Doctor Who: Earthshock finds Peter Davison's Fifth Doctor nicely settling into the role, initially displaying some crotchety short temper which harks back to William Hartnell's incarnation of the Doctor, effectively setting up the most emotionally powerful finale in the show's 26-year run. In this, the penultimate adventure of Doctor Who's 19th season, a scientific expedition in a cave system on 25th-century Earth is wiped out. An army rescue unit led by Lieutenant Scott (James Warwick) and including the one woman, Professor Kyle (Claire Clifford) who survived the original massacre, goes in to recover the bodies. The scenario deliberately evokes Ridley Scott's Alien (1979), and uncannily foreshadows James Cameron's Aliens (1986), developing into a tense actioner on a space freighter bound for Earth carrying a very deadly cargo of Cybermen.

Great Story, Excellent DVD

The story and script are well done, some say that it would have been good as a first draft and it needs work, but it is actually quite good. Episodes 1 and 2 are good, but as soon as the Cyberman Leader gets in there with the Doctor, it's GREAT.

Although this is a very strong Doctor Who story, I don't think I'd recommend it as the first Dr. Who to show someone who's never seen the series before. I tried to show it to my wife without much success (she had more intrest in watching Spearhead from Space than this). I think the fact that there are four main characters kind of alienates a first time viewer because they start off by going, "Who are all these people and why does that girl wear brown velvet up to her chin and that guy wear pajamas?" The production design is also fairly 80's, (if you know what I mean) which to some people is a turn off (the Cybermen costumes are tops in my opinion). That seems to be my experience showing this episode to people who have never seen the show.

As for the DVD features, they're GREAT. The story is 4 stars, the features make this DVD a 5. First, the commentary is REALLY entertaining. They make fun of themselves and tell you cool things that happened in production (including bloopers). The CGI effects are great and really change the mood of the end just because it is not distracting at all (MUCH better than the CGI in the Five Doctors DVD). The "5th" Episode is fun even though it's short. The 40th anniversary feature is fun (just the Orbital version of the Dr. Who theme and a bunch of clips from the 26 years of Dr. Who and a few from the 1996 movie). The "Did You See?" feature is fun and shows a lot of clips of old Dr. Who monsters in a humerous manner. The BEST thing by far is the feature "Putting the Shock into Earthsock." It has interviews from a lot of the cast and writer as well as sci-fi magazine people and such. The best part is seeing Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat (writers of the new series) talk about Earthshock, it's hilarious. The easter egg is also really cool :)

Overall, it's a great package and you won't regret buying it. The features are some of the best Dr. Who DVDs have offered. Even for the first time viewer, if it doesn't seem like the best thing you've seen right away, just watch the whole thing, it's worth it. Episodes 3 and 4 are GREAT.

Never quite the same when you're an adult...

Earthshock is an example of a fair to middling Peter Davidson episode. Average acting from the minor players, even the Cybermen didn't seem particularly evil. Standard issue special effects for the time.

The reason why I purchased this episode was because of the (not going to spoil it) ending and final credits. Not because I wanted to see it, but I'm still trying to explain the goodness that is Dr. Who to my girlfriend.

Just for the ending, this makes the list of "must-own" Dr. Who episodes.

The Cybermen Are Back!!

This review deals mainly with the story "Earthshock" and not the extras or technical aspects of the DVD. All the Doctor Who DVDs have great extras and are a large improvement over the earlier VHS versions.

"Earthshock" is one of my favorite Doctor Who stories of the Peter Davison era. There are many reasons for this. All Cybermen stories have a since of wonder, mystery, and terror all at the same time. While not moving the history or culture of the Cyber race forward much, the story lives up to the wonder, mystery, and terror aspect. From a costume standpoint the Cyber suits have been updated since "Revenge Of The Cybermen" and they look 100% better. The story is a fast paced (by classic Doctor Who standards) mystery/adventure story that hooks you and doesn't let go.

The incorporation of the storyline explaining that the Cybermen are responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs is pure brilliance!

However, the greatest thing about "Earthshock" is the character development. This is perhaps the best character development story in all of classic Doctor Who history. This story begins with an arguement between the Doctor and Adric about returning to E-space. During the course of the story the Doctor and Adrec make up and show their deep respect and friendship for each other in the process. During the arguement Nyssa works to console Adrec and Tegan works to bring the Doctor around. The whole Tardis family swings into action to mend emotional fences. This seemingly simple storyline plays out so well that the audience is able to empathize and invest in the characters in a way that has never happenned before or since in the classic Doctor Who series. Even better is the fact that all this character development takes place in the midst of an extremely compelling and action filled story. The crown jewel of this episode is the death of Adrec at the end. After we are taken down the path of learning to care about the Tardis family Adrec's death is even more devastating than it would have been at the end of any other Who adventure.