The Moonbase [TV/1967.2.11 ~ 3.4]

★★★☆☆

  A far better example of a base-under-siege story than The Tenth Planet and an establishment of the secretive, daggers-behind-the-scenes nature of the cybermen, The Moonbase has plenty of chills and thrills for fans of this style of Dr. Who adventure. For the rest of you, I'm afraid I bring bad news because this serial was still one of the earliest examples of the format and therefore has a lot of moments where it tries to find its feet. I can't imagine anyone sick of the base-under-siege format being thrilled by an entire episode of the Doctor and co. trying to figure out the right way to defeat a six-person sorority club of Cybermen outside with a pea shooter -- although I must say, I'm very fond of the laser effects they had with this one.

  In all seriousness, I would recommend The Moonbase to Cyberman fans and less casually so to Dr. Who fans more interested in the broader aspects of the show. The Cybermen aren't utilised to their best here (which isn't surprising since it's their sophomore serial), but the crackling lightning effects are cool and so are their typical stealth invasion tactics. I also love the floating effects the production scraped up for the moon surface scenes -- they add a lot to the immersion of the viewers, and the cast seem to be having fun. Many people bring up this serial to show how the Second Doctor truly becomes the Second Doctor, and I agree to some degree; his speech about evil that must be fought is iconic at this point, and he has a lot of fine moments within the base, but I still consider The Macra Terror to be the one where both Patrick Troughton and the character emerge 100% confident and dependable. Still, hats off to The Moonbase for doing what it does right and still trying to improve on a formula that would go on to do great things.