DOCTOR WHO Visits "The Moonbase"

Article first published as DVD Review: 'Doctor Who' - 'The Moonbase' on Blogcritics.

After an absence during the holidays, the BBC returns to classic Doctor Who releases with The Moonbase. Set in 2070 on Earth’s moon, this four-part serial originally aired February and March 1967, the sixth serial in the fourth season, but has remained unreleased for so long because parts have been missing. Now, with half of the serial existing as recreated animation, it finally gets the DVD treatment.

As The Moonbase begins, The Doctor (Patrick Troughton), Polly (Anneke Wills), Ben (Michael Craze), and Jamie (Frazer Hines) land on the rock above the Earth to enjoy the low-gravity fun available. It isn’t long, though, before they are pulled into a plot at the human-run base, which controls the weather back on our globe. A virus is sweeping through the base’s residents, and soon infects Jamie. Thus, The Doctor must remain until he can sort out what’s happening and fix it.

Of course, a disease is only part of the problem. Doctor Who thrives on monsters, not microscopic bugs, and The Moonbase is no different from the rest of the series in that regard. The Cyberman, redesigned in their second appearance in the show, are behind much of what is going wrong at the base. They pose a serious threat, and if The Doctor can’t stop them, our planet will be in immense danger.

The Moonbase is a pretty good adventure. It does drag in sections, and there are times when the action gets a little hokey, such as a simple drink tray being able to seal a hole in an atmosphere-controlled space. But there are also some very adrenaline-inducing moments, such as the cliffhanger in the penultimate episode, and the Cyberman are quite scary here, as they will continue to be for decades to come.

We don’t usually think of Doctor Who as bending to motivations other than good storytelling, but The Moonbase has a couple of examples of outside influence. The script was commissioned before the first Cyberman story finished airing, wanting to capitalize on the strong, positive reaction the public showed towards the characters. Also, Jamie was added as a main character between the start of the writing and when filming began, so he doesn’t really belong in The Moonbase, something relatively easy to tell when watching it, but is included anyway.

Fun fact: John Levene, later known for playing Sergeant Benton on Doctor Who, guest stars as a Cyberman in this serial. There are other minor players in The Moonbase that tackle different parts in other Doctor Who stories, but Levene is the most notable. This tradition of reusing performers continues to this day, as the newest Doctor, Peter Capaldi, already did a small role in a David Tennant-led episode, which, interestingly enough, is the same installment Karen Gillian appeared in pre-Amy Pond.

If you’re interested in geeky facts like that, you’ll love the extras included on The Moonbase. There’s a twenty-minute “Making of” special. The audio commentaries are divided, with different groups dong the track for the odd numbered episodes than the even numbered ones, though all four get the treatment. Plus, there’s a photo gallery and PDF materials.

This may seem like a lighter compliment than many recent Doctor Who DVD releases, and that is true. However, we’ve gotten used to a lot of Special Editions, second bouts of already-released titles, which seem to collect more materials to make them worth another look. The Moonbase is getting its very first DVD edition here, save a partial release as part of a collection ten years ago. So while it would be nice to have a few more bonuses, the amount present is not entirely unexpected nor off base, excuse the pun.

Doctor Who The Moonbase will be available beginning this Tuesday on DVD.

Death Strikes DOCTOR WHO At "The Tenth Planet"

Article first published as DVD Review: 'Doctor Who' - 'The Tenth Planet' on Blogcritics.

Recently released on DVD, The Tenth Planet is the second story in the fourth season of Doctor Who, and the final episode starring William Hartnell as The Doctor (aside from a three-Doctors special years later). Originally broadcast in October 1966, it features the very first appearance by the Cybermen, a terrifying enemy that will plague Earth for decades to come as one of the shows scariest and most frequently appearing villains.

The Cybermen look quite different in The Tenth Planet than they do in later installments. They are more fleshy, with clothing in place of being wrapped in metal, though some of the familiar elements are present. However they look, they remain a creepy race.

As the serial begins, The Doctor, Polly (Anneke Wills), and Ben (Michael Craze) land in Antarctica in the mid-1980s. At the same time as the TARDIS arrives, an Earth-like planet called Mondas also appears, heading straight towards our world. The emotionless Cybermen come from this planet and quickly take over Snowcap, a base near the South Pole, resulting in the death of Snowcap’s men aboard a probe.

The Doctor and his companions attempt to stop the Cybermen from destroying Earth and making its inhabitants like them. They soon come at odds with General Cutler (Robert Beatty, 2001: A Space Odyssey), who wants to use a very destructive means of stopping the Cybermen, even if these is massive collateral damage on Cutler’s own planet. Luckily, one of Cutler’s men, Barclay (David Dodimead, The Honey Pot), thinks the Doctor has it right and offers his assistance.

They do stop the Cybermen, of course, but at a very high cost. The Doctor, sick, soon dies in the TARDIS, his face changing to appear as another man.

Although the fourth installment of this four-part serial has been lost, the BBC has produced an animated version of it, which is combined with the existing audio recordings, finally allowing the complete story to be put out on DVD.

The disappointing part about Part Four being animated is that it includes the very first Doctor regeneration, as the First Doctor becomes the Second (Patrick Troughton). Because this is such an iconic moment of Doctor Who history, this, more than most things, is sad to lose. Now, the two-disc DVD set does include, as a bonus feature, the fourth episode with audio and stills from the VHS, which boasts a grainy video copy of this sequence, but the version shown when watching the serial itself is an animated version.

The Doctor’s departure is telegraphed throughout these episodes. Besides appearing ill, which Hartnell was in real life, the Doctor is almost completely absent from episode three. For those watching the show, as surprising as it may have been to kill of the titular lead, there had to be some hint that something bad was coming for the beloved Time Lord.

One cool thing about The Tenth Planet is the specifically designed title sequences, which only appear in this story. They are not only fitting, but highlight this serial as being very special, which it is. Although, the production of these may have been rushed, as there are a couple of misspellings in them.

There are a ton of bonus features in this DVD set. Besides the aforementioned alternate reconstruction of episode four, there’s an audio commentary with Wills and several guest actors, moderated by Toby Hadoke. PDF materials, a photo gallery, and a tenth anniversary retrospective are included. There’s a “Making Of,” a brief interview with Hartnell, and a profile of Wills. Plus, several other featurettes are present.

Doctor Who The Tenth Planet is an important entry in the Doctor Who saga, and this release is pretty satisfying, considering the circumstances.