The Moonbase Part 2
When a deadly disease and patient disappearances plague Moonbase, the Doctor must uncover the cause within 24 hours amidst suspicion and a looming global weather crisis orchestrated by a familiar foe: the Cybermen.
On Moonbase, a mysterious disease is rapidly spreading, marked by black patterns on the skin. Adding to the panic, patients begin to vanish from the sickbay. The Doctor, along with Polly and Ben, arrives amidst this chaos, immediately drawing suspicion from the base commander, Hobson. Hobson, grappling with a critical malfunction in the gravitron – a device stabilizing Earth's weather – which threatens catastrophic storms on Earth, distrusts the Doctor and his companions, giving him only 24 hours to find the cause of the disease and disappearances.
Polly witnesses a Cyberman carrying away a patient, a revelation dismissed by Hobson, who believes the Cybermen were destroyed long ago. Despite the skepticism, the Doctor begins investigating, collecting samples from the environment and the afflicted. Meanwhile, the gravitron continues to malfunction, putting immense pressure on Hobson and his team to stabilize the Earth's weather.
The Doctor's investigation leads him to suspect a connection between the disease and a common substance on the base. During this time, more patients go missing, further fueling Hobson's suspicions and increasing the tension. Ben discovers that the base's supply of interferon is running low, increasing the gravity of the situation. Polly is attacked by a Cyberman in the sickbay, who carries off another patient. The Doctor finds her unconscious and realizes the Cybermen are indeed active on the Moonbase.
Hobson's team discovers that a probe control antenna outside the Moonbase is damaged, coinciding with the arrival of the Doctor and his companions and the gravitron malfunction. This solidifies Hobson's belief that the Doctor is somehow involved. As time runs out, the Doctor discovers the disease is transmitted through sugar. Just as he makes this discovery, a crew member collapses after drinking coffee with sugar. The black marks appear on his hand, confirming the Doctor's theory. Hobson orders Benoit to check on Jules and Franz, who were sent to repair the antennae, where he discovers only their abandoned suits on the lunar surface. The episode concludes with the revelation that the Cybermen are taking the afflicted to convert them.
Events in This Episode
The narrative beats that drive the story
The episode opens with immediate peril as Jamie, a patient in the sickbay, awakens to find a tall, silver Cyberman standing before him, its blank metal face and tubular head connections a chilling sight. Jamie's desperate pleas to be left alone are ignored as the Cyberman moves among the beds, ultimately abducting another struggling patient. Polly, returning with water for Jamie, witnesses this horrifying scene, screaming in terror as the creature exits. Commander Hobson, along with the Doctor and Ben, rushes in to find Polly distressed and another patient inexplicably gone. Despite Polly's frantic insistence that she saw a 'Cyberman,' Hobson dismisses the notion, firmly believing these creatures were destroyed ages ago. He quickly shifts his suspicion to the newly arrived Doctor and his companions, linking their sudden appearance to the rapid spread of an unknown disease and the inexplicable disappearances plaguing the base. Hobson, already under immense pressure from a critical gravitron malfunction that threatens catastrophic global weather, issues a stringent 24-hour ultimatum: the Doctor must uncover the cause of both the disease and the vanishing patients, or face expulsion from the Moonbase. The Doctor, recognizing the inherent evil at play, accepts the formidable challenge, immediately requesting access to the base's pathological equipment to commence his investigation, instructing Ben and Polly to gather various samples from the environment and affected individuals to aid his urgent quest. This act effectively establishes the core mystery, introduces the primary antagonist (Cybermen, though unconfirmed by Hobson), highlights the high stakes (Earth's weather, the spreading disease), and sets the Doctor's immediate mission under intense scrutiny and a ticking clock.
