Doctor Who: Earthshock - REVIEW - Cybercember

[@MrTARDIS]

"Excellent!" It's been one week of CyberCember! Thanks so much for all the support! So much of that is because you hit the "like" button, leave comments and share the videos and it's hugely appreciated!

[@DCSMedia]

I’ve been loving it. It’s something to look forward to after school or in the evening and you give great reviews, even if I disagree, you always justify them well.

[@elliot5569]

Mrtardis just realised that the last members on the ship left in the escape pod but are left in the jurassic period.

[@PetersonZF]

The DVD commentary for this is absolutely solid gold. At one point it goes quiet and then Peter Davison remarks, "Beryl Reid didn't have a clue what was going on."

[@jackevans3480]

She was always magnificent, though. A real legend.

[@BH-98]

All the DVD commentaries from the 5th Doctor era are brilliant

[@kattybratt1353]

solid gold, you say? for people yeah thats sick but cybermen would think otherwise

[@collegeman1988]

After which Janet, Sarah and Matthew burst into laughter 😆

[@CouncilofGeeks]

I’d actually say that Adric is the Jason Todd of Doctor Who.

[@maldon3659]

That's pretty accurate, except Adric never came back

[@CouncilofGeeks]

@@maldon3659 not yet.

[@theincrediblewolverine1364]

@@maldon3659 that depends on whether you think big finish is canon

[@maldon3659]

@@theincrediblewolverine1364 I'm sure he did but I suppose its canon because the Eighth Doctor references his companions from the Big Finish stories

[@dustin_4501]

Ironic that "Earthshock" aired in 1982 and Jason Todd first appearance was in Batman #357 1983.

[@MrTARDIS]

Sorry for the blank screen at 27:18. It's meant to be a clip from 'Full Circle' where Adric gets given his badge. For some reason it didn't process in the render. But I will fix it when doing the full marathon compilation in 2021.

[@BH-98]

I just assumed it was a joke about how the series constantly referenced his mathematical excellence every episode

[@frazzlesreviews5379]

That’ll be because there’s archive footage from Revenge Of The Cybermen reeking its revenge

[@Elsinlock]

Sounds like a mistake by a stupid earth brain! im sorry its just my favourite thing to say now

[@djpookie2000]

I noticed it. Thanks for the explanation. Your videos are an early Christmas present, great work!

[@bladersmosh]

16:10-16:43 YAY! Cyber-Jeff and Cyber-Steve have returned to bring us laughter and hilarity once again. Hope to see them again soon.

[@dubliam8064]

I love how they use a clip from The Wheel In Space but it's meant to be Tomb of The Cybermen, but the story was still missing.

[@SegaNintendoGuy64]

At the time.

[@matthewduncan8523]

To be fair they do say “in this regenerated form” so it’s more like they were looking at the 2nd Doctor than the tombs

[@bendream544]

They hadn't found the story Tomb of the Cybermen at this point I think.

[@dustin_4501]

The "Tomb Of The Cybermen" only did return to the BBC Archives in 1991 but is curious how they reference the Tomb events even the footage is not from that episode.

[@bendream544]

@@dustin_4501 the Cyber-leader does actually say it was in this form, not here he is freezing us back on Telos and also they thought that all their copies of that story were lost too.

[@seedhillbruisermusic7939]

I was a 13 year old Dr Who fan in 1982 and let me tell you, the shock reveal of the Cybermen at the end of episode 1 was the most exciting thing that had ever happened!

[@bendream544]

The most 'Excellent' you mean?

[@bigredsock1]

It was pretty meaningless for me as I did not know who the Cybermen were - I had only been 3 at the time of their last TV appearance!

[@necroscope5064]

Similar experience for me.

[@rahulshah1408]

I remember the ending. It was a total shock. I was about 12 at the time when it played in the USA.

[@animationfanatic2133]

You might even say it was an Earthshock

[@sinicalypse]

The part where the ship ends up being the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs is a quintessentially brilliant touch.

[@mitchellradford4084]

"Now I'll never know if I was right" Get the tissues ready for this one folks!

