Spoilers follow. Lots of them:
I didn't see "Earthshock" in 1982, but having assumed at nine years of age that "Attack of the Cybermen" was the first Cybermen story since "Revenge", and having failed to realize that my uncle's refusal to tell me anything about the story before we sat down to watch it was anything more than his usual goofiness, "Earthshock" is still one of the greatest memories of my childhood. I can't put into words the impact the cliffhanger at the end of episode one had on me and still has on me and I can't describe how involved I was in the rest of the story, and how I sat in silence after Adric's death at the end of the fourth episode, shocked and even saddened. It was, pretty much, the coolest damn thing I'd ever seen.
Watching "Earthshock" as an adult should be a different experience. I suppose I should see the lack of strong character writing here, I suppose I should notice that it's ultimately little more than a lot of shooting, shouting and running around. I suppose that I should admit that if one were to nit-pick they would find a lot of 'flaws' here. Still, watching "Earthshock" now is ultimately no different an experience for me than watching it as a nine year old, other than the initial shock of it having worn off. I find myself just as entranced and enthralled by it, just as impressed by the Cybermen, just as entertained by the action, just as affected by Adric's send-off and the numerous other great moments here.
My rationale for loving "Earthshock" and considering it better than many other more thoughtful and intelligent stories is the same rationale I have for loving Dario Argento's "Suspiria", a film about a girl who goes to an art school which is actually a witches' convent, and is basically one giant contrivance to get to the horror set-pieces. There are many smarter and more thoughtful films, but few as thrilling and enjoyable.
I certainly don't hate Eric Saward as much as some others do. In fact, I really like him as a writer, and I believe that he must have worked fairly hard as script-editor. His stories are all very good, "Revelation of the Daleks" and "Earthshock" being real classics, while "Resurrection of the Daleks" and "The Visitation" are a lot of fun. "Earthshock" inspires a lot of criticism for its script, although the story is generally very well-regarded, but I think it's a fine action-driven script with wonderful little character set-pieces sprinkled throughout the story, and a strong set of supporting characters (not that they are developed all that much, but they're all ultimately solid). The episode is wonderfully directed by Peter Grimwade as well.
"Earthshock" will always be one of my absolute favorites, not just in "Doctor Who" but out of any TV series.
10/10
I didn't see "Earthshock" in 1982, but having assumed at nine years of age that "Attack of the Cybermen" was the first Cybermen story since "Revenge", and having failed to realize that my uncle's refusal to tell me anything about the story before we sat down to watch it was anything more than his usual goofiness, "Earthshock" is still one of the greatest memories of my childhood. I can't put into words the impact the cliffhanger at the end of episode one had on me and still has on me and I can't describe how involved I was in the rest of the story, and how I sat in silence after Adric's death at the end of the fourth episode, shocked and even saddened. It was, pretty much, the coolest damn thing I'd ever seen.
Watching "Earthshock" as an adult should be a different experience. I suppose I should see the lack of strong character writing here, I suppose I should notice that it's ultimately little more than a lot of shooting, shouting and running around. I suppose that I should admit that if one were to nit-pick they would find a lot of 'flaws' here. Still, watching "Earthshock" now is ultimately no different an experience for me than watching it as a nine year old, other than the initial shock of it having worn off. I find myself just as entranced and enthralled by it, just as impressed by the Cybermen, just as entertained by the action, just as affected by Adric's send-off and the numerous other great moments here.
My rationale for loving "Earthshock" and considering it better than many other more thoughtful and intelligent stories is the same rationale I have for loving Dario Argento's "Suspiria", a film about a girl who goes to an art school which is actually a witches' convent, and is basically one giant contrivance to get to the horror set-pieces. There are many smarter and more thoughtful films, but few as thrilling and enjoyable.
I certainly don't hate Eric Saward as much as some others do. In fact, I really like him as a writer, and I believe that he must have worked fairly hard as script-editor. His stories are all very good, "Revelation of the Daleks" and "Earthshock" being real classics, while "Resurrection of the Daleks" and "The Visitation" are a lot of fun. "Earthshock" inspires a lot of criticism for its script, although the story is generally very well-regarded, but I think it's a fine action-driven script with wonderful little character set-pieces sprinkled throughout the story, and a strong set of supporting characters (not that they are developed all that much, but they're all ultimately solid). The episode is wonderfully directed by Peter Grimwade as well.
"Earthshock" will always be one of my absolute favorites, not just in "Doctor Who" but out of any TV series.
10/10