The Wheel in Space Episode 3

The one where the Doctor stays in bed all day...

What exactly are those Cyber-egg things? We've never seen the Cybermen "born" in this way before. The original white spheres came out of a pod in the hangar, which we can assume the crew of the Silver Carrier either took on board in space, or brought from Earth before setting out for Station 5. And these two Cybermen, now grown from lickle foetuses to full men, came from the spheres, which appeared to grow in size by absorbing energy from the ship itself. I think.

In fact, when you actually sit and think about what the Cybermen are up to, it doesn't make very much logical sense (and these guys are supposed to be the most logical creatures in the cosmos!). They arrive aboard the Silver Carrier inside little spheres, which then absorb the power of the ship to grow in size. Two Cybermen then pop out and take control of the ship (inexplicably taking the weight off their cybernetic limbs by sitting down). Meanwhile, some other spheres have floated across the void and absorbed themselves into the Wheel, seemingly spawning Cybermats who then proceed to destroy the Wheel's stock of bernalium. The loss of bernalium means the Wheel is unable to use its x-ray laser, leaving the Cybermen to hope/ expect that the humans will space-walk over to the Silver Carrier to see if there's any bernalium on board there.

By the end of the episode, astronauts Laleham and Vallance have been taken over by the Cybermen, who then insist that they take them back over to the Wheel. So far, so bonkers! It's all so contrived and round-the-houses, and I'm still not at all sure what exactly the Cybermen are trying to achieve. Also, what exactly is that Cyber-planner thing? Quite apart from the fact I can hardly understand a word it says, it looks like one of those old-fashioned Marconi BBC microphones!

Setting the central plot aside - what there is of it - I also wonder why the Doctor spends the entirety of this episode sitting up in bed. Patrick Troughton is back from his holidays but is given a script where he doesn't move from the same spot for 20 minutes, and all he really does is take part in various conversations summarising the predicament. The Doctor expresses a keenness to stay in bed and carry on relaxing too, which is not at all like him. Something odd is obviously going on, but the Doctor's not curious enough to get up and find out more (to the ridiculous extent that Zoe has to take the deactivated Cybermat and its floor plate in to see him in his sick bed!). We're at the end of episode 3 - half way through the story - and he hasn't got out of bed yet!

It's all so frustrating. Writer David Whitaker needs to pick up the pace considerably, because at the moment it feels like he is literally making it up as he goes along, week to week. I'm not convinced he actually knows what the Cybermen want either, or how the story is going to end. I can actually feel David Whitaker struggling with this, which is odd for such an experienced and competent scribe. The Wheel in Space just doesn't feel convincing, or convinced of itself.

The attack on Rudkin in the power room is directed quite well, but Kevork Malikyan's performance during this scene is a little strange. I remember when I first watched this episode on the Cybermen - The Early Years VHS back in 1992, I was under the false impression that the Cybermats' rays were regressing Rudkin back to ape form, because Malikyan's posture begins to look distinctly gorilla-esque! Of course now I understand that the Cybermats are merely "stinging" his hands, but Malikyan's stooped and lolloping gait just made me think he was "doing a Reverend Matthews"!

Director Tristan de Vere Cole has some interesting flourishes, such as the overhead shot of the four Cybermats stalking Rudkin, and then the camera disappearing into his screaming mouth when he's killed. Best of all though, is the cross-fade between scenes at 7m 17s where the Doctor talks about "some warning... some menace", and the close-up of Troughton's face melts into that of a Cyberman. The two are lined up perfectly, with Troughton's eyes peeking through the Cyber-helmet. It's beautifully done.

Dr Gemma Corwyn continues to stride through all of this with the most dignity, although at one point she manages to perfectly sum up everything that's happened, but come to an unlikely conclusion. She tells Bennett: "One, the rocket drifts near us. Two, drops in temperature, temporary, adjustment back to normal. Three, drops in air pressure, temporary, adjustment back to normal. Four, two meteorite storms of above average dimension, both within seven days. Five, two strangers bought to the Wheel. One of them sabotages our armaments."

But then she concludes that the centre of all their problems has to be the Silver Carrier, totally ignoring the fact that the obvious culprits could be the Doctor and Jamie (with some pretty convincing evidence too). The characters talk of a bunch of futuristic Brexiteers who want to stop all space exploration and "pull back to Earth", so what better conclusion to make than that the Doctor and Jamie are the responsible saboteurs? No need to go to the Silver Carrier, because everything you need to deal with is in your sick bay!

Of course, there is a very good reason why they have to send Laleham and Vallance to the Silver Carrier, and that's because David Whitaker needs them to go there. It's all such a stodgy mess, and utterly unconvincing.

First broadcast: May 11th, 1968

Steve's Scoreboard
The Good: That cross-fade from the Doctor to the Cyberman is wonderful.
The Bad: The Doctor spends the episode in bed. The definition of rubbish Doctor Who?
Overall score for episode: ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

NEXT TIME: Episode 4...

My reviews of this story's other episodes: Episode 1; Episode 2; Episode 4; Episode 5; Episode 6

Find out birth/death dates, career information, and facts and trivia about this story's cast and crew at the Doctor Who Cast & Crew site: http://doctorwhocastandcrew.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/the-wheel-in-space.html

The Wheel in Space is available on BBC soundtrack CD. Find it on Amazon - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Wheel-Wendy-Padbury/dp/0563535075/.