Episode #92 : The Horror of Fang Rock

The Doctor: Got it. You're at last losing that interminable war with the Sontarans.

Rutan: [offended] That is a lie!

The Doctor: Is it? You used to own the whole of the Mutter's Spiral once. Now the Sontarans have driven you to the farthest fringes of the galaxy.

Rutan: The glorious Rutan army is making a series of strategic withdrawals

to selected strongpoints.

The Doctor: Rutan, that's the empty rhetoric of a defeated dictator,

and I don't like your face either.

Episode 92:   The Horror of Fang Rock.
Companions: 4th Doctor and Leela.
Air Date:       Four episodes. 3rd to 24th September 1977.

The cursed island of Fang Rock off the south coast of England is a place of rumour and tales of beasts from the sea. Three lighthouse men at the turn of the century face their fears when something comes from the sea to bring death to all it touches.

One of my absolute favourite episodes from the classic series, The Horror of Fang Rock is a perfect atmospheric horror story with or without the science fiction elements. The story takes place in the early years of the 20th century on a remote island off the south coast of England where a lonely light house stands. The three keepers are soon joined by our time travelling companions, the survivours of a boat crash and worst of all, a shape changing killer from outer space. Stuck on the island together who will survive to escape when dawn comes?

The monster of the story is a Rutan, a race of shape changing jellyfish who are waging a vast war against the Sontarans for control of our galaxy. They were first mentioned in The Time Warrior. This Rutan has crash landed and must find safety as well as a means of contacting the rest of the Rutan fleet. The appearance of the Rutan is a bit odd and I'm not sure really what they used for it as it looks like a squashed gooseberry. I hope that at some point we'll see a return of the Rutans in the new series of Doctor Who.

There is a lot of good acting in this story. The Doctor and Leela are fantastic, and the supporting cast really seem to get into character. All of which makes the story that much better. The only downer is the appearance of the Rutan but I can happily live with that as the rest of the story makes up for it big time.

The Horror of Fang Rock is the first episode where I feel it appropriate to give it a five star rating. The story, the atmosphere and a little bit of Lovecraftian influence really make it that good in my book.

Aye: though we hunted high and low,

And hunted everywhere,

Of the three men's fate we found no trace

Of any kind in any place,

But a door ajar, and an untouch'd meal,

And an overtoppled chair...