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33) THE MOONBASE

11 February - 4 March 1967

Average Viewing Figure: 8.3M

Plot

On a Moonbase in 2070, The Cybermen plan to destroy the Earth by altering the weather 

Cast

Patrick Troughton (The Doctor), Anneke Wills (Polly), Michael Craze (Ben), Frazer Hines (Jamie McCrimmon), Patrick Barr (Hobson)

Andre Maranne (Benoit), Michael Wolf (Nils), John Rolfe (Sam), Alan Rowe (Voice from Space Control), Mark Heath (Ralph/Scientist)

Alan Rowe (Dr Evans), Barry Ashton (Franz), Derek Calder (Peter), Arnold Chazen (John), Leon Maybank (Ted), Victor Pemberton (Jules)

Edward Phillips (Bob), Ron Pinnell (Jim), Robin Scott (Charlie), Alan Wells (Joe), Dennis McCarthy (Voice of Controller Rinberg)

Sonnie Willis, John Wills, Peter Greene, Keith Goodman, Reg Whitehead (Cybermen), Peter Hawkins (Cybermen Voices)

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Uncredited Cast

Mike Britain, Paul Harrington (Technicians), Bernard Reid, Terry Wallis, Declan Cuffe, Derek Chafer

John Levene, Ronald Lee, Barry Noble (Cybermen)

Crew

Kit Pedler (Writer), Ron Grainer (Title Music), Peter Hamilton (Film Cameraman), Ted Walter (Film Editor), Sandra Reid (Costumes)

Gillian James (Make-Up), Dave Sydenham (Lighting), Gordon Mackie (Sound), Gerry Davis (Story Editor), Colin Shaw (Designer)

Innes Lloyd (Producer), Morris Barry (Director)

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Uncredited Crew

Peter Campbell (Floor Assistant), Alan Boyd, Dave Baumber (Grams Operators), Ian Easterbrook (Vision Mixer), Paul Kay (Senior Cameraman)

Glenys Williams (Director's Assistant), Brian Clemett (Technical Manager), Hugh Wilson (Film Ops Manager), Norman Allen (Film Sound)

David Bruce Johnson (Film Camera Assistant)​

Broadcast

Filming Locations

  • Ealing Film Studios: Stage 3

  • Riverside Studio 1

  • Lime Grove: Studio D

Deaths

  • Doctor Evans [dies due to the Cyberman virus]

  • Ralph [covered into a Cyberman and later killed]

  • Cybermen [die when they float off the surface of the moon]

Production Days

  • 9 days between Tuesday 17 January - Saturday 25 February 1967

Production Errors

  1. During episode two, when Polly tends to Jamie in the sickbay, she is zapped by a Cyberman. The Cyberman misses Polly, but Polly falls to the floor anyway

  2. The Cyberman who leaps off the sickbay bed, nearly take it with 'him' 

  3. When Evans sneaks into the Gravitron control room, he puts the cloth helmet on the wrong way round. In the next scene, the helmet is the right way 

  4. The Wires controlling the Cyberman spaceship are clearly visible 

  5. There are some problems with talkback during episode four. When the controlled Scientists are activated by the Cybermen, a voice can be heard calling 'cue' â€‹â€‹â€‹

Working Titles

  • Doctor Who and the Return of the Cybermen

Verdict

The Cybermen return to a plot which seems very similar to a lot of Doctor Who base under siege stories, where a race of monsters or aliens turn up to use the base as a weapon to destroy the Earth and claim it for themselves. That is not to say it cannot be done well. The Moonbase whilst very interesting does lacks energy and originality in places. The direction is a highlight with a wide variety of angles and shots – something Morris Barry is very good at. The Cybermen are better compared to The Tenth Planet looking more menacing rather than humans wearing facecloths and gloves. The plot does well to keep the story doing but at the same time fails to develop some very important plot points and primarily focuses on the humans not trusting the Doctor for far too long. Haven’t we seen this before? There is some good science work in the scripts all down to Kit Pedler being a licensed practitioner. The ending is very rushed and the Cybermen act very stupid, which is not their character at all. Very impressive in design but not the most all-around brilliant story by far. ***​

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