''Earthshock'' is the sixth serial of the
19th season of the British
science fiction television
Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary ...
series ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
''. It was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts on
BBC1
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...
from 8 to 16 March 1982. This serial marks the final regular appearance of
Matthew Waterhouse
Matthew Waterhouse (born 19 December 1961) is an English actor and writer, best known for his role as Adric in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' from 1980 to 1982.
Early life
Waterhouse was born in Hertford, but brough ...
as
Adric
Adric is a fictional character played by Matthew Waterhouse in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was a young native of the planet Alzarius, which exists in the parallel universe of E-Space. A compan ...
and his death, with the final episode featuring unique silent credits in loving memory of the character. It is also the first to feature the
Cybermen since ''
Revenge of the Cybermen'' in 1975.
The serial is mainly set on Earth and a deep-space freighter in 2526. In the serial, the Cybermen plot to wipe out Earth, where a conference of multiple planets is planning to form a military pact to defeat the Cybermen in a war.
Plot
As the
TARDIS
The TARDIS (; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space") is a fictional hybrid of a time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its various spin-offs. While a TARDI ...
materialises in Earth's future,
Adric
Adric is a fictional character played by Matthew Waterhouse in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was a young native of the planet Alzarius, which exists in the parallel universe of E-Space. A compan ...
argues with the
Fifth Doctor
The Fifth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Peter Davison.
Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord ...
about the lack of attention and respect he receives compared to
Nyssa or
Tegan. They explore a series of caves and are caught by soldiers led by Lieutenant Scott; Professor Kyle, accompanying Scott, accuses the four of killing the rest of her archaeological team. The Doctor convinces them to help, and Kyle leads them to the bodies of her team, near where they find an odd metal hatch. The group is attacked by androids, killing some of Scott's men, but the Doctor defeats them. He suspects the androids were guarding the hatch, and eventually opens it to reveal a powerful bomb that could destroy the planet. The Doctor and Adric defuse the bomb and trace its signal back to a freighter that is entering the Solar System. Scott and Kyle join the Doctor as they return to the TARDIS and travel to the freighter. The Doctor instructs the others to wait in the TARDIS while he and Adric explore the ship; they find a similar number of corpses in the cargo holds before they are caught by the ship's security and taken to Captain Briggs, where they try to explain their situation.
Throughout this, the Doctor and the humans are unaware that they are being monitored by the
Cybermen, who seek to destroy the Earth. With the bomb defused on Earth and the Doctor now interfering here, the Cyber Leader decides it is time to take command of the freighter. They leave the sealed containers they stowed away in, and begin to march to the bridge. The ship's crew, along with help from Tegan, Scott, and Kyle, attempt to barricade their progress, but the Cybermen overpower them, killing Kyle and capturing Tegan, and soon the Cybermen control the bridge. Using Tegan to keep the Doctor in check, the Cybermen install a device that locks the controls of the freighter after setting it on warp-speed collision course with Earth, expecting the anti-matter engines will be powerful enough to destroy the Earth. The Cybermen then order the Doctor to take them to his TARDIS to escape, leaving behind Adric, Briggs, and other crewmen. Adric is able to pass the Doctor his gold Badge for Mathematical Excellence before they depart, knowing the Cybermen are allergic to gold.
Scott and his men are able to overpower the minimal guard left on the bridge, and Adric immediately starts working to try to undo the control lock. His first attempt causes the ship to jump back in time about 65 million years; the Doctor, monitoring this on the TARDIS, observes that is about the same time of the
extinction of the dinosaurs
Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its last member. A taxon may become functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to reproduce and recover. As a species' potential range may be ...
. Adric's second attempt brings the ship out of warp; though still on course to strike Earth, the impact would not be as devastating. Briggs, Scott, and the remaining crew use the opportunity to leave in escape pods. They try to convince Adric to come, but at the last moment, he returns, having another insight on defeating the lock. Scott relays their status to the TARDIS, and the Cyber Leader orders the Cybermen to kill the TARDIS crew, but the Doctor grinds Adric's gold badge on the Cyber Leader's chestplate, suffocating it and allowing them to disable the Cybermen.
