Doctor Who and the Pescatons

Released in 1976, at the very apex of the show's popularity, 'Doctor Who And The Pescatons' was a cracking gift to fans It only takes one listen to realise that this is a tremendously vibrant and well produced adventure. I mean, you get Tom and Lis (at the time when he was still the Doctor and she'd only just left), you get Bill Mitchell (the 70's ubiquitous advertising voice), Victor Pemberton is at the typewriter (it's a pity he never got to write more on screen scripts for the show) and when the Pescatons roar, if you turn your volume up it's like the most terrifying sound in the world. 

It only lasts 42 minutes but there's quite a bit packed in; the Doctor and Sarah materialise on the banks of the Thames and encounter a slithering creature with a steely roar that sends them running; “I tripped over my scarf twelve times. Or perhaps thirteen” the Doctor quips. They soon learn that an underwater expedition in the area has recently disappeared, so the Doctor goes diving (“down .... down into the murky waters” intones Tom), is attacked by a living weed, finds a 'vast cylindrically shaped spacecraft' and sees the creature close up. He recognises it as a Pescaton; “cunning ravenous creatures. Half human, half fish”. He's met them on a prior visit to Pesca, a planet plunging slowly into it's sun.

The lone Pescaton attacks Londoners in a scene of some carnage before being cornered and finally dying at London Zoo but this is merely a precursor for a full scale invasion. In the next sequence the Doctor recalls his trip to Pesca and how he met the creatures leader Zor; a larger version of the race with steel skin and 'emerald eyes' through which you can see it's brain. It had probed the Doctor's mind but the Time Lord's strong resistance allows him to escape. The Pescaton attacks continue and via an encounter with one of the creatures whom he disorientates with his piccolo playing, the Doctor realises that high pitched sound harms the enemy (just like with sharks); if he can kill Zor with such a weapon then it will destroy all the Pescatons. And that's what he does; knocks up some high frequency electrical equipment, lures Zor into a tunnel and the sound destroys it. 

While the plot is undoubtedly derivative, even of Pemberton's previous work on the show, it acts as a
foundation for some very impressive soundscapes and Tom's sonorous voiceover is the actor at his detached, other worldly best deploying his darkest tones for the melodramatic narration. The creatures themselves are incredibly wild and bestial and Pemberton's script seems to rejoice in repeated tearing of flesh, panic and fear which when combined with the sheet metal bellowing noise the Pescatons make is riveting, powerful stuff especially as it's mingled with atmospheric scene setting. The creature's attacks are graphically realised and the combination of piercing screams, fearsome roars and a litany of tug boats, buses and so on being torn to shreds makes this one of the series' most brutal Earthbound scenarios ever. The mood never really lessens from the opening doom laden arrival at a cold, deserted, muddy beach; Kenny Clayton's music is used sparingly but effectively.

Considering Pemberton never scripted a fourth Doctor TV serial he easily captures the edgy rapport between the Doctor and Sarah; the scene where they snipe tetchily at each other over how hopeless the situation is rivals such classic moments as Sarah questioning the Doctor's intent in 'Pyramids of Mars'. There are a few well- placed moments of levity too for example the planet of Pesca is said to be in the constellation of Pisces! Also there's the Doctor “singing and dancing dementedly” while singing 'Hello Dolly' to divert a Pescaton from Sarah and the piccolo playing but they are short lived though the latter does seque into a wonderfully hopeful snatch of incidental music. Zor's vocal intrusions are kept to a minimum though its American accent is a slight distraction after the creature’s menace and size have been so well trumpeted.

Where 'Doctor Who and the Pescatons' succeeds is in creating a set up that is fairly easy to follow yet laced with dramatic possibilities that can best utilise the medium. I can see every minute of this adventure from the Doctor and Sarah on the banks of the Thames, through the Doctor's peril with the living weed, his trip to Pesca, and final encounter with Zor. Now that is something really impressive.