[@bassmastervan9391]

What kind of sick bastard would rub one out to Adric’s death smh

[@philiprussell5083]

@@bassmastervan9391 um.. I think he means it in an emotional way

[@mitchellradford4084]

@@philiprussell5083 I did mean emotional yes XD

[@simonorourke4465]

Clearly the tissues are for wiping away the tears of happiness at Adric's death.

[@SegaNintendoGuy64]

Favourite quotes of the day.. A few this time.. "DESTORY THEM, DESTORY THEM AT ONCE!" "Excellent!" "More Power!"

[@TGM_Productions]

An apple, a day keeps the uh... oh never mind.

[@Mr_Bunk]

De-story? Is that an off-screen weapon the Cybermen used in ‘Wheel in Space’ and ‘Revenge’? That would explain a lot.

[@DCSMedia]

Now I’ll never know if I was right

[@random007nadir]

My geeky friends and I wrote a parody of McCoy era Who in school and all the cybermen ever said was "excellent" and "destroy them at once." Very much the fan meme of its day.

[@ianmcintire6696]

Gotta confess, I’m a little disappointed you didn’t end the “Excellent” counter with a clip of Charles Montgomery Burns.

[@crimsondynamo615]

That was the true identity of the Cyber Leader, in fact the one cyberman closest to the leader was Smithers

[@rackstraw]

I was hoping for Bill and Ted in their phone booth.

[@Xenon7567]

Who's this Montgomery Burns? He sounds like an excellent chap.

[@Sisterspike1]

No mention of Malcolm Clarke's terrific musical score? I think thats what really helps make this episode be truly memorable. I mean can you imagine this episode without his musical stings when the Cybermen appear?

[@bendream544]

It made a great change from the usual Cyberman theme music in the 60s which I wasn't too keen on, partly because it was nicked from an LP of 'alien' type sound effects rather than music that was composed for them exclusively. I think that is what makes the Invasion soundtrack so cool is because it was made just for that serial and the music and sounds in all the scenes is great.

[@ftumschk]

I was thinking that. A clever score, too... at the point where they discover dinosaur bones in the cave wall in Part One, Clarke briefly quotes the "Fossils" movement from Saint-Saëns' _Carnival of the Animals._

[@thetardislegilimens]

Here’s a funny bit of info on Clarke’s score for this story - the director, Peter Grimwade, absolutely _hated_ Clarke’s score, and tried to get Peter Howell to provide a replacement. Luckily, Howell was unavailable, so Clarke’s score was used.

[@darrenjames9891]

Gotta love the metallic bell sound

[@GAFloppa]

Those bells are iconic. That moment is seared into my memory as GREAT tv

[@adorkability]

I also love the clear chins on the Cybermen's helmets so that you can see the human heads inside. I think that even though they are cyborgs, people tend to forget that they were once human and view them just as robots. Though, yes, in this episode, they do come across as too human. I also agree about the TARDIS being too crowded. There often wasn't enough storyline to go around, which is what I think part of the problem with the last two seasons of current Who. I was a kid when Adric was a companion, so he didn't annoy me. In fact, him being young meant that I could identify more with him. So when he died in this episode, I was not only shocked, since this was the first time I had ever seen a companion die, I was also upset because I liked the character. So this serial made quite an impression on me. You always hear about Steven Moffat killing off companions, but in truth, every companion of his era that "died" actually had some sort of life beyond that death. Not so with Adric. His death was permanent which I think gives it more weight in the Who universe.

[@jasonlescalleet5611]

Yeah. Moffat companion death’s are more like Peri’s than like Adric’s.

[@spencerhjalseth7288]

I came around on the mouths on the costumes. Imagine if you could see how gross Darth Vaders real mouth is. The remains of what was a human face is a creepy idea.

[@kierenevans2521]

3:56 Oh, I never realised that the communicator was still in what remains of her hand. Now that's nasty...

[@bassmastervan9391]

Shiiiit I never picked up on that before

[@robotx9285]

You can see a pool of blood...