The Doctor finds the TARDIS' controls have been damaged, making it impossible to rescue Adric. On the bridge, Adric nears undoing the lock when a weakened Cyberman fires on him, missing him and striking the keyboard, preventing Adric from making any further attempts. The TARDIS crew watches helplessly as the freighter collides with Earth in a massive explosion, killing the dinosaurs and Adric in the process.
Production
The working title for this story was ''Sentinel''. Although credited as
script editor
A script editor is a member of the production team of scripted television and radio programs, usually dramas and comedies. The script editor has many responsibilities including finding new script writers, developing storyline and series ideas wit ...
, Antony Root in fact did little or no work on ''Earthshock''. He was credited to avoid Saward, who had by this time replaced him in the job, being credited as such on his own work, which contravened BBC regulations.
This was the first Cyberman story since ''
Revenge of the Cybermen'' (1975), as producer
John Nathan-Turner
John Turner (12 August 1947 – 1 May 2002), known professionally as John Nathan-Turner, was an English television producer. He was the ninth producer of the long-running BBC science fiction series ''Doctor Who'' and the final producer of the ...
wanted to bring back an old enemy, but resisted using the
Dalek
The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrial race of extremely xenophobic mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by writer Terry Nation and first appeared in th ...
s. Before the title was changed to ''Earthshock'', Nathan-Turner was adamant about keeping the return of the Cybermen a secret. He instructed
Eric Saward
Eric Saward (; born 9 December 1944) is a British radio scriptwriter who worked as a screenwriter and script editor on the BBC's science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' from 1982 to 1986. He wrote the stories '' The Visitation'' (1982), ...
not to have any reference to the Cybermen in the story's title. Nathan-Turner even had the studio observation galleries closed for the duration of recording and turned down an offer from ''
Radio Times
''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...
'' to provide advance publicity of the Cybermen on their cover. The success of this convinced Nathan-Turner to continue to mine the series' past continuity for ideas and old enemies.
After the success of using archive footage for the flashback sequence in ''
Logopolis
''Logopolis'' is the seventh and final serial of the 18th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 28 February to 21 March 1981.
The serial is set on th ...
'' (1981), Producer John Nathan-Turner consulted with series continuity adviser
Ian Levine
Ian Geoffrey Levine (born 22 June 1953) is a British songwriter, producer, DJ, and prominent Doctor Who fan. A populariser of Northern soul music in the UK, and a developer of the style of hi-NRG, he has co-written and co-produced records with sa ...
and asked him to prepare another such montage for this story. Levine selected one clip from all of the previous Doctors, save for
Jon Pertwee
John Devon Roland Pertwee (; 7 July 1919 – 20 May 1996), known professionally as Jon Pertwee, was an English actor. Born into a theatrical family, he became known as a comedy actor, playing Chief Petty Officer Pertwee (and three other roles) in ...
who never had a Cyberman story (though they had been briefly glimpsed in two serials from his era). Levine's selected clips were: the
First Doctor
The First Doctor is the original incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor, the protagonist of the British Science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was portrayed by actor William Hartnell in th ...
from episode 2 of ''
The Tenth Planet'' (1966), the
Second Doctor
The Second Doctor is an incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor, the protagonist of the British Science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was portrayed by actor Patrick Troughton. Out of his 1 ...
from episode 6 of ''
The Wheel in Space'' (1968) (with dialogue from the ''Earthshock'' Cyber Leader referring to ''
The Tomb of the Cybermen'' (1967), at that time missing from the BBC archives) and the
Fourth Doctor
The Fourth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Tom Baker.
Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from ...
from part 3 of ''Revenge Of The Cybermen'' (1975). All the clips were presented in monochrome to preserve continuity, as the first two extracts were originally recorded in black and white.
The exterior sequences seen in the first episode were shot on Thursday 29 October 1981 at Springwell Lock Quarry, near Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire. The Cyberscope prop was built using parts the modelmaker (
Martin Bower) had scavenged from the ''Nostromo'' set constructed for
Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is an English film director and producer. He directs films in the Science fiction film, science fiction, Crime film, crime, and historical drama, historical epic genres, with an atmospheric and highly co ...
's science fiction film ''
Alien'' (1979). Similarly, the digital readouts on the device flash up a random series of numbers, which were also seen on the monitors of the ''Nostromo'' set.
