Doctor Who Retro Review: Serial 034—The Moonbase
By T. Scott Edwards
Ah, The
Moonbase. A serial which sets out the template for the next few seasons,
sees the return of the Cybermen, and firmly plants Troughton's portrayal of the
Doctor, providing a concrete template for the way in which our impish hero will
behave forever. This serial has always been my favourite of all of the Cybermen
stories, and that is no mean feat, considering it is missing 2 of the 4 episodes.
Written by Kit Pedler, the co-creator of the Cybermen who worked on The Tenth Planet, it sees our time
travellers arrive not on an alien planet, but on the moon. The moon! That big
satellite up in the sky, the one which we see every night before we go to bed;
and it's brilliant. Considering Pedler was a scientist – of sorts, at least –
the science here is surprisingly ridiculous. Anyhow, let's get on with this...
Continuing on from closing scenes of The Underwater Menace, the TARDIS is out
of control, and is forced to crash land; having been aimed at Mars, the Doctor
misses his target by some "200,000,000 miles" and the crew don
spacesuits to leave the craft and have a jolly old time of it out on the lunar
surface. It takes some persuading, mind, as the Doctor was eager to leave
straight away, but he is eventually coerced into giving the crew "shore
leave". The TARDIS 'family' unit is still firmly in place, and the group
sound like they're having marvellous fun as the bounce around in reduced
gravity – although the incidental music to accompany these jumps are rather
strange and out of place. Whilst this episode no longer exists, the telesnaps,
as well as the footage existent in episodes 2 and 4, show how magnificent the
model work and set design is.
On the eponymous Moonbase, meanwhile, a
plague has broken out, striking down their doctor and several other men. When
the Doctor and his companions arrive, with Jamie having suffered a concussion whilst
enjoying the moon-based frivolity, the group are welcomed with surprisingly
open arms. Considering the importance of the work that the scientists do on the
moon, controlling the weather across all of the Earth, the security is
surprisingly lax, and the way in which Hobson and his men welcome the
travellers with open arms, and no questions, is bizarre. Still, after the last 'base
under siege' serial, which softly felt-out the correct way in which these
dramas should work (The Tenth Planet)
it is comforting to see the group settle so quickly into their environments,
and be accepted so easily – Hobson has a genial, tired expression of
acceptance, a very stark contrast to that of Cutler in The Tenth Planet.
Troughton's performance in this first
episode is wonderful – both deadly serious and hilariously comical, and again
assures us, the viewers, that this is how he will stay from now on – after the
fluctuation in his performances up to now, we see that the Doctor of The Underwater Menace is Troughton's
definitive Doctor. His constant interruptions of the exhausted Hobson are
brilliant, as he craves their attention and a formal introduction.
As I mentioned, the lack of security
upheld on the base is shocking; in fact, at one point, whilst trying to report
their difficulties back to Earth, the scientists realise that they are being
monitored by playing back their transmission. What is most baffling about these
scientists is the very nonchalant way in which they report that it is coming
from "someone not too far from this base", and yet still do not question the Doctor's
arrival – not yet, anyway.
With Jamie pretty much unconscious for
the entire episode, we are able still to gain a little knowledge of his
character regardless; his semi-coherent ramblings about the "piper"
of his clan's history is a lovely little nod to his background – whilst he has
settled into the TARDIS crew quickly, he still upholds his time of origin, and
is still a strong character despite his illness. Confined as he is to the sick
bay, he is waited on by a concerned Polly; And this is really Anneke Wills'
serial. Whilst the last serial allowed Troughton to confirm his identity, The Moonbase does the same for Wills'
Polly. Whilst during the first and second episode, she does little more than
scream and act as a caring nurse, we get to see her truly compassionate side. As
for her character development – well, more on that later...
The first episode provides the
eagle-eyed viewers, or listener in this case, plenty of information to
assimilate and to come up with clear predictions; the references to drops in
air pressure seems offhand and irrelevant, yet it is too conspicuously placed
in the streams of dialogue to be irrelevant. Likewise, the references to the "rats"
in the food stores moving supplies around, and Ralph's subsequent
disappearance, are too important not to note, and indeed, to draw connections. Similarly,
the references to the "silver hand" in Dr. Evans' delirious state
moments before his disappearance allow us to predict exactly who it is
responsible; admittedly, most people's chance to experience this serial is
through Gerry Davis' superb novelisation, entitled "Doctor Who and the
Cybermen", whereby removing any suspense.
The cliffhanger, though, hangs on Polly's
recognition of the Cyberman's build, and the removal of Evans' body. What this
does, though, is to create a sense of mythos and scope to the character. This
story is set on the moon in 2070, and yet it openly references itself and the
actions of the characters back in The
Tenth Planet. When Polly tells Hobson et al that it was a Cyberman that she
saw, he pooh-poohs her, telling her that "There were Cybermen – every
child knows that – but they were destroyed ages ago." Whilst the Doctor
and his group are not name-checked, their actions have gone down in history. They did that, they stopped the Cyberman invasion! It also leads into the speech
which is quintessentially Doctorish, with Troughton delivering one of the most
infamous speeches of Doctor Who history – "There are some corners of the
universe which have bred the most terrible things. Things which act against
everything that we believe in; they must be fought." It is a magnificent
tour-de-force speech, and one which epitomises everything that the Doctor
stands for, and his entire motivation.