[@highvoltage7797]

“Small beautiful things is what life is all about”

[@defrostedrobot77]

That's a good bit that might have been nice to see in the video. This story also gave us Tegan's line about being a "mouth on legs" which Janet Fielding uses in her Twitter tag.

[@jbcatz5]

It’s actually quite easy to understand why Adric is like how he is. First off, he’s a teenager. Who hasn’t done things they later cringe at as a teenager? He started with the Fourth Doctor, eventually being the sole companion for an unknown period of time, at least one TV story. Adric and the Fourth Doctor have a great student and mentor relationship, Adric giving the Doctor just enough admiration while the Doctor curbs Adric’s worst ego trips. They have great chemistry in The Keeper of Traken, and Adric makes a great team with Nyssa in that story too. Then comes the fall. When the Fourth Doctor regenerated into the Fifth his personality changed, he was literally a different man from whom Adric had been travelling with. Much less of an ego in need of stoking, the Fifth Doctor was less comfortable in general social situations. Less the life of the party and more a glass of ginger beer in the corner. Factor in the addition of meek Nyssa and the loud, combative Tegan fighting for attention from the Doctor, no wonder Adric acted out more. The proud Alzarian and the Australian, fights were guaranteed to happen and the Doctor and Nyssa would leave the room when mediation wasn’t possible.

[@SegaNintendoGuy64]

Fun fact about me and this story, This was the first story in the classic series I've seen on VHS along with Pyramids of Mars, In fact this story was my first Cybermen story I've watched in general, These stories made me travel time to appreciate the classic series, And that's one history to remember through time.

[@dalekinthewater4708]

Ahhh yes. Earthshock. The beginning of the 'Excellent' era (1982-1988).

[@Rahonavis70m]

*sees it’s time for Earthshock in Cybercember* Me: “E X C E L L E N T”

[@mrandrews3616]

I have a very special relationship with this episode. When I was a kid, and probably just after Tennant's first season finished, my grandfather got me a bunch of classic who stories on DVD, all Part 1's, in little cardboard slips. One of them was Earthshock and the first full Classic story I got on DVD was Earthshock. This is the story which made me fall in love with the Cybermen and I still love it today. Thank you for doing it justice with this review and Merry Christmas.

[@TakeNoteOfThat]

“I’m just a mouth on legs” - Tegan, a more self-aware companion.

[@keirjarvie6998]

7:40 Yay! The Revenge of the Cybermen curse has been lifted! 16:10 Is it me, or does anyone else think “You know what’s going? Maybe it’s another drill.” when they see this moment?

[@PetersonZF]

YES! I actually thought Mr TARDIS was going to use that audio. :)

[@KillerMeme]

Part 5 was in the review? Excellent!

[@Jedi_Spartan]

Rewatched this episode yesterday and I think it's the peak of Cybermen stories in Classic Who. 18:27 Also, is the Cyberman that gets frozen in the shield door a reference to Han in Carbonite from Empire Strikes Back?

[@highvoltage7797]

What I love is that Adric and Nyssa have themes. Themes for companions are usually associated with modern Who, but it started in the 80s.

[@splitjawjanitor5369]

In fairness to the Cyber-Leader's hammy acting, they do acknowledge it as odd in-universe with the Doctor even snarking about it ("Compared to the others, this one's positively flippant.")

[@sebastiangreenan1774]

The 80s Cybermen are my all time favourite versions of the monsters, part of why I liked the Lone Cyberman is because he reminded me of the great David Banks Cyber-Leader. The battle of wits between Their Fifth Doctor and The Cyber-Leader is one of the best seen on the show. "Excellent" indeed. My head cannon was that the Cybermen had evolved, they understand emotions but have none of the 'weaknesses' associated with them.

[@kiarash608]

Earthshock Now we're talking Edit: I kinda find it funny how Mr Tardis is always critical of the Cybermen plans. Maybe he should become Cyber Planner 😂

[@ihateunicorns867]

He's definitely working up to asking for a job.

[@BH-98]

He'll have to rename his channel to Mr Cleverreviews

[@richardbuckley1232]

I saw this when it originally aired. The reveal at the end of the first episode was an incredible surprise. Fantastic stuff and a great story.

