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| "There are some corners of the universe which have bred the most terrible things... They must be fought!" |
4 episodes. Approx. 97 minutes. Written by: Kit Pedlar, Gerry Davis (uncredited). Directed by: Morris Barry. Produced by: Innes Lloyd.
THE PLOT
The Doctor's attempt to control the TARDIS goes awry, landing the time travelers on the moon in the late 21st century. Jamie is injured while exploring the lunar surface, but is rescued by workers at an international moonbase. The base, which uses a device called the Gravitron to control Earth's weather, is suffering from a mysterious plague. The disease first hit the base's doctor, then started spreading among the scientists, with seemingly no reason behind it.
Though the Doctor's too-timely arrival draws some suspicion from Hobson (Patrick Barr), the base commander, he is still allowed to investigate. What he discovers are contaminated food stores, spreading an artificial disease designed to leave the base vulnerable to infiltration. The Cybermen have returned, and they are determined to eliminate all threats to their survival - which includes all life on Earth!
CHARACTERS
The Doctor: The Moonbase is the story that finally figures out exactly who the Second Doctor is. Gone are the disguises and funny accents of the previous two serials. The humor is still there (as well it should be), but it's used as part of his characterization, rather than being a replacement for characterization. Once he sees the effects of the space plague, we see a seriousness of purpose. He essentially lays out the mission statement of the rest of the Troughton era, as he proclaims: "There are some corners of the universe which have bred the most terrible things, things which act against everything which we believe in. They must be fought!" Troughton keeps his voice nicely quiet as he delivers it, underplaying against the aggressive nature of the lines.
Ben/Polly: One of the things making Ben and Polly such a good pairing is the way their personalities balance each other out. Ben is cynical, impatient, and aggressive. This can put him into a leadership role when the Doctor's unable to take that role himself, as when he takes Polly's idea about acetone and turns it into a practical weapon against the Cybermen. But on his own, Ben's impatience would have led him to walk out as soon as Hobson voiced suspicions about the time travelers. Polly balances this out - though on her own, as we saw when she let Zaroff escape, her compassion can override common sense. Between the two of them, they make one fairly impressive human being - which combines with the chemistry between Michael Craze and Anneke Wills to channel a genuine "couples" vibe that hasn't been present in any TARDIS team since Ian and Barbara.
Jamie: While Ben and Polly are reasonably well-treated and the Second Doctor gets his first really good characterization since The Power of the Daleks, Jamie is even worse-used here than in the last story. The scripts having been written before his addition as a regular, script editor Gerry Davis opts to fit him in by knocking him out almost immediately and having him spend the first half of the story unconscious, occasionally waking up to blather about "the phantom piper." Episode Three attempts to create a vague rivalry with Ben for Polly's affections, but this doesn't go anywhere and so isn't particularly interesting on any kind of character level.
Cybermen: The Cybermen's second appearance, after their very well-received debut in The Tenth Planet, and they've been significantly redesigned in the interim. I'm not sure I like all the changes. The sing-song voices of the Tenth Planet Cybermen were more eerie, as were the recognizably human bandaged faces. Here, they are recreated as strictly robots. However, they come across as more formidable here than in their first story, and there's a sense that they truly cannot be reasoned with. In any case, the Moonbase Cybermen work well within this story, but I can see why the design was further altered later.
THOUGHTS
The Moonbase would be an easy story to criticize. After all, just four serials after The Tenth Planet, here's a story that is in many ways a remake. But while the earlier story introduced both the Cybermen and the "base-under-siege" template, The Moonbase refines both. I might personally prefer the original Cybermen, but there's no question but that these are a more polished final product. As is the story, which offers stronger atmosphere and a more effective sense of both menace and claustrophobia.
The script, written by Kit Pedlar and given an extensive rewrite by story editor Gerry Davis, builds tension masterfully. The first two episodes see the Cybermen introduced gradually. The shadow of a Cyberman's head on a wall; a Cyberman's hand, within the Cyber-ship. Even when they are finally seen in Episode Two, Hobson refuses to believe it, insisting that they are all long dead... Right up until the cliffhanger reveal at the end of Episode Two. It's all quite well done, building the menace of the Cybermen in the background while letting the disease plot occupy center stage to keep the pace moving.
Though most of the base crew are one-dimensional, Patrick Barr's Hobson is one of the best-scripted "base commanders" of the Troughton era. In contrast to most of the series' authority figures, he is no imbecile. We see that he's under enormous stress, but he never comes across as unstable, and he clearly has the respect of his men. He maintains his dignity and authority even when his base is held hostage by the Cybermen, and he works well with his second in command, Benoit (Andre Maranne), and with the Doctor in fighting them. If this were rewritten to remove the Doctor Who elements, Hobson would make a pretty good lead for the story without any substantial change to his portrayal.
A comparison of this serial with The Underwater Menace is revealing. Both stories involve a threat to the planet Earth, as witnessed from two-and-a-half sets on a soundstage. Both stories have rather ridiculous elements. The Gravitron seems an outright liability to Earth, given that a few hours of issues with the machine apparently sends the entire Earth into chaos. But The Moonbase establishes an atmosphere of credibility, with the early episodes taking time to show the crew's regular routine.
This presents a stark contrast to The Underwater Menace, with its generic high priests sacrificing the companions to generic gods, while generic cruel overseers force them to work in generic mines (mining what, exactly?), while a madman plots to destroy the Earth simply because he can. The Moonbase provides little details and tiny moments to make its setting feel somewhat authentic; The Underwater Menace... doesn't.
Lest my praise be too lavish, I should say that the serial's ending is deeply unsatisfying. The Cybermen are defeated at the end in a way that makes sense within the confines of the story, but which just feels like a complete anticlimax. All the tension built up over 3 1/2 episodes evaporates as a gizmo conveniently nullifies the threat. Still, a weak ending doesn't wipe away 3 1/2 episodes that are generally very good to excellent (nor is it the weakest ending to a Troughton Cyberman story). The Moonbase is a simple serial, but it is also an extremely well-executed one.
Overall Rating: 8/10.
The Moonbase Missing Episode Notes
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