Episode #121 : Earthshock

Cyber Lieutenant : "A Time Lord. But they're forbidden to interfere."

Cyber Leader : "This one calls himself the Doctor - and does nothing else but interfere."

Episode 121:   Earthshock.
Companions:   5th Doctor, Tegan, Nyssa and Adric.
Air Date:          8th to 16th March 1982.

The TARDIS arrives on Earth in the 26th Century in a cave system containing numerous dinosaur fossils. The Doctor's party comes under suspicion from a military force, led by Lieutenant Scott, who are investigating the disappearance of a group of palaeontologists and geologists. They are all then attacked by androids - the true culprits - under the control of the Cybermen.

After an absence of several years the Cybermen return to the show in a rather excellent adventure. This time their plan to halt a conference where different alien empires are joining forces against them, by blowing up the planet Earth. Due to the interference of the Doctor and companions their plans are stopped but not without cost.

This is the first serial to feature the death of a major companion. In this case Adric is the unfortunate soul who fails to get out alive. Instead he is stuck on board a freighter hurtling into Earth's past, becoming the course of the dinosaur's extinction. At the time it was quite a shock ending and even today that final scene still carries some weight. There are many who dislike the character of Adric but I feel it to be very unfounded. While he was a negative or naive personality at times, he was a good foil for the Doctor who is used to companions doing what they are told.

Speaking of companions, in this story Tegan gets her game face on for a change. She becomes a little more action heroine, grabbing a cyber weapon and going a tad gung-ho on the cybermen. While it may seem a little out of character it is nice to see her getting some spotlight again.

Now, while Earthshock is certainly an excellent adventure it is not without problems in the form of plot holes. If the Cybermen can plant a bomb on Earth undetected why do they need to sneak onto the planet via a freighter? How exactly does tampering with a computer send you back in time? Lastly, the crew of the freighter don't know who the Cybermen are and yet the conference the Cybermen want to stop is to unite different empires against them. Cybermen must be known for them to be such a threat. I think the writer got caught up in his story and forgot to check himself.