[@thespidercrafter8547]

"EXCELLENT!!!" This is indeed an excellent review.

[@SegaNintendoGuy64]

Out of all the Cybermen and actors in the classic series, I freaking love the 80's Cybermen and their design in fact it's probably my all time favourite costume in the whole of the classic series, Plus David Banks as the Cyber Leader is one hell of a best actor, He's one of my favourite Cybermen actor after Peter Hawkins Roy Skelton and Nicolas Briggs.

[@scaleproductions711]

15:41 - 15:57 I was hoping you'd build up that "excellent" compilation, then follow it up with Mr. Burns saying "excellent".

[@marymungleandmidge4080]

Remember the ‘shock’ of seeing the cybermen, back when it was first broadcast when I was 12 years old.

[@dr.feelgoodmalusphillips2475]

Cyber-Leader is still the best representation of the Cyber-Men. He has character that other recent Cyber-Men before and after lack. Instead of them being just robots, the visible mouth chin, they have presence in this and it makes you more engaged.

[@android65mar]

I'm really intrigued how you got that Cybermen space invaders effect (reminds me of David Banks' cyber history book with it's various species of cybermen) at the beginning of these videos

[@benlyon4739]

I remember watching Earthshock on VHS in the early 2000s and the Cyberleader's death was the scariest Doctor Who scene 10 year old me had ever seen

[@jasonlescalleet5611]

I like how part 1, with the caves and the dinosaurs, seems to be saying “Silurian story” but then, bam! Cybermen! Not quite a “she’s actually a never-before-seen incarnation of the Doctor” level twist, but still a good one.

[@TheBlackHelicopterRevue]

BERYL REID! She was NEVER miscast in anything...LEGEND.

[@ShamrockParticle]

The clips used in this review show her being passable enough, I never quite understood the complain of miscasting

[@MichaelJohnson-kq7qg]

Earthshock was amazing when it first aired. The shock reveal of the Cybermen, and then that ending. There was literally nothing else like it on TV at the time. Arguably the best 5th Doctor story. Still one of the all-time best who stories.

[@danielwilliamson6180]

Earthshock is one of my favourites. I use to own on VHS but I never got round to buying the DVD. I think it's one of Peter Davison's best as The Doctor (I met Peter Davison in 2009) and it is one of Doctor Who's darkest episodes. The Cybermen make a good comeback after a 7 year absence and with their new look they looked truly menacing with their 80s look. It had a good story. Peter Davison and the cast all give good performances. A shame it was Matthew Waterhouse's final appearance as Adric. Although Adric was a annoying character, his death at the end of the story was tragic. Although Adric getting off the escape pod just as it was taking off and trying to unlock the controls and stop the space freighter to crash land on prehistoric Earth, it was an act of heroism and sacrifice and he gave his life to save the Earth. 5:13 The Cybermen returning in the cliffhanger of Episode 1 is one of Doctor Who's best cliffhangers. John Nathan-Turner deciding to keep the Cybermen returning in Earthshock a secret was a really good decision. Earthshock is one of the best Cybermen stories and one of the best of Old Who.

[@gregsramblings]

This story gets me every time. Especially Adric's death. I well up every single time.

[@random007nadir]

I remember when I was in a Dr Who fan club as a kid, when they showed this story, someone had dubbed laughter over the final scene of Tegan and Nyssa crying. Cheers and wild applause from the audience. Adric was not a popular character.

[@jeffgalus8454]

EARTHSHOCK was THE BEST Cybermen story in the eighties

[@samuelbrooks1533]

I know, I know, most fans of the show see Adric as one of the most annoying and unlikable companions of all time...but he'll always be special to me. I found him incredibly relatable when I started getting into Classic Who (my first Doctor Who DVD was The Visitation, having listened to the audiobook first, which was read by Matthew Waterhouse). An incredible story, which gave Adric possibly the best send-off he could have ever received. Also, Earthshock Cybermen for best Cyberman design!

