Doctor Who (TV Series) The Moonbase: Episode 1 (1967) User Reviews

Curse of the Phantom Piper

[Sleepin_Dragon · 8/10 · 26 October 2019]

The Doctor, Jamie, Ben and Polly land on the Moon. They arrive at The Moonbase, only to discover it's affected by a plague.

I'm basing my review on the animation and many years of listening to the audio. I wonder if this first part will ever be found, and if so, how the scenes of Ben and Jamie jumping around on the surface of the Moon would look like. It's a very creepy story, the idea of the Cybermen laying in wait, taking the Moonbase crew out one by one, is great. The music is also great, it adds to the atmosphere.

The Gravitron is interesting, a device used to control the weather on Earth very clever. A concept they'd use again. I'll judge the Cybermen design when I see one properly, it ends with a great cliffhanger. 8/10

A Dated But Good Story

[timdalton007 · 6/10 · 25 March 2009]

(Note: A review of all four episodes of the story.)

They say that nothing dates a story more then ideas of the future. That is certainly true of the fourth Patrick Troughton Doctor Who adventure The Moonbase. Yet once we move past the 1960's notions of what a 21st century Moonbase would look like there is a good adventure story to be enjoyed.

By the point this story had originally aired way back in 1966 the four regular stars of the series had become established for the most part. Patrick Troughton's Doctor is firmly entrenched and he has some of his best Doctor Who moments in this story including the "There are corners of the universe" speech in episode two. As always Troughton is the centerpiece of the story and a sheer joy to watch. His companions are just as good though Fraer Hinds spends much of the story in bed due to having to be inserted into the story at the last moment. The upside of this is that it gives Michael Craaze and Annekke Willis a chance to shine as Ben and Polly for the first time since The Power Of The Daleks. If nothing else The Moonbase gives the series regulars a chance to shine.

Then there is the supporting cast. Patrick Baar makes a nice (and thankfully not clichéd) bas leader in his role of Hobson, making a nice change from a very similar character in the previous story The Tenth Planet. Andre Maranne makes an interesting appearance as the French Physicist and has some good chemistry with the series regulars. Much like The Tenth Planet before it the supporting cast really rests on the silver monsters known as Cybermen.

After their debut in The Tenth Planet the Cybermen make their second appearance in the series. The decision to replace the rather cheap looking Cybermen with the more robotic looking suits help to bring not only menace but realism to these monsters. The voices used in this story also marks an improvement over the sing-song voice that appeared in The Tenth Planet as well. Despite some questionable dialog (such as the "stupid Earthling brains" line in episode three for example) these Cybermen are a definite improvement over their predecessors.

Then of course there's always the production values. As I said at the beginning of this review, nothing dates more then ideas of the future. The sets of The Moombase and the space suits used in this story are proof of that saying if there ever was any. Ahe sets and costumes are a definite 1960's vision of the future right down to the bubble headed space suits and large the reel to reel computers seen in the base itself. Whiel these views may seem unfair from some four decades later they are nonetheless jarring to look at.

On the upside there's the script by Kit Pedler (and an uncredited Gerry Davis) which follows the "base under siege" formula of many 1960's Doctor Who stories including The Tenth Planet. Despite the fact it is essentially formulaic, the script plays with the formula to help make the story less then predictable. Even if the designs aren't up to task the script still makes it enjoyable.

While the set design and costumes might make the story seem dated, there is still a good story to enjoy. From the performances of the regular cast to the supporting cast plus the Cybermen and the story itself there is plenty to enjoy. While it might not be a Doctor Who classic it is still a watchable Doctor Who story.

Atmospheric Scary Stuff

[Theo Robertson · 8/10 · 18 August 2013]

Slight Spoilers to all four episodes of which only two exist

The Tardis lands on the Moon and the crew ( which includes 18th Century Highland rebel Jamie MaCrimmon ) find a moonbase that contains the Graviton , a machine that controls the Earth's weather system . They find that the Moonbase crew are being struck down by a strange virus and suspicion falls on these new arrivals . The Doctor finds that an enemy he thought defeated has been behind this

Producer Innes Lloyd was so impressed by the Cybermen that he quickly commissioned Kit Pedlar to write another story featuring them and they reappeared just over three months after they made their debut . There was a slight problem in that the costumes were hell on the actors especially under the hot studio lights that occasionally saw the cast playing the Cybermen faint so the costume designers went back to the drawing board and designed something similar to a metallic skeleton with new electronic voices . This new costume is very impressive but at the same time loses a bit of the original concept where the Cybermen were literally Cybernetic men

