 "Underworld" is the penultimate story of Season Fifteen, and the first which Script Editor Anthony Read had complete creative control.
As requested by Anthony Read writers Bob Baker and Dave Martin based this story on Greek mythology - in particular to Jason and the Argonauts, and their quest for the Golden Fleece. The borrowing of many elements and parallels from Greek mythology was repeated in the 1979/80 story "The Horns of Nimon" - although "Underworld" is the more subtle of the two. References in this story include the "Minyan" race (related to the Minoans), the search for P7E (Persephone) the R1C (Argosy), and character names such as Jackson (Jason), Orfe (Orpheus), Herrick (Heracles), Tala (Atalanta), Idmon and Idas.
This connection is also highlighted in the cliffhanger at the end of the first episode where the R1C is pummelled by asteroids - a reference to Jason’s encounter with the Symplegades, also called the Clashing (or Cyanean) Rocks. These were large boulders situated along the Bosphorus which haphazardly smashed into one another, destroying any ship which was caught in-between. The grove on the island of Colchis in which the Golden Fleece hung was guarded by serpents, and this was the inspiration for the P7E’s defence system. The name for the Oracle itself was borrowed from a number of Greek prophetesses (often associated with the god Apollo), the most famous being the Oracle at Delphi. Finally at the end of the story The Doctor is actually heard likening Jackson and his journey to Jason and the Argonauts, and the quest for the Golden Fleece.
Greek mythology was not the only source used for this story. Ankh was named for an Egyptian symbol for life, while Lakh is an Indian word for ‘one hundred thousand’, referring to the timespan of the Minyans’ search for the P7E. More modern figures were also referenced: Rask was named for nineteenth-century Danish philologist Ramus Rask, Tarn for nineteenth-century French poet Pauline Tarn (who wrote under the nom de plume Renée Vivien), and Klimt for early twentieth-century Austrian painter Gustav Klimt. Each of these had engaged in various works associated with ancient Greece. The Leibemann maser weapons were named for early twentieth-century German painter Max Liebermann. Finally, writers Bob Baker and Dave Martin drew upon their own recent Doctor Who scripts by giving the Minyans a motto: ‘The Quest is the Quest’. This followed in the tradition of their previous catchphrases, ‘Eldrad must live’ (from "The Hand of Fear") and ‘Contact has been made (from "The Invisible Enemy").
This story was directed by Norman Stewart who had just gone freelance after working at the BBC for a number of years, having handled shows such as The Newcomers. He had also worked on several Doctor Who stories as a Production Assistant, most recently "The Invisible Enemy".
The DVD feature Into the Unknown, that accompanies this story, reveals that budget restrictions were so tight during Season Fifteen that the idea of cancelling this story altogether, and allotting its budget to "The Invasion of Time", was suggested, but was ultimately rejected as an option by Graham Williams.
To enhance the visual appeal of this story, due to the fact that the film Star Wars was due be released in the UK 10 days before "Underworld" was scheduled to air, Producer Graham Williams and Director Norman Stewart decided to abandon any pre-filming and instead invest the majority of the budget for this story into two impressive sets: the R1C (which could be redressed as the P7E) and the caverns.
However, it was soon realised that the Minyan spacecraft set turned out to be more expensive than anticipated so leaving no scenery budget for the scenes set inside the new planet. Therefore in an attempt to save money on production costs, and to preserve the production of "The Invasion of Time", virtually all of the cavern scenes were filmed using Colour Separation Overlay (CSO) in conjunction with models to give the impression of caves and tunnels - thus saving on the costs involved in set construction. "Underworld" therefore became the story that used by far the most CSO in the programme’s history.
Throughout Season Fifteen, Graham Williams had been campaigning for a ‘gallery-only’ effects day to be allocated to each Doctor Who story. To this point, electronic effects work had to be carried out during the regular studio sessions, which put pressure on the effects supervisor and was tedious for the cast. Due to the amount of CSO used in the recording of this story "Underworld" the Electronic Effects Supervisor, AJ ‘Mitch’ Mitchell, was given access to a recording gallery while another programme was being set up on the studio floor. Despite this, however, the CSO proved not to be as successful as the production team had hoped, leading to a great deal of disappointment with the finished story.
There are a few occasions in which characters can be seen moving through supposedly solid rock, and during the second episode there are a couple of moments where people’s heads can be seen to ‘vanish’ and K9 appears to float in midair in a few of the cave scenes.