''Earthshock'' was Peter Grimwade's last work as a director on ''Doctor Who''. According to an interview with Eric Saward in 1986, Nathan-Turner subsequently fell out with Grimwade and refused to use him again, which was a source of tensions between Nathan-Turner and Saward. Although this was his last job on ''Doctor Who'' as director, he would write three serials for the Davison era; ''
Time-Flight
''Time-Flight'' is the seventh and final serial of the Doctor Who (season 19), 19th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts on BBC One, BBC1 from 22 to 30 March ...
'' (which follows on from ''Earthshock''), ''
Mawdryn Undead
''Mawdryn Undead'' is the third serial of the 20th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was originally broadcast in four twice weekly parts on BBC1 from 1 to 9 February 1983.
The serial is set in an English ...
'' and ''
Planet of Fire''.
Cast notes
Peter Davison
Peter Malcolm Gordon Moffett (born 13 April 1951), known professionally as Peter Davison, is an English actor. He made his television acting debut in 1975 and became famous in 1978 as Tristan Farnon in the BBC's television adaptation of Jame ...
has stated that ''Earthshock'' is one of his three favourite serials from his time on the programme.
Broadcast and reception
The story was repeated on BBC One (not BBC Wales) as two 50min compilation episodes in 1982 on 9 August 1982 & 16 August 1982 at 7.20pm as part of "Doctor Who and the Monsters", achieving viewing figures of 4.9 and 5.2 million respectively.
The story came 17th in the 1997 ''
Doctor Who Magazine
''Doctor Who Magazine'' (abbreviated as ''DWM'') is a magazine devoted to the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''.
Launched in 1979 as ''Doctor Who Weekly'', the magazine became a monthly publication the following year. In ...
'' annual best serial survey. Rob Hill ranked it at number two in "the top 10 Cybermen stories" for
Den of Geek
''Den of Geek'' is a UK and US-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture. The website also issues a biannual magazine.
History
''Den of Geek'' was founded in 2007 by Simon Brew in London. In 2012, DoG Tech LLC licensed ' ...
in 2010, beaten only by ''
The Tomb of the Cybermen'' (1967). In 2018, ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' ranked ''Earthshock'' at number 22 in "the 56 greatest stories and episodes", arguing that "Peter Davison's first season was unremarkable until ''Earthshock'' descended with a mighty thud". It continued, "Peter Grimwade's pacy direction keeps the action and tension levels high, and the Cybermen once again come across as a credible menace, backed by some appropriate marching music courtesy of Malcolm Clarke". The article concluded that it was "one of the most memorable stories of Eighties ''Doctor Who''".
Paul Cornell
Paul Douglas Cornell (born 18 July 1967) is a British writer. He has worked in television drama and ''Doctor Who'' fiction, being the creator of one of the Doctor's spin-off companions, Bernice Summerfield.
Other British television dramas f ...
,
Martin Day, and
Keith Topping
Keith Andrew Topping (born 26 October 1963 in Walker, Tyneside) is an author, journalist and broadcaster. He is most well known for his work relating to the BBC Television series ''Doctor Who'' and for writing numerous official and unofficial ...
wrote of the serial in ''
The Discontinuity Guide'' (1995), "Exciting and engaging early on, but a writer is not supposed to get so caught up in the excitement that things happen for no better reason than plot expediency. What we have is great... for a first draft."
In ''The Television Companion'' (1998),
David J. Howe and
Stephen James Walker wrote "the story as a whole stands up very well and is highly entertaining". They felt that "deficiencies" in the plotting were not that noticeable. Howe and Walker called the first episode "a masterpiece of suspense and terror", praised the surprise return of the Cybermen, which they said were "more effective" than those in ''
Revenge of the Cybermen'' (1975), and thought the way Adric was written out showed "the level of brilliance to which ''Doctor Who'' could still ascend if the production team put their minds to it".
In ''Doctor Who: The Episode Guide'', Mark Campbell awarded it eight out of ten, describing it as "a dynamically directed action story, much praised at the time; although the plot has huge holes and the dialogue is often lousy."
In 2011, ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' reviewer Christopher Bahn was positive towards how the serial characterised Adric, which set him up for his demise. Bahn praised the first episode for being "nicely tense and mysterious", but noted that it was separate from the rest of the story, which led to too many characters in the last three episodes. He also criticised the Cybermen, feeling that they did not hark back to their eerie emotionless roots and that when they got involved "the plot starts to bog down in its implausibilities".
