Rate and Discuss: Earthshock

[SiHart]

The Cybermen are back!
Can the Doctor stop his old enemies from exploding a massive bomb or crashing the freighter into Earth? And if he can what consequences will he face?

What do you think of Earthshock?

[WhiteCrowNZ]

When did you last have the pleasure of ... eating a well prepared meal?



Peter Davison's taunting remarks ...

[Rob McCow]

Hmmm - am I feeling generous?

Earthshock should be renamed Brilliantawful, or Crapgreat, or Badgood. It's the first pinnacle of Eric Saward's style of the show, full of EXPLOSIONS! and GUNS! and TROOPERS! and gorgeously redesigned monsters. It's like Predator or Terminator for the kiddies on a BBC budget.

Yet along the way it loses some of the innocence and fun of Doctor Who. This is only two years away from 'Nightmare of Eden' a story that lampooned many of the elements that Earthshock makes good use of.

All of which means that I have no idea what score to give it!

[Rob McCow]

*cough* *cough* that's a picture from Attack of the Cybermen, Mike... *cough* [/pedant]

[WhiteCrowNZ]

*cough* *cough* that's a picture from Attack of the Cybermen, Mike... *cough* [/pedant]

I know what it's from ... just noticing that Peter Davisons words become a taunt when applied to the Cybercontroller ...

[WhiteCrowNZ]

9/10

The first two episodes are so tense, they practically set the scene for the later Aliens movie.

Of and did I mention, ding-dong-the-Adric's-dead!

[J.R. Southall]

Rob's nailed it with this story actually.

I think 7/10 for the pacing and because it seemed so good on transmission. Of course, I hadn't yet hit my teens by then...

[Andrew Curnow]

For me it's impossible to properly watch Earthshock without remembering just how exciting it was in 1982 - Cybermen!!! And that shock ending!

I watched it again (on DVD for the first time) just last week, and still enjoyed it. Sure, it's dated; yes, part 1 drags a bit when you know you're waiting for the Cybermen to turn up; yes, Professor Kyle's not all that good, and Nyssa doesn't actually have anything to do; and for the first time, it struck me how odd that a load more Cybermen get woken up in part 4 (did I miss an explanation for that).

But... although we got fed up of the same old look by 1988, in 1982 the redesign of the Cybermen was just so impressive. And with that moving mouth, it shows they'd put some real thought into how to bring them back and at the same time restore the original idea, ie that they were cyberneticised people, NOT robots.

The direction is very good, and what struck me most last week was that there are some really good performances in there. Davison (of course), but also the guy playing Scott, which is a pretty thankless role but one he plays really well. And of course, David Banks is absolutely brilliant, no wonder they kept bringing him back - sadly, however, his brilliance does have the unfortunate side-effect of highlighting that some of the Cyber-extras don't seem to be giving it much thought, and there is a bit of Cyber meandering going on.

But all in all, though not perhaps the classic we might have once thought, it's still a stonking good story.

[Rob McCow]

there is a bit of Cyber meandering going on

I gave it an 8 in the end, because it's always entertaining. It was made to be shown once in 1982 and it fits the bill perfectly in that respect. I don't know how anyone watching it for the first time could back then could have been disappointed!

[Richard Brinck-Johnsen]

I've stuck my neck out and gone for 9/10. Despite it's obvious imperfections (I mean as surprisingly well as she comes across, Beryl Reid! Seriously!?) I find this story has a lot going for it and is probably my favourite of season 19.

[SiHart]

This was so scary at the time. The Cybermen seemed so huge, powerful and unstoppable to me (even though they probably weren't) because they managed the unthinkable- killing off a companion. From this point onwards, they were my favourite monsters and still are. It is simply a fact.

The 80s Cybermen are still my favourite model- maybe because they were my first. I like the voices and the design- especially the helmets which still look good now. They maybe a little overdesigned perhaps, but they look fabulous, along with the stripped down chest unit.

[Stuart Wallis]

Parts of it don't really stand up to serious examination, such as how the Cybermen are so worried about sneaking onto Earth when they've already got there and planted the bomb and the androids, and a couple of ultimately superflous characters. Still, for sheer entertainment value while brain's in relax mode, 8/10.

[WhiteCrowNZ]

Can I just also mention the flashback pieces of Doctors of the past - which we probably forget now just how awesome it felt a the time!

[Richard Brinck-Johnsen]

Can I just also mention the flashback pieces of Doctors of the past - which we probably forget now just how awesome it felt a the time!

It is a lovely moment. Fast forward to 2010 where we have two similar moments within the same series (The Eleventh Hour and The Lodger) and everyone dismisses them an indulgent and yet for young fans like my nephew they're just as important, being in the room watching him react to seeing all the old Doctors is priceless!

[J.R. Southall]

Absolutely right, Richard. Often things in Doctor Who seem indulgent to us adults, and yet had they happened when we were watching as children, we'd be doing cartwheels around the living room!

[Larry]

This was so scary at the time. The Cybermen seemed so huge, powerful and unstoppable to me (even though they probably weren't) because they managed the unthinkable- killing off a companion. From this point onwards, they were my favourite monsters and still are. It is simply a fact.

The 80s Cybermen are still my favourite model- maybe because they were my first. I like the voices and the design- especially the helmets which still look good now. They maybe a little overdesigned perhaps, but they look fabulous, along with the stripped down chest unit.

and that's what makes what JNT, did to them in Silver Nemesis so unforgivable - I really can't fault Earthshock, it's for me by far the best of the classic series Cyber stories.

[J.R. Southall]

To be fair to JNT, it was also him that made Earthshock - so we should probably be laying the blame for Silver Nemesis at Kevin Clarke and Andrew Cartmel's door.

[Larry]

To be fair to JNT, it was also him that made Earthshock - so we should probably be laying the blame for Silver Nemesis at Kevin Clarke and Andrew Cartmel's door.

maybe , but IMO as producer JNT ultimately takes responsibility for what happened in Silver Nemesis.

[SiHart]

Really? I'd have said that the scripting/ story side of things was always more down to the script editors while JNT was in charge. I think he was always more concerned with the production side of things, rather than the content of the stories.

[J.R. Southall]

Really? I'd have said that the scripting/ story side of things was always more down to the script editors while JNT was in charge. I think he was always more concerned with the production side of things, rather than the content of the stories.

Absolutely agreed.

And here's much more on the same subject: http://www.starburstmagazine.com/col...led-doctor-who

[Zbigniev Hamson]

Well that link didn't last long.

[J.R. Southall]

Ah, they've now removed the columns in order to print up back issues of the eight issues that were originally 'on-line' only...

[MacNimon]

This story is memorable for the two big impact moments, which were unexpected and shocking at the time. The totally unexpected (and unheralded) return of the Cybermen...what a cliffhanger, it's too bad they'd be unable to successfully spring such a surprise on us nowadays with todays 'spoiler' culture (although I'm sure they'd love to). That and the death of Adric...unpopular though the character was, this was still a brave and shocking move in such a family-friendly show...bringing home just how dangerous travelling with the could be.

Too bad the remainder of the story is so unremarkable...not bad by any means, but it's certainly over-rated, imo.