This is technically the final episode for Matthew Waterhouse
as a companion. Although he appears in the next episode as a mirage, this is
really his final story as a companion and the last where he has any interaction
with other people. This is pretty much what the episode is building up to
because it feels like more effort has been put into the big bombshell as
opposed to what the Cybermen are doing. I actually think that the Cybermen don’t
really have much to do in this episode. They have done what they needed to do
and so just spend a long time enjoying the misery that the humans are about to
endure. They have turned the freighter into a bomb and they have put a device
which only Adric can stop.
The Cyberman do get one good scene when the Cyber Leader has
a nice interaction with the Doctor where they talk about the delights of
smelling flowers and seeing a sunset and the Cybermen are talking about
emotions being a disadvantage. It’s a nice philosophical discussion which sadly
doesn’t last long. The use of the Cybermen have been largely good although I think
that they didn’t quite shine as much in todays episode. The Doctor, Nyssa and
Tegan get back into the TARDIS with several Cybermen and this is another
episode where Nyssa has been stuck in the TARDIS. There was a possibility that
she would get to go out but is stopped by Scott and his guys when he run into
the TARDIS. Despite not being allowed out of the TARDIS I thought that Sarah
Sutton was very good in this episode and did well with very little.
I know that I haven’t been particularly positive about Scott’s
group and in particular Kyle but I thought that she deserved a better death
than that because she’s not facing the camera when she’s shot by a Cyberman.
That’s the only death that doesn’t work because obviously the death of Adric is
one of the biggest selling points of this story. Adric tries to save the day by
figuring out how the deactivate the machine that is hurtling this freight
towards earth. He is convinced that he can do it and the moment where there is
just one more bit to do the audience thinks that he can escape just in the nick
of time but a lone Cyberman stops this. The goodbye scene between the Doctor
and Adric is heart breaking because they haven’t always been the best of
friends and the row at the beginning of the story highlighted this. The goodbye
between Adric and Tegan was also quite sad.
I thought that Adric’s death (his last shot) was very
dignified. He was holding his holding something that belonged to his brother
and he doesn’t cry or run around screaming but just stands there before the
thing blows up and the reaction of the Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan to this is a bit
mixed really because without the commentary it is quite sad but when you hear
it then it loses some of the sadness because the regulars are laughing about
it. That said I think that after the loss of a friend it should be treated in a
sad manner.
I don’t know if I agree with the idea of having the credit
roll over Adric’s broken star badge. Normally there would be some music but I
think this over does the sadness that the viewer is suppose to feel. It’s a
significant moment (first companion to die since Sara Kingdom) but I think that
the end should have been a proper end with the theme tune playing. The episode
did what it needed to do and I thought that it was a stronger episode than the
previous two. I have been surprised with how much I have improved my opinion
about Adric. I still think his costume is a bit silly but as a character I
thought that Matthew Waterhouse did quite well and much of the cristiscm that
he has faced over the years has been very harsh.
As a story this has been a good one. The Cybermen have been
used well and David Banks did a great job as the Cyber Leader. Thankfully it
wont be seven years before the Cybermen return but their first adventure of the
eighties is a strong one and the final story of the season is going to see a
familiar face return and the fallout from Adric’s death.
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