The Moonbase

The Moonbase is the half-missing sixth serial of the fourth season in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on BBC1 in four weekly parts from 11 February to 4 March 1967.

In this serial, the Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) and his travelling companions Ben (Michael Craze), Polly (Anneke Wills) and Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines) arrive on the Human colonised Moon in 2070, where the Cybermen plot to take over the base and use it to invade the Earth.

This story features the return, and first redesign, of the Cybermen, after their popularity in The Tenth Planet earlier in the season.

Crewmember Hobson believes the Cybermen died out years ago and asks the Doctor to find a cure to the pathogen in twenty-four hours or else they will be forced to leave.

With the help of Hobson, Polly, and another crew member, the Doctor is able to point the Gravitron at the lunar surface, blasting the Cybermen and their ships back into space.

[2] To be mindful of costs while still preserving spectacle, script editor Gerry Davis asked for a story developed around one large set.

[3][4] Meanwhile, director Morris Barry wanted Troughton to act less like a clown and the costume's baggy trousers were taken in; the character also lost his hat as recommended by a BBC Drama executive.

[20] Paul Cornell, Martin Day, and Keith Topping gave the serial an unfavourable review in The Discontinuity Guide (1995), writing that it was "illogical and boring, reducing the Cybermen to the role of intergalactic gangsters".

[21] In The Television Companion (1998), David J. Howe and Stephen James Walker noted that it was a remake of The Tenth Planet but was "far superior" in the way the Cybermen were portrayed.

[12] The AV Club's Christopher Bahn said in 2014, "Whatever flaws it may have, and it's far from perfect, "The Moonbase" has more than enough going for it to earn a place as one of the must-see serials of the Second Doctor era.

"[23] In Starburst, Paul Mount described The Moonbase as "pretty much the same story as 'The Tenth Planet', differing only to the extent that it's not quite as good.

"[24] James Hoare of SciFiNow gave the DVD release three out of five stars, describing the story as "a slightly dull and weakly padded retread of The Tenth Planet" but praising Troughton's performance.

[25] In 2010, SFX named the resolution of patching the hole in the Moonbase with a drinks tray as one of the silliest moments in Doctor Who's history.

[31] A novelisation of this serial written by Gerry Davis was published by Target Books in February 1975 under the title Doctor Who and the Cybermen.

[32] An audiobook read by Anneke Wills with the Cyberman voices by Nicholas Briggs was released by the BBC in March 2009.

[32] The full audio of the serial, accompanied by linking narration from Frazer Hines, was released on CD in 2001 and is also available for MP3 download.

[15][33] This serial was set to be released on DVD in October 2013, with episodes 1 and 3 represented by new animation from Planet 55 Studios;[34][35] however there were production delays.