[@samuelbrooks1533]

My Best to Worst Cyberman stories so far: - Revenge of the Cybermen - Tomb of the Cybermen - Earthshock - The Moonbase - The Tenth Planet - The Invasion - The Wheel in Space

[@nekusakura6748]

​@@samuelbrooks1533Where does Silver Nemesis go on that list?

[@highvoltage7797]

I don’t think season 19 gets enough credit. Castrovalva is a good opener, Kinda is such a thought provoking story, The Visitation, imo, is Doctor Who distilled and then there’s Earthshock. Four to doomsday and Black Orchid are average and yes Time-Flight is awful, but I think the good outweighs the bad.

[@benw4409]

I'd compare it to Whittaker's first season. Mixed, but the good stuff is awesome whilst the bad is forgettable and just dull. I think both seasons are underrated.

[@highvoltage7797]

@@benw4409 For me her first series is pretty dull. Even with the New years special, I only like 2 or 3 episodes.

[@jbcatz5]

Season 19 also gives each companion a focus story. Tegan is possessed and traumatised in Kinda, Nyssa finds her doppelgänger in Black Orchid and Adric goes out in a blaze of glory in Earthshock.

[@frogoat]

Nyssa just proves how smart she is in her run, often staying in the relative safety of the TARDIS. Nyssa will outlive us all.

[@adamburke4738]

Earthshock is always gonna be remembered as that story where a companion straight up died. And personally, I think the Modern series needs more companion deaths

[@Rytoc12]

This is only my favourite Cybermen story, but my favourite Doctor Who story of all-time.

[@theshadowdirector]

I like to imagine that second in command Cyberman was, in his former life, known as Smithers....

[@TempusWare]

Bloody loved that Cyberman in The Five Doctors sketch

[@paulroach9684]

I remember watching this at the time but can't remember the the surprise revelation of the Cybermen being very memorable to me, what was memorable was the clips of past Doctors. The shock ending I do remember making a big impression. I remember sitting on the edge of my seat for the first episode of Time Flight to see if he was really dead. I also remember the aching disappointment when all my friends tuned in for Time Flight after hearing about the ending of Earthshook and the next day hearing the word 'crap' (polite version) shouted in my face all day. What a wasted opportunity. And annoying they were right: Time Flight is rubbish. [Genesis to Revenge. Androzani to Twin. No it's definitely Earthshook to Time Flight that has the biggest drop off in quality.] Loving your reviews.

[@option3590]

17:50 they do actually answer that partially; there’s a line of dialogue later (ep 4?) that states the red alert around earth would blast down a missile. Why “these caves” specifically isn’t elaborate upon, beyond they’re on Earth & Earth’s the target. Maybe it was meant to be holdover continuity from Revenge? Wherein the bombs needed to be deep underground to cause planet-scale damage. Granted there’s no explanation for how the bomb got there but that wasn’t a question The Doctor asked. If I had to guess though, it’s why they had to resort to using androids to deliver & guard it. Presumably there was a window for entirely inorganic objects to slip through.

[@jackboulter4901]

hands down my favourite cyberman story of all time, david banks as the cyberleader was perfect casting in my opinion, also eric saward does a fantastic job of bringing the cybermen back from the brink.

[@bigredsock1]

It's true that on first broadcast the end of Episode 1 was one of the best cliffhangers ever - but only if you recognised the enemy! After an absence of seven years from the TV screens, I'm sure that I wasn't the only 9 year old in 1982 who had never heard of the Cybermen.

[@AirsoftRus02]

I must have watching this 10 times now , just makes me remember how good this story is! After all it is my favourite

[@Djarra]

If you go back to the revolution about Adric’s true species in ‘full circle’ it can be argued that he is the common ancestor of all life on earth as his memetic dna was spread across the planet. Also a vision of Adric was written into the next episode so people would see him credited in the listings in the RT to hide his death.

[@silverdaleks1]

Nice little funny sketch with the 2 cybermen talking to each other 16:10. Though forgive me for sounding nit-picky but I think the voices could have been better as they sounded more like daleks. It would have been easier and have sounded more accurately like 80s cybermen if you'd just pitched down your voice or mixed it with a deeper pitch of your voice.

