The Moonbase
Encyclopedia
The Moonbase is a serial in the British
science fiction television series Doctor Who
, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 11 February to 4 March 1967. The story features the return, and first redesign, of the Cybermen
.
makes a bumpy landing on the Moon
in the year 2070 and, dressed in spacesuits, the Second Doctor
and his companions Jamie
, Polly
and Ben venture outside and enjoy the low gravity environment. Jamie is injured while they fool around.
The only building on that part of the moon’s surface is the Moonbase, a weather tracking and managing station which is staffed by an international crew managed by the bullish Hobson. They are using the gravity machine the Gravitron to control the Earth’s weather. When the time travellers arrive, the Doctor ingratiates them in the usual manner and is on hand to do some detective work because some of the crew have been collapsing in comas with a strange virus that spreads throughout the body. International Space Control responds to the crisis by quarantining the Moonbase. The station doctor, Evans, was the first one to get the disease and in a delirium talks of a silver hand but immediately dies of the disease.
Something is definitely amiss because another of the Moonbase crew, Ralph, has disappeared in the food stores, and they have also noticed the Moonbase radio transmissions are being monitored from somewhere else on the moon. Jamie has been placed in the sickbay where, feverish and delirious, he begins mumbling about a “Phantom Piper”, a figure which appears to McCrimmon before he dies. While attending to Jamie, Polly sees a large figure leave through the door. When Hobson, The Doctor, Ben, John and Nils arrive to collect Evans' body it has disappeared. They then leave to investigate where this 'piper' is. Polly goes to get some water, and Jamie wakes up to see the 'piper' advancing on him.
The 'piper' ignores Jamie as he doesn't have the disease, so he steals another patient and leaves. Polly comes back in just as the figure is leaving and recognises it as a Cyberman
, and the Doctor realises their old enemies are stalking the Moonbase and taking the patients' bodies. Hobson brushes away the cyber-story, believing they died out years ago. He gives the Doctor 24 hours to discover the cause of the virus, or else he leaves the moon.
While Hobson deals with the Gravitron, which is becoming difficult to control with fewer staff, the Doctor decides to focus on the cause of the viral disease. In the sickbay, Polly and Jamie are attacked by a Cyberman, which stuns them with electricity from his hand (which was used to stun Ralph) and subsequently leaves with another patient's body.
It is discovered that the Gravitron isn't working because some antennae on the Moon's surface are broken. Jools and Franz go out to fix them but are ambushed by two Cybermen (whom the almost zero-gravity has no effect on) and beaten to death. The Doctor can't work out the cause of the disease and is ordered to leave by Hobson. Polly makes some coffee and another crewmember gets infected. The Doctor works out the neurotropic virus has been spread through infected sugar from the food stores – and is thus an organised scheme to destabilise the crew. The humans have searched the base and found nowhere to hide a Cyberman. At that moment, a Cyberman who had been posing as a patient in bed reveals himself and aims his gun at them.
Another Cyberman emerges and kills Bob when he tries to attack the other with a metal bar. The Cybermen recognise the Doctor and use their weapons to take control of the central control centre of the Moonbase, while confining Polly and Ben to the sickbay. The Cybermen reveal that they want to use the Gravitron to destroy all life on Earth by altering the weather.
On board the cyber-ship Evans, Jools and Ralph are conditioned to obey the Cybermen like zombie slaves. They are taken to the base and are sent into the heart of the Gravitron to subvert the machine. The Cybermen have been entering and leaving the base using a tunnel that goes into the food stores, explaining the drops in air pressure.
Using fire extinguishers, nail varnish remover and other objects that dissolve plastic, Ben, Polly and a recovered Jamie lead a fightback from their incarceration in the medical wing. The three Cybermen in the initial attack force are destroyed.
Benoit goes outside to see what happened to Jools and Franz. He only finds their spacesuits, and is caught and chased around by a Cyberman. Ben puts some of the solvent in a bottle and goes out. He then throws the bottle at the Cyberman's chest unit, killing it and saving Benoit. The crew block off the hole in the food stores to prevent more Cybermen entering. The cybership is located, but to the crew's horror, a large squad of Cybermen start advancing on the Moonbase.
