Synopsis:
A delirious Jamie is confronted by a tall robotic figure which he believes to be the 'Phantom Piper' of his clan's legends...
The Cyberman considers him for a moment then moves to another bed and picks up its occupant - carrying him into the storeroom. Polly arrives back just in time to see it vanish through the door, and lets out a scream.
The Doctor and Ben arrive seconds later, with Hobson and a couple of technicians. She describes what she saw, stating that she believes the figure to have been a Cyberman.
The storeroom is empty.
Hobson sends his men - Sam and Jules - to search for the missing patient then questions Polly further. Ben reminds her that the Cybermen were all wiped out when Mondas was destroyed, and Hobson explains that everyone knows that there used to be Cybermen, but they no longer exist.
He then points out that all of their problems seem to have started around the time that the Doctor and his friends turned up on the Moon.
The Doctor offers to help investigate the mystery illness, and Hobson gives him 24 hours to provide results or depart - whether Jamie is recovered or not.
The Doctor then begins his investigation, asking his companions to start collecting samples from all over the base.
In the control room, the technicians are struggling to keep a hurricane in check. Their equipment simply isn't co-ordinating. The head of Weather Control on Earth, Rinberg, radios to complain. He refuses to allow Hobson to shut down the Gravitron so that a thorough check can be made on all its components.
Hobson orders that everything be checked, short of shutting the device down.
As everyone runs around, the Doctor slips in and begins removing items for study, trying to keep out of the way - not always successfully.
Ben leaves Polly alone in the sickbay when he goes to ask Hobson for some medical supplies. The Cyberman reappears and stuns her with an electric shock before approaching Jamie. Seeing that he is delirious, it stuns him as well then abducts another comatose patient.
The Doctor arrives seconds later, as Polly revives.
Once again the storeroom is empty, but Benoit has been alerted to another brief pressure drop in the protective dome.
The fault with the Gravitron is finally traced to an antenna out on the lunar surface. Technicians Jules and Franz are sent outside to inspect it. Hobson is now positive that the Doctor and his companions sabotaged it before they came into the base, and he sets off to confront them - just as Ben arrives to inform him another patient has disappeared.
In the sickbay, the Doctor bluffs that he is close to finding a solution to the illness to buy them extra time. Polly makes some coffee and shares it with Hobson and his technicians in the corridor outside.
The Doctor witnesses first-hand one of the men falling ill, and the answer suddenly presents itself. The stricken man had taken sugar in his coffee. Not everyone does - hence the seemingly random manner in which the illness strikes.
Examining a sample of sugar he detects the presence of a neurotropic virus. He tells Hobson that this is artificial in nature. The Cybermen are on the Moon.
Outside, Franz and Jules are studying the antenna when they are attacked by Cybermen and clubbed down.
The Doctor has a sudden thought, and demands to know if the sickbay was searched. Hobson tells him that it wasn't, as there was always someone in here. A quick count reveals one extra patient, and so the Doctor begins to usher everyone out of the room.
A blanket is thrown aside to reveal a Cyberman, who climbs down from the bed and aims its weapon at them...
Written by: Kit Pedler
Recorded: Saturday 11th February 1967 - Riverside Studio 1
First broadcast: 5:50pm, Saturday 18th February 1967
Ratings: 8.9 million / AI 49
Designer: Colin Shaw
Director: Morris Barry
Additional cast: Denis McCarthy (Voice of Controller Rinberg), Barry Ashton (Franz), John (Arnold Chazen), John Wills & Peter Greene (Cybermen)
As we mentioned last time, the Cybermen might have proven successful on their debut, but there were definite issues with the costumes. You can see on the DVD the clear sticky tape holding the handles onto the helmet, and the chest unit was clumsy and heavy. Having a plastic suit over a cloth one led to overheating problems for the performers under studio lights. It was also extremely difficult to cut holes in the jersey material to make the face without it tearing apart. The manner in which the Cybermen had spoken had been unique and very creepy, but relied on the actor and voice artist synchronising perfectly, which didn't always happen. There was a general feeling that the costumes looked cumbersome, with a thrown-together, homemade feel.
