From Newsgroup: rec.arts.drwho.moderated   
   From Address: jphalt@aol.com   
   Subject: The Moonbase: my review   
      
   4 episodes. Approx. 97 minutes. Written by: Kit Pedlar, Gerry Davis   
   (uncredited). Directed by: Morris Barry. Produced by: Innes Lloyd.   
      
      
   THE PLOT   
      
   The Doctor's attempt to control the TARDIS goes awry, and he ends up   
   landing himself, Ben, Polly, and Jamie on the moon in the late 21st   
   century. While exploring the lunar surface, Jamie is injured, but he   
   is rescued by workers at an international moonbase. The base, which   
   uses a device called the Gravitron to control Earth's weather, is   
   suffering from an outbreak of a mysterious plague. The disease first   
   hit the base's doctor, then started spreading among the scientists,   
   with seemingly no reason behind it.   
      
   Though the Doctor's too-timely arrival draws some suspicion from   
   Hobson (Patrick Barr), the base commander, he is still allowed to   
   investigate the plague. What he discovers are contaminated food   
   stores, spreading an artificial disease designed to leave the base   
   vulnerable to infiltration. The Cybermen have returned, and they are   
   determined to eliminate all threats to their survival - which includes   
   all life on Earth!   
      
      
   CHARACTERS   
      
   The Doctor: The Moonbase is a key story for the 2nd Doctor, because   
   it's the story in which the production team finally figure out exactly   
   who he is. Gone are the disguises and funny accents of the previous   
   two serials. The humor is still there (as well it should be), but it's   
   used as part of his characterization rather than being a replacement   
   for characterization. Once the Doctor sees the effects of the space   
   plague, we see a seriousness of purpose. He essentially lays out the   
   mission statement of the rest of the Troughton era in Episode Two of   
   this story, as the 2nd Doctor proclaims: "There are some corners of   
   the universe which have bred the most terrible things, things which   
   act against everything which we believe in. They must be fought!" This   
   little speech could have come across as overly theatrical, but   
   Troughton keeps his voice nicely quiet as he delivers it, underplaying   
   against the aggressive nature of the lines.   
      
   Ben/Polly: One of the things making Ben and Polly such a good pairing   
   is the way their personalities balance each other out. Ben is cynical,   
   impatient, and aggressive. This can put him into a leadership role   
   when the Doctor's unable to take that role himself, as when he takes   
   Polly's idea about acetone and turns it into a practical weapon   
   against the Cybermen. But on his own, Ben's impatience would have led   
   him to walk out on the moonbase staff as soon as Hobson voiced   
   suspicions about the time travelers. Polly's compassion balances out   
   Ben's cynicism - though on her own, as we saw when she let Zaroff get   
   the better of her so easily, her compassion can override common sense.   
   Between the two of them, they make one fairly impressive human being -   
   which combines with the chemistry between Michael Craze and Anneke   
   Wills to channel a genuine "couples" vibe that hasn't been present in   
   any TARDIS team since Ian and Barbara.   
      
   Jamie: While Ben and Polly are reasonably well-treated by this story,   
   and the 2nd Doctor gets his first really good characterization since   
   Power of the Daleks, Jamie is even worse-used here than in the   
   previous story. The scripts having been written before his addition as   
   a regular, script editor Gerry Davis opts to fit him in by knocking   
   him out almost immediately and having him spend the first half of the   
   story unconscious, occasionally waking up to blather about "the   
   phantom piper." Episode Three attempts to create a vague rivalry with   
   Ben for Polly's affections, but this doesn't actually go anywhere and   
   so isn't particularly interesting on any kind of character level.   
      
   Cybermen: The Cybermen's second appearance, after their very well-   
   received debut in The Tenth Planet just four stories earlier. Despite   
   their success in that story, they were significantly redesigned in the   
   interim. I'm not sure I like all the changes to the design. The   
   monotone voice does effectively show their lack of emotions, and in   
   this is far better than any of the later Cyber voices. But the sing-   
   song voices of the Tenth Planet Cybermen were more eerie, as were the   
   recognizably human bandaged faces. Here, they are recreated as   
   strictly robots. On that level, it works. They come across as more   
   formidable here than in their first story, and there's a real sense   
   that they truly cannot be reasoned with. In any case, the Moonbase   
   Cybermen work well within this story, but I can see why the design was   
   further altered later.   
      
