This one I've seen before, and I absolutely love it. It's one of the all-time greatest companion departure stories; the plants it seeds in the narrative to pay-off in the climax is so cleverly done, such as the scene where the Doctor speaks of how an asteroid destroyed the dinosaurs, or him telling Adric he doesn't want him 'plotting a course to his own destruction'. This is such slick screenwriting from somebody who by this point was relatively new to writing Doctor Who.

Nyssa doesn't get much to do in this story  but that doesn't matter here. Because this is more about the Doctor and Adric, and their relationship, and in that department the story absolutely excels. We learn more about the dynamic of these two, and their almost familial squabbling.

Of course, you can't talk about Earthshock without discussing the Cybermen, and this is one of their best stories for sure. They have a great design in this story, and unlike the previous Cyberman serial to this one, Revenge of the Cybermen, they actually feel like Cybermen here. There's no weird emotional Cybermen here, and Peter Davison's Doctor gets an amazing speech that perfectly explains what separates the Cybermen from humanity: 'When did you last have the pleasure of smelling a flower, watching a sunset,eating a well-prepared meal? For some people small, beautiful events are what life is all about!"

This would be an amazing Cyberman story even without Adric's tragic exit. It's exactly how to do a Cyberman story.

This story also features a fantastic guest appearance from Beryl Reid, as the captain of the space freighter . She's probably one of the classic series' greatest guest turns, and has such a presence on-screen alongside the TARDIS crew of Season 19.

This is part of a series of reviews of Doctor Who in chronological timeline order.

Previous Story: Iterations of I

I can imagine this story must have been absolutely shocking to a child watching it live. This is the first time a true, recurring companion has died on the show. It's fairly obvious from the start that he's going to die in this story. It's a nice moment between Adric and the Doctor where they make up but it's really only there as a last minute correction of the Doctor and Adric's relationship. Regardless, it worked on me and I'm sad to see Adric die so soon after reconciling with the Doctor.

The Cyberman plot is really clever and a drastic improvement over their one and only appearance in the 70s. Unfortunately the Cybermen feel very out of character for most of this story and I couldn't take the Cyber Leader seriously with how many times he said "excellent". It's only really until the last part where the Cybermen speak about logic and emotion that they really feel accurate, for the rest of the story they feel like Darth Vader and his stormtroopers.

This is, in general, a very tense story, it has you constantly on the edge of your seat with the betrayals and the cliffhangers. The supporting cast in this story a really good, especially so for a story set in the future, where I find the supporting cast are almost always annoyingly silly.

The end credits are a nice touch and make for a very moving image at the end.

R.I.P Adric

Next Story: Time-Flight

We haven’t had a story this grim since Graham Williams heralded in his child friendly era. Whilst the show benefits from a range of darker and lighter tones, I have to say it’s exciting seeing it dip back into this darker, action adventure style of storytelling that was so successful in the better Terry Nation scripts… though Nation only delivered Doctor Who stories as interesting as this on a handful of occasions.

There is a great sense of mystery and a foreboding atmosphere. This is partly because you have absolutely no idea what is going to happen but also because the initially unnamed robots stalking the depths of future Earth have an intimidating level of force that destroys their targets in a terrifying way - leaving them as no more than gooey remnants - an affecting visual. The dark and shadow throughout the story only ramp up this forbidding feeling.

The lights flicking out on the scanner as people die in the caves gives this story a high death tally. It feels very modern, very new for the show.

The cliffhanger at the end of part one works superbly. Nothing about the first 20 minutes makes you feel like this would be the first appearance of The Cybermen in 7 years. The sheer surprise alone makes it worth the wait. After a series of new threats it is a treat to see Davison finally come up against an iconic beast of the series. The cybermen are a little more human-like and a little less cyber than ideal, most notably in their voices but none of their overall effect is lost during the reveal and battle scenes. This design looks magnificent, especially as they march out of containers together.

Part one, in my opinion, is the first time Adric has actually been annoying in his whole run in the TARDIS. I’m glad he makes up with The Doctor in part two but as this is one of his more popular stories I think it cements this unfair idea on fandom that he is an annoying companion - when he has been a marvellous and distinct character. He, of course, gets a hero's death at the end of the story and it is hugely affecting. He dies saving Earth and his fellow time travellers, but it’s the bleakest the show has ever been. It’s an odd, numbing feeling seeing a show that is usually a comfort blanket, deliver such a brutal blow. One of the most iconic and memorable moments of the show so far. Tegan’s reaction in particular is tragic. A wonderful performance.

The most impressive thing I suppose is that the ending ties so neatly into the overall story and impacts the entire history of modern Earth (and the destruction of the dinosaurs!) This is the best story the show has delivered in a couple of seasons, and Davison’s peak so far.