Doctor Who: "Under the Lake" Recap/Review (Series 9, Episode 3)

A new Doctor Who two-part story begins! Ghosts! Mysterious writing! Sonic sunglasses! Plus, Toby Whithouse is back at the wheel! Despite the somewhat overused pitch, there's more to like about "Under the Lake" then there is to not like.

First, let's get deal with the elephant in the underwater complex: The "base under siege" plot is overused in the Whoniverse. There's a base/spaceship/ship manned by a small crew and some supernatural/otherworldly forces are trying to take over, picking off members of the crew one by one. It was a frequent of the Classic era and there are numerous examples in the New era as well ("The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit," "The Waters of Mars," "The Curse of the Black Spot," "Cold War" to name a few). That being said, episodes that have and will use the plotline aren't terrible, as proven by this episode.

In 2119, the crew aboard an underwater mining base called "The Drum" discovers and takes in a mysterious spaceship. Within it, on one of its walls, are some cryptic symbols, which most of the crew lay their eyes on. During their investigation, Captain Moran is killed by a fiery blast from the ship's engines. The rest of the crew flees the scene, but are immediately confronted by Moran, who has become ghost-like. With him is another ghost who kind of looks like an alienish Abraham Lincoln (It's a Tivolian. We last saw one of them in "The God Complex," another Toby Whithouse episode) and they proceed to pursue the crew.

The Doctor and Clara arrive three days later. They encounter Moran and Top-Hat McGhoul, who stare them down and decide to keep moving. The two find the spaceship and catch a glimpse of the mysterious carvings. The "ghosts" return and begin to pursue. There's obviously something about that writing.

As they flee from their pursuers, the Doctor and Clara find the crew hidden in a Farraday cage, which is the only room that can keep the "ghosts" out. The remaining crew consists of Cass (the deaf now-in-command), Lunn (her signer), Bennett (the scientist), O'Donnell (the technician), and Pritchard (the jerk business guy). All of them (well, the first four) are each given a moment to shine in the events of the episode, which sets this crew apart from the others of "bases under siege" stories past. By the end of the episode, you genuinely care for each of them and their survival. 

The Doctor learns that the creatures will only come out when the base is in night mode. When it's in day mode, everything's fine. The Doctor is quick to dismiss Moran and Abraghost Beardface as ghosts, but after taking another look at the symbols and thinking about the attributes of their hunters (see-through, walk through walls, only come out at night, take on the appearance of the dead) he is ecstatic to deduce that they must be ghosts.

What follows is one of several scenes with a lot of exposition. It's almost like a checkpoint for different parts of the episode. Our heroes encounter the ghosts, the Doctor explains what they've discovered. The scenes ARE interesting, but it was kind of hard for me to keep track of what was revealed in them.

After Pritchard is killed by the ghosts and becomes one, The Doctor, Clara and the crew spring a trap for them by luring them into the Farraday cage. . The ghosts look as though they're muttering something, and Cass uses her lip-reading skills to find out what they're saying. It's one phrase, over and over: "The dark, the sword, the forsaken, the temple." The Doctor tells the crew that the phrase is kind of like a map that leads to Earth. The temple is the church that was part of the long-flooded village the base is part of. The ghosts are signals, repeating the same phrase to lead someone to something in the church. Not only that, but those who caught a glimpse of the carvings have the signal engraved in their brains now (At one point, Lunn, who didn't get a look at the writing, is confronted by a ghost and is spared). Everyone who dies becomes part of the signal.

Bennett sends out some sort of motion controlled probe into the long-lost church and it brings back a suspended animation chamber. The Doctor decides that the only way of getting answers as to who's in the chamber and what these ghouls are planning is to go back in time to before the flood. But, as he expresses this idea to the rest of the clan, the ghosts begin to flood the base. The crew has 30 seconds to make it to the TARDIS before the route to it is sealed off by security doors. Predictably, only the Doctor, Bennett, and O'Donnell make it, as Clara, Cass, and Lunn are trapped in the base. The Doctor promises Clara that he will return, and he and the others take off in the TARDIS. Clara, Cass, and Lunn return to the commons and take a peek out the window to find that another ghost has appeared. Clara says it must be the ghost of someon from the past and, you guessed it, it's the Doctor!

DUN DUN DUNNN!

To be continued! Yay!

In Summary:

• The plot remains engaging despite the overused story line.
• The exposition scenes are well-written, though it was hard for me to keep track of the details revealed.
• The four main crew members are well-characterized. I'll be sad if even one of them doesn't make it through next week (which seems inevitable).
• The "Doctor's cue cards" gag was great. I'm surprised no one thought of it prior to this episode.
• Catch the Sarah Jane reference?

• The Doctor's conversation with Clara about how much like him she's becoming was a nice touch, though kinda out of place.
• There are some predictable moments here and there, but they aren't predictable enough to really discredit the episode.
• The cliffhanger has me excited for next week, but we know the Doctor's not actually going to die.It's the same kind of cliffhanger we got back in "The Magician's Apprentice": The excitement comes from finding out how the Doctor will get out of this jam.
• Also, having next week's action taking place in the past and the future at the exact same time is a super awesome idea.

Rating: 8.5/10 sonic sunglasses

P.S. The Doctor's the one in the suspended animation chamber, right? Calling it!

Noah