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| EARTHSHOCK :: DVD REVIEW
by Stephen Mills
Added Sunday,
September 7
2003
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When an idea by science-fiction writer Christopher Priest went wrong, Nathan Turner turned to Saward to write a replacement which became Earthshock. Saward’s pacy script, shocking return of an old monster and the death of a companion makes Earthshock one of the most legendary episodes of Doctor Who. |
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» THE PLOT ... |
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| The mysterious disappearance if an archaeological team is merely the prelude to a deadlier threat for the Doctor and his companions – the Cybermen want to destroy Earth, and will use any means at their disposal. The doctor’s ingenuity is stretched to its very limits as he battles to defeat the Cyber army at any cost. But even he does not realise just how high the cost will be. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| » THE MENU'S ... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Menu’s retain the same look as the previous single disc DVD releases. The TARDIS sequence before the main menu is always a nice addition. The menus are animated with clips from the story. Like all other releases, you have the choice of watching the story as a whole, selecting an individual episode or start from certain scenes within the episodes.
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| » THE PICTURE / SOUND ... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The picture quality is to a high standard that we have come to expect on these releases. The film sequences in particular look very sharp after having been fully restored and cleaned up by the Doctor Who Restoration Team. The sound is again nice and clear, enabling you to hear David Banks inflection and intonations clearly. The one thing I do have some concerns about is the dark sequences in the caves in episode 1. There was the same problem on The Talons of Weng-Chiang DVD, however, there is nothing intrinsically wrong with them, just that with better technology that’s not available, these scenes could be better. |
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| » WHAT ABOUT THOSE EXTRA'S ONLY DVD CAN PROVIDE? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| After
the previous releases, where the commentary track has been very experimental,
we return to a normal running order. Peter Davison, Matthew Waterhouse,
Janet Fielding and Sarah Sutton are used on all four episodes, and
this remains one of the most flippant commentaries so far. The atmosphere
is very light hearted, with several of the cast making jokes at everybody
else’s expense. Peter rather usefully points out a stray assistant
floor manager; Janet Fielding plays the self-assigned role of fashion
correspondent. Sarah Sutton joins in the banter, while Matthew rather
irritatingly spends most of the commentary imitating the other people.
Thankfully, there’s no real bitterness and lots of jibes about
Matthew’s acting.
Ed Stradling has put together an excellent documentary, Putting the Shock into Earthshock that I doubt would have been harmed by being a bit longer. Everyone always has some story about the production and it’s great to hear some people views on the program, especially the now deceased Peter Grimwade. It was also interesting, as it’s one of the first documentaries that puts fans in the program and treats them with respect. Not often done in Doctor Who documentaries. Like the previous release of The Dalek Invasion of Earth, perhaps the most controversial extra is the new CGI effects. The candy rays that were fired by the human soldiers have been replaced by new rays, which are much more modern. The other CGI replacement is the ending. It has been improved to show the true state of the continents on planet Earth 65 millions years ago and the proper way that the freighter would have crashed into Earth. Personally, I welcome these effects, especially considering that the ending of Earthshock has always bothered me because it’s not historically or scientifically accurate.
Other extras include;
There is also an Easter Egg, which is rather amusing. Highlight below to find out what it is and how to find it; [Easter Egg] >>On the 1st page of the extra’s menu, press left on your remote control at the 40th Anniversary montage and press enter to find a sketch from the BBC comedy show The Real McCoy, in which dialogue of the Doctor and the Cybermen has been redubbed in a Reggae accent.<< [End of Easter Egg]
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| » THE STORY ... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Earthshock is a story that is incredibly infuriating. Why? Because the first episode is brilliant and from the point that the Cybermen are revealed as the main adversaries, it just starts to go all downhill.
Some excellent writing enhances the atmosphere created. Eric Saward subsequently sends a crack military unit down into the caves. Saward’s dialogue immediately creates tension already, as we’re are given the impression of something bad having happened down in the caves to Professor’s Kyle’s team without it ever been explained what. The tension is increased when the scanner starts going wrong. Then the military unit get separated and each ones gets picked off in the caves by the androids. All of this is re-inforced by Peter Grimwade’s direction, getting every bit of tension out of the script. Saward’s excellent writing gives us some excellent characters that are well realised on screen. The regulars are on reasonably decent form (apart from Matthew Waterhouse), while James Warwick and Clare Clifford are the standouts from the guest cast. They both play their roles incredibly well. Even those characters that don’t get a lot of screen time are characterised and acted well. Having watched the first part of Earthshock and being bowled over by the sheer excellence, you are about to brace yourself for Doctor Who overload, ready to immerse yourself in one of the best stories ever. Then comes the revelation, the shock revelation. We finally find out that the androids are being used by the Cybermen gets just about everybody excited, and then, the story just falls flat on it’s face. There’s nothing inherently wrong with the rest of Earthshock, it’s a perfectly watchable story, but at the same time, it fails to live up to the standards of the first part.
Then comes Berger, played by June Bland. Think of your own joke. Finally Ringway is given a truly dire performance by Alec Sabin. The character is written as a slightly shady character and the eventual revelation that he is working for the Cybermen is supposed to come as a complete surprise. However, Sabin accentuates the hidden aspect, moaning so much that the realisation on screen does nothing to surprise the viewer, as it was horribly obvious that he is the traitor. Even the acting of those that were so good in Part 1 goes down. Clare Clifford, not really helped by being given nothing to do, is simply there as cannon fodder for the Cybermen. James Warwick’s performance becomes even more like a military official, appealing to more or less no one. This is the problem with some of Saward’s writing. It’s very difficult to like some of the characters that he’s created and therefore audience identification and enjoyment, particularly amongst a casual audience, declines as a result.
