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The Moonbase

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

033 – The Moonbase
Doctor Who serial
An army of Cybermen advance on the titular moonbase, in a promotional photo for the serial. The sequence has been named one of the greatest cliffhangers in the series.[1]
Cast
Others
  • Patrick Barr – Hobson
  • André Maranne – Benoit
  • Michael Wolf – Nils
  • John Rolfe – Sam
  • Alan Rowe – Dr. Evans / Voice from Space Control
  • Mark Heath – Ralph
  • Barry Ashton, Derek Calder, Arnold Chazen, Leon Maybank, Victor Pemberton, Edward Phillips, Ron Pinnell, Robin Scott, Alan Wells – Scientists
  • Sonnie Willis, John Wills, Peter Greene, Keith Goodman, Reg Whitehead – Cybermen
  • Denis McCarthy – Voice of Controller Rinberg
  • Peter Hawkins – Cybermen Voices
Production
Directed byMorris Barry
Written byKit Pedler
Script editorGerry Davis
Produced byInnes Lloyd
Music byNone[a]
Production codeHH
SeriesSeason 4
Running time4 episodes, 25 minutes each
Episode(s) missing2 episodes (1 and 3)
First broadcast11 February 1967 (1967-02-11)
Last broadcast4 March 1967 (1967-03-04)
Chronology
← Preceded by
The Underwater Menace		 Followed by →
The Macra Terror
List of episodes (1963–1989)

The Moonbase is the half-missing sixth serial of the fourth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on BBC1 in four weekly parts from 11 February to 4 March 1967.

In this serial, the Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) and his travelling companions Ben (Michael Craze), Polly (Anneke Wills) and Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines) arrive on the Human colonised Moon in 2070, where the Cybermen plot to take over the base and use it to invade the Earth. This story features the return, and first redesign, of the Cybermen, after their popularity in The Tenth Planet earlier in the season.

The serial showed an improvement in ratings for Doctor Who, with an average of 8.3 million viewers. The serial has received positive reviews from critics, with most preferring the Cybermen's first outing, but praise for Troughton’s performance as the Doctor. The Moonbase proved sufficiently popular for a third Cybermen story to be commissioned. In 2014, The Moonbase was released with animated reconstructions of its two missing episodes.

Plot

[edit]

The TARDIS is shaking very hard. It lands on the Moon. Somewhat close to the TARDIS is a building. The companions have fun in space suits jumping in the Moon's low gravity. Jamie jumps so high he lands on the other side of a crater. He is unconscious near the building's entrance. People take him inside. The other travelers follow. Meanwhile in the building, employees are in a weather control room. One person faints at his work station. The veins in his face get dark. Benoit says Dr. Evans is already sick himself. Hobson says another doctor from Earth will come on the next shuttle rocket. Benoit and Bob carry the man to the medical unit. The Doctor, Ben, and Polly enter. Polly goes to Jamie. The Doctor, Ben, and Hobson talk in the control room. A Gravitron made it hard for the TARDIS to land. Jim is working inside the Gravitron when he faints and gets dark veins. A storm in the Pacific Ocean starts going the wrong way. People from Earth call and ask what is happening. Hobson says three people got sick in a few hours with a virus. Nils realizes the conversation is being recorded by a device near the base. Inside a different spacecraft, an alien hand turns a dial adjusting sound. An Earth employee asks for blood samples of patients to be sent to Earth. The Moon base is put in quarantine. In the medical unit, one small device monitors Jamie's breathing rate, pulse, and temperature and gives him medication as needed. He has a fever and seems to be afraid of dying soon. Dr. Evans, the first person to get sick, seems to be asleep and looks the worst. The Second Doctor suspects it is not really an infection. Ben helps Ralph in food storage. When Ralph is alone, an alien hand from a tall figure uses an electric shock weapon on Ralph and pulls him away. In the medical unit, the light goes off. The Second Doctor tells Polly that Earth and Moon times are different. The light turns off to make it feel like Earth day and night. Dr. Evans dies. The veins on his face, neck, wrists, and hands are dark. In the control room, Ben tells Hobson that Ralph is missing. Dr. Evans's body is missing. Another employee passes out in the Gravitron. Hobson threatens to make the travelers leave if they don't find the body. Jamie asks for water. When the Doctor looks for the body and Polly looks for water, a Cyberman walks toward Jamie.

