Doctor Who Recap: ‘Under the Lake’

The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) is on the run.(Credit: BBC)

This week was the start of a new two-part story on Doctor Who, following a whirlwind two-week premiere. As I’ve mentioned before, in a lot of ways this was the true start of Series 9. ‘The Magician’s Apprentice’ and ‘The Witch’s Familiar’ represented an epic, finale-style Doctor Who event, and with this week’s ‘Under the Lake,’ we presumably settle back down for our regular run of episodes.

So after the returns of Missy and Davros, and a time-hopping jaunt on the Dalek homeworld of Skaro, what could Doctor Who possibly do for an encore? The answer is to not settle down at all:

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‘Under the Lake’ begins with the crew of “The Drum,” an underwater mining facility in Caithness, Scotland in the year 2119. A strange craft (don’t call it a spaceship) has been discovered near the base, and it’s been brought onboard for investigation. Although it appears to be very advanced technology, it’s actually been buried under the mud for some time. You see, the lake was once a dry valley with a military base, but it was flooded sometime in the 1980s. Recently, a massive oil reservoir was discovered beneath the lake bed, bringing Vector Petroleum and their representative, Pritchard, to The Drum.

After the crew checks out some strange markings on the inside of the spaceship (yes, I said spaceship), Pritchard fools around with the controls and manages to spark a fire, causing everyone to evacuate the chamber — but not before their boss, Moran, is killed. Next thing you know, Moran is back… but he’s not the same. His eyes are hollowed and black and his body is ethereal — he’s a ghost. What’s more, he’s not alone; the same top hat-wearing ghost that Lunn spotted for a split-second earlier is with him, too.

After the credits, we finally meet up with the Doctor and Clara. Something’s wrong with the TARDIS; she’s brought them to The Drum, but she’s not happy about it. Clara, meanwhile, is eager for adventure. It’s not long before they run into the base crew — except it’s not the base crew, it’s the ghosts of Moran and Mr. Top Hat. The apparitions chase the Doctor and Clara through the base and into the chamber with the strange spaceship. The Doctor observes the same strange markings and is puzzled by the fact that the TARDIS isn’t translating them. Soon, the ghosts make their way into the room and attack with an ax and a harpoon gun!

At last, the Doctor and Clara discover the base crew crowded together in one room, where the ghosts can’t come in. It’s a Faraday cage: a special chamber that uses conductive material to block electric fields. The Doctor introduces himself using the psychic paper, which claims that he’s with UNIT. One of the crew, O’Donnell, is actually familiar with UNIT and the Doctor and is thrilled to meet him (look out Osgood). Before long, the base switches from night mode to day mode, and the crew is freed. For some reason, the ghosts only come out at night, which is created artificially on the base due to their depth underwater. Only, the Doctor is certain that they aren’t ghosts, because ghosts are not real.

When they return to examine the ship once more, the Doctor discovers that one of the power cells is missing, along with a stasis pod that should hold the pilot. Pritchard is intrigued, knowing the power cell is likely very valuable. Suddenly, the base switches back to night mode even though it’s only been a few minutes; clearly, the ghosts are in the machine (so to speak).

Unfortunately, Pritchard was dumb enough to go out in the water looking for that missing power cell and returns just in time for night mode and the return of the ghosties. Moran locks Pritchard in the entry chamber and floods it, drowning him. The crew can’t figure out why Pritchard is acting so strange and won’t turn around later, until they notice his actual body floating outside the window — yep, Pritchard’s a ghost now, too.

Fortunately, O’Donnell’s able to override the controls and force the base back into day mode, causing the ghosts to disappear. By now, the Doctor is convinced — these really are ghosts. The idea excites him because it’s something he’s never seen or even considered to be possible before.

(Continued on next page)

Next: PAGE TWO: Ghostbusters

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Peter Capaldi (The Doctor) consults with the crew of the underwater base. (Credit: BBC)

At some point (forgive me, it was all a bit tense and my notes were all over the place), the TARDIS cloister bell begins to sound and the Doctor and Clara race back inside. The TARDIS doesn’t like the ghosts; they’re an aberration and she wants to leave. The Doctor shuts her down to prevent any further protest. Clara’s anxious to get back out to all the excitement, but the Doctor attempts to reel her in. He tells her there’s a whole dimension inside the TARDIS, but there’s only room for one “him.” It’s a nice antidote to the oft-criticized “Clara Oswald Show” from last season and shows a nice bit of character growth for Clara without being heavy-handed and taking up too much time.