Knowing that the creatures were going to be used again, and likely in more than one story, Innes Lloyd requested a redesign to make the costumes more robotic. Costume Designer Sandra Reid came up with three alternative designs which were then presented to Lloyd and Morris Barry, who would be directing the story. The one which Reid herself favoured, and which remained closest in concept to the original Mondasian version, is the one which was selected. The main elements she wished to retain were the chest unit, hydraulic supports for the limbs and skull-like features. The helmet was reduced to a more compact form - meaning that the distinctive "handlebars" either side of the head were retained.
On the feet were army surplus boots, retaining their laces and spray-painted silver. The chest unit was greatly reduced in size and weight, whilst still retaining its accordion-like shape. These were constructed from aluminium and had internal lights fitted. A new weapon, consisting of a small rod with a light at the tip, was also produced, and this could be clipped onto the base of the chest unit.
For the hydraulic limb supports, thick ridged piping - normally used on vacuum cleaners - was added along the arms and legs, with practice golf-balls attached at the joints. Smaller piping was used at the top and bottom of the chest unit.
These units, and the new Cyberman helmets, were subcontracted to Jack and John Lovell - father and son freelance prop builders.
They were designed specifically to have a skull-like appearance, and the head-lamp of the first design was now incorporated into the more compact helmet. The handlebars were of clear perspex, and silver tape was added around eyes and mouth. The helmets, made of fibreglass, were cast in two halves - front and back - and attached with small hooks. A small light was installed in the lamp.
A total of 11 costumes were produced for the story.
Trivia:
Filming for this episode included lunar surface scenes. The attack on Franz and Jules by a pair of Cybermen was filmed at Ealing on Wednesday 18th January. One of the Cybermen - John Wills - also acted under the name John Maxim and as such was credited when he played the Frankenstein Monster in 1965's The Chase.
Another shot showed the technicians' empty spacesuits lying on the ground.
Into the studio, and it was Wills who played the lone Cyberman seen in this episode.
The instalment opened with a shot of Frazer Hines struggling to get up. Recording breaks were required for setting up the electric spark effect, superimposed over shots of the Cyberman pointing at Hines and at Anneke Wills.
Franz and Jules (Victor Pemberton) are seen leaving the base via an airlock. This was a conical two-level set. After checking each other's suits they mount a pair of ladders, and exit onto the Moon's surface through separate doors.
Another recording break allowed Arnold Chazen to be made up with the virus black lines.
Stock footage from a 1963 BBC school's science programme was used when the Doctor studies the virus under a microscope.
Closing credits run over a shot of the Cyberman after it rises from the sickbay bed. It should be noted that the bed wobbles a great deal as Wills climbs off it. In a real sickbay setting these would be much more stable or even fixed to the floor.
Following issues the previous week, the desks for the control areas had now been finished with surface detail.
This episode was never lost. It was always retained in the BBC's Film & Videotape Library and has been available for fans to watch, over and over again, ever since its inclusion on the 1992 VHS release Cybermen: The Early Years.
As such, some of its scenes and dialogue have become (in)famous. Whenever a quote is sought which sums up the Second Doctor, they invariably opt for the "dark corners" speech.
Ben asks why they do not just leave the Moon, since Hobson and company have made it clear they aren't welcome.
The Doctor responds: "Because there is evil here, and we must stay".
Asked to elaborate, the Doctor tells his companions:
"Evil is what I meant. There are some corners of the Universe which have bred the most terrible things. Things which act against everything that we believe in. They must be fought...".
The First Doctor had been first and foremost the scientist and explorer, often eager to slip back to the TARDIS at the first sign of danger. This attitude relaxed considerably once his granddaughter Susan no longer travelled with him, and he was more likely to stick around to challenge injustice - not having her to worry about.
In this episode, the Doctor makes it explicit that fighting the monsters is very much part of his role. He is still an adventurer, but now seems to be travelling more with purpose. This will become explicit during his trial by the Time Lords at the close of his tenure in the TARDIS.
One scene from Episode 2 is also held up as an example of the early series' sexism. It's the scene in which the Doctor asks Polly to make some coffee, whilst he does the important scientific stuff. It's hard to argue against this, but it needs to be looked at in context.
