he rants, and in "The Time Monster", we witness Kronos destroying a temple and no more.
In the opening TARDIS scene, Polly Wright, Ben Jackson and The Doctor are each heard 'thinking' about where they would like to land next. (Polly hopes for Chelsea in 1966, Ben does not to want to meet the Daleks and The Doctor relishes the idea of encountering prehistoric monsters.) This was achieved by prerecording the actors' voices and playing them back during the making of the episode.
When the TARDIS lands Polly thinks they're in Cornwall again (see "The Smugglers").
A choir, the Cliff Adam Singers, was used for background music in the temple.
The Doctor signs a note to Professor Zaroff as ‘Dr. W.’ - apparently again suggesting he does have a surname. (see "The Highlanders").
Zaroff is described as 'the greatest living scientist since Leonardo'.
In Orme's original draft scripts, Zaroff's motivation was explained as being a sort of warped revenge for the deaths of his wife and children in a car crash. This was edited out before recording.
Location filming for episodes one and four took place at the Dorset quarry of Winspit, the same location used in the 1979 Fourth Doctor story "Destiny of the Daleks".
The story is frequently criticized for its poor production values, which were due to a combination of last-minute production and an ambitious script. It is therefore considered by some to be the worst of the Second Doctor’s era.
This story is the second Doctor Who story and also the last Doctor Who story directed by Julia Smith (her previous story being "The Smugglers"). She did though continue to direct for programmes including Z Cars and Dr Finlay's Casebook before becoming a producer in the Seventies, subsequently taking the reins of such shows as Angels and EastEnders.
Unfortunately, only the second and third episodes currently exist in the BBC Archives. Following an audit in 1978 only episode three was held by the BBC Film and Videotape Library. However, the second episode was returned, in December 2011, by a private collector. This story was released on DVD, in October 2015, using a reconstruction of still images, and the original soundtrack, for the missing episodes 1 and 4.
As both previous stories "The Power of the Daleks" and "The Highlanders" are both missing, episode two of this story is the earliest surviving episode to feature Patrick Troughton as The Doctor and also Frazer Hines as companion Jamie.
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The Firsts:
The first trip in the TARDIS for new companion Jamie McCrimmon played by Frazer Hines.
The first of three stories giving different explanations for the sinking of Atlantis in the show.
The first Doctor Who story to be written by Geoffrey Orme.
Episode three is the first Second Doctor story to still exist in the BBC archives. It is therefore the earliest to feature Patrick Troughton as The Doctor and also Frazer Hines as companion Jamie McCrimmon.
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(Position = 156 out of 159)
(Position = 194 out of 200)
