Original air dates in October of 1966. Internet tells me this is the last episode for Mr. Hartnell. Sadly, the final episode appears to be missing.
Oh yes, the space race! How topical! How current! How beautifully dated!
The General is skeptical of their story. They’re in 1986, the far-flung future! Things go wrong with an ordinary space launch, and an extra planet is found, a copy of Earth. It’s messing with the guidance of the rocket in space.
And another spaceship is landing, just what they needed.
Men in shiny suits from the ship attack them. Men with handles on the sides of their heads; Cybermen, I’m willing to guess. I am correct, but these are early Cybermen. The big chest pieces they’re wearing make them look like they’re all playing the accordion.
These Cybermen are trying to save all the Earthlings, as Mondas is going to suck up all the Earth’s energy. They will move all the Earthmen to Mondas and make them all Cybermen. Problem solved! Deaths of non-Cybermen are irrelevant. Such lovely people.
So, they save the day by dismanling a nuclear reactor and delaying till Mondas melts, and then the Doctor flees back to the TARDIS. Ben and Polly barely make it with him. The TARDIS dematerializes as the Doctor regenerates. And one of TV’s historic moments is lost.
Tags: doctorwho