Doctor Who-Fury from the Deep (A Target book) by Victor Pemberton (16-Oct-1986) Paperback

Doctor Who Target Books (Numerical Order) #110

by Victor Pemberton

The Doctor and his companions materialize near a North Sea gas refinery, where they encounter a terrifying foe in the dark, uncharted depths of the Sea.

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Fiction, Audiobook, Childrens

Paperback

First published October 16, 1986

About the author

Victor Pemberton was a British writer and television producer. His scriptwriting work included BBC radio plays, and television scripts for the BBC and ITV, including Doctor Who, The Slide and The Adventures of Black Beauty.

His television production work included the British version of Fraggle Rock (second series onwards), and several independent documentaries including the 1989 International Emmy Award-winning Gwen: A Juliet Remembered, about stage actress Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies.

In addition to novelisations, he wrote many nostalgic novels set in London, prompted by the success of his autobiographical radio drama series Our Family.

In later life he moved to Spain, where he continued to write novels until his death in 2017.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fury from the Deep is a Doctor Who adventure that was broadcast in March and April of 1968, and was the sixth serial from the fifth season of the show. Victor Pemberton wrote both the teleplay, and wrote this novelization of it quite a few years later. It's quite a bit longer than most of the other Doctor Who books from the same era because he included quite a bit of internal description and narrative to make it read more like a traditional novel. The story features the second Doctor with his long-time companion Jamie McCrimmon and Victorian Victoria Waterfield. The trio land at a coastal gas refinery run by a megalomaniac and learn that the area is coming under the control of evil sentient sea weed, which sounds quite silly but Pemberton succeeds in giving the story a tense and creepy feel, with suspenseful pacing. Also, Victoria elects to stay behind after the problems are solved, which he handles with surprising poignancy. It's an average monster-of-the-week story, but well developed and portrayed in this long version.

[Steve Payne · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

The second Doctor and companions land near a coastal industrial complex that is soon under siege by weed creatures.

This races along, with Pemberton (the original writer of the TV script) capturing the characters and mannerisms of the Doctor and companions Jamie and Victoria perfectly. The brooding atmosphere of the approaching threat and many fiery character conflicts make this longer than average release one of the better novelisations in the series. It’s written for older children, but is nevertheless an enjoyable read for older nostalgia seekers.

Although the sound exists from the original transmissions (and has been released with a narration), this 1968 six-parter is missing from the BBC archives. Also, about sixty-seventy telesnaps exist for each episode as well as a few scenes - one being the notable appearance of the villainous Oak and Quill attacking a woman via the expelling of gas from their wide open mouths as their eyes distend horrifically – this is easily one of the eeriest moments in all Doctor Who, and exists only because the Australian sensors removed it from their own transmission.

Fury From The Deep would be amongst my top five most wanted lost Doctor Who stories to be discovered [the others being The Daleks Master Plan, The Power Of The Daleks, The Evil Of The Daleks and The Abominable Snowmen].

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

These audiobooks of Target novelizations are such a great way to experience Classic Who, especially a story like this one that is missing from the archives.
For the most part they pair up perfect narrators for stories and with David Troughton voicing his Dad (Patrick, who played the Second Doctor) works so well - he also does a great impression of Jamie too!

This bumper length book really allows for some great character development especially as Victoria's departure is seeded throughout this base under seige adventure.

With all the additional sound effects as the idea of a giant seaweed creature that can controls people is particularly creepy and effective in pulsating audio.

[Derelict Space Sheep · Rating 3 out of 5]

42 WORD REVIEW:

Having opened on a well-staged cliffhanger, Pemberton proceeds with a workmanlike retelling of this lost serial, contented more or less to prosify his own script. Off-screen as on-, his only feat of note is the puckish metatextualising of Doctor Who’s screaming companion.

