DOCTOR WHO

Doctor Who's fourth season was the one that was hardest hit by the BBC's archive junking in the 1970s. It's the only season without a complete story, with only nine of its 43 episodes still in its existence.

Curiously, five of these feature the Cybermen - the first three episodes of The Tenth Planet and the second and fourth from The Moonbase. The 50% survival rate meant that the latter was included in last year's Lost In Time DVD set, but it had previously been issued on CD as part of the BBC's commitment to release every missing or incomplete story on audio.

The story is pretty much a retread of The Tenth Planet, and another early example of the "base under siege" format used for many Troughton stories.

Despite the similarities with their first story, the Cybermen's design has been updated. Gone are the cloth mask, miner's lamp and clunky chest unit, and in comes a much sleeker design. Their voices have also been changed, with the sing-song voice used in The Tenth Planet replaced by an electronic drawl. Personally, I'm not convinced that it's better than the original, but it does suit their new look.

By this point in the show's history, Patrick Troughton had settled into the role of the Doctor and the outlandish humour of some of his early episodes has been toned down.

The Second Doctor also works well with his companions, although the addition of Jamie to the TARDIS team meant some shuffling of lines between his assistant. Here, the problem of too many regulars is overcome by having Jamie rendered unconscious for much of the story (and not, as the Cybermen - The Early Years video implied, hit by the "disease" infecting the Moonbase personnel). It's good to see Polly and Ben being used to come up with solutions to problems rather than simply being used to prompt the Doctor's explanation.

The use of stock music to provide themes for the Cybermen is another very effective aspect of the production.

Less impressive are the general facelessness of the Moonbase crew, the wobbly sets and some gaping plot holes. Most notably, perhaps, is the cliffhanger to the second episode as the Cyberman hiding in the medical unit throws off his sheet. The reason given for not having searched the room is pretty pathetic, but it simply beggars belief that no one has spotted him.

Overall, however, The Moonbase is a flawed but entertaining story that helped set the Cybermen on the way to becoming the monsters of the Troughton era. I'm not particularly a fan of Frazer Hines' narrations (I'd much rather have had Anneke Wills, but there you go), but for the most part he's not too bad, much like the story itself. back to the top

THE MOONBASE

Written by KIT PEDLER

Starring PATRICK TROUGHTON,
MICHAEL CRAZE, ANNEKE WILLS,
FRAZER HINES

Produced by INNES LLOYD

Directed by MORRIS BARRY

CD narrated by FRAZER HINES

BBC RADIO COLLECTION

RATING: 7/10

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