Doctor Who: The Moonbase, Story No. 33 (BBC DVD Review)

Doctor Who: The Moonbase
Approx: 98 min. + Bonus Materials
(DVD SRP: $24.98US/$30.98CAN)

DVD Overview:
In 2070, Earth’s weather is controlled with ease from the Moon. When the TARDIS arrives at the Moonbase, the Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton), along with his friends Polly, Ben and Jamie, is accused of starting a plague that is killing off the base’s crew. It’s not long, however, before the time travelers discover the true cause of the deaths – a powerful, unstoppable race that the Doctor has met before: the Cybermen.

 Bonus Materials

*Audio Commentary 

*“Lunar Landing” making-of featurette 

*Photo gallery 

*And more... 

The Cybermen

My Thoughts:
No matter if you're watching classic Doctor Who or the very latest season, it's always an adventure. Some of the best episodes feature those villains we just love to hate! "The Moonbase", a story starring the Second Doctor, played by Patrick Troughton, features one of the most popular "baddies" in the history of the series -- the Cybermen! As chilling as they are in the contemporary series', they are even more so in this story. Even though the costumes were altered from the original Cybermen of "The Tenth Planet" 1966, the Cybermen still have that human look to them which makes them so frightening.

Since the original audio is all that exists of the first and third episodes, the audio was remastered and the lost episodes were animated for this DVD. Unlike the previous classic Doctor Who DVD (reviewed HERE), "The Ice Warriors", the animation was very well done -- no more one-dimensional "paperdoll" characters here. The audio was a bit garbled at times, but I don't think it was due to a poor remastering rather the robotic speech of the Cybermen which is difficult to understand. Although the story itself isn't quite as suspenseful as previous episodes of the classic series, there is still a lot to enjoy. Even with the little hitches in the audio and the story, if you're missing the onscreen dynamics of two companions that we saw with Amy and Rory in series' 5-7 of the reboot, you'll love Polly, Jamie, and Ben fighting alongside the Doctor and what's left of the Moonbase crew to defeat the Cybermen threat.

Polly, the Doctor, and Ben

When all is said and done, while not my favorite Doctor Who story, I still believe it is a must have for any Whovian's collection. The Cybermen are simply put, cool villains, and are a formidable opponent for the Doctor and his gang. It's easy to see why the writers of new Doctor Who have brought the Cybermen back to the new series. Doctor Who: The Moonbase is a good way to pass the time until Series 8!

Doctor Who: The Moonbase is available now on DVD from the BBC Doctor Who Shop online and other retailers!

~ My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars ~ 

*I received a complimentary copy from the publisher/publicist for review purposes. I received no compensation. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.*