The writing also declines from the 1st part. There are so many holes in the plot. Part 4 is the worst. The first big unanswered question is the question of how the ship can go from the middle of the 26th century to 64,000 BC. In the script, it is simply explained that when a piece of alien machinery takes over human spacecraft, anything can happen. It kind of makes sense, but when you think about it, the Cybermen have never been able to time travel, so to have one of there machines suddenly cause something go back in time seems quite ludicrous. The other is the issue of the escape pod. How exactly did the Doctor manage to pick up Captain Scott and the others in the escape pod? One could ask why would he want to, but if the ship had no fixed co-ordinates, then they could have turned up at any given time. Surely it would have made trying to find them almost impossible, especially given that the escape pod was moving at the time. However, Earthshock can very definitely not be criticised for the production side. While the sets are fantastic for the first part, the spaceship sets are very reasonable while Malcolm Clarke’s music is distinctive and manages to enhance the tension. However, all the production elements are bought together really well by director Peter Grimwade. This was his final directorial outing on Doctor Who and he’s far better director than writer. He manages to make some really stand out moments. The first is the Cybermen being trapped in the door. It’s excellently done, and Grimwade, by closely shifting the scenes maintains a pacy feel and makes everything that little bit more tense. However, the best moment comes when we see the Cybermen starting to emerge. Grimwade helps to give the scenes a sense of gravitas. They initially start to take the cellophane wrapping off, and finally burst out of the silos. Grimwade deliberately shows lots of the Cybermen emerging, giving the viewer an idea of the scale of the Cybermen invasion. Further re-inforced when we see the Cybermen moving, and see the strength of the army that the Cyberleader has at it’s disposal.
Overall, Earthshock is a classic example of story telling gone wrong. Always start with a good opening and make sure that the middle leads to an excellent climax. However, the appeal of Earthshock remains it’s excellent opening and the talents of some of those involved. |
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| » SUMMARY ... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Overall Score : 9/10
An excellently presented DVD release and one that will probably be the prototype release when the DVD releases return to their normal release rate next year. You can order Earthshock from Blackstar.co.uk by clicking here. |
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| » TECHNICAL DETAILS ... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All screen grabs and images appearing
in the above review are Copyright (C) BBC Worldwide Ltd 2003 |
Eric
Saward was a radio playwright when he was commissioned for "The
Invasion of the Plague Men" for Season 19 of Doctor Who. Under
the re-named The Visitation, the script clearly impressed
producer John Nathan Turner, and when Nathan Turner was looking
for a new script editor, Saward was appointed.
What
makes Earthshock really good is the overall production of the story,
and this shines through in episode 1. The cave sets are wonderfully
superb, with such incidental little details as Dinosaur bones down
in the caves, while the level of lighting is excellent. Usually
for Doctor Who, studio lighting is far too bright, but here the
darkness creates a genuinely claustrophobic atmosphere right from
the start. 
The
acting definitely goes down a notch from the first part. There are
three principles in the guest cast and all of them have problems.
Firstly, there is Beryl Reid. The obvious influence is the film
Alien, and if this is the case, then Captain Briggs was presumably
written with a Sigourney Weaver style actress in mind for the part.
The casting of Beryl Reid could just about go down as one of the
worst miscastings in history. While she is clearly having enormous
fun playing Briggs, she’s so infuriatingly unlikable. She
might also be one of the worst characters in Doctor Who history,
who in their right mind would put the safety of Earth above gaining
their bonus? I can’t really believe that Briggs even gained
anywhere near the position of authority that she has when she’s
so stupid. 
Earthshock
is also notable for having some new look Cybermen. While they are
better than their Revenge style, they are not a patch on the 60s
versions. They look very impressive, the silver chin that moves
shows the lost humanity quite brilliantly, they are every bit as
tall and impressive, but yet there are some minor modifications.
I’ve heard David Banks performance as the Cyber leader described
as having the same impact of Michael Wisher’s Davros. There
not even in the same league. The Cybermen are supposed to be completely
emotionless, but Banks, much like Christopher Robbie in Revenge
of the Cybermen, exhibits all sorts of emotions throughout the story.
While this isn’t the fault of Banks as he’s stuck inside
the costume, but I always felt the voices were better when Peter
Hawkins and Roy Skelton were behind the microphone, rather than
the actors inside the costumes doing them. It doesn’t really
work because Banks’ voice sounds remarkably like a human inside
a monster costume. It also enables Banks to display emotions through
inflection and intonation. Not very good for supposedly emotionless
creatures.
The
form of the regulars is crucial in this story, especially considering
the loss of one. Nyssa really doesn’t get anything to do and
it’s reflected in Sarah Sutton’s performance. Janet
Fielding as Tegan manages to emphasise the Cybermen’s unhumanistic
nature, but the main relationship for this story is one between
the Doctor and Adric. I can’t actually believe that the Doctor
was ever that bothered about having Adric on board, and it shows
in the general relationship between Peter Davison and Matthew Waterhouse.
I hate to say it, a lot of people have commented on the silent credits
doing nothing, and I can’t say that it ever did anything for
me. Matthew Waterhouse isn’t really a very good actor, with
a limited range of facial expressions, a way of destroying dialogue
and managing to bring out all of Adric’s bad qualities. The
Dalek Masterplan having killed more people than is really worth
mentioning, still manages to retain the dignity of the deceased
by a very emotional final scene. Sadly, all the guilt and grief
caused by Adric’s death looks very faked.» All reviews are © to their respective authors and may not be reproduced elsewhere without prior permission