With The Moonbase, the Cybermen cemented their place as recurring villains, while the Second Doctor and base under siege story type were perfected.
Story: 9
This is another effective story utilizing the base under siege concept, this time on the Moon of all places. It immediately combines a basic concept of a strange virus spreading with an alien attack.
Some of the story elements unfortunately mirror those in The Tenth Planet, showing the formulaic approach the series took to these types of stories.
The story keeps up the mystery of disappearing patients and uses the Cybermen effectively. It raises the questions of where the patients have gone and what the Cybermen are up to.
Using two almost identical cliffhangers in episodes 1 and 2 seems a little lazy to me. That is made up by the Power of the Daleks-inspired cliffhanger to Episode 3, which makes the viewer go: "How are they gonna get out of this one?"
Acting: 9
Patrick Troughton is brilliant as always and the guest cast does a great job as well.
Benoit the Frenchman is lovely, he gives the Moonbase a sense of variety.
The Doctor: 11
The Doctor immediately shows his will to fight the Cybermen with the same force he wants to fight the Daleks.
The Second Doctor establishes himself as not only a capable medical doctor but also a scientist. This is much more obvious in this incarnation compared to the previous one.
The Doctor's decision to stand up at the very end makes him all the more heroic. By now, the Second Doctor is a very different hero from the First Doctor.
The Companions: 8
Jamie is sidelined a little and his performance isn't the very best here. He's supposed to be sick and delirious but it comes across as very wooden.
Ben and Polly are mostly useless in the first half, but get to play scientist and find a way to defeat the Cybermen in the second half.
The Monster/Villain: 10
I rather like the updated look of the Cybermen. They're slicker, but still noticeably creepy and human-like. They also come across as more effective with their new weapons and lesser talking.
The Cybermen's electronic voices are less sing-song this time around and their overall appearance shows that they have developed since their last appearance.
The way the Cybermen are ultimately defeated is rather silly, but it's just a quick moment in the end.
Production: 8
The sets don't look particularly futuristic and there are some oddly edited sequences. The Moonbase does feel small and claustrophobic though and the new Cyberman costumes seem more practical than the original ones.
The animated episodes are great, mirroring the style of the original episodes and conveying emotions quite well.
Pacing: 8
There are some lengthy scenes of the scientist doing work, which isn't particularly interesting and lowers the feeling of suspense a little.
Atmosphere: 9
The atmosphere is directly mysterious and claustrophobic, and the story drops hints about the looming danger before the big reveal.
Once the Cybermen appear, the story turns into an intense space thriller, with eerie music and loads of action.
Impact: 10
The Moonbase did to Cybermen what The Dalek Invasion of Earth did to the Daleks. It cemented the robotic humanoids as the Doctor's greatest foes after the Daleks while furthering the popularity of the base under siege story type.
Replay Value: 10
This is one of the more entertaining and fast-paced Cyberman adventures, that goes from a creeping mystery to space action. That makes it well worth several rewatches.
Random Observations:
When this story was broadcast, it was set almost 100 years into the future. This story was broadcast in 1967 and the story is set in 2070. This means that we're now closer to the events of this story than we are to its original broadcast! And the Gravitron machine should arrive in 30 years' time.
This has the Second Doctor's first well-known speech, about the evils from the corners of the universe that have to be fought.
Always great to see a Nordic character in a Doctor Who adventure, this time Nils, who I believe is Swedish.
Review by Theo KallströmVIP 6BlockedParent2020-05-30T22:22:08Z
With The Moonbase, the Cybermen cemented their place as recurring villains, while the Second Doctor and base under siege story type were perfected.
Story: 9
This is another effective story utilizing the base under siege concept, this time on the Moon of all places. It immediately combines a basic concept of a strange virus spreading with an alien attack.
Some of the story elements unfortunately mirror those in The Tenth Planet, showing the formulaic approach the series took to these types of stories.
The story keeps up the mystery of disappearing patients and uses the Cybermen effectively. It raises the questions of where the patients have gone and what the Cybermen are up to.
Using two almost identical cliffhangers in episodes 1 and 2 seems a little lazy to me. That is made up by the Power of the Daleks-inspired cliffhanger to Episode 3, which makes the viewer go: "How are they gonna get out of this one?"
Acting: 9
Patrick Troughton is brilliant as always and the guest cast does a great job as well.
Benoit the Frenchman is lovely, he gives the Moonbase a sense of variety.
The Doctor: 11
The Doctor immediately shows his will to fight the Cybermen with the same force he wants to fight the Daleks.
The Second Doctor establishes himself as not only a capable medical doctor but also a scientist. This is much more obvious in this incarnation compared to the previous one.
The Doctor's decision to stand up at the very end makes him all the more heroic. By now, the Second Doctor is a very different hero from the First Doctor.
The Companions: 8
Jamie is sidelined a little and his performance isn't the very best here. He's supposed to be sick and delirious but it comes across as very wooden.
Ben and Polly are mostly useless in the first half, but get to play scientist and find a way to defeat the Cybermen in the second half.
The Monster/Villain: 10
I rather like the updated look of the Cybermen. They're slicker, but still noticeably creepy and human-like. They also come across as more effective with their new weapons and lesser talking.
The Cybermen's electronic voices are less sing-song this time around and their overall appearance shows that they have developed since their last appearance.
The way the Cybermen are ultimately defeated is rather silly, but it's just a quick moment in the end.
Production: 8
The sets don't look particularly futuristic and there are some oddly edited sequences. The Moonbase does feel small and claustrophobic though and the new Cyberman costumes seem more practical than the original ones.
The animated episodes are great, mirroring the style of the original episodes and conveying emotions quite well.
Pacing: 8
There are some lengthy scenes of the scientist doing work, which isn't particularly interesting and lowers the feeling of suspense a little.
Atmosphere: 9
The atmosphere is directly mysterious and claustrophobic, and the story drops hints about the looming danger before the big reveal.
Once the Cybermen appear, the story turns into an intense space thriller, with eerie music and loads of action.
Impact: 10
The Moonbase did to Cybermen what The Dalek Invasion of Earth did to the Daleks. It cemented the robotic humanoids as the Doctor's greatest foes after the Daleks while furthering the popularity of the base under siege story type.
Replay Value: 10
This is one of the more entertaining and fast-paced Cyberman adventures, that goes from a creeping mystery to space action. That makes it well worth several rewatches.
Random Observations:
When this story was broadcast, it was set almost 100 years into the future. This story was broadcast in 1967 and the story is set in 2070. This means that we're now closer to the events of this story than we are to its original broadcast! And the Gravitron machine should arrive in 30 years' time.
This has the Second Doctor's first well-known speech, about the evils from the corners of the universe that have to be fought.
Always great to see a Nordic character in a Doctor Who adventure, this time Nils, who I believe is Swedish.
Score: 82/120