[Viola · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is the best Target novelization that I read so far. Not that I read many but still, this is very good. It's creepy, gives more insight to the characters, there are nice moments of this Tardis Team (one I really love). It's a shame the original version of this story is missing. The BBC audio version of is a good way of experiencing it.
It ends with a heartfelt goodbye to Victoria and sets up her exit nicely, you get why she wanted to leave, no matter how much she cares for Jamie and the Doctor and likes spending time with them, she had enough of life threatening dangers and terrifying creatures. I love that the Doctor gives her space to make up her mind and doesn't try to convince her to stay.
Victoria is a very interesting companion in this sense because she was never someone to seek adventures and gives them up for a "normal" life. Also, companions in the classic era of the show don't always get this much attention in their last story and the reason behind their departure tends to come a bit out of nowhere. With Victoria, it's consistent with her character: she joined the Tardis because she had nowhere else to go, so when she gets a chance to settle down, she takes it. I feel she often gets dismissed for not being brave but this is why I like her, she's often terrified but still tries her best despite her fear.

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

The novel really doesn't give this creepy story justice, such a shame they junked the tapes!

[Kerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

All in all, this is a pretty good novelisation of a story that no longer exists. I've known the basics for a long time, but actually to follow the story was satisfying.

The only really major issue (pointed out by the Doctor Who Target Book Club podcast) is the characterisation of Megan Jones, the company Chairperson. She gets treated to pretty much all the bad female tropes and was a very disappointing figure in the story. I don't know if this is due to the original script or the novelisation, but since both were written by the same person, I guess the point is moot.

Mostly good, but definitely not perfect.

[OG · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a shame this is a lost episode because it’s bloody brilliant. Excellent horror and suspense. Great slow burn to what is actually happening, yeah has some standard who tropes but hey that’s fine.
Brilliant!

[Ivana Richards · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent adaptation of a missing Troughton story - and one of the best written Target novels, too.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three or four stars? Hmmm...three or four? So hard to decide!

On the plus side, Fury from the Deep definitely started off with an awesome bang - all the main characters were "dead" by the end of the first chapter! The author actually did a fairly delightful job with the characterization - I saw some glimmers of humor and even some chemistry between the Doctor and companions. Victoria was almost allowed some character development albeit mostly because this was her last story. All that went down very easy.

On the negative side, one of the "guest stars" was my least favorite type - the blowhard who doesn't listen to any body or any reason. *sigh* So annoying! Also, who describes a character (female, of course) as "Attractive, in a hard way?" *sigh* And, of course (of course!) everything descends into the usual (so usual) mindless running around trying to solve the big mystery which makes for pretty slow reading. And the big thing that defeats the monsters? I can't decide how I feel about that; I'll tell you as soon as I stop rolling my eyes.

Weighing the pros and cons, I think this did turn out to be one of the better novelizations (heh, of the few I've read so far). What pushed it over the top for me was that I couldn't stop pining to SEE the seaweed/bubble monster of doom. How gloriously horrible must that have been?!

Four stars!

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Definitely old-school, Monster of the Week variety! The Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton), accompanied by Jamie and Victoria, has arrived on a beach with some very strange seaweed... and people in strange suits. Naturally they soon find themselves in mortal peril, and struggling to find allies (or at least people who will believe them) while figuring out exactly how strange this seaweed monster is.

There was one moment where I was wondering, "Why on earth doesn't he use his sonic screwdriver??!" and then realized it didn't exist yet. I know some people think this is the first episode in which it appears, but seriously - he uses something the size of an old microchip. That's not at all the same thing.

This is also Victoria's last trip with the Doctor.

