'The Wheel In Space'

THE WHEEL IN SPACE
6 episodes: 2 surviving

Apart from the fact it's meant to be a great story, it occured to me while naming this post that it's a shame I don't get to write about 'Fury From The Deep' as that not only featured the first ever appearance of the Doctor's legendary sonic screwdriver, but also would have been the first non-'The...' title since 'An Unearthly Child', 'Inside The Spaceship' and 'Planet of Giants' from the early days of the programme. Random trivia there...

Not much to report, except that this marks a return appearance for the Cybermen. The fact that a small space station is at threat makes it a bit different from the prior locations they've been involved in, but the sections of story available (parts 3 and 6) are so fragmented that it's hard to get any sense of drama or menace from the occasion. To be honest, there isn't enough uniquely 'Cybermen' in the plot to make it seem worthwhile including them in many ways. The monsters have had another facelift, this time replacing the heavily-rimmed circular eyeholes of their early models with the classic 'keyhole'-style design with the 'tears' at the outer lower corners. The Cybermats similarly look a bit better compared with 'The Tomb of the Cybermen'.

Otherwise, the supporting cast aren't much to write home about, and the most interesting thing is that the Doctor first uses the pseudonym 'John Smith', thanks to Jamie. The only other thing I can comment on is that apparently Victoria departed the TARDIS at the end of the last adventure (there goes another one, again without me seeing it) and is promptly been replaced by the Wheel's librarian and astrophysicist Zoe Heriot, who becomes the latest stowaway at the end of the adventure. In a very neat touch, the Doctor decides to give her a taste of what dangers may lie ahead of her by using a device to show her his mental images of their last Dalek adventure, utilising actual clips from 'The Evil of the Daleks' - which apparently at the time led nicely into a real-life repeat of said serial, in a first for the programme!

5/10

Episodes watched: 108
Episodes still to watch: 614

Bit better today - managed to get seven episodes in this evening, eventually, and have completed Season 5 in not much over two days!