The story itself is no hold barred horror material and is the first story in the show's history to be termed " base under siege " . This involves a formula where a remote group of humans find themselves being surrounded /infiltrated by alien menace , similar in feel to QUATERMASS set in space . It became so much part of the whole ethos of DOCTOR WHO that it's shocking to realise no Hartnell story had this type of feel with the possible exception of he Cybermen debut story . and the real debut of DOCTOR WHO might very well have started here . I was actually quite surprised how scary some scenes were such as the resurrected humans in the final episode which are pure zombie horror and when people talk about hiding behind the sofa as children you can see why . I knew what the cliffhanger to the second episode was and though I could see it coming still had an impact that greatly surprised me

There is of course a new Doctor in charge and thankfully we don't get Patrick Troughton playing the second Doctor in the same manner as Hartnell would have . The Doctor isn't James Bond he's an entirely separate character and is a warmer personality with a impish almost childlike sense of humour . He also spends much of the story acting as a detective trying to get to the bottom of the mystery of the virus striking down the Monnbase crew in the manner of Sherlock Holmes

One aspect that's maybe not so successful is the main bugbear of Classic DOCTOR WHO . The Graiviton base is of course a couple of very small sets , some of the costumes are laughable such as that rubber helmet and being a Moonbase full of foreigners we're treated some accents that no matter where that character is from consistently sound like Renee from ALLO ALLO . There is of course supposed to be dozens and dozens of Cybermen on the lunar surface and this is achieved by having the same half dozen Cybermen walking past the camera in a circle

But whatever the flaws - which is a bit like saying water is too wet - The Moonbase is a story that firmly establishes both the format of DOCTOR WHO and Cyberman whose popularity was the only real rival to the Daleks as the show's iconic monsters

Nicely handled

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 22 November 2023]

Review of Complete Serial:

THE MOONBASE is a decent four-part serial from Patrick Troughton's time as the Doctor. The setting is an obvious one and small-scale, but allows for a lot of the sci-fi trappings that these black and white episodes sometimes lack. Troughton is on form and well matched by a blustering Patrick Barr, an underrated talent from the 1950s who ended up appearing in a series of grotty but compelling Pete Walker horrors in the 1970s. The first episode sets up a decent mystery while the rest bring back some traditional foes who are handled very nicely. It's a shame episodes one and three are missing, but the animators have done well replicating the on-screen action and matching it to the audio.

Excellent in many ways with some great moments and the return of the Cybermen

[A_Kind_Of_CineMagic · 10/10 · 21 August 2014]

Review of all 4 episodes:

This 4 part story sees the return, in a modified form, of the Cybermen which is welcome and successful. This time they are attacking a weather control station on the Moon in the year 2070. I am in the minority who preferred their original voices to the ones they have here but other than that they are improved upon. They maintain their appeal and unfeeling, chilling character but are a bit more sleek and high tech. Their plans, and therefore the plot, are similar to the first Cyberman story in many ways and the quality is mostly not far below that brilliant first Cyberman story either. It is generally great entertainment.

A few less successful ideas and imperfections occur but it is very very good despite that. There is great suspense and some superb scenes of dialogue and action.

The regular cast are on good form and this story helps to cement the Cybermen as one of Doctor Who's most iconic 'monsters'.

My Ratings: Episodes 1 & 3 - 10/10, Episodes 2 & 4 - 9/10

Review of the complete The Moonbase story

[steelergirl83 · 7/10 · 12 February 2014]

No matter if you're watching classic Doctor Who or the very latest season, it's always an adventure. Some of the best episodes feature those villains we just love to hate! "The Moonbase", a story starring the Second Doctor, played by Patrick Troughton, features one of the most popular "baddies" in the history of the series -- the Cybermen! As chilling as they are in the contemporary series', they are even more so in this story. Even though the costumes were altered from the original Cybermen of "The Tenth Planet" 1966, the Cybermen still have that human look to them which makes them so frightening.

Since the original audio is all that exists of the first and third episodes, the audio was remastered and the lost episodes were animated for this DVD. Unlike the previous classic Doctor Who DVD (reviewed HERE), "The Ice Warriors", the animation was very well done -- no more one-dimensional "paperdoll" characters here. The audio was a bit garbled at times, but I don't think it was due to a poor remastering rather the robotic speech of the Cybermen which is difficult to understand. Although the story itself isn't quite as suspenseful as previous episodes of the classic series, there is still a lot to enjoy. Even with the little hitches in the audio and the story, if you're missing the on screen dynamics of two companions that we saw with Amy and Rory in series' 5-7 of the reboot, you'll love Polly, Jamie, and Ben fighting alongside the Doctor and what's left of the Moonbase crew to defeat the Cybermen threat.

When all is said and done, while not my favorite Doctor Who story, I still believe it is a must have for any Whovian's collection. The Cybermen are simply put, cool villains, and are a formidable opponent for the Doctor and his gang. It's easy to see why the writers of new Doctor Who have brought the Cybermen back to the new series. Doctor Who: The Moonbase is a good way to pass the time until Series 8!

