N.B. there might (or might not) be spoilers in this article!

That it’s taken me four attempts to get through The Moonbase (two of which I fell asleep during and on a third occasion almost did) should tell you just how enthralling I found it.

I do find it rather quaint that to emphasise the multicultural make-up of the team, the moonbase staff have their names and their national flags on their chests. (This might even be actual practice in some quarters, but that still doesn’t stop it seeming quaint in dramatic terms.) French second-in-command Benoit, played by French-born actor Andre Maranne even wears a cravat to emphasise his French-ness, just in case we are in any doubt. Even quainter is the fact that the Doctor keeps his space suits in an old chest.

“Not you, Polly: this is men’s work.”

Ben, The Moonbase: Episode 3

On the DVD extra Lunar Landing, it’s interesting to hear Anneke Wills highlighting how Kit Pedler was a feminist who was excited by the idea of there being jobs for women in science. It’s interesting because the moonbase appears to be staffed entirely by men. Clearly Kit’s feelings weren’t conveyed to the casting director; either that or he was a particularly pessimistic feminist.

And is it just me or is Hobson one of the most inept commander’s in the show’s history? Sure, we can forgive him seemingly giving the Doctor and his companions the run of the base – despite his having expressed his misgivings about their presence. Plenty of leaders over the years have allowed the Doctor’s personality and charisma to sway them in such a way. Indeed, there wouldn’t be much of a show if every time the Doctor turned up somewhere unannounced, he spent the entire story in the brig / cells / prison (delete as applicable) whilst others dealt with the ensuing crisis.

No, it’s things such as the airy way in which he dismisses the suggestion that they don’t need to warn the relief ship of the potential danger awaiting them on the moon because they’ll have ‘their own warning systems and weapons’. What’s wrong with giving them a common courtesy heads-up! (It also makes me wonder whether the ensuing investigation would result in criminal proceedings against him.)

On the plus side, Patrick Troughton is once again excellent, certainly in episode 2 where he gives his dialogue a hefty dose of gravitas and even in episode 3 where he briefly turns into Paul Atreides.

But other than that (Martin Slavin’s excellent Space Adventure aside), it’s a yawn-fest. Or as the Cybermen might say: ‘Clunker, clunker, clunker’.