The Moonbase (TV story)

The Moonbase was the sixth story of Season 4 of Doctor Who. The return appearance of the Cybermen solidified their place as one of the series' key villains. This story was the first in Doctor Who history with sequences taking place on Earth's Moon.

Synopsis
A mysterious virus is wrecking havoc among the crew of the Earth's weather control station on the moon. While investigations into the strange disease are in progress, International Space Headquarters Earth puts the entire Moonbase into strict quarantine - the Doctor, Ben, Polly and Jamie included!

To take matters worse, the personnel of the Moonbase inexplicably vanish, and vital weather control equipment is sabotaged. Who is responsible? The Director of the base suspects the time-travellers. But the Doctor fears a ruthless enemy from his own past are responsible... that the evil Cybermen have returned.

Plot
to be added

Cast

 * The Doctor - Patrick Troughton
 * Ben Jackson - Michael Craze
 * Polly - Anneke Wills
 * Jamie McCrimmon - Frazer Hines
 * Hobson - Patrick Barr
 * Benoit - Andre Maranne
 * Nils - Michael Wolf
 * Sam - John Rolfe
 * Voice from Space Control - Alan Rowe
 * Ralph - Mark Heath
 * Dr. Evans - Alan Rowe
 * Scientists - Barry Ashton, Derek Calder, Arnold Chazen, Leon Maybank, Victor Pemberton, Edward Phillips, Ron Pinnell, Robin Scott, Alan Wells
 * Voice of Controller Rinberg - Denis McCarthy
 * Cybermen - John Wills, Sonnie Willis, Peter Greene, Keith Goodman, Reg Whitehead
 * Cybermen Voices - Peter Hawkins

Crew

 * Assistant Floor Manager - Lovett Bickford
 * Costumes - Sandra Reid, Mary Woods, Daphne Dare
 * Designer - Colin Shaw
 * Film Cameraman - Peter Hamilton
 * Film Editor - Ted Walter
 * Make-Up - Gillian James, Jeanne Richmond
 * Producer - Innes Lloyd
 * Production Assistant - Desmond McCarthy
 * Script Editor - Gerry Davis
 * Special Sounds - Brian Hodgson
 * Studio Lighting - Dave Sydenham
 * Studio Sound - Gordon Mackie
 * Theme Arrangement - Delia Derbyshire
 * Title Music - Ron Grainer

Cybermen

 * Cybermat

Culture

 * Phantom Piper

Earth

 * Hawaii
 * Pacific Ocean

Earth technology

 * The Gravitron runs on thermonuclear power.

Food and Beverages

 * The virus is in the sugar.
 * Polly serves much Coffee and Tea.

Planets

 * Mars
 * Earth
 * Moon

Science

 * acetone
 * oxygen
 * plastic
 * virus
 * gravity
 * flying saucer

Timeline

 * The Doctor mentions that he studied under Lister in Glasgow in 1888.

Story Notes

 * Working title; The Return of the Cybermen.
 * This is the first story in which John Levene (who later played Sergeant Benton) appears.
 * In an early edit of the script the Cybermen had names.

Ratings

 * Episode 1 - 8.1 million viewers
 * Episode 2 - 8.9 million viewers
 * Episode 3 - 8.2 million viewers
 * Episode 4 - 8.1 million viewers

Myths
to be added

Location Filming
to be added

Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors

 * Just how strong is the tea tray?

Continuity

 * The final clip of the episode leads into The Macra Terror.
 * The Cybermen shoot energy from their hands, this style is later repeated in Rise of the Cybermen.
 * There are various references to The Tenth Planet.
 * A flashback to this story appears in Earthshock.

DVD, Video and Other Releases

 * The two surviving episodes (2 and 4) were released on the Cybermen: The Early Years video.
 * The surviving episodes were also released on the Lost in Time DVD, along with full audio of the two missing episodes.

Target Novelisations
to be added