Jamie’s frantic screams wake Polly, who returns to Sickbay to find a Cyberman abducting a patient. The creature’s metallic, faceless form—tubes snaking from its head, its mechanical precision—is unmistakable, yet …
In Moonbase’s sickbay, Jamie’s terrified screams and Polly’s frantic report of a Cyberman abducting a patient force Hobson to confront the Doctor’s warnings head-on. Hobson’s skepticism collapses under the weight …
The event opens with Jamie’s terrified outburst as a Cyberman abducts a patient from Moonbase’s sickbay, revealing the alien threat’s presence. Polly’s scream and subsequent description of the silver, faceless …
The Control Room on Moonbase becomes a pressure cooker of escalating tension as Hobson and his team—Benoit, Nils, and Bob—scramble to diagnose a catastrophic fault in the gravitron, the device …
The Control Room erupts into a high-stakes confrontation as the gravitron malfunction spirals into a global emergency. Hobson and Benoit attempt desperate diagnostics—re-aligning probes, testing potentiometers, and monitoring field stabilization—while …
While the Doctor begins his meticulous investigation, collecting samples from various base personnel like Benoit and Nils, the critical gravitron malfunction escalates. Commander Hobson and his team, including Benoit and Nils, frantically work to stabilize the device, which is crucial for controlling Earth's weather patterns. Their efforts are underscored by a direct communication from Controller Rinberg on Earth, who sternly reports widespread pressure fluctuations and the unexpected arrival of Hurricane Lucy in Miami, emphasizing the dire global consequences if the gravitron fails. Benoit suggests the drastic measure of shutting down the gravitron, but Hobson vehemently rejects this, citing the catastrophic devastation it would cause, an order reinforced by Rinberg. Concurrently, the Cyberman threat intensifies; Ben discovers the base's interferon supply is critically low, and Polly is attacked by a Cyberman in the sickbay, who then abducts another patient. The Doctor discovers Polly unconscious, confirming the active presence of Cybermen. Back in the control room, Joe reports mysterious air pressure drops. Hobson's team then discovers a damaged probe control antenna outside the Moonbase. Hobson, connecting this damage with the Doctor's arrival and the gravitron's malfunction, solidifies his suspicion of the Doctor's involvement. He dispatches Jules and Franz to repair the antenna, just as Ben reports yet another patient disappearance. This act builds tension on both the scientific and existential fronts, highlighting the growing threat of the Cybermen and Hobson's increasing distrust.
The Cybermen’s violent intrusion into sickbay escalates the Moonbase crisis, confirming their role in the disappearances. Polly, tending to the delirious Jamie, is caught off-guard when a Cyberman materializes, stunning …
The Doctor arrives in sickbay to find Polly collapsed on the floor, unconscious after a Cyberman ambush. Jamie, disoriented and hallucinating, sits up in bed and witnesses the Cyberman—who shocks …
In the Moonbase control room, tension escalates as Joe reports a sudden pressure spike, prompting Hobson to investigate the control loop monitor. Sam’s discovery of a damaged probe control antenna—missing …
In the Moonbase control room, escalating technical failures and Hobson's growing paranoia reach a breaking point. Joe reports the pressure fluctuations have stabilized, but Hobson remains fixated on tracing the …
The tension in Moonbase escalates as Hobson, already under immense pressure from Earth’s weather crisis and the gravitron malfunction, becomes increasingly paranoid. Ben reports another patient has vanished, deepening the …
The Doctor’s scientific investigation stalls when his microscope reveals no clues about the mysterious disease, exposing his frustration and raising doubts about his competence—especially in Polly’s eyes. His momentary vulnerability …
The Doctor, frustrated by his inability to identify the disease’s cause, fabricates a scientific discovery to manipulate Hobson and Ben into leaving the sickbay. His deception—claiming he’s onto something—is a …
Jules and Franz don their space suits and venture onto the lunar surface to repair the damaged antenna, unaware of the lurking danger. Meanwhile, the Doctor's initial diagnostic tests in the sickbay yield no results, leaving him frustrated and Polly questioning his unconventional methods and historical medical degree. Hobson, furious about the continuing disappearances and the Doctor's lack of progress, confronts him, demanding answers and reiterating his intention to remove the Doctor and his companions from the Moonbase. The Doctor, needing space to think, feigns a breakthrough to clear the room, then admits to Polly he has found nothing. On the lunar surface, Cybermen ambush and incapacitate Jules and Franz, leaving their empty suits behind. Hobson, still pressing the Doctor for results, sends Benoit to check on the repair team, who subsequently discovers the abandoned suits. As Polly serves coffee, a crew member, Number 15, collapses after drinking his sugared coffee, exhibiting the characteristic black patterns. This sudden event provides the Doctor with the crucial insight: the disease is transmitted through sugar. He immediately warns everyone not to touch the coffee or sugar, confirming his theory and finally identifying the vector of the mysterious illness. This act culminates in the Doctor's critical discovery, resolving the immediate mystery of the disease and setting the stage for the next phase of confronting the Cybermen.