Day 77 — March 18th 2021
The Moonbase Episodes Three and Four
The Moonbase — Episode Three
I can only assume that Doctor Who Magazine have scheduled their publications this year to match the blog, because the current issue features a fantastic article about the sets for The Moonbase, with special focus on this particular episodes.
The feature looks at the way the limited space in studio was used to cover all the sets needed for the story, and has some gorgeous images by Gavin Rymill which really help to visualise the space. What I’ve found particularly impressive is just how well all the sets interconnect with each other. It’s not true to say that everything has been enclosed and constructed in the exact ‘real’ spot, but I’d never considered just how ‘immersive’ the sets must have been for this one. And I’m a huge fan of the colour scheme used for the 3D renders — it’s how I’ve been imagining the base through the story this time.
If you’ve not already gotten a hold of this month’s DWM (issue 562, dated April) it’s well worth tracking down, because this is just one of many great articles this month. I’d go so far as to say it’s my favourite issue in years.
And it’s nice to see the sets of The Moonbase given some love, because they are gorgeous, aren’t they? There’s a scale to them (thanks in part to the clever way they’ve utilised the space in studio, and helped by being largely set in a handful of big rooms) that you’re often lacking in other stories.
I think my favourite set is the one that’s not inside the Moonbase itself — the Cybermen’s spaceship interior. There’s something about the design that really appeals to me, and although you don’t get to see it moving in this episode, Episode Four contains some great lighting effects which have always stuck in my mind from the very first time I saw this story. I love it.
The exterior of the ship shouldn’t work at all. I should be sat here saying ‘it lets the side down’ and comparing it to a pie dish. But it’s great! There’s something pleasingly ‘B-movie’ about it, and the inclusion of the section on top which resembles the chest unit on the Tenth Planet Cybermen makes me wonder if they considered using those old costumes again at some point? I’ve heard it said that it actually is one of the pieces from an old Cyberman costume, but I’m not sure the scale is quite right for that.
We get some great material with the Cybermen in this episode, and I always forget just how late they get introduced to the story. One of them is the cliffhanger to Episode One (although that mystery is preserved on the audio, it’s given away fairly early into Part Two when you see it clearly in the reprise!), but then they just do a lot of skulking around for Episode Two before finally getting something to do here. I particularly like their exchange with Doctor Who;
Cyberman: ‘You are known to us.’
Doctor Who: ‘And you to me.’
Cyberman: ‘Silence!’
I also think the victims of the Cyberman virus in this episode are pretty terrifying, too. It makes me slightly uncomfortable to look at now, so I can only assume it would have actively scared me as a kid. I don’t think we’ll actually see the Cybermen do a lot of this sort of thing in the future, which is a shame because I think it’s the most interesting addition to their characters here.
Okay, I suppose I do need to touch on the slightly unfortunate part of this episode. Polly is responsible for solving the riddle of how to overpower and defeat the Cybermen, using Jamie’s comment about ‘holy water’ and coming up with an ingenuous solution using… well, a solution. She’s the one who whips it all together, but when it comes to actually delivering the killing blow Ben won’t let her come along.
‘Not you, Polly,’ he says. ‘This is men’s work’. Now don’t worry, I’m not going to start calling the programme out for not being fair to women, or for being sexist. I’m well aware that it was made in 1967 and that attitudes have changed since then. But it sticks out like a sore thumb here precisely because they don’t usually do things like that. Polly’s been brilliantly resourceful over the last few stories, with The Highlanders a special highlight, so it jars a bit here, and needs touching on.
I’ll tell you what’s brilliant in that same scene, though; Ben and Jamie squaring up over Polly’s affections;
Ben: ‘No, you stay where you are, Jamie.’
Polly: ‘Jamie, you’re not well enough.’
Jamie: ‘It takes more than a wee crack on the head to keep a McCrimmon down.’
Ben: ‘Look mate, we don’t want you cracking up on us. I’m sure Polly’s very impressed.’
Jamie: ‘Look, I said I was better. Would you like me to prove it to you?’
Ben: ‘Any time, mate.’
It’s not a dynamic we’ve had between companions before, and I can’t think of any times we really get it again in the future, so it’s a really interesting tease of something here. It’s a shame that it gets dropped for their next couple of stories, because I think you could have really mined this for drama!
An 8/10 for Episode Three, and another one I wish we could actually see properly.
The Moonbase — Episode Four
After all my wondering yesterday about how good — or otherwise — the material of our heroes messing around on the Moon might have looked, I forgot that we get to see some wire work in this episode, while the Cybermen are projected off into space. And it looks great! There’s some wires on show when their spaceship is being pulled around, but the actual monsters themselves floating off looks great, and makes me only more desperate to see that first episode.
In many ways, The Moonbase is Troughton Doctor Who by the numbers, and it’s true that lots of what we’ve seen across these four episodes will be utilised again over the next couple of seasons. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s all done so well here. I think if the two missing episodes were to turn up, this would be hailed as a proper classic.
One of my favourite moments in this episode is a perfect example of what the cast can bring to a script during rehearsal. As broadcast we get this lovely exchange between Polly and Hobson;
Nils: ‘Well, with all the trouble we’ve been giving them I’d say it’s certain the rocket is on its way, sent off hours ago. Rinberg’s very quick off the trigger, right, Hobby?’
Hobson: ‘I’m sure of it. With a replacement for me aboard, no doubt.’
Polly: ‘But that’s wonderful!’
Hobson: ‘Thanks very much.’
Polly: ‘No, what I mean is, what are we all worrying about? The Cybermen can’t get in and help is on its way.’
The lines are delivered pretty much as scripted… but there’s a sense of camaraderie and humour to the performances that’s lacking when written down. The tendency for the crew of the Moonbase to call Hobson ‘Hobby’ was established in Episode One, and substituting it for the scripted ‘Chief’ here somehow adds something extra to the scene.
My absolute favourite is his reaction to Polly’s ‘but that’s wonderful’, which feels so real.
It helps to add a little something to the episode that I don’t think you can write in. These actors worked together for a full month during the production of this story, and I think you can tell. They feel like a complete unit, and bounce off each other so well. Of course that’s also true of the later base-under-siege stories, but it feels especially strong here.
During The Tenth Planet I said one of the things that was especially impressive was just how many Cybermen costumes they’d paid for — and they’ve gone even further here. There’s eleven of them marching across the Moon! When I write it down that sounds vaguely ridiculous — eleven isn’t all that many at all. But in the context of Doctor Who monsters that’s basically an army. Even the ‘new’ series couldn’t afford that many when they brought the Cybermen back in 2006.
Okay, so the science doesn’t exactly add up. Of course the tea tray sequence causes more than a few raised eyebrows, but I totally buy it within the context of the episode, and it serves as a brilliant piece of action in the middle. In all, this episode is an 8/10 for me.