[@doctorwhom8294]

brilliant video! so happy you are doing the 5 doctors!

[@octaviusfooks7194]

3:51 - That's Sgt Lamont from The Bill [soon-to-be in 1989]

[@tayavan3182]

It would be super awesome if you did a review Spare Parts! It more than anything else is the follow-up to Earthshock, and is really just the best Cyberman story you could possibly ask for. Not to mention one of the most famous, and well known Doctor Who audios out there for very good reason. I think it adds a lot to the mythos and interpretation of the Cybermen, and would be a *cough* excellent addition to Cybercember. (And its only like $2.00!)

[@bradleywillard2361]

Great review, MrTARDIS, but I've got one little nitpick - Adric's gold star for mathematical excellence only weakened the Cyber Leader. It took several blasts from the Cyber gun to actually kill him.

[@ftumschk]

I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't actually gold... I've seen chocolate coins that don't crumble as easily as that badge. Adric was conned ;)

[@bradleywillard2361]

@@ftumschk The Alzarian grifters!

[@IsaacWhittakerDakin]

This was my first classic Doctor Who story and I'd recommend anyone starting with this one if you want to get into the classic series!

[@KeithWWatson]

The first ever Doctor Who DVD I got was Tomb of the Cybermen and this was the second. It because the Cybermen are my favourite Doctor Who villian

[@richardmattocks]

I watched this in 1982 as an 11 year old and sheesh it was a stunning ending!

[@SegaNintendoGuy64]

Next Time: The Doctor returns to Telos to battle the return of the Cyber-Controller, The violence within a man's hand, More references and continuity, And it will all end with a powerful note.. Be ready for the Attack of the Cybermen, There is logic to I said! EDIT: My bad, That's not until another two days now as now I've been informed.

[@MrTARDIS]

Sorry to take the wind out of your sails, but we've going to be taking a detour tomorrow before we reach 'Attack'. It's explained at the end of the video :)

[@raptorfae.6645]

@@MrTARDIS you're doing spare parts, aren't you...

[@SegaNintendoGuy64]

@@MrTARDIS Yeah, This time that's my error, Because I posted this comment before I watched the video completely, In my defence quite a little bit though I didn't know you're cover The 5 Doctors since we both know that the Cybermen played an active role in the story but ain't the real thread as the main focus of the story, And I just thought you're save it for the last day, So again that's my error in my part, I did not know, No harm done.

[@MrTARDIS]

@@raptorfae.6645 maaaassaaybe. We've still got to get through the Classic Era.

[@SegaNintendoGuy64]

@@MrTARDIS Again, That was my error, I should of waited before the video ended.

[@JamesAHirons_]

Beryl had a bit of a career lift here on the tale of the kids show Get Up And Go with Mooncat

[@djpookie2000]

I was 6 years old in 1982 when I saw this episode. My Aunt had a bootleg copy from the UK which ran in PAL but my VCR was NTHC. The picture quality was abysmal, which I think added to to mystery of the story. I had no idea the Cybermen were the bad guys, and I was left speechless by their reveal during the Part One cliffhanger. Adric dying at the end was the cherry on top of one of the greatest episodes of the show. The internet has spoiled this type of surprise. You haven't talked about the music in your reviews. The Invasion and Eartshock have two of the best soundtracks of the show. The clanging of Eartshock is especially moody. I wish it was still used today.

[@gavinsmith3048]

It might be an unpopular opinion, but I quite like the flare ups of emotions in these cybermen (particularly David Banks). I like to think that sometimes the heat of the moment ruptures the programming and he has a burst of rage or indulges into smugness. It makes him a much more interesting adversary. David Banks himself wrote a novel (Iceberg) where it is implied cybermen sometimes emulate emotion so as to intimidate humans. Honestly I think it should be left to individual viewer to decide for themselves.

[@thegamerguru97]

I like the angle of the leader actively suppressing his emotions with it occassionally surfacing

[@jacklawrence2212]

The stunned, utterly destroyed look on Davison's face when realises Adric is dead is one the greatest pieces of acting in all Doctor Who. A hugely underrated Doctor brought to life by a fine actor.