*I received a complimentary copy from the publisher/publicist for review purposes. I received no compensation. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.*

"All resistance is useless."

[wetmars · 8/10 · 27 October 2020]

The TARDIS arrives in 2070 on the Moon, where a weather control station under the command of a man named Hobson is in the grip of a plague pandemic - in reality the result of an alien prison planted by the Cybermen. Jamie is clearly knocked out and lapses into delirium, leaving the Doctor, Ben, and Polly to fight off a massive Cyberman attack but this time they're on the lunar surface.

Review of all four episodes -

The Return of the Cybermen, this story is for sure an underrated story. Right after The Tenth Planet hit, many people demanded a sequel. The story feels like the same as The Tenth Planet this time, it's set on the Moon. Polly again makes Coffee for the men.

Patrick Troughton finally got it all together to become a likeble Doctor here. He is well-served. He does something in the episodes and performed memorable lines as: "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."

As for the Cybermen, they were doing good in this story. They had chilling monotone, didn't have any emotions, at though The Tenth Planet did better. I quite like their new costumes, replaced the cloth-faced mask with a metal helmet, much shinier due to their appearance. They still have the chest unit more different.

Shame that Episodes one and two are lost. I would love to see Jamie, Ben, and Polly, usually having fun jumping around the Moon.

8/10.

Upon the Moon

[pmullan-54285 · 7/10 · 1 December 2016]

The ever sought after 4th Season of Classic Doctor Who is filled with some stories that are better than others and yet hardly any of them exist. This is one of the lucky few that has half of its episodes in their entirety and I can safely say that it's very enjoyable, even with the missing episodes.

Patrick Troughton is stereotyped as being very lost in his role, at this point in his tenure and struggling with creating a new persona for the Time Lord, yet, I always find his performance in every tale to be very engaging. He plays minimal comedy with brilliant ease and he works off of his companions very very well. I love his giddy jumping for joy in several scenes and his serious takes, too. He can be very playful and chipper and yet dark and motivational, when he wants to be. This story is a must see, for Troughton lovers.

Polly is one of the Doctor Who girls that I am less familiar with, due to her lack of a complete era, on film. And while she is very easily scared of the Cybermen, she is smart enough to whip up her infamous Polly Cocktail, using her own nail varnish to attack them. This is one of her better stories, seeing as how underused she is in some of her other tales.

Ben is rather badly sidelined here, which is a shame, since I love the character who has proved to be very smart, witty and aggressive, but in all the right ways. He only really chips in with the odd line, here and there, in this story, but he is at least active, if not anything else. I did like his chummy relationship with Jamie and even the competition that the two share over Polly, but it's all in favour of just some padding, as they never have this kind of a fight again. His and Polly's want to get outside and jump around on the moon is also quite nice, but he is fairly under used, in most of the story.

Jamie is the one I sympathise with the most however, as he sleeps throughout the first 3 episodes and even then all he does is walk around for half of Episodes 3 and 4. He was rather badly sidelined in The Underwater Menace, too, but he was still active and making genuine helpful moves, throughout, whereas here, he just lies down and makes the odd comment. His weakest story, by far.

The Cyberman are much creepier here, since there is much more build up towards their appearance and they feel more like omniscient threats that bigger physical ones, like they did in The Tenth Planet. I like the base-under-siege idea in the story. I even like the atmospheric ambient noises that are filled into the medic bay scenes.

A must see, for viewers who love Troughton and the Cybermen, but as for the companions and supporting cast, it's a bit weak.

Another animated recreation filling in the blanks in an excellent vintage Second Doctor serial*

[jamesrupert2014 · 8/10 · 27 August 2023]

After an unexpectedly rough landing on Earth's moon in 2070, the Doctor (Patrick Troughton) and companions Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines), Ben (Michael Craze) and Polly (Anneke Wills) find themselves in a lunar weather-control station, the nexus of a cyberman plot to eliminate the threat that they feel humans pose. This is the second appearance of the implacable cybernetic villains, all of whom were assumed destroyed when their home-world Mondas disintegrated in 1986 (as told in the final First Doctor serial 'The Tenth Planet' (1966)), and even given the rudimentary 'robot' costumes and dodgy moon-scapes, is an entertaining 'Second Doctor' adventure. As a four-parter, the story moves along briskly and, if a few unlikelihoods are ignored, the plot holds together well, and the cast is fine. The cybermen are one of my favourite of the Doctor's persistent nemeses and the scenes of them walking across the lunar surface by their techno-creepy liet-motif is creepy fun. Only episodes 2 and 4 survive but 1 and 3 have now been 'recreated' using animated images set to audio-recordings of the original, allowing fans to see an approximation of the original serial (only possible before by a combination of audio and still images). *Comments and rating pertain to all 4 parts.