| Fish People | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Naming | |||
| Binomen | N/A | ||
| Morphology | |||
| Body type | Humanoid | ||
| Average height | Human-like | ||
| Intelligence | |||
| Sentience | Sentient | ||
| Sapience | Sapient | ||
| Aggressivity | Medium | ||
| Ecology | |||
| Place of origin | Atlantis | ||
| Habitat | Ocean | ||
| Diet | Omnivorous (presumed) | ||
| Locomotion | Swimming | ||
| Lifespan | Same as Humans (presumed) | ||
| Related species | Humans | ||
| Status | DD | ||
| Behind the Scenes | |||
| Universe | Doctor Who | ||
The Fish People are surgically and genetically modified Human beings from Atlantis, created to be able to breathe and operate underwater. They're used by the Atlanteans to work on the plankton-based food crops created by Prof. Zaroff, which provide food for the population.
Biology[]
Lower class citizens from Atlantis may be selected to undergo surgical and genetic conversion into Fish People. The procedure was developed by Prof. Zaroff, and is performed by Damon the surgeon. The initial step appears to be simply surgical and generates gills on their necks, allowing them to breathe underwater. The fully converted Fish People have a body covered in fish-like scales and also possess membranous fins and large circular eyes. Curiously, they don't seem to possess webbed hands.
History[]
At some point in the mid 20th century - several centuries after Atlantis sank beneath the waves -, the Atlantean civilization was discovered by world-renowned Professor Zaroff, who kept the discovery as a secret, allowing the world above to believe that he had been lost in the sea. Zaroff befriended the Atlanteans, giving them advanced medical knowledge, techniques to produce new sources of plankton-based food, and developing the method to create the Fish People as menial laborers. Unfortunately, the brilliant Professor was also severely insane, and his plans to raise Atlantis back to the surface turned out to be merely a façade for his real plan which involved nothing less than the entire destruction of the world.
Meanwhile, at some point in the early 1970s, the TARDIS (a spacetime-traveling machine belonging to an alien traveler called "the Doctor") lands on a volcanic island and the Doctor and his companions - Ben, Polly and Jamie - are captured by the Atlanteans. At first, the Atlanteans decide to sacrifice them to their goddess Amdo, but the Doctor convinces Zaroff to spare their lives. While Ben and Jamie are set to work on the mines, where they meet two stranded sailors called Sean and Jacko who have also been captured by the Atlanteans; Polly is chosen to undergo conversion and become a Fish Person. The Doctor creates a distraction and manages to save Polly with the help of a young Atlantean servant called Ara. After finding out about Zaroff's plan and the deadly implications of it, the Doctor develops a plan to stop him.
Following the Doctor's advice, Sean and Jacko talk to the Fish People and convince them to revolt against their oppressors and go on strike, cutting out the food supply to the Atlanteans. Since the plankton-based food is highly perishable, this situation creates panic upon the city. Meanwhile, the Doctor and his companions successfully kidnap Zaroff.
Unfortunately, Zaroff escapes and attempts to kill the Atlantean leader, Thous, seriously wounding him and killing his guards. In a final move to prevent Zaroff from switching on his machinery, the Doctor and Ben sabotage Atlantis' reactor machines and flood the city. Zaroff is trapped in his laboratory and drowns, despite the Doctor's attempts to save him. The survivors (including Thous, Ara and Damon) flee the city and escape to the surface, as they plan to one day build a New Atlantis, "without gods and without Fish People".
Appearances[]
- Doctor Who, season 4 - "The Underwater Menace" (1967)
Notes[]
- The fate of the Fish People isn't left clear at the end of the serial. Presumably, they were left alone to live freely in the ocean and build their own civilization. However, it isn't known whether the Fish People would be able to reproduce on their own, given that the procedure to create them is clearly surgical, at least in part. The novelization does mention that their genetic material is altered, though, so it appears that the artificial gills are merely transitory, to be used while the biological gills are still not fully developed. If that's true, then it's likely that they'll be able to reproduce on their own and become a new independent species.