Other noticeable errors include: in episode one where Leela uses a ray gun to blast away a door. Unfortunately Tom Baker wasn’t in the correct position when the camera started rolling again when the door was removed and so his body placement is seen to change instantly.
Furthermore all four episodes ran short of their allotted running time, forcing the use of extended shots and repeated shots for padding. This particularly affected episodes two and three were so much in need of padding that the reprises, of the previous episode, were much longer than usual.
Look out for the cliffhanger resolution in Episode Three as it includes a rare moment where Tom Baker directly addresses the camera, one of the few occasions in shows history that The Doctor is seen addressing the viewer directly. The most notable occurrence was in the 1965/66 First Doctor story, "The Daleks' Master Plan", episode "The Feast of Steven", which was broadcast on Christmas Day and had William Hartnell turning to the camera and wishing everyone a happy Christmas.
During this story it is revealed that the TARDIS landing sound is actually that of its relative dimensional stabiliser. The TARDIS, at least sometimes, flies through real space (see also "The Tomb of the Cybermen").
It is revealed that K9 can interface with other computers through bulldog clips on his ‘ears’.
This story sees Leela once again wearing her lighter ‘savage’ outfit that she first wore in "Image of the Fendahl". She would continue to wear this costume for one more story, "The Invasion of Time", before leaving The Doctor.
Leela again is seen operating certain TARDIS controls (see "The Invisible Enemy").
The Minyans own ingeniously designed shield guns - which, strangely, Leela knows how to operate apparently without having to be shown.
It is during this story that we finally learn the origin of the Time Lords’ policy of non-intervention.
This was the first story to show regeneration being applied by non-Time Lords. A key difference is that the Minyans’ regeneration process but, unlike the Time Lords, does not result in complete physical change and new personalities, just a reversal of the aging process. Another example of Time Lord technology allowing for perpetual regeneration is seen in the 1983 Fifth Doctor story "Mawdryn Undead".
The Doctor mentions that he's gone through regeneration ‘two or three times’ and further remarks it’s ‘not pleasant’.
The regeneration effect used for Tala is the same as the one used for The Doctor’s regeneration into the Fourth Doctor in the 1974 Third Doctor story "Planet of the Spiders".
The Doctor is heard to reveal that he has been to Aberdeen and Blackpool. As it is finally revealed in the 2006 Tenth Doctor story "School Reunion", that at the end of "The Hand of Fear" he had dropped Sarah Jane Smith off in Aberdeen rather than South Croydon, could this mean he knew perfectly well where he’d had left her? The Doctors mention of visiting Blackpool, where he implies he ate rock, must be a reference to an untelevised story. Although the Sixth Doctor and Peri later visited Blackpool in "The Nightmare Fair" - the 1985 story that was due to be part of the originally planned Season Twenty Three. "The Nightmare Fair" would finally be released as a Target Books novel, written by The Nightmare Fair, and by Big Finish Productions in their ‘The Lost Stories’ series of audio dramas.
The Doctor refers to the Oracle as ‘another machine with megalomania; another insane object; another self-aggrandizing artefact’. He is referring to his previous encounters with several similarly insane machines before, namely WOTAN ("The War Machines"), BOSS ("The Green Death") and Xoanon ("The Face of Evil").
The Doctor mentions Ulysses whom he met in the 1965 First Doctor story "The Myth Makers".
The first episode was broadcast only a few days after the Terry Nation-created series Blake’s 7 debuted. Composer Dudley Simpson worked on both shows and, according to the DVD production notes, he included a reference to the Blake’s 7 theme music into the score for this story.
A novelisation of this story, written by Terrance Dicks, was published by Target Books in January 1980. This novelisation opens with a lengthy history of the Minyans and the P7E.
The truth behind the destruction of Minyos is revealed in the Big Finish Productions audio drama "Gallifrey: The Inquiry".
Despite the production problems which had plagued this story Bob Baker and Dave Martin remained enthusiastic about their ideas for the story and for a time, they even considered spinning off the R1C crew into their own science-fiction programme, in which the Minyans would travel through space becoming involved in other adventures based upon ancient mythology. Ultimately, however, nothing would come of this idea.
| |
|
The Firsts:
The first story to show regeneration being applied by non-Time Lords.
Anthony Read's first credited involvement in the show as Script Editor.
The first Doctor Who story to be directed by Norman Stewart.
|
|
(Position = 153 out of 159)
(Position = 197 out of 200)
(Position = 236 out of 241)