In 2012, Patrick Mulkern of ''
Radio Times
''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...
'' awarded it five stars out of five, praising the tension and describing it as "the most thrilling tale in years". He wrote "Saward's script and Grimwade's direction work in unison, delivering pace, momentum, atmosphere and the eponymous shock." He praised the new look of the Cybermen, guest star Beryl Reid, and the way the story "pulls off the previously unimaginable feat of making us care about Adric". He acknowledged that critics had pointed out "plot holes and logic leaps", but said he was willing to "gloss over them".
In 2010, ''
SFX'' named Adric's death the twenty-ninth best "tearjerker" in science fiction and fantasy, calling it a "tragedy" that managed to make the audience care about him. In 2012, the magazine also listed the scene as the third best companion departure, calling it "a beautifully constructed death scene" despite the fact that the character was "loathed by
fandom
A fandom is a subculture composed of Fan (person), fans characterized by a feeling of camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significan ...
". For Den of Geek in 2019, Andrew Blair wrote that ''Earthshock'' was "atypical ''Who'' with its short scenes, regular gunfights, and fast pace. Its success owed a lot to Peter Grimwade's direction, but also negatively influenced ''Doctor Who'' for the next four years with misplaced attempts to bottle lightning twice."
Commercial releases
In print
The
Target
Target may refer to:
Warfare and shooting
* Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports
** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports
** Aiming point, in field artille ...
novelisation of this serial, written by
Ian Marter, was published by
WH Allen in 1983.
A second edition was published in 1992.
An unabridged audio reading of the novelisation, read by Peter Davison, was released by
AudioGo
AudioGO (formerly BBC Audiobooks) was a British publisher of audiobooks and a range of spoken word and large-print titles. It was majority owned by AudioGO Ltd, and minority owned by BBC Worldwide. It was formed in 2010, when AudioGO purchased ...
on 1 February 2012.
Home media
''Earthshock'' was released on
VHS
VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s.
Ma ...
in the UK in 1992.
A
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
was released on 18 August 2003 as part of the ''Doctor Who'' 40th Anniversary Celebration releases, representing the Peter Davison years. The DVD included a commentary with Davison, Fielding, Sutton & Waterhouse, and a documentary, ''Putting the Shock into Earthshock'', which included interviews with Davison, Saward and David Banks, as well as various fan commentators including future ''Doctor Who'' television writers
Steven Moffat
Steven William Moffat (; born 18 November 1961) is a Scottish television writer, television producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work as the second showrunner and head writer of the 2005 revival of the BBC sci-fi television ser ...
and
Mark Gatiss
Mark Gatiss (; born 17 October 1966) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, director, producer and novelist. Best known for his acting work on stage and screen as well as for co-creating television shows with Steven Moffat, he has received ...
, and
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
MP (then Shadow Transport Secretary)
Tim Collins. The
Region 1 release followed on 7 September 2004. On 2 July 2007, this DVD was re-released with new outer packaging.
In 2013 it was released on DVD again as part of the "Doctor Who: The Doctors Revisited 5-8" box set, alongside ''
Vengeance on Varos'', ''
Remembrance of the Daleks'' and the
TV movie
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a terrest ...
. Alongside a documentary on the
Fifth Doctor
The Fifth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Peter Davison.
Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord ...
, the disc features the serial put together as a single feature in
widescreen
Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratio (image), aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ...
format with an introduction from then current show runner
Steven Moffat
Steven William Moffat (; born 18 November 1961) is a Scottish television writer, television producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work as the second showrunner and head writer of the 2005 revival of the BBC sci-fi television ser ...
, as well as its original version.
In 2018 the serial was released on the Season 19 Blu-Ray boxset, including a new documentary, ''Earthshocked''.
''Tales of the TARDIS''
In 2023 the serial was re-edited into a 90 minute 'omnibus' format and released as part of ''
Tales of the TARDIS''. It included newly filmed bookends with the Doctor and Tegan, as played by Peter Davison and Janet Fielding.
References
External links
*
Target novelisation
*
{{Cybermen stories, selected=Television
Fifth Doctor serials
Cybermen television stories
1982 British television episodes
Doctor Who serials novelised by Ian Marter
Doctor Who stories set on Earth
Works set in the 26th century