Earthshock [Doctor Who, Story 121]

Earthshock by Eric Saward
8 - 16 March 1982​

Now, this is much more like what I expected from Saward. Gritty military men, high stakes, and a whole lot of death. This serial manages to avoid feeling gauche, at least, as it's mostly reined in and used to ratchet up the dramatic tension very nicely.

Starting with a creepy and tense opening scene, we immediately get the sense of imminent upheaval as Adric threatens to leave the TARDIS, a sense of impending doom that never quite leaves until the story is over. The cliffhanger at the end of Part One revealing the presence of the Cybermen is quite masterfully done, although I remain skeptical of post-Sixties Cybermen stories in general since they rarely mine the body horror potential that they embody. There is a little bone thrown to this, however - the Doctor's wonderful "small, beautiful events" speech late in the story.

There is a clever subversion in Part Two - the Doctor and his friends get themselves locked up so often, and yet the Doctor's and Adric's captors can barely be bothered to notice and imprison them even when they're trying to get caught! Later on, we're given the surreal image of Tegan (whose lilac outfit is by this point seared into my mind) with a gun and battle fatigues instead, giving us the impression that things are all topsy-turvy.

And of course there is the matter of Adric's demise. It lands (hah!), although I can't shake the sense that it was kind of pointless, diegetically speaking. The dramatic tension of this moment is, despite that, quite stunning.

All in all, a fairly brilliant story. I only wish the next one lived up to its promise... Time-Flight is next.

(Modified from the original posted at Gallifrey Base on 11 October 2022.)