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Back in the control center, the Doctor thanks O’Donnell for switching the base back to day mode but tells her to now switch it back — they’re going to catch a ghost. The team has an elaborate plan to lure the ghosts into the Faraday cage, using themselves as bait. But like most well-laid plans, things quickly go awry. The ghosts split up, with Bennett suddenly trapped in a room with Pritchard’s ghost. He picks up a wrench and seems ready to attack, but instead just continues to whisper the same wordless chant over and over, before dropping the wrench and fleeing.

Eventually, the ghosts are lured into the Faraday cage by a holographic Clara and trapped. The Doctor uses his sonic sunglasses (yes, he’s apparently sticking with the glasses) to transmit what he sees back to the control chamber. The hope is that Cass, who is deaf, can read the lips of the ghosts and figure out what they keep whispering. But the glass on the door is too thick and she can’t make out their words. So the Doctor does what no one else would ever do and goes inside the chamber with them.

The ghosts are repeating the same phrase over and over: “The dark, the sword, the forsaken, the temple.” It doesn’t take the Doctor long to figure out these are coordinates. “The dark” is space, “the sword” is Earth (at the tip of Orion’s sword), “the forsaken” is the flooded military village, and “the temple” is the church within that village. The ghosts are transmitting these coordinates over and over, with their signal getting stronger as their numbers grow. That’s why they continue to kill — they’re trying to amplify their broadcast.

The crew launch a remote-controlled submarine to investigate the church and find the missing stasis pod from the ship. Once it’s on board, the Doctor says that he cannot open it but somehow feels certain the pilot is not inside. Suddenly, the base goes into high alert; in order to protect the nuclear reactor, it begins to flood the base. O’Donnell manages to isolate several areas, including where the TARDIS is located. The catch is that they only have 30 seconds to get there before the doors all close and the base floods.

They almost make it, but become separated when the doors come down — the Doctor and two crew members on one side and Clara with the other two crew members on the other side. The Doctor tells Clara the TARDIS won’t travel to her side due to the ghosts, so he’s going to travel back in time to discover the secret of the spaceship and figure out how to save her. He’s not callously abandoning her as he would have last series; he’s asking her to trust him to do the only thing he can.

As the Doctor and his temporary companions prepare to take the TARDIS back in time, Clara attempts to reassure his comrades. But then they spot a new ghost in the water outside the base… Clara is stunned. “No, no, no” she repeats. The ghost turns to face them — it’s the Doctor.

Wow. What an episode! Seriously… at the risk of spoiling my forthcoming review, I’ve got to say this was the best episode of Doctor Who I’ve seen in years. It was tense, well-acted, completely different, and scary as hell.

Best lines from ‘Under the Lake’:

“Don’t leave me hanging!”
“Hands up, who expected that?”
“Was it something she said? She does that!”
“They wouldn’t say ‘boo’ to a goose. More likely they’d give the goose their car keys and bank details.”
“It’s okay, I understand. You’re an idiot.”
“Someone got a peanut allergy or something?”
“You were like this when you met Shirley Bassey!”
“I’m pretty certain it’s not so they can form a boy band.”
“Cold! Isn’t it?”
“Two weeks of Peter Andre’s ‘Mysterious Girl.’ I was begging for the brush of Death’s merciful hand.”

Next week, the Doctor travels back to the 1980s to uncover what happened ‘Before the Flood.’ All we know for sure is he’ll be coming face-to face with the mysterious alien warlord, The Fisher King.

We’ll have our round table review of ‘Under the Lake’ on Monday morning from our entire staff. For more information on next week’s episode and the rest of the season, check out our frequently updated guide: Doctor Who Series 9: Everything There is to Know So Far.

What did you think of ‘Under the Lake’? What could be behind these ghosts and who is the Fisher King? Sound off in the comments below!

Next: Doctor Who: 'The Daleks' REVISITED