[@demon_hawkeye5269]

I'm always bewildered whenever anyone hates on 5, such a great Doctor.

[@TGM_Productions]

Time for quite possibly the Best cybermen story. There’s a friend I had, who loved doctor who and he would’ve loved to have seen this review and both of us to talk about it. Oh well.. poetic how this story also has a companion departure~ the most sudden and saddest and terrifying companion departures. Can’t wait for the Attack of the cybermen story, because well- I have the same emotional attachment towards the serial as Earthshock for the same reasons. Series 19 is honestly my favourite series from the classic series. Well, either- it’s either series 19 or Series 12 or Series 22. Series 20 and 21 are also really good though. Peter Davison’s tenure was amazing. _ Also, I say the cybermen can time travel. They planted the bomb on earth in the past.- In those caves. But, they still will not alter history. It could be that after this story, the cybermen just went “SCREW IT-“ and just then decided to break the rules of time, out of spite.

[@Eltonlaleham]

I say Earthshock is an awesome Cybermen story like Tomb of the Cybermen the Moonbase and also Tenth Planet

[@finb]

All jokes aside I'm still legitimately curious about what those two cyberman were talking about.

[@Kip450]

Maybe they are talking about the new VT-16s. It’s quite a thing to see.

[@tTaseric]

I actually really like the trend of cyber-leaders, controllers, etc having more emotional goals, and it's something I've noticed that Modern Who does a lot. Classic Who did it a few times, with this Cyber-Leader, and the Cyber-Controller from Tomb (who isn't emotional, but he's definitely more unique). It's a really great counter-weight to the emotionless, identical Cybermen. Also, the point that Cybermen can exploit emotional weakness was brought back as a thing in The Doctor Falls. The Cybermen advertised their attack, hovered in the sky for a fair while, all to attempt to weaken the Doctor's defenses.

[@Alpha-oo8]

Well, big finish did do a story where Adric survives, but it’s not a happy ending for him... The boy that time forgot, if you’re interested.

[@disneyboy3030]

It turns out rust Adric’s fate is even more crazy….. because as reavield in an audio book the Doctor latter created a bubble universe which revived Adric and he became the Scorpion King. Crazy right.

[@dragonzilla6482]

Earthshock was the very first Classic series episode that I got on DVD not long after going to the sadly now closed Dr Who Exhibition in Blackpool.

[@benw4409]

One of the best Cyberman stories and a highlight of Davison's run, which is generally quite hit and miss IMO. Peter Grimwade wasn't a very good writer but he could absolutely direct the hell out of a story, and Eric Saward's script is "excellent!". It's a brilliant "reboot" of an old monster that cemented the Cybermen as a force of nature in Doctor Who - without this, the Cybermen could've been consigned to history after Revenge flopped but Earthshock made them legendary. The Fifth Doctor gets some of his best characterisation and the story is endlessly watchable and of course the ending is just a gut punch. I would argue no story since has been quite so revelatory and unexpected (MAYBE Fugitive of the Judoon. Maybe).

[@CaptainForsyth]

I like them saying "Excellent" I want it to come back.

[@Tymbus]

So here, I will provide my theory about the bomb and why it is among the fossils of extinct dinosaurs. I think Saward literally "lost the plot" which I think was going to include a typical time travel paradox. I think that he had intended the bomb to have been a still active remnant of the freighter that crashes at the end killing off the dinosaurs (that's why the bomb is in that rock layer surrounded with dinosaur bones). The cybermen would have located the bomb, tried to activate it but without realising what they had found was the remains of the ship they were on. Saward's plotting , particularly in his Dalek stories, was never particularly coherent and I just tink this idea was simply forgotten but bits of it remained in the broadcast story.

[@Scrubwick]

I've been looking forward to this one, first Old Who story I ever saw and still one of my personal favourites.

[@andrewraichlin]

Finally someone WHO appreciates Classic WHO! Amazing review. Adric's death was so impactful on me when I saw it for the first time.