They advance on the Moonbase through the vacuum of the Moon’s surface. Two Cybermen on the surface damage the aerial, preventing the Moonbase from contacting Earth; however a relief ship is on the way. The Cybermen use radio beams to reactivate their zombies inside the base, who infiltrate the Gravitron and use it to deflect a relief ship sent by Earth into the sun. A hole is blasted in the wall, which depressurises the base, but Hobson and Benoit use a coffee tray to plug the leak. The depressurisation deactivates Evans and the other zombies.
Two more cyberships arrive (one of these blasted the hole). The Cybermen already on the surface erect a large laser cannon and threaten to blow the base open unless the entry port is opened within 10 seconds. They fire, but the beam is deflected by the Gravitron, so the Cybermen pack the cannon away. Another large squad from one of the other cyberships take up positions around the base. With the help of Hobson, Polly and Benoit, the Doctor points the Gravitron at the lunar surface, which blasts the Cybermen and their ships away into space.
As Hobson and his team reorientate the Gravitron to its proper use, the Doctor and his companions slip away. Back in the TARDIS they dematerialise, and then activate the scanner to reveal a monstrous claw waving around.
, was published by Target Books
in February 1975 under the title Doctor Who and the Cybermen. Davis opens the book with a lengthy history of the Cybermen and updates Ben and Polly to readers from the 1970s. A Turkish
translation was published in 1975.
- fan reviews
Target novelisation
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
science fiction television series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 11 February to 4 March 1967. The story features the return, and first redesign, of the Cybermen
Cyberman
The Cybermen are a fictional race of cyborgs who are amongst the most persistent enemies of the Doctor in the British science fiction television series, Doctor Who. Cybermen were originally a wholly organic species of humanoids originating on Earth's twin planet Mondas that began to implant more...
.
Plot
The TARDISTARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...
makes a bumpy landing on the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
in the year 2070 and, dressed in spacesuits, the Second Doctor
Second Doctor
The Second Doctor is the second incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by character actor Patrick Troughton....
and his companions Jamie
Jamie McCrimmon
James Robert "Jamie" McCrimmon is a fictional character played by Frazer Hines in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A piper of the Clan McLaren who lived in 18th century Scotland, he was a companion of the Second Doctor and a regular in the programme from 1966...
, Polly
Polly (Doctor Who)
Polly is a fictional character played by Anneke Wills in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A young woman from the year 1966, she was a companion of the First and Second Doctors and a regular in the programme from 1966 to 1967.-Character history:Polly first...
and Ben venture outside and enjoy the low gravity environment. Jamie is injured while they fool around.
The only building on that part of the moon’s surface is the Moonbase, a weather tracking and managing station which is staffed by an international crew managed by the bullish Hobson. They are using the gravity machine the Gravitron to control the Earth’s weather. When the time travellers arrive, the Doctor ingratiates them in the usual manner and is on hand to do some detective work because some of the crew have been collapsing in comas with a strange virus that spreads throughout the body. International Space Control responds to the crisis by quarantining the Moonbase. The station doctor, Evans, was the first one to get the disease and in a delirium talks of a silver hand but immediately dies of the disease.
Something is definitely amiss because another of the Moonbase crew, Ralph, has disappeared in the food stores, and they have also noticed the Moonbase radio transmissions are being monitored from somewhere else on the moon. Jamie has been placed in the sickbay where, feverish and delirious, he begins mumbling about a “Phantom Piper”, a figure which appears to McCrimmon before he dies. While attending to Jamie, Polly sees a large figure leave through the door. When Hobson, The Doctor, Ben, John and Nils arrive to collect Evans' body it has disappeared. They then leave to investigate where this 'piper' is. Polly goes to get some water, and Jamie wakes up to see the 'piper' advancing on him.