      
   THOUGHTS   
      
   The Moonbase would be an easy story to criticize. After all, just four   
   serials after The Tenth Planet, this serial is practically a remake.   
   But while The Tenth Planet introduced both the Cybermen and the "base-   
   under-siege" story to Doctor Who, The Moonbase refines both. I might   
   personally prefer the original Cybermen, but there's no question but   
   that these Cybermen are a more polished final product. As is the   
   story, which offers stronger atmosphere and a more effective sense of   
   both menace and claustrophobia.   
      
   The script, written by Kit Pedlar and given an extensive rewrite by   
   story editor Gerry Davis, builds tension masterfully. The first two   
   episodes see the Cybermen introduced very gradually. The shadow of a   
   Cyberman's head on a wall; a Cyberman's hand, within the Cyber-ship.   
   Even when they are finally seen in Episode Two, Hobson refuses to   
   believe it, insisting that they are all long dead... Right up until   
   the extremely effective cliffhanger reveal at the end of Episode Two.   
   It's all very well done, building the menace of the Cybermen in the   
   background while letting the disease plot occupy center stage to keep   
   the pace moving briskly.   
      
   Though most of the base crew are one-dimensional, Patrick Barr's   
   Hobson is probably one of the best-scripted "base commanders" of the   
   Troughton era. Hobson is not portrayed as an imbecile. He's obviously   
   highly competent. We see that he's under enormous stress, but he never   
   comes across as unstable; and it's clear at all times that he has the   
   respect of his men. He may have suspicions about the Doctor. But given   
   what he knows of the situation, those suspicions are reasonable - and   
   they don't stop him from accepting the Doctor's help, simply because   
   he knows he's out of his depth with the disease. He maintains his   
   dignity and authority even when his base is held hostage by the   
   Cybermen, and he works well with his second in command, Benoit (Andre   
   Maranne), and with the Doctor in fighting them. If this were rewritten   
   to remove the Doctor Who elements, Hobson would make a pretty good   
   lead for the story without any substantial change to his portrayal.   
      
   A comparison of this serial with The Underwater Menace is revealing, I   
   think. Both stories involve a threat to the entire planet Earth, as   
   witnessed from two-and-a-half sets on a soundstage. Both stories have   
   rather ridiculous elements. The Gravitron seems an outright liability   
   to Earth, given that a few hours of issues with the machine apparently   
   sends the entire planet into chaos. But The Moonbase establishes an   
   atmosphere of credibility, with the early episodes taking time to show   
   us the crew doing its regular routine, showing Hobson and Benoit   
   leading a total inspection of the machine when problems become clear,   
   building the suspense of the Cybermen's introduction by having the   
   crew read the drops in pressure without knowing what's causing it. A   
   lot of little details which make the whole piece feel much more   
   believable than it should. This persists even into Episode Four, with   
   the fate of the relief rocket from Earth presented as horrific - a   
   very gradual execution by the Cybermen which everyone is left helpless   
   to stop, even though it may take a week for the men to actually die.   
      
   All of this is quite a long way from generic high priests sacrificing   
   the companions to generic gods, while generic cruel overseers force   
   them to work in generic mines (mining what, exactly?), while a madman   
   plots to destroy the Earth simply because he can. The Moonbase   
   provides little details and tiny moments to make its setting feel   
   somewhat authentic; The Underwater Menace... doesn't.   
      
   Lest my praise be too lavish, I should say that the serial's ending is   
   deeply unsatisfying. The Cybermen are defeated at the end in a way   
   that makes sense within the confines of the story, but which just   
   feels like a complete anticlimax. All the tension built up over 3 1/2   
   episodes evaporates as a gizmo conveniently nullifies the Cyber-   
   threat. Still, a weak ending doesn't wipe away 3 1/2 episodes that are   
   generally excellent. The Moonbase is a simple story, but an extremely   
   well-executed one.   
      
      
      
   Rating: 8/10.   
      
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