So, I’ll admit from the start that I was warned about this one. I was having a conversation about Fury from the Deep and expressed my view that it was quite hard work. I think my friend’s exact words were “Christ and you’ve got Wheel in Space coming up next, that’s much worse…”
So, yeah, I have a certain pre-conception about this.
And I must admit the first episode is very plodding. After a spot of panic in a malfunctioning TARDIS The Doctor and Jamie wander about a bit. Eat a Sandwich. Jamie has a nap (seriously) and then The Doctor has a nap. It takes a good 20 minutes for anything remotely resembling a story to arrive.
And just as suddenly as the plot arrives, it’s gone again. In the first 2 episodes we learn where we are but it’s the sort of thing most stories can set up inside of 10 minutes.
Episode three is the first actual existing episode for some time… After 13 recons I’m hopeful that being able to see moving pictures might improves matters a little…
Jamie is quite resourceful, albeit a bit clumsy in the way he goes about it. Naming the Doctor as John Smith and the sabotage of the laser are both decent plans of his but he gets caught in the act on both.
This story got sold to me a bog standard base under siege story but the Cybermen’s plot is quite decent for them. Rather than using brute force to take the human facility they use a bit of cunning. Makes a nice change.
The story also has a few very nice lines, my favourite of which is undoubtedly:
“Logic, my dear Zoe, merely allows one to be wrong with authority”
Zoe’s character is brought in very nicely. Unintentionally emotionless but ironically gets a bit upset about this facet of her own personality.
Episode 6 does make me realise that while I have no objections to recons per se, it does lose us the acting of Troughton. He really brings an energy to the role I adore.
It’s hard to summarise this story adequately. It does plod along at a fairly slow pace and could do with being two episodes shorter but that’s not exactly a unique criticism of the era. The secondary characters aren’t exactly interesting but we get a new companion who is very likeable. The basic plot of the Cybermen is quite a decent one but the slow pace does spoil the overall effect.
The truth is, I didn’t think this was the awful story I’d been led to believe at all. It ain’t great, to be sure, but it’s definitely worthy of a 6/10.