Finally, though, despite the Doctor's
speech, Hobson begins to question the presence of the travellers, and the
coincidence of them being on the moon – he gives the Doctor 24 hours to deal
with the plague before he forces the travellers back onto the surface of the
moon, "quarantine or no quarantine". What this does allow, though, is
a rather humorous tête-à-tête
between Polly and the Doctor, giving us a little more background into the
character, something which we see more of as the show progresses – his response
that he "took a degree once – in Glasgow – in 1888" is delivered with
a wonderful deadpan. Also, much of Troughton's comedy arises in this second
episode, such as his collecting of samples, crawling around on his hands and
knees and collecting the shoes of some of the men as they go about their
business. The tragedy of Troughton's serials being missing is that a great deal
of what makes him so good is that he
is very much a visual performer; his impish movements simply cannot be done
justice in audio-only format.
Again, having this serial exist helps us
to realise just how wonderful this story is; the visual elements, such as the
black virus throbbing and undulating up the fallen man's arm simply couldn't be
appreciated without the visual. Likewise, the karate-chop of the Cybermen, as
seen last in The Tenth Planet, are
wonderfully realised in the atmosphere of reduced gravity on the moon. The
cliffhanger, with the Doctor realising that not only is the virus being spread
via the sugar but that, also, the Cybermen are inside the base, within the
Medical Bay, is fantastic, and the Doctor's dragging Hobson aside before the
group move around the sick bay, tiptoeing and inspecting the sleeping patients,
is very funny.
The third episode finally sees the
Cybermen step to the fore after taking a very secretive, back-seat role in the
first two – and along with their redesign, they also have new voices. Whilst
they are not as distorted and unnerving as the Cybermen the last time we met
them, they are equally terrifying, utterly emotionless and horrifyingly
abstract. The announcement that "you are known to us" to the Doctor
once more provides a certainty that this is the
Doctor – as with the recognition in The
Power of the Daleks, despite the change in outward appearance, the Cybermen
recognise him for all that he stands for, and the threat that he represents.
Episode 3 is also where Polly really
comes into her own – with Jamie still bedridden and not worthy of conversion
due to his head injury, she and Ben are forced to stay within the confines of
the sick bay whilst the action goes on in the central control room. It is here,
though, that she utilises all that she knows to create a concoction able to
destroy the central nervous system of the Cybermen. Using her basic knowledge
of acids and alkalis, she creates her own 'nail polisher remover' capable of
breaking down the plastic components of the Cybermen's chest-units.
What is interesting is that, whilst
Polly is proactive in saving the base, the two boys have their own private
cock-fight to become alpha-male. Whilst they tell her that "this is men's
work", Ben and Jamie desperately vie for Polly's attention, showing the
strain that living within the TARDIS is having on the group. What is interesting
is that this is the first time that there has been any form of sexual tension
within the ship – whilst there was almost certainly some form of relationship
between Ian and Barbara, here we have a very definite love triangle.
The final scenes of episode 3, with the
additional troops of Cybermen coming to replace the defeated invaders within
the Moonbase, is incredible – the incidental music is superb, as they march
across the lunar surface with deep, malevolent intent (whilst we can't see it
in the missing episode, we are fortunately able to have this recaptured in the
opening of the existing episode 4.
Episode 4, existing as it does, allows
us to see Troughton, once more, in his full majesty; he slips in and out of
focus as he watches, contemplates and processes information. Whilst we have no
doubt that he is the lead character, he is content to float in the background
simply observing. The arrival of the ship from Earth is wonderfully realised,
with all involved watching the descent of the ship with great joy – until, of
course, the 'reactivated' Dr. Evans uses the Gravitron machine to deflect the
ship away from the moon and hurtling directly into the sun. The realisation of
what is happening is grimly realised, with the scientists looking distraught
and the others needing the truth of the matter fully explaining to them. The
reactivation of the scientists is horrifying too, as they proceed around in a
zombie-like trance, black veins pulsating up and down their faces, throats and
arms.
The attack of the Cybermen is another
example of rather dodgy science – when they puncture the dome of the Moonbase, the
scientists in charge of controlling all of the Earth's weather decide to try
and block the hole with some shirts. When that, surprisingly, doesn't work,
they decide to use the tray Polly brought the coffee in on. The effects of the
Cyberman attack is rather good, though, with the ray from their weapon bouncing
off of the dome thanks to the Gravitron beam, which also provides the Doctor
with a plan.
Yes, the Doctor has a plan again – once
more, the situation arising allows the Doctor to create the perfect solution,
although he isn't certain that it will work. Using sheer brute force, though,
the Doctor and Hobson are able to lower the Gravitron to fire the beam directly
at the lunar surface, propelling the Cybermen off into space. What's wonderful
about this is the way in which this juxtaposes the opening sequence – even the
incidental music is identical, and yet rather than the pleasure enjoyed by the
Doctor, Jamie, Ben and Polly, here the image is startling; incapable of human
emotions, whether fear or joy, the Cybermen float away, a grotesque parody of
our opening scenes.
Once the Doctor has saved the day,
though, the TARDIS crew quickly slip out without receiving any thanks; instead,
they bounce their way back to the ship and decide to head off to their next
destination, before looking at the "time scanner", providing a brief
glimpse of the horror to come next week – a gigantic claw menaces the
travellers, as the end credits roll.
Scott Edwards is a teacher of English and Theatre Studies at Barnard Castle School in the North East of England, with a BAHons in English Literature and Film Studies. He is also a self-professed ‘ming-mong,' and in addition to timelordapprentice.blogspot.co.uk he also runs facebook.com/Classic.Doctor.Who. You can also follow him on Twitter: @TimelordTSE.
Labels: Cybermen, Doctor Who, Patrick Troughton, reviews, T. Scott Edwards
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