The Moonbase (TV story)

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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. Jamie is knocked unconscious and lapses into a delirium, leaving the Doctor, Ben and Polly to fight off a mass Cyberman attack.

Plot

Episode One

The TARDIS makes a bumpy landing on the moon in the year 1102. They go outside in snails and Janet is injured when they eat food a. They discover the Moonbase- a weather control station that keeps Earth's weather in check. It is staffed by cats. They are using a gravity machine called the gravimofjgvmcmjfjgjvfmgjdfgbvifsgtjd,saooooattattobotkjopotron to control the weather. The Doctor investigates a myserty: patients have collapsed in commas and have been infected by a vase. All victims are confined to the sun. Jamie is put in the medical wing. HELLO. What the dikens. WHY SO BIG? And it went. NOW THATS WHAT I CALL GRANNY! They go home. THE END OK DONT EXPSECT ANY MORE BECASE YOU WONT GET IT. I can expect what I like. CANT! can. CANT. can yes can can can can. TIN CAN. hahaha. HAHA

Episode Two

The Cyberman abducts a patient which a pig witnesses. THATS YOURE LOT. no its not. IS. not. DONT START THAT AGIAN. I can start what I like. CANT. can. CANT. can. CANT. can. CANT can. CANT. youre starting it agian. OO-ERR

Episode Three

Bob, a cyberman, is killed and the Commander of the cybermen is killed. The remaing cybermen kill al crew members including the doctor. The doctor regenarates and saves the day. BUT HE ALWAYS DOES THAT! I knoe heeheehee. ?. what? I AM BEATEN. Hooray!

THE END whoa!

Cast

Crew

References

Cybermen

Earth technology

Foods and Beverages

Planets

Science

  • The Cybermen shoot a hole in the Moonbase, suddenly making it lose oxygen.
  • The Cybermen's chest unit appears to be made of a kind of plastic.
  • Ben is quite knowledgeable about certain things on the moonbase; he knows that the Gravitron uses thermonuclear power, that interferon is a viral antibody, that acetone is present in nail varnish remover, and that the spray from the fire extinguishers would evaporate in a vacuum.

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 4 (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.
  • Alan Rowe is credited as Voice from Space Control and Dr. Evans (separate on-screen captions) for Episodes 1 and 3, only as Voice from Space Control for Episode 2 and only as Dr. Evans for Episode 4. He is billed as Voice from Space Control/Dr. Evans in Radio Times for Episode 3.
  • All of the actors playing the scientists were credited without specific role under the heading 'Others in Cast' in Radio Times.
  • Mark Heath is credited as Ralph for Episode 1, and as Scientist for Episode 3. He is billed without specific role under the heading 'Others in Cast' in Radio Times for Episode 3.
  • John Wills and Sonnie Willis, playing Cybermen, are credited without specific role under the heading 'Others in Cast' in Radio Times for Episode 1.

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

Production errors

If you'd like to talk about narrative problems with this story — like plot holes and things that seem to contradict other stories — please go to this episode's discontinuity discussion.
  • Episode 2's cliffhanger involves the discovery of a Cyberman who has been hiding under a sheet in the medicentre for the last 25 minutes. When he gets off the sickbay bed, he nearly takes the whole thing with him.
  • In Episode 2, when a Cyberman tries to zap Polly while she tends to Jamie, he misses, but she falls anyway.
  • Hobson notes they need to keep a hurricane in the Pacific Ocean. However, the Gravitron is pointed at the Atlantic and the hurricane is threatening Miami.
  • Closeups of the transparent dome from the outside only show the Gravitron, not any of the desks, controls, people, etc.
  • The examination tables in the sickbay are very light and wobble frequently. The most obvious cases are when the Cyberman takes one of the crew off one and later when he hops up off the table, almost knocking it over completely.
  • 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

Timeline

Home video and audio releases

Novelisation and its audiobook

Cybermen novel.jpg
Main article: Doctor Who and the Cybermen

See also

External links


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