Doctor Who Review: Under The Lake – 7 Ways To Sink Or Swim

7. A Base Under Siege

Placing a group of characters in an enclosed space with an imminent threat is a tried and true way to create intensity within a story. The claustrophobic atmosphere heightens the tension and the group begins to fight among themselves as the danger increases. Writer Toby Whithouse keeps his script fresh by giving us interesting and nuanced characters to both sympathize with and scorn. Pritchard is especially effective as the company man who cares only for profit. His panic as his former commander reaches for the airlock button is well played as it lends a tinge of sympathy to a character that is otherwise easy to revile.

In a call back to Whithouse’s series six story “The God Complex” the original ghost is from Tivoli – a planet whose survival depends on the people’s willingness to submit to any force that decides to invade them. In that story the monster fed off a person’s faith. In this one the pilot’s sealed capsule is found within the ruins of a church. Is there a connection?