DOCTOR WHO

Even though 80s Doctor Who would become obsessed with its own past, the Fifth Doctor actually had a longer wait until he met a previous adversary than his three immediate predecessors.

It wasn't until his sixth story, Earthshock, that Peter Davison faced the Cybermen, while Troughton, Pertwee and Tom Baker had all met at least one old enemy by their fifth. In fact, by that stage, Troughton had already met both the Daleks and the Cybermen, while Baker had three rematches in his first five stories. It's a shame that the rest of the eighties weren't this restrained when it came to referencing the series' own history.

Earthshock is one of those stories which has suffered something of a fan backlash in recent years, its status as a classic being diminished by the realisation that what seems great when you're 12 isn't quite the same when you're in your twenties and thirties.

One of the main criticisms about the story is the plot, which is a little on the thin side and things occasionally happen more for plot convenience than anything else. This does mean that the story suffers a little from watching it too closely or too often, but this was the first time I'd seen it in years and it was pretty enjoyable.

Eric Saward's script provides for some nice shocks such the revelation of the Cybermen at the end of part one, and some memorable moments, notably the Cyberman trapped in the freighter door during part three.

Apart from bringing the Cybermen back after an absence of seven years, Earthshock is also notable for killing off a companion, the first time that had occurred since The Daleks' Master Plan in 1965/6. Adric wasn't the best companion in the series' history and reducing the number of regulars was definitely the right move, but it's a shame that his final moments are so telegraphed. The Cybermen dragging itself towards the freighter's bridge while Adric timidly taps away (Matthew Waterhouse clearly being wary that the keyboard is rigged to explode) is just a little too obvious, even when you're a kid.

The DVD

Even for a relatively recent story, the level of restoration carried out is impressive, especially on the film scenes in part one. There is also the option of watching the story with some of the special effects, including the troopers' fire replaced, which is certainly an improvement on the original. The location film can also be viewed separately, and this contains some extra material that was edited from the final programme.

As usual there's a commentary, this time featuring the four regulars, with Peter Davison pretty much taking the lead and the others all chipping in comments. It's fairly enjoyable, although Janet Fielding quickly lapses into lazy nostalgia mode and spends most of the time criticising the costumes and hairstyles. So much for her strident feminism then. There's also a music-only option featuring Malcolm Clarke's score.

The disc's main documentary is Putting The 'Shock' Into Earthshock, featuring contributions from the regulars, Cyberleader David Banks, Eric Saward and Peter Grimwade. The impact the story had on viewers is also discussed, with Tory MP Tim Collins providing a laugh out loud moment when discussing the merits of the Cybermen's outfits in Revenge and Earthshock.

The BBC archives have produced an extract from BBC2's review show Did You See? which takes a very dry look at some of the series' monsters - a sharp contrast to the pisstake you'd get these days as Jamie Theakston asks "what were they on?" and other talking heads "sing" the theme tune and ask how the Daleks could conquer the universe without climbing stairs (cue fans at home shouting "watching Revelation or Rememberance, you idiot!" There's also a brief clip from black "comedy" show The Real McCoy featuring some dubbed clips and some embarrassingly canned laughter.

After criticising the comedy extras on a couple of the previous discs, I'm pleased to say that I actually found the story's new fifth episode funny.

It might not be as great as it seemed when you were a kid, but Earthshock is still an entertaining story, especially if you don't sit and analyse the plot too much. The DVD sees the story nicely cleaned up and with the usual level of effort put into compiling the extras. back to the top

EARTHSHOCK

Written by ERIC SAWARD

Directed by PETER GRIMWADE

Starring PETER DAVISON,
JANET FIELDING, SARAH SUTTON, MATTHEW WATERHOUSE

BBC DVD
Regions 2+4, Certificate PG

RATING: 7/10

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