The Fifth Doctor and his companions Adric, Nyssa and Tegan arrive on Earth in the year 2526 AD, and find themselves tangling with some old enemies, the Cybermen. They had been frequent adversaries of the First and Second Doctors during the sixties, but after "The Invasion" in 1968 they were largely written out of the programme. The Third Doctor never had to face them, and the Fourth Doctor did so on only one occasion, in "Revenge of the Cybermen" from 1975. We learn that in 2526 the Cybermen are seen as a threat by many planets across the galaxy, so a conference of planetary leaders is being held on Earth to co-ordinate resistance to them. Alarmed by this threat, the Cybermen resolve to counter it by destroying the Earth, first with a bomb, and then, after the Doctor defuses it, by crashing an anti-matter powered spacecraft into the planet.
It is strange how much hatred can be directed at a fictional character who was not supposed to be a villain. In 1982 I was a member of the Cambridge University Doctor Who Appreciation Society, and I recall some of my fellow members greeting the death of Adric, which occurs at the end of "Earthshock", with undisguised glee. The character, a brilliant mathematical prodigy with the personality of a sulky and arrogant teenager, was widely loathed by fans of the series in the eighties, and even today is frequently voted "least popular companion of the Doctor". He is seen at his petulant worst in the first episode of this serial. Away from hardcore fandom, however, this development seems to have come as something of a shock. The death of a companion was not unprecedented- two were killed off in now-missing serials from the sixties- but it was the first time such a thing had happened for a long time. Even Adric haters, however, would have to admit that the ending gives the serial a much greater emotional charge than it would otherwise have possessed.
I always liked Peter Davison's Fifth Doctor- youthful, energetic and boyishly idealistic, but somehow vulnerable and occasionally fallible. His interpretation was very different to that of his four predecessors, elderly or middle-aged men who projected an air of benign authority. I have to admit, however, that Davison had some very sub-standard storylines to contend with during his tenure, "Kinda", also from the 19th season, being a prime example. This, however, is one of his better adventures.
"Earthshock" has become known for its fast pacing, much faster than most "Doctor Who" serials. Yet it starts off slowly; the first episode is rather dull and slow-moving. The excitement increases, however, when the action moves to the space freighter, culminating in the heart-stopping scene as Adric tries desperately to prevent the freighter from crashing into Earth. And then comes that climactic ending, which also involves a neat logical twist. Adric may fail to prevent the collision and die in his efforts to do so, yet, paradoxically, it is precisely the failure of those efforts which saves the world as we know it. (You will need to watch the story to find out what I mean). During this period bringing back the Doctor's old foes seems to have paid off; the producer John Nathan-Turner was to have another success a couple of years later with "Resurrection of the Daleks", again reintroducing an enemy who had been absent from the series for several years. 7/10.
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