The 'piper' ignores Jamie as he doesn't have the disease, so he steals another patient and leaves. Polly comes back in just as the figure is leaving and recognises it as a Cyberman
Cyberman
The Cybermen are a fictional race of cyborgs who are amongst the most persistent enemies of the Doctor in the British science fiction television series, Doctor Who. Cybermen were originally a wholly organic species of humanoids originating on Earth's twin planet Mondas that began to implant more...
, and the Doctor realises their old enemies are stalking the Moonbase and taking the patients' bodies. Hobson brushes away the cyber-story, believing they died out years ago. He gives the Doctor 24 hours to discover the cause of the virus, or else he leaves the moon.
While Hobson deals with the Gravitron, which is becoming difficult to control with fewer staff, the Doctor decides to focus on the cause of the viral disease. In the sickbay, Polly and Jamie are attacked by a Cyberman, which stuns them with electricity from his hand (which was used to stun Ralph) and subsequently leaves with another patient's body.
It is discovered that the Gravitron isn't working because some antennae on the Moon's surface are broken. Jools and Franz go out to fix them but are ambushed by two Cybermen (whom the almost zero-gravity has no effect on) and beaten to death. The Doctor can't work out the cause of the disease and is ordered to leave by Hobson. Polly makes some coffee and another crewmember gets infected. The Doctor works out the neurotropic virus has been spread through infected sugar from the food stores – and is thus an organised scheme to destabilise the crew. The humans have searched the base and found nowhere to hide a Cyberman. At that moment, a Cyberman who had been posing as a patient in bed reveals himself and aims his gun at them.
Another Cyberman emerges and kills Bob when he tries to attack the other with a metal bar. The Cybermen recognise the Doctor and use their weapons to take control of the central control centre of the Moonbase, while confining Polly and Ben to the sickbay. The Cybermen reveal that they want to use the Gravitron to destroy all life on Earth by altering the weather.
On board the cyber-ship Evans, Jools and Ralph are conditioned to obey the Cybermen like zombie slaves. They are taken to the base and are sent into the heart of the Gravitron to subvert the machine. The Cybermen have been entering and leaving the base using a tunnel that goes into the food stores, explaining the drops in air pressure.
Using fire extinguishers, nail varnish remover and other objects that dissolve plastic, Ben, Polly and a recovered Jamie lead a fightback from their incarceration in the medical wing. The three Cybermen in the initial attack force are destroyed.
Benoit goes outside to see what happened to Jools and Franz. He only finds their spacesuits, and is caught and chased around by a Cyberman. Ben puts some of the solvent in a bottle and goes out. He then throws the bottle at the Cyberman's chest unit, killing it and saving Benoit. The crew block off the hole in the food stores to prevent more Cybermen entering. The cybership is located, but to the crew's horror, a large squad of Cybermen start advancing on the Moonbase.
They advance on the Moonbase through the vacuum of the Moon’s surface. Two Cybermen on the surface damage the aerial, preventing the Moonbase from contacting Earth; however a relief ship is on the way. The Cybermen use radio beams to reactivate their zombies inside the base, who infiltrate the Gravitron and use it to deflect a relief ship sent by Earth into the sun. A hole is blasted in the wall, which depressurises the base, but Hobson and Benoit use a coffee tray to plug the leak. The depressurisation deactivates Evans and the other zombies.
Two more cyberships arrive (one of these blasted the hole). The Cybermen already on the surface erect a large laser cannon and threaten to blow the base open unless the entry port is opened within 10 seconds. They fire, but the beam is deflected by the Gravitron, so the Cybermen pack the cannon away. Another large squad from one of the other cyberships take up positions around the base. With the help of Hobson, Polly and Benoit, the Doctor points the Gravitron at the lunar surface, which blasts the Cybermen and their ships away into space.
As Hobson and his team reorientate the Gravitron to its proper use, the Doctor and his companions slip away. Back in the TARDIS they dematerialise, and then activate the scanner to reveal a monstrous claw waving around.