There are three patients in the medical unit, including Jamie. The Cyberman takes one. Polly sees the Cyberman leave and tells the Doctor. Hobson tells Jules and Sam to search for the patient. Hobson says the disease outbreak began two weeks ago. He realizes nobody can leave the base without a space suit and there are none missing. He is suspicious of the coincidence between the Doctor, Ben, Polly, and Jamie arriving and the disease beginning. The Doctor repeats it's not really an infection. Hobson gives the travelers twenty four hours to solve the mystery before they must leave, even though Jamie is sick. The Doctor claims he got a medical degree with Lister in Glasgow in 1888. (The famous Joseph Lister moved away from Glasgow in '69.) The Doctor swabs one patient's darkened hand. Something is wrong with the Gravitron. The Earth base boss himself, named Rinberg, calls the Moon base. The storm is dangerously close to Miami. Benoit suggest turning the Gravitron off, but that would be even more dangerous. Employees check everything about the Gravitron they can. The Doctor swabs healthy employees. In the medical unit, a Cyberman electrocutes Polly and Jamie but takes a different patient. The Doctor finds and comforts them. In the control room, an employee tells Hobson air pressure keeps dropping for five seconds at a time. In the food storage area, a Cyberman crawls through a hole in the wall. Back in the control room, Sam finds one antenna has two parts missing. Franz and Jules put on space suits, exit through an airlock, and check on the antenna. Two Cybermen without space suits attack them. In the medical unit, the Doctor says everybody tested negative for every disease. Polly makes coffee that sickens another employee. The Doctor realizes a virus that attacks nerves is in the sugar. It is not veins but nerves turning dark. He believes Cybermen contaminated the sugar on purpose. Employees have searched everywhere in the Moon base except the medical unit itself. The Doctor finds a Cyberman lying under a sheet on a hospital bed.

The Cybermen recognize the Doctor and use their weapons to capture him and his allies. They reveal that they intend to use the Gravitron to destroy all life on Earth.

Polly devises a solution that dissolves the plastic in the Cybermen's chest units. Alongside Ben and Jamie, the three lead a revolt against the Cybermen. As the crew members begin to fight back against the Cybermen, a large army of them begin to advance upon the Moonbase. The Cybermen attempt to blast their way inside using a large laser cannon, though the laser is deflected by the Gravitron. With the help of Hobson, Polly, and another crew member, the Doctor is able to point the Gravitron at the lunar surface, blasting the Cybermen and their ships back into space.

As Hobson and his team reorient the Gravitron to its proper use, the Doctor and his companions slip away. Back in the TARDIS, they dematerialise and activate the time scanner, revealing a monstrous claw waving around.

Production

[edit]

Writing and design

[edit]
The redesigned Cybermen, on display at a Doctor Who exhibition

The Moonbase is the second story to feature the Cybermen after The Tenth Planet (1966) earlier in the season. Due to the success of The Tenth Planet, producer Innes Lloyd hoped they could be the new returning foes replacing the Daleks, began discussing the return of the Cybermen with their creator Kit Pedler during the month The Tenth Planet was airing.[3] The serial was commissioned on 18 November 1966 as Dr Who and the Return of the Cybermen, with Davis as a co-writer to help develop Pedler's ideas, as Pedler was not experienced at TV writing.[4] To be mindful of costs while still preserving spectacle, script editor Gerry Davis asked for a story developed around one large set.[3] Pedler was inspired by the Space Race.[3] The first three episodes' scripts were delivered 23 December 1966.[4]

