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The Black Archive #51
Earthshock
‘Excellent!’
Earthshock (1982) featured the unexpected return of the Cybermen after seven years, updated for the 1980s, and the unexpected death of one of the Doctor’s companions, for the first time since the 1960s. It was also the first example of a new style of Doctor Who serial that the show revisited regularly, albeit to diminishing returns.
A high point of 1980s Doctor Who, Brian Robb gives it the credit it deserves – but also suggests that it potentially sowed the seeds for the show’s ultimate cancellation in 1989.
Earthshock (1982) featured the unexpected return of the Cybermen after seven years, updated for the 1980s, and the unexpected death of one of the Doctor’s companions, for the first time since the 1960s. It was also the first example of a new style of Doctor Who serial that the show revisited regularly, albeit to diminishing returns.
A high point of 1980s Doctor Who, Brian Robb gives it the credit it deserves – but also suggests that it potentially sowed the seeds for the show’s ultimate cancellation in 1989.
- GenresDoctor Who
138 pages, Paperback
Published February 1, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 17, 2023
https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/earthshock-by-eric-saward-ian-marter-and-brian-j-robb/
The Black Archive on Earthshock, by Brian J. Robb, has only three chapters, but they are long and it is one of the longer books in the sequence.
The first chapter, “Everyone Loves Adric”, looks at how the character evolved, rose and fell, with brief reflection on other teen genius characters (eg Wesley Crusher), and plenty of detail on the strategic choices made by the production team and the reasons for them, starting from Tom Baker’s last season.
The second chapter, “The Saward Imperative”, looks at the specific roles of writer Eric Saward and director Peter Grimwade in writing the story, and considers Saward’s attempt to be true to previous Cyberman stories and Grimwade’s directing technique (good with lighting, less good with actors). The Christopher Priest affair is touched on, but I have heard all about that from a more reliable source. (This is the chapter that deals most with the actual topic of the book.)
The third and longest chapter, “Nostalgia and Cynicism”, looks at the success of Earthshock at the time, but also at how the wrong lessons were learned from it, empowering Nathan-Turner and Award to delve back into the show’s history as it went forward, which in the end killed a lot of the potential creativity.
This is not just a book about Earthshock, but a guide to the trajectory of the whole Nathan-Turner / Saward era, and it works very well.
The Black Archive on Earthshock, by Brian J. Robb, has only three chapters, but they are long and it is one of the longer books in the sequence.
The first chapter, “Everyone Loves Adric”, looks at how the character evolved, rose and fell, with brief reflection on other teen genius characters (eg Wesley Crusher), and plenty of detail on the strategic choices made by the production team and the reasons for them, starting from Tom Baker’s last season.
The second chapter, “The Saward Imperative”, looks at the specific roles of writer Eric Saward and director Peter Grimwade in writing the story, and considers Saward’s attempt to be true to previous Cyberman stories and Grimwade’s directing technique (good with lighting, less good with actors). The Christopher Priest affair is touched on, but I have heard all about that from a more reliable source. (This is the chapter that deals most with the actual topic of the book.)
The third and longest chapter, “Nostalgia and Cynicism”, looks at the success of Earthshock at the time, but also at how the wrong lessons were learned from it, empowering Nathan-Turner and Award to delve back into the show’s history as it went forward, which in the end killed a lot of the potential creativity.
This is not just a book about Earthshock, but a guide to the trajectory of the whole Nathan-Turner / Saward era, and it works very well.
March 8, 2021
Good, but a bit "thinner" in the analysis department than other Black Archive volumes. Perhaps, because there's not much new to say about Earthshock! Still worth a read, as are all BA books.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews