The Moonbase [3.7]

Aiming for Mars, the Doctor accidentally crash lands on the the Moon. Donning some rather dodgy spacesuits (which are a marked improvement on the 'Atmosphere Density Jackets' of The Web Planet!) the TARDIS crew spend time frolicking in the low gravity until they come across a scientific operation centre, directing the Earth's weather by gravity beam.

A strange sickness is affecting the scientists, taking them out one by one. The gravity beam is becoming progressively erratic and there are rumours of silver men hiding in the shadows. The Cybermen have returned, and the base suddenly finds itself under siege!

The Majesty

This is actually quite a good story, at least at the beginning. The Cybermen are great villains, their use of infection as a weapon is great, and the actual disease itself is wonderfully creepy. I love the black lines that creep over the infected people's skin. There are some particularly tense moments – such as Ralph's sudden disappearance in the stock room, or the Cyberman leaping off the hospital bed – and the body-horror element of the Cyberman is very much to the fore. The Doctor gets to be a doctor and a detective. Polly and the others get to be brave and inventive, and it's all good fun.

The Misery

This story is a blatant rerun of “The Tenth Planet”, but even taking that out of the equation, there are plenty other things to criticise. There are some pretty dumb scientific ideas – blocking holes in the outer wall of the colony with a tea tray or with a pile of sugar bags; anti-gravity foam hats; a room with dangerous levels of gravity in it, and of course a giant gravity cannon mounted on the moon. The Cybermen are continually foiled far too easily, and the final climax – in which they are basically wafted away as if by a giant leaf-blower – is trivial.

Magical Moments

• Reviewing this from the position of someone in the middle of a coronavirus pandemic, the lack of any basic disinfectant is bizarre. A person collapses in their seat, their skin covered in black lines. They are carried away with bare hands and a new person placed in the same seat without even a wipe down...
• The Doctor gets a great speech explaining why they cannot just leave: “There are some corners of the Universe which have bred the most terrible things. Things that act against everything that we believe in. They must be fought.”
• The Doctor tells Polly that he trained in medicine in Glasgow University in 1888. This is particularly fun for me, as I can now say I studied at Glasgow Uni a little later than Dr. Who
• Polly gets to make coffee three times in four episodes. She must make a mean cappuccino!
• In episode three, Ben lets everyone down: “Not you, Polly. This is men's work!”. He seems to have forgotten that the whole acetone-grenade thing was Polly's idea in the first place.
• In episode four, one of the 'cyber-zombies' puts on his anti-gravity hat back to front. He doesn't seem to notice.
• Once they have literally blown the Cybermen and their spaceship off the moon, everyone gathers together for a group shot and shouts “Hurray! That's taken care of the Cybermen.” Face-palm moment.

In Summary

This story follows The Tenth Planet in far too much detail. A small base, manned by an international team of scientists/technicians with responsibility for Earth's weather and the potential to destroy the planet. A tough talking commandant who is out of his depth when the Cybermen arrive. A device the Cyberman want but which they must employ human agents to acquire. Ben and Polly coming up with improvised weaponry. Polly making coffee. It's all repeated here, and the original was only 14 episodes previously. So it really does feel like a repeat. That aside, it's a repeat of a very good story, so it's not terrible to see a variation on it again.

Overall: 3.7