After the serial was commissioned, a late decision was made for Jamie (Frazer Hines) to be a regular cast member; Pedler adapted to this by having Jamie be unconscious during half of the serial, and Davis improved Jamie's role at the editing stage.[5][6] Meanwhile, director Morris Barry wanted Troughton to act less like a clown and the costume's baggy trousers were taken in; the character also lost his hat as recommended by a BBC Drama executive.[7] The Cybermen's costumes and appearance was changed to look more robotic from those in The Tenth Planet, which could be cumbersome.[8] Eleven costumes were made.[8] The Cybermen's voices also changed to match their new appearance. A device with a dental palate with a small loudspeaker that vibrated to create a voice was used.[9] Peter Hawkins, the voice actor for the Cybermen, found this uncomfortable as the vibration gave him nausea and headaches.[10]

Filming

[edit]

Pre-filming, consisting of the lunar surface scenes, took place at Ealing Studios on 17 January.[11] The regular actors were released from rehearsals for "Episode 3" of The Underwater Menace to film.[11] An overcranked camera was used to create the effect of lower gravity.[11] Scenes with guest stars and the Cybermen were shot 18 January, and the Cybermen shots on the lunar landscape were shot 19 January.[12] Model filming and final pre-filming sequences were shot 20 January.[13] Rehearsals began 31 January.[13] Filming began 4 February.[14] The first three episodes were recorded on successive Saturdays at Doctor Who's then regular home of Riverside 1, but for "Episode 4" it moved back to Lime Grove D.[15]

To conserve budget, music and cues from the BBC's library were used in the serial, including from former Doctor Who episodes.[16] The serial is the last to use the original title sequence that had been in use since the first episode.[17]

Casting

[edit]

Peter Hawkins returned to voice the Cybermen.[18] John Levene has an uncredited role as a Cyberman. Levene would return as a Yeti in The Web of Fear (1968), and would go on to play the regular character Sergeant Benton.[12][17][19] John Rolfe had previously appeared in The War Machines (1966)[20] and would appear again in The Green Death (1973).[21] Alan Rowe was cast as Doctor Evans, an early victim of the space plague and also provided the voice of Space Control. He later appeared in The Time Warrior (1974), Horror of Fang Rock (1977) and Full Circle (1980).[17] Victor Pemberton, who played Jules, later wrote the 1968 serial Fury from the Deep.[22]

Broadcast and reception

[edit]
EpisodeTitleRun timeOriginal release dateUK viewers
(millions) [23]		Appreciation Index [23]
1"Episode 1"†24:1211 February 1967 (1967-02-11)8.150
2"Episode 2"24:4218 February 1967 (1967-02-18)8.949
3"Episode 3"†26:1125 February 1967 (1967-02-25)8.253
4"Episode 4"23:284 March 1967 (1967-03-04)8.158

^† Episode is missing

The Moonbase was broadcast on BBC1 in four weekly parts from 11 February to 4 March 1967.[23] The serial was an improvement in ratings for Doctor Who; "Episode 2" with 8.9 million viewers was the highest in over a year, and "Episode 4" had the highest Appreciation Index in two years at 58 out of 100.[24] The serial was sold internationally to Australia, New Zealand, Uganda, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Zambia.[23]

Clearance was given for the original tapes to be wiped in 1969, although the second and fourth episodes remained in the archives as film copies.[23]

Reception

[edit]

Ann Lawrence of Morning Star reviewed the first two episodes on 22 February 1967, describing the story as better than some recent serials. However, she wanted less screaming from Polly.[25]

Paul Cornell, Martin Day, and Keith Topping gave the serial an unfavourable review in The Discontinuity Guide (1995), writing that it was "illogical and boring, reducing the Cybermen to the role of intergalactic gangsters".[26] In The Television Companion (1998), David J. Howe and Stephen James Walker noted that it was a remake of The Tenth Planet but was "far superior" in the way the Cybermen were portrayed. They also praised the music, acting, and the shots on the Moon, but they felt the direction was "lacklustre" in places and called the shots of the Cyberman ship landing "amongst the worst ever seen in Doctor Who".[27] In 2009, Patrick Mulkern of Radio Times also praised the redesigned Cybermen and the atmosphere. He wrote that the scripts "impart dollops of science without jarring and allow for a good deal of incident and suspense".[15] The A.V. Club's Christopher Bahn said in 2014, "Whatever flaws it may have, and it's far from perfect, "The Moonbase" has more than enough going for it to earn a place as one of the must-see serials of the Second Doctor era."[28] In Starburst, Paul Mount described The Moonbase as "pretty much the same story as 'The Tenth Planet', differing only to the extent that it's not quite as good."[29] Still, he said it is "cheerful" and "occasionally competent."[29] James Hoare of SciFiNow gave the DVD release three out of five stars, describing the story as "a slightly dull and weakly padded retread of The Tenth Planet" but praising Troughton's performance.[30] In 2010, SFX named the resolution of patching the hole in the Moonbase with a drinks tray as one of the silliest moments in Doctor Who's history.[31]

