The Moonbase (TV story): Difference between revisions

From Tardis Wiki, the free Doctor Who reference
No edit summary
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Infobox TV|
{{Infobox ClassicTV|
story name= The Moonbase|
story name= The Moonbase|
image=[[Image:The_Moonbase.jpg|250px]] |
image=[[Image:The_Moonbase.jpg|250px]] |
series=[[Doctor Who]] - [[TV stories|TV Stories]] |
series=[[Doctor Who]] - [[TV stories|TV Stories]] |
number= 33 |
number= [[Season 4]]|
story number= 33|
doctor=[[Second Doctor]] |
doctor=[[Second Doctor]] |
companions= [[Ben Jackson]]<br/>[[Polly]]<br/>[[Jamie McCrimmon]]|
companions= [[Ben Jackson]]<br/>[[Polly]]<br/>[[Jamie McCrimmon]]|
Line 20: Line 21:


==Synopsis==
==Synopsis==
A mysterious virus is wrecking havoc among the crew of the Earth's weather control station on the moon. While investigations into the strange disease are in progress, International Space Headquarters Earth puts the entire Moonbase into strict quarantine - the Doctor, Ben, Polly and Jamie included!
The TARDIS arrives in 2070 AD on the Moon, where a weather control station under the command of a man named Hobson is in the grip of a plague epidemic - in reality the result of an alien poison planted by the Cybermen.


To take matters worse, the personnel of the Moonbase inexplicably vanish, and vital weather control equipment is sabotaged. Who is responsible? The Director of the base suspects the time-travellers. But the Doctor fears a ruthless enemy from his own past are responsible... that the evil Cybermen have returned.
Polly realises that as the Cybermen's chest units are made of plastic they must be vulnerable to attack by solvents. She and her friends manage to destroy all the Cybermen on the base with a 'cocktail' of such chemicals shot at them through fire extinguishers.
 
A second wave of Cybermen advances across the lunar surface but, prompted by the Doctor, Hobson uses the base's gravity-generating weather control device, the Gravitron, to send them flying off into space.


==Plot==
==Plot==
Line 63: Line 66:
===[[:Category:Cybermen|Cybermen]]===
===[[:Category:Cybermen|Cybermen]]===
*[[Cybermat]]
*[[Cybermat]]
===[[:Category:Culture|Culture]]===
*[[Phantom Piper]]
===[[:Category:Earth|Earth]]===
*[[Hawaii]]
*[[Pacific Ocean]]


===[[:Category:Earth technology|Earth technology]]===  
===[[:Category:Earth technology|Earth technology]]===  
*The [[Gravitron]] runs on [[thermonuclear]] power.
*The [[Moonbase]] was established around [[2050]] to control the [[Earth]]'s weather via the Gravitron.
*The [[Gravitron]] runs on [[thermonuclear]] power and manipulates [[gravity]].


===[[:Category:Food and Beverages|Food and Beverages]]===
===[[:Category:Food and Beverages|Food and Beverages]]===
*The virus is in the [[sugar]].
*The [[virus]] is in the [[sugar]].
*Polly serves much [[Coffee]] and [[Tea]].  
*Polly serves much [[Coffee]] and [[Tea]].  


===[[:Category:Planets|Planets]]===
===[[:Category:Planets|Planets]]===
*[[Mars]]
*The Moonbase is on the [[Moon]].
*[[Earth]]
*[[Moon]]


===[[:Category:Science|Science]]===
===[[:Category:Science|Science]]===
*[[acetone]]
*The Cybermen shoot a hole in the Moonbase, suddenly making it loose [[oxygen]]
*[[oxygen]]
*The Cybermen's chest unit appears to be made of a kind of [[plastic]].
*[[plastic]]
*[[virus]]
*[[gravity]]
*[[flying saucer]]


===[[:Category:Timeline|Timeline]]===
===[[:Category:Timeline|Timeline]]===
Line 98: Line 89:
*This is the first story in which [[John Levene]] (who later played Sergeant Benton) appears.
*This is the first story in which [[John Levene]] (who later played Sergeant Benton) appears.
*In an early edit of the script the Cybermen had names.
*In an early edit of the script the Cybermen had names.
*Talkback from the headphones of the crew on the studio floor is clearly audible at times during episode four (the same problem as had earlier caused the opening episode of the first Dalek story to have to be remounted) - for example, a voice can be clearly heard saying 'cue' at the start of the scene where the controlled scientists are first activated by the Cybermen.


===Ratings===
===Ratings===
Line 108: Line 100:
''to be added''
''to be added''


===Location Filming===
===Filming Locations===
''to be added''
*[[Ealing Television Film Studios]], Ealing Green, Ealing
*[[Riverside Studios]], Hammersmith, [[London]]
*[[Lime Grove Studio D|Lime Grove Studios (Studio D)]]


===Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors===
===Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors===
''To be added''
*The Cybermen's spaceships look like paper plates held up by string.
*In episode four, when Evans sneaks into the Gravitron control room, he puts the cloth helmet on back to front (in the next scene it's the right way round).