Production
- The working title of this story was Cybermen and The Return of the Cybermen. It was commissioned before the last episode of The Tenth PlanetThe Tenth PlanetThe Tenth Planet is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 8 October to 29 October 1966. It was William Hartnell's last regular appearance as the First Doctor, and the first story to feature the Cybermen...
was broadcast, to take advantage of the strong positive response to the Cybermen. - When Pedler was commissioned to write a second Cyberman story, one of the requirements was that the story should have only one large set and a limited number of smaller sets.
- The first draft of the script was written before it was decided that Frazer Hines would be a regular cast member. As a result, the character of Jamie had to be worked into a script that didn't have much room for him. So in the first two episodes, Jamie spends much of the time in sickbay. In the last two episodes, some of Ben's dialog was given to him.
- The first 3 Episodes were recorded on successive Saturdays at Doctor Who's then regular home of Riverside 1Riverside StudiosRiverside Studios is a production studio, theatre and independent cinema on the banks of the River Thames in Hammersmith, London, England. It plays host to contemporary and international dramatic and dance performance, film, visual art exhibitions and television production.-History:In 1933, the...
, but for Episode 4 it moved back to Lime Grove DLime Grove StudiosLime Grove Studios was a film studio complex built by the Gaumont Film Company in 1915 situated in a street named Lime Grove, inShepherd's Bush, west London, north of Hammersmith and described by Gaumont as "the finest studio in Great Britain and the first building ever put up in this country... - A final clip, used to carry the story into the subsequent adventure, The Macra TerrorThe Macra TerrorThe Macra Terror is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 11 March to 1 April 1967...
was filmed separately during the making of that story, as the Macra prop was too large to be brought into the studio.
Cast notes
- This story features the debut of actor John Levene (uncredited) as a Cyberman. Levene would return as a YetiYeti (Doctor Who)The Yeti of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, although resembling the cryptozoological creatures also called the Yeti, are in actuality alien robots. Their external appearance, that of a huge hairy biped, disguises a small spherical mechanism that provides its motive power...
in The Web of FearThe Web of FearThe Web of Fear is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 3 February to 9 March 1968. This serial — which marks the return of the Yeti, the Great Intelligence, and Professor Travers — is the sequel to The Abominable...
, and would go on to play the regular character Sergeant BentonSergeant BentonSergeant Benton is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by John Levene. He was the senior NCO of the British contingent of UNIT , an international organisation that defends the Earth...
. - John Rolfe had previously appeared in The War MachinesThe War MachinesThe War Machines is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in 4 weekly parts from 25 June to 16 July 1966...
and would appear again in The Green DeathThe Green DeathThe Green Death is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, first broadcast in six weekly parts from 19 May 1973 to 23 June 1973. It was the last to feature Katy Manning as companion Jo Grant in Doctor Who...
.
In print
A novelisation of this serial, written by Gerry DavisGerry Davis (screenwriter)
Gerry Davis was a British television writer, best known for his contributions to the science-fiction genre. He also wrote for the soap operas Coronation Street and United!....
, was published by Target Books
Target Books
Target Books was a British publishing imprint, established in 1973 by Universal-Tandem Publishing Co Ltd, a paperback publishing company. The imprint was established as a children's imprint to complement the adult Tandem imprint, and became well known for their highly successful range of...
in February 1975 under the title Doctor Who and the Cybermen. Davis opens the book with a lengthy history of the Cybermen and updates Ben and Polly to readers from the 1970s. A Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
translation was published in 1975.
VHS, CD and DVD releases
- In July 1992, episodes two and four of this story were released on VHSVHSThe Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
as part of the video Cybermen - The Early Years. - As with all missing episodes, off-air recordings of the soundtrack exist due to contemporary fan efforts. In April 2001 these were released on CD, accompanied by linking narration from Frazer Hines.
- In November 2004, they were included in the Lost in Time DVD set, along with the audio tracks for episodes one and three.
External links
- fan reviews
Target novelisation