[Matthew Kresal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now largely missing in its original form from the BBC archives, Fury From The Deep was novelized for the Target book range by its original writer nearly twenty years after it first aired. Victor Pemberton did a superb job on it, recreating much of the original atmosphere found in the surviving clips and on the soundtrack of the TV story. Despite having a longer than average page count for a Target book, it moves along at a cracking pace telling an engaging story that is in some ways the pinnacle of the base under siege format extensively used during the Second Doctor's era. In fact, there's every likelihood that Pemberton's book is even better than the TV version which is rare praise indeed. For fans of Classic Who, this is one of the must-read books from the Target range.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Considered a classic TV episode, but I found the story a bit 'blah'. Maybe it works better as a TV show.
The monster isn't that interesting the never explain the creepy, over polite duo very well and the setting is a bit bleak.

Only plus is Victoria's leaving scene is kind of sweet and they let her save the day for her last story.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that a lot of the characters matched the same ones from Jon Pertwee's story of Inferno. If you keep that story in mind, you will see some striking similarities.

[Peter O'Brien · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being one of the missing episodes, it is nice to be able to read this, but it is a bit overlong with a great deal of padding and, at times, the quality of the prose leaves a lot to be desired.

[Gareth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Between a 4 and a 5 for me. Been looking forward to reading this one, to see how well nostalgia held up - I only read this once or twice many years ago when was available from the library, and only recently managed to get my hands on a copy.
I think it still held up pretty well for the most part. It is a longer length than normal, which really helps build the slow creeping tension and horror for this story, as really does feel like a horror sort of tale, unusual at this stage of Doctor Who.
The enemy as such is quite a different one, but the way it gradually increases it's threat is portrayed very well, and the various other characters in the tale for the most part are quite fleshed out to help sell the tale as well, though some of their decisions did seem a bit ludicrous.
Particular scenes, like going down to the main pipe line, were really chilling I found, and described really well, and could imagine what it would be like on the big screen (unfortunately haven't had the opportunity to see the animated version, and too young for the original :( ).
The Doctor in good form as well, and while Victoria was somewhat more of a Damsel in Distress again, it actually formed part of the story, and led well to her exit, which was quite an emotional one. I've mentioned previously how the connection between Jamie and Victoria from Evil of the Daleks was just dropped, but it seemed to be picked up again here, mainly in the finale as Victoria opts to leave, and seeing the two of them navigate this was a very moving passage.
What detracted a bit from the story, was some very unnecessary commentary on the other female characters' appeal - it is fair to describe what a person looks like, and was done reasonably with the men, but what wasn't done with the men, and didn't need to be done with the women, was commentary about how attractive they were, or how they could be more attractive. Without these bits, would be a straight 5 star.

[Jason Bleckly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Based on his own script this is number 110 in the Target catalogue. The cover art is by David McAllister. And this is a bumper volume (it says on the cover) at 189 pages. I’m not sure if it’s the largest Target (excluding the 3 Virgin Targets which are a class unto themselves), but it must be a contender. I wonder why this story got to be a bumper edition?

I actually like this book more than the broadcast version which has always seemed to drag on for me. The pace in here is much more consistent and there always seems to be something happening. The writing is excellent, apart for two minor points that started to irritate me. First the phrase ‘lifeless body’ is used so often I wanted to start keeping a tally. And none of the bodies being described as lifeless actually is. The second is the Chairperson. Megan Jones actually has a name, but the majority of the time she is referred to as the Chairperson. That started to grate on my nerves after a while. All the other characters like Robson and Harris have their names used after it’s been established what the positional title is. I can’t see why the same wasn’t done for Megan.

While reading the book I keep flashing back to the recent TV series ‘The Rig’. It’s virtually a remake of this. I hadn’t noticed the similarity while re-watching Fury from the Deep. I just sit and enjoy. But the written form makes me pay closer attention to the details of the plot. The premise of ‘The Rig’ from Wikipedia:-

A Scottish oil rig in the North Sea is enveloped in an unnatural fog that cuts them off from outside communications. Spores found in the fog cause infected crew members to experience behavioural changes. After examining the spores, a scientist onboard the oil rig suspects that an ancient parasite has been unleashed from the ocean floor.