==Continuity==
==Continuity==
*The final clip of the episode leads into [[The Macra Terror]].
*The final clip of the episode leads into [[DW]]: ''[[The Macra Terror]]''.
*The Cybermen shoot energy from their hands, this style is later repeated in [[Rise of the Cybermen]].
*The Cybermen shoot energy from their hands, this style is later repeated in [[DW]]: ''[[Rise of the Cybermen]]''.
*There are various references to [[The Tenth Planet]].
*There are various references to [[DW]]: ''[[The Tenth Planet]]''.
*A flashback to this story appears in [[Earthshock]].
*A flashback to this story appears in [[DW]]: ''[[Earthshock]]''.


==DVD, Video and Other Releases==
==DVD, Video and Other Releases==
Line 125: Line 120:


==Target Novelisations==
==Target Novelisations==
''to be added''
*Novelised as ''[[Doctor Who and the Cybermen]]'' by [[Gerry Davis]] in [[1975]].


==See Also==
==See also==
*[[The Tenth Planet]]
*[[DW]]: ''[[The Tenth Planet]]''
*[[DW]]: ''[[The Seeds of Death]]''
*[[NA]]: ''[[Iceberg]]''


==External links==
==External links==
 
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/moonbase/ Official BBC Episode Guide for '''The Moonbase''']
* [http://www.gallifreyone.com/episode.php?id=hh Outpost Gallifrey '''The Moonbase''' page]
* [http://www.gallifreyone.com/episode.php?id=hh Outpost Gallifrey Episode Guide: '''The Moonbase''']
* [http://www.drwhoguide.com/who_2h.htm The Doctor Who Reference Guide detailed synopsis of '''The Moonbase''']
* [http://www.drwhoguide.com/who_2h.htm Doctor Who Reference Guide: Detailed Synopsis - '''The Moonbase''']
* [http://www.shannonsullivan.com/drwho/serials/hh.html A Brief History of Time (Travel) Guide to '''The Moonbase''']
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/photonovels/moonbase/ Photonovel of '''The Moonbase''' on the BBC website]
*[http://homepages.bw.edu/~jcurtis/Scripts/Moonbase/intro.html '''The Moonbase''' transcripts]
*[http://homepages.bw.edu/~jcurtis/Scripts/Moonbase/intro.html '''The Moonbase''' transcripts]
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/photonovels/moonbase/ Photonovel of ''The Moonbase'' on the BBC website]
*[http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/moonbase/ '''The Moonbase''' BBC episode guide]
* [http://www.shannonsullivan.com/drwho/serials/hh.html A Brief History of Time (Travel) Guide to '''The Moonbase''']


{{TV stub}}
{{TV stub}}

Revision as of 14:15, 26 March 2008


The Moonbase was the sixth story of Season 4 of Doctor Who. The return appearance of the Cybermen solidified their place as one of the series' key villains. This story was the first in Doctor Who history with sequences taking place on Earth's Moon.

Synopsis

The TARDIS arrives in 2070 AD on the Moon, where a weather control station under the command of a man named Hobson is in the grip of a plague epidemic - in reality the result of an alien poison planted by the Cybermen.

Polly realises that as the Cybermen's chest units are made of plastic they must be vulnerable to attack by solvents. She and her friends manage to destroy all the Cybermen on the base with a 'cocktail' of such chemicals shot at them through fire extinguishers.

A second wave of Cybermen advances across the lunar surface but, prompted by the Doctor, Hobson uses the base's gravity-generating weather control device, the Gravitron, to send them flying off into space.

Plot

to be added

Cast

Crew

References

Cybermen

Earth technology

Food and Beverages

Planets

  • The Moonbase is on the Moon.

Science

  • The Cybermen shoot a hole in the Moonbase, suddenly making it loose oxygen
  • The Cybermen's chest unit appears to be made of a kind of plastic.

Timeline

Story Notes

  • Working title; The Return of the Cybermen.
  • This is the first story in which John Levene (who later played Sergeant Benton) appears.
  • In an early edit of the script the Cybermen had names.
  • Talkback from the headphones of the crew on the studio floor is clearly audible at times during episode four (the same problem as had earlier caused the opening episode of the first Dalek story to have to be remounted) - for example, a voice can be clearly heard saying 'cue' at the start of the scene where the controlled scientists are first activated by the Cybermen.

Ratings

  • Episode 1 - 8.1 million viewers
  • Episode 2 - 8.9 million viewers
  • Episode 3 - 8.2 million viewers
  • Episode 4 - 8.1 million viewers

Myths

to be added

Filming Locations

Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors

  • The Cybermen's spaceships look like paper plates held up by string.
  • In episode four, when Evans sneaks into the Gravitron control room, he puts the cloth helmet on back to front (in the next scene it's the right way round).

Continuity

DVD, Video and Other Releases

  • The two surviving episodes (2 and 4) were released on the Cybermen: The Early Years video.
  • The surviving episodes were also released on the Lost in Time DVD, along with full audio of the two missing episodes.

Target Novelisations

See also

External links

TVStub.png