Legacy

[edit]

The reception to The Moonbase led directly to a return of the Cybermen; on 3 March 1967, script editor Gerry Davis commissioned Pedler to write what would become The Tomb of the Cybermen (1967).[25]

In the Doctor Who Magazine poll in 2014 of the first 50 years of the programme, The Moonbase came in 20th for the 1960s stories[32] and 113th overall (out of 241), similar to its ranking of 112 in the 2009 poll.[33] In the Doctor Who Magazine poll for the show's 60th anniversary in 2023, The Moonbase was voted the eleventh best story of the Second Doctor's tenure, out of a total of 21.[34] In a 2010 article, Charlie Jane Anders of io9 listed the cliffhanger to the third episode—in which the Cybermen march across the Moon's surface towards the base—as one of the greatest cliffhangers in the history of Doctor Who.[1] She ranked the serial the 35th best Doctor Who story of all time and a "classic" in 2015.[35]

Commercial releases

[edit]

In print

[edit]
Doctor Who and the Cybermen
AuthorGerry Davis
Cover artistChris Achilleos
SeriesDoctor Who book:
Target novelisations
Release number14
PublisherTarget Books
Publication date20 February 1975
ISBN0-426-10575-3

A novelisation of this serial written by Gerry Davis was published by Target Books in February 1975 under the title Doctor Who and the Cybermen.[36] The cover for the original publication used the design of the Cybermen from The Invasion. It was reprinted in hardcover with a new cover in 1981.[36] An audiobook read by Anneke Wills with the Cyberman voices by Nicholas Briggs was released by the BBC in March 2009.[36] The novelisation was reissued by BBC Books in July 2011 with a foreword by Gareth Roberts.[36]

Home media

[edit]

In July 1992, episodes 2 and 4 of this story were released on VHS as part of the video Cybermen – The Early Years.[36] In November 2004, they were included in the Lost in Time DVD set.[36] The full audio of the serial, accompanied by linking narration from Frazer Hines, was released on CD in 2001 and is also available for MP3 download.[17][37]

This serial was set to be released on DVD in October 2013, with episodes 1 and 3 represented by new animation from Planet 55 Studios,[38][39] but it was not released until 20 January 2014.[40] Paul Mount of Starburst described the animation as "a decent job" that particularly shined in the Episode Three cliffhanger, where the final scenes "are so well-realised it's easy to forget that they're animation at all".[29]

On 1 November 2023, for the programme's 60th anniversary, The Moonbase (with the animated versions of Episodes 1 and 3) became available to stream in the UK on BBC iPlayer.[41][42]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ↑ Music used in this serial is stock music composed by Eric Siday, Desmond Briscoe, Roberto Gerhard, Martin Slavin, Trevor Duncan, Desmond Leslie, and Eric Nordgren along with cues by Tristram Cary originally composed for The Daleks' Master Plan[2]