[Joe Stevens · Rating 1 out of 5]

In series novels based on a franchise with a slavishly loyal fanbase the reaction to the works are often as interesting as the works themselves. Fury from the Deep is a classic case. Switch Doctor Who for an unknown protagonist and this would be considered 60s science fiction drek of the lowest caliber and an insult to both science and women especially the ludicrous ending.

It is a work that features that least interesting Doctor Who trope in my book, Base Under Siege. Here the 'monster' is sea foam and sea weed and yes the entire book is spent doing nothing but trying to defeat sea weed. To add to the joy we have all time Who screamer Victoria captured and screaming repeatedly. I don't know which Who serial has the female companion in peril and screaming the most, but this might be the champion. In addition the other characters in this 150 minute film show no growth and have no personalities, they are simply cardboard cutouts who serve their purposes.

So why do fans give it a rating of amazing beyond belief? Because it is missing. The surest way to be a Doctor Who Classic is for the serial to go missing. Once a serial is recovered it ceases to be a mystery wrapped in an enigma and soon becomes just another black and white 1960s Who and the fans go on to crown another missing serial as the Greatest Who Ever. Fury from the Deep had better stay missing if it wants to remain high in the hearts of an audience moving ever deeper into the 2000s.

[Werepenguin Productions · Rating 4 out of 5]

Werepenguin Productions Remarks:
Fury from the Deep might be our favorite 2nd Doctor story. They overused the screaming woman trope, but the rest of the story was quite enjoyable. The descriptions of the sentient seaweed, morphology changes in infected humans, and the identification and response processes created a wonderful locked building with spreading infection (zombie, disease, vampire, alien parasite, etc.) vibe.

Content Description:

Keywords: 2nd Doctor, Victoria, Jamie, Earth-past, Creeping/Pending Contagion, Malevolent Sentience

Violence and Gore: minor realistic (blood from cuts, nosebleeds, split lips, bruises, etc.)

Profanity: PG Language

Sex and Nudity: None

Content descriptions are provided without value judgments. We want to maximize the fun and success rates of finding a new fandom. Since audiences vary in age, culture, and comfort levels we want to help people connect with something they’ll enjoy the most. To learn more about our content description writing process click here.

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[Michel Siskoid Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I completely understand that Fury from the Deep's reputation is that it's the very best lost Doctor Who story, so giving it an expanded treatment in the adaptations makes sense. In practice, however, original writer Victor Pemberton is essentially including the whole script and avoiding the usual contractions, which makes for repetitive reading. On television, in episodes spread across six weeks, repetition is unavoidable and even necessary. In a short novel, it seems like Robson is being the Mayor from Jaws again and again, Victoria is making it clear she's no longer enjoying herself over and over, the Doctor keeps walking into the room with the next line in the exact same way, and we even get scenes where someone goes "repeat what you just said", and they do! The Target range's best adapter, Terrence Dicks, would have slashed a third of this thing and not lost anything of value. The main addition, Jamie's sneezing fits whenever he smells gas, is a bit silly, but biographical data on the guest cast are welcome. Once we're past the technobabble portion of the story, things get moving at a faster pace, and Victoria's farewell is as touching as it needs to be.

[John Parungao · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the world of Doctor Who The threats are usually straightforward. Daleks, Cybermen, Ice Warriors; you can usually spot them a mile away and run in the opposite direction. Fury From the Deep offers something different, psychological warfare. Victor Pemberton gives readers a tension filled atmosphere with an ongoing sense of terror and menace. The readers get to feel the effect this has on the weary crew of the Euro Gas refinery. The ever present heartbeat sound is unnerving and mentally wears down everyone.
A similar effect was featured in Scream of the Shalka where a pervasive soundwave subdued the people of an invaded town. Fury From the Deep is about hidden threats and plays up the discomfort and doubts of the refinery personal and includes examples of people losing control, most notably Chief Robson, who becomes completely unhinged by events. Victoria also has a bad time of things and by the end of the story wants to Get away from the Doctor and all this madness.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the opening chapter, obviously derived from the original but different enough to grab me and suitably atmospheric too. After that it settles down into fairly bogstandard novelisation fare, although there are still a fair few nice bits, and certain passages of prose that shone. My one reservation is that I found some of the descriptions of Megan Jones a bit weird (why does how attractive she is keep getting brought up and why does her being more vulnerable make her more attractive?). Other than that, this is easily one of the best of the novelisations I've read thus far, helped along by the fact that so much of Fury is about atmosphere - Pemberton has such a good feel for place in his prose I worry it might spoil me slightly for some of the other novelisation writers.

