N.B. there might (or might not) be spoilers in this article!
Shortly after the last of the lighthouse keepers meets his end, my daughter turned to me and said ‘I can see why it’s called “Horror”.’
“This lighthouse is under attack, and by morning we might all be dead.”
The Doctor, Horror of Fang Rock:
Part Two
Indeed, if you didn’t know better, you wouldn’t believe there had been a change of producer, one apparently with a remit to tone things down a bit, for Horror of Fang Rock is as atmospheric as any Fourth Doctor adventure we’ve seen.
True, the first two cliffhangers are lower-key than those we’ve come to expect (although perhaps not as low-key as the ‘Stop. Don’t move!’ from Part Three of Death to the Daleks – but that’s as understated as they come!).
The Doctor is at his sombre and mysterious best here, although he lightens up enough to treat the Rutan with almost the same dismissive disdain he gave the Sontaran battle fleet back in The Sontaran Experiment. I half-expected a ‘Not today, thank you’ in amongst the jibes at the impracticality the Rutan’s anatomy presents for an invasion of Earth. A special mention must also go to Leela, who is having absolutely none of Adelaide’s constant whining. (At one point she even rolls her eyes!)
“Don’t fire until you see the green of its tentacles. “
The Doctor, Horror of Fang Rock:
Part Four
Elsewhere, I love how the whole of Part One is given over to setting up the mystery and that Part Two throws in a whole other sub-plot with the arrival of the slippery Lord Palmerdale and his fellow passengers. It’s a tribute to all involved that these characters can arrive mid-story and have their lives and fates slip seamlessly into the murderous events on Fang Rock. (I do wonder what on earth the subsequent investigators made of a lighthouse full of dead bodies!)
With Horror of Fang Rock, the Graham Williams era gets off to a start that’s every bit as good as anything that was put out under Philip Hinchcliffe’s watch. Admittedly, its main adversary ultimately looks like a cross between a jellyfish and a cabbage, but aside from that this combination of fog, a lighthouse and murder mystery is damn-near perfect Doctor Who.
"The Doctor was trying to make light of the situation by saying 'this lighthouse is under attack, and by morning we might all be dead' in a happy voice. I don't think it worked."
"I think the idea of changing Leela's eye colour was clever because of the way they put it in the story. The reason they changed the colour of Leela's eyes is because the actress who played her had to wear contact lenses that made her eyes look brown. She didn't like the feel of them so they found a way to take them away. I think it was a good idea."
Son of UT Rating: 8/10
"In Part One, a creepy green light that looked like a jelly fish was flying near a window."
"In Part Two, the Doctor was mad because no-one introduced themselves."
"Leela had brown eyes and now she has blue eyes."