Anneke Wills specifically set out to have Polly a "screamer" - a more feminine companion far removed from the Sara Kingdom / Avengers mould. It's therefore perfectly in keeping with her character to be content to help out with the odd domestic chore. The Doctor is extremely busy trying to find the cure for a deadly disease, and he's about to be thrown off the Moon with this vital work unfinished. He needs to buy some time, and needs a diversion, and he's only got Polly to help him do this. Deflecting people's attention with food and drink is something people would certainly do under these circumstances.
He asks her to make the coffee in an almost resigned fashion, as he's at a loss what to do next. He certainly doesn't order her to do anything, or give the impression that this is all he thinks' she's fit for.
And let's not forget that it is her coffee-making which directly leads to the solution to the problem.
There's some more overt sexism in the next episode, so we'll return to this subject again. (It'll be with us in relation to companions until the late 1980's).
Coincidentally, Ann Lawrence - the TV critic of the Morning Star - whilst praising the overall quality of the story, wished for a lot less screaming from Anneke Wills: "Her screams all all too predictable".
One other scene discussed by fans is the Doctor's mention of his medical background. He tells Polly that he studied Medicine at Glasgow University under Lister in 1888. Not only does this contradict the First Doctor's assertion that he is not a medical doctor but his story doesn't add up.
Joseph Lister (1827 - 1912) was a pioneer of antiseptic surgery and preventative healthcare. After graduating in London he was encouraged to spend time working in Scotland - at Edinburgh specifically. Surgeons in England were regarded as little more than the manual labourers of medicine, and a role not fit for gentlemen, whereas it was highly regarded in Scotland. The country led the way in the study of surgical techniques. Lister remained in Edinburgh from 1853 - 1860, then transferred over to Glasgow. He was there from 1860 - 1869, before returning to Edinburgh until 1877. Thereafter, he moved back to London.
The Doctor is clearly incorrect in his remembrance of events. Either he has got his dates wrong or the venue, as Lister wasn't even in Scotland in 1888. It ought to be noted that the Doctor has trouble recalling his time at University. Asked if he is a medical doctor he replies:
"Yes, I think I was once, Polly. I think I took a degree once in Glasgow. 1888 I think. Lister...".
That's three 'think's'. Anyone devising a timeline for the Doctor should be very wary of fixing this event in his chronology.
One final issue with this episode we should note is the source of the virus. If a workplace was struck down by a mystery illness, food and drink would have been amongst the very first things you would have examined. Even with their medic, Dr Evans, incapacitated on day one, it is really surprising that Hobson and Benoit did not check the sugar supply - or why it took so long (and another man's potential death) for the Doctor to realise the source. You would certainly look at a foodstuff before an item of footwear in the search for an apparently infectious disease.
- The ratings see a huge upswing in audience numbers of almost a million additional viewers. These were the best ratings in over a year. Competition on the ITV network included the still-popular Batman series, dated comedy Just Jimmy, and future guest star Ken Dodd's Doddy's Magic Box.
- As with his The Tenth Planet scripts, Pedler gave some of the Cybermen monosyllabic names in his drafts. The lead Cybermen in this story was called "Kron".
- The Lovells' first involvement with Doctor Who came with supplying weaponry for Marco Polo, after which they provided the masks for the Voord in The Keys of Marinus. Other creatures they were responsible for, prior to The Moonbase, were the Fungoids and Mire Beasts in The Chase, the Rills in Galaxy 4, and Monoids in The Ark, before tackling parts of the Mondasian Cybermen.
- The draft script had Hobson claim that the Cybermen were destroyed "centuries ago", which would not fit the final televised date. We know that The Tenth Planet was set in December 1986, so The Moonbase couldn't possibly be set in 2070 if they hadn't changed this.
- Arnold Chazen is the father of actress Debbie Chazen, who would later appear in the series herself when she played Foon in Voyage of the Damned.
- The Daleks were still around. One featured on Blue Peter on the 16th February edition, in an item about trick photography.
- The two Cyberman costume images above are my own, taken at the DWAS Moonbase event at Riverside in August 2023. It is a refurbished costume which featured in the actual production, whether at Riverside Studios or only at Ealing is not recorded.
No comments:
Post a Comment