[@SusannaEmily]

I'm looking forward to tomorrow! I love the Five Doctors it was one of the first few classics I watched because it had Sarah Jane and was just one long thing.

[@DCSMedia]

Personally my favourite Cyberman Story and was one of my very first Doctor Who stories

[@Osentalka]

I'm not sure I'd call Beryl Reid stunt casting unless you think it impossible for an older women to be captain of a freighter. She had done a fair amount of comedy but was also a serious actress. In the same year she appeared in Earthshock she won a BAFTA for playing Connie Sachs in Smileys People. A decade earlier she had won a Tony and a Golden Globe for her role in The Killing of Sister George. JNT would have been honored to have her.

[@ShamrockParticle]

The 3xcellent counter is... well, obviously excellent. Also pay attention to Davison's entire era as a silurian, tereleptil, Master, and many others all exclaim the same thing. Your reviews and overviews are first rate. Thank you much!!

[@nedstark1353]

My favourite cyberman story

[@chrisgurney2467]

Simply Excellent

[@blobfish5730]

When will the bit marathon of this come out?

[@rtex2020]

I can remember the first time I saw this show on PBS (public broadcasting service) in the USA. When the show began, I thought something had gone wrong with the broadcast and I was watching some other show. My other memory was the ending and the ending credits, which made a big impact on me at the time. It's an OK show, but part of that is due to my dislike of both Adric and Tegan as companions, not to mention the backlash that Peter Davison had from the Tom Baker era.

[@lbricks7631]

15:43, Looks like Mr Burns got converted.

[@gregsramblings]

Weirdly enough I always felt the Doctor saying that Adric wouldn't want them to mourn him unnecessarily was the doctor trying to keep himself together.

[@dogblessamerica]

The episode benefited from coming after Black Orchid. Total change of pace and mood. I saw it as a child and remember experiencing the building horror of the first episode. And being distraught at Adric's death.

[@supertna9154]

This is the first Cybermen episode I have seen and seeing these Cybermen made me look that they were supposed to look like until I saw the previous Cybermen appearances which looked better than the Earthshock version but the worst appearance would have to go with Nightmare in Silver which were too much like robots followed by the Silver Nemesis design which looked similar to the Earthshock design but too shiny and were underpowered compared to other Cybermen stories due to them being easily defeated by throwing gold at them.

[@DanTheMan2150AD]

Tbh, as much as I love this story, I don’t think it would be nearly as good without its cliffhanger to Part 1 and ending.

[@moribundtoot8183]

One question I have always had about the Cybermen. Why do they build their consoles and equipment at knee height so they have to bend down to operate them? Its a little crazy!

[@carly_airlines]

My lame review (( I began to review stuff back in early 2020, and I was not a pro at it... )): OH MAN, I loved this episode and I enjoyed listening to the dinosaur discussion. Good cliffhanger tho. Can't wait to see what will happen next! Good ol' solid episode. It's so atmospheric and the music is terrifying.

[@DomoftheDoctor]

I'm kinda disappointed you didn't cut to Billy Treacy yelling "HE WOULDN'T WANT US TO MOURN HIM UNNECESSARILY?!", but I'll live. A really interesting case for Adric's presence and death in this story, considering the fan reception to the character over the years. Looking forward to watching Earthshock again somewhere down the line.

[@nifralo2752]

Amazing how this story is so good when it copies so many plot points from revenge of the Cybermen. With the bomb in the cave the cave shootouts, hijacking a space ship trying to crash a spaceship into a planet. Trying to destroy said planet because doing so will stop them losing a war they plan start, gold killing the cybermen.

[@owenwildish331]

the third best Cybermen story and jointly with 'Tomb of the Cybermen' my number one favourite, strangely as a kid I used to think the cybermen made of green jelly in tin foil... not sure why though, lol. Wouldn't it have been cool if, in classic Who, we had these two most iconic versions from those stories meet and team up and/or the Doctor having to side with one faction at some point..?

[@bendream544]

You probably linked that scene in the 5 Doctors where the Raston Robot destroyed the Cybermen and they squirt green goo all over the place.