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 Anders, Charlie Jane (31 August 2010). "Greatest Doctor Who cliffhangers of all time!". io9. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  2. ↑ Ainsworth 2016, p. 128-131.
  3. 1 2 3 Ainsworth 2016, p. 117.
  4. 1 2 Ainsworth 2016, p. 118.
  5. ↑ Lunar Landing: Making the Moonbase (DVD). The Moonbase DVD: BBC Worldwide. 2013.
  6. ↑ Ainsworth 2016, pp. 117–118.
  7. ↑ Ainsworth 2016, pp. 126–127.
  8. 1 2 Ainsworth 2016, p. 123.
  9. ↑ Ainsworth 2016, p. 129-130.
  10. ↑ Ainsworth 2016, p. 130.
  11. 1 2 3 Ainsworth 2016, p. 124.
  12. 1 2 Ainsworth 2016, p. 125.
  13. 1 2 Ainsworth 2016, p. 126.
  14. ↑ Ainsworth 2016, p. 127.
  15. 1 2 Mulkern, Patrick (21 May 2009). "Doctor Who: The Moonbase". Radio Times. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  16. ↑ Ainsworth 2016, pp. 128–129.
  17. 1 2 3 4 "The Moonbase, Season 4, Doctor Who – The Fourth Dimension – BBC One". BBC. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  18. ↑ Ainsworth 2016, p. 129.
  19. ↑ "BBC Radio Solent — Richard Latto, Doctor Who In The South (23/11/2013), John Levene Interview". BBC. 14 November 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  20. ↑ Mulkern, Patrick (29 March 2009). "The War Machines ★★★". Radio Times. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  21. ↑ Braxton, Mark (13 February 2010). "The Green Death ★★★★★". Radio Times. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
  22. ↑ Wright 2018, pp. 19, 43.
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 Ainsworth 2016, p. 135.
  24. ↑ Ainsworth 2016, pp. 134–135.
  25. 1 2 Ainsworth 2016, p. 134.
  26. ↑ Cornell, Paul; Day, Martin; Topping, Keith (1995). "The Moonbase". The Discontinuity Guide. London: Virgin Books. ISBN 0-426-20442-5. Archived from the original on 6 January 2010.
  27. ↑ Howe, David J.; Walker, Stephen James (1998). Doctor Who: The Television Companion (1st ed.). London: BBC Books. ISBN 978-0-563-40588-7. Archived from the original on 1 January 2008.
  28. ↑ Bahn, Christopher (19 April 2014). "Doctor Who (Classic): "The Moonbase"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  29. 1 2 3 Mount, Paul. "DVD Review: Doctor Who – The Moonbase". Starburst. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  30. ↑ Hoare, James (18 January 2014). "Doctor Who: The Moonbase DVD review". SciFiNow. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  31. ↑ O'Brian, Steve (November 2010). "Doctor Who's 25 Silliest Moments". SFX. Archived from the original on 31 August 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  32. ↑ "The Power of the Daleks". Doctor Who Magazine. No. 474. Panini Comics. July 2014. p. 13.
  33. ↑ "The Results in Full!". Doctor Who Magazine. No. 474. Panini Comics. July 2014. p. 62-63.
  34. ↑ "The DWM 60th Anniversary Poll: The Second Doctor". Doctor Who Magazine. No. 589. Panini Comics. May 2023.
  35. ↑ Anders, Charlie Jane (17 September 2015). "Every Single Doctor Who Story, Ranked from Best to Worst". Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  36. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ainsworth 2016, p. 136.
  37. ↑ "Doctor Who: The Moonbase (TV soundtrack)". Big Finish Productions. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
  38. ↑ "Coming Soon...". Doctor Who Magazine. No. 460. Panini Comics. June 2013.
  39. ↑ Taylor, Matt (27 October 2015). "After travelling back in time with Doctor Who, Planet 55 Studios' animators in a brave new world". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
  40. ↑ "Doctor Who – The Moonbase [DVD]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  41. ↑ "Over 800 episodes of Doctor Who programming will be coming to BBC iPlayer". BBC. 10 October 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  42. ↑ "Season 4 Episodes". BBC. Retrieved 9 January 2026.

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Ainsworth, John, ed. (2016). "The Power of the Daleks, The Highlanders, The Underwater Menace, and The Moonbase". Doctor Who: The Complete History. Vol. 9, no. 34. London: Panini Comics, Hachette Partworks.
  • Wright, Mark, ed. (2018). "Fury From the Deep, The Wheel in Space and The Dominators". Doctor Who: The Complete History. Vol. 12. Panini Comics, Hachette Partworks. ISSN 2057-6048.
[edit]
Target novelisation
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