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doctor Who : Fury from the Deep (1994) by Victor Penderton is the novelisation of the sixth serial of the fifth season of Doctor Who. The story was broadcast in the UK in 1968.

The Second Doctor, Jamie and Victoria arrive in the TARDIS in the late twentieth century near a station that is pumping gas from the North Sea. There is trouble with gas coming in from the pipelines and the stations that pump the gas are losing communication with the station on the shore.

Soon more starts to go wrong and there are actions of treachery by someone in the staff.

The story is OK, there is some suspense developed. The book was published later than most of the other novelisations and is a bit longer than some. It’s not a bad read though. The serial is notable for being the one in which Victoria left the crew.

[Connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Concise thoughts of a Who Fan going through the classic stories.

As a DW story: 7/10
Interesting plot, with a lot of great moments espesially those involving the Doctor and Jamie.

The antagonist in this episode is unique, threatening and felt genuinely quite menacing.

Compared to the Screen: - I haven't seen the particular episodes this book is based on, but believe that the chemistry and feel of the trio was captured amazingly.

Non-Who Perspective - 3/10
This segment refers more to, 'could somebody jump into the series here, and if they did how would it be perceived.'

I feel this story relies heavily on the moments between the trio, which are really emphasised by all their past adventures together. Readers without that context would like miss out.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent novelisation, which greatly benefits from the increased page count. I really enjoyed this book and felt as if I were there with the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria.

The extended page count allowed for additions which I felt really added to the story, including some of Robson's backstory and more detail on Miss Jones, the chairperson.

Victoria's departure was handled well, and felt very touching.

The weed creatures were very sinister and one was left feeling very unsettled by them.

Pemberton's writing was magnificent and really helped to move the story along. He also captured the characters of the Doctor, Victoria and Jamie very well.

This is definitely my favourite Target novelisation I have read yet, and really helps the reader to visualise a story, which is sadly lost.

[George Nash · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doctor who faces a plant-like creature that can take over the minds of those that it touches. This was not one of the best stories of the lost Classic Doctor Who shows. This was still an interesting story.

This story sees Victoria, one of the second Doctors long-time companions, leave at the end of the story.

I am glad I read this to feel like I completed the full list of classic Doctor Who stories but this was not my favorite story.

[Yosef Shapiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an audio dramatization of a lost Second Doctor story. The narrator is the son of Patrick Troughton, the Second Doctor. It is a typical story from this period of Who.
The action takes place in an isolated location. In this case, an oil rig. This story works every well in the audio format.

[Chris Jenson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid 2nd Doctor adventure. This adventure is notable because it is where the sonic screwdriver makes its first appearance and it is the last story for the companion Victoria. It is one of the missing episodes. It appears that BBC has created an animated version of it using the original audio. This will be available sometime next year (I'm writing this in Nov. 2020).

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid retelling of the lost story, which also makes it that much more important. It's a great story, although gets a bit messy towards the end and leaves a few threads hanging and other things unexplained. This has always been my most wanted missing story to be returned, I'd love to see if it lives up to those tantalising clips. Reading the novelisation makes me mourn its lost even more.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent read by David Troughton

It's great to learn about this lost TV Story. It was a good Adventure but a tiny bit long. Great beginning, fantastic end but a bit over and over again in the middle. It is worth a read or listen anyway!