12 January, 2023

Well, it's a marvelous night to besiege a moonbase

Back to video!

This came out in early 1967. Half the episodes still exist and the other 2 have been animated.

The Cybermen here are less bulky and have new voices. They're more robotic looking and less like a human undergoing modification. Those fingers look almost useless, though. I liked the laser howitzer Cybercrew with one guy giving the signal to fire by lowering his arm. Very World War II-like.

The show's low budget was overcome here with a rather large set. We get to see multiple areas and not just the control room. I very much enjoyed the scene where the Doctor and friends realize that the Cyberman is hiding in plain sight in the medical bay. Plus there were a few scenes that took place on the Moon's surface so there was a goodly amount of variety in locations.

Polly does her share of screaming here but she is also the one who comes up with the idea for the Acetone Attack. Once again, the crack BBC suspension wires team comes through. In the previous story, The Underwater Menace, we got the Fish People Underwater Ballet. Here we get the Very Low Gravity Long Jump Competition and Jamie loses. Unfortunately, the new companion is out cold much of the time and is relegated mainly to lying in the medical bay with some fever dreams thrown in. Not as bad as Nyssa in Kinda, but still.

I think this is the first TV story that Troughton doesn't take a disguise in. He's all business here with little to no whimsy.

Back in the day, this would have been the second Cybermen story in 4 months or so. I wonder why they returned so quickly. Regardless, they established themselves as being better villains that the Daleks early on.

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