The Moonbase

A Cyberman. On the moon.

Four episodes (Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4)
First broadcast Feb 11 to Mar 4 1967
Average audience for serial: 8.33m

• A guide to the guest cast is at the bottom of this entry. An episode by episode review of this story can be read on Time Space Visualiser here.

REGULAR CAST

Patrick Troughton (The Doctor) Mar 25 1920 to Mar 28 1987 (heart attack) See Patrick Troughton's entry on The Power of the Daleks

Anneke Wills (Polly) Born Oct 20 1941 For a full career biography for Anneke Wills, click here.

Michael Craze (Ben Jackson) Nov 29 1942 to Dec 7 1998 (heart attack) For a full career biography for Michael Craze, click here.

Frazer Hines (Jamie McCrimmon) Born Sep 22 1944 Click here for Frazer Hines's entry on The Highlanders

GUEST CAST

Barry Ashton (Scientist Franz Schultz) 1935 to May 1978
Doctor Who credits
Played: Scientist Franz Schultz in The Moonbase (1967)
Played: Proctor in The Time Monster (1972)
Played: Kemp in Frontier in Space (1973)
Career highlights
Other credits include Out of the Unknown (1965), Menace (1970), Trial (1971) and Thriller (1973).

Patrick Barr (Hobson) Feb 13 1908 to Aug 29 1985
Career highlights
India born Patrick debuted in The Merry Men of Sherwood (1932) and went on to perform in Midnight at Madame Tussauds (1936), Charley's Aunt (1938), The Frightened Lady (1940), The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), Black Orchid (1953), The Dam Busters (1955), Saint Joan (1957), Billy Liar (1963), I Spy (1967), The Avengers (1969), Paul Temple (1971), The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973), The Molly Wopsies (1976), Telford's Change (1979), Octopussy (1983) and Theban Plays: Antigone (1984). He also played Inspector John Morley in three murder mystery films in 1952, and produced a Wednesday Play in 1968 called A Beast with Two Backs.
Facts
Oxford University (Trinity) graduate Patrick was in the bowseat on Oxford's team in the 1929 University Boat race (records show he weighed 11st 5lb at the time. Cambridge won that year). During the Second World War Patrick was a conscientious objector serving with a Free French ambulance unit in North Africa. For his bravery he was awarded the Croix de Guerre.

Derek Calder (Scientist Pete Baker)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Scientist Pete Baker in The Moonbase (1967)
Played: Alien technician in The War Games (1969, uncredited)
Played: British soldier in The War Games (1969, uncredited)
Played: Time Lord technician in The War Games (1969, uncredited)
Career highlights
Derek's other work includes Festival (1964), Let's Go Out (1965) and Seven Deadly Sins (1966).

Arnold Chazen (Scientist John Stacey) Jul 26 1931 to May 19 2002
Doctor Who credits
Played: Scientist John Stacey in The Moonbase (1967)
Played: Auton VIP in Spearhead from Space (1970, uncredited)
Career highlights
Arnold's only other work was Adam Adamant Lives! (1966), but he later became an acclaimed chorister, singing for the Wembley United Synagogue and other Jewish collectives.
Facts
His daughter Debbie appeared in Doctor Who in Voyage of the Damned (2007). Somebody showed Debbie a clip of her father's performance while she was filming Voyage of the Damned, and she said: "It's the worst acting I've ever seen!"

Keith Goodman (Cyberman)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Extra in The Savages (1966, uncredited)
Played: Cyberman in The Moonbase (1967)
Played: Technician in Doctor Who and the Silurians (1970, uncredited)
Career highlights
Keith had previously appeared in Danger Man (1960), Best of Friends (1963) and Softly Softly (1966).

Peter Greene (Cyberman) Oct 28 1945 to Mar 19 2009 (stroke)
Career highlights
After his Cyber-debut, Peter went on to appear in Doctor in the House (1969), Sykes (1972), Doctor in Charge (1972-73), Are You Being Served? (1976), Doctor on the Go (1977), Metal Mickey (1981), The Young Ones (1982/84) and The Waiter (1993).
Facts
In later years, Peter (real surname Birch) worked for a research company, but kept in touch with local amateur dramatics.

Peter Hawkins (Cyberman voice) Apr 3 1924 to Jul 8 2006 Click here for Peter Hawkins's entry on The Daleks

Mark Heath (Ralph) Jun 6 1926 to Aug 15 2015
Career highlights
Jamaican born Mark first appeared in Counsellor at Law (1957) and subsequently Call Me Bwana (1963), The Avengers (1964), Paul Temple (1971), Spyder's Web (1972), Doctor on the Go (1977), Mivtsa Yonatan (1977), The Bill (1984), The Finding (1987) and Predator: The Quietus (1988).

Andre Maranne (Benoit) May 14 1926 to Apr 12 2021
Career highlights
Frenchman Andre's first credit was as Monsieur Leblanc in the 1955-56 series Bobby in France, followed by parts in 1956's The Case of the River Morgue, Private Investigator (1959), HMS Defiant (1962), The Saint (1963), Night Train to Paris (1964), Beryl Reid Says Good Evening (1968), Battle of Britain (1969), Jason King (1971), Bequest to the Nation (1973), Wings (1978), The Borgias (1981), Yes Minister (1984), A Very Peculiar Practice (1988), KYTV (1990) and Bergerac (1991). He also played Sgt Francois Chevalier in the Inspector Clouseau films (1964-83) and chef Andre in the Fawlty Towers episode Gourmet Night (1975). Andre (real name Andre Gaston Maillol) was also a co-presenter of the French teaching programme Bonjour Françoise on the BBC in the 1960s and acted in all 24 episodes of Ensemble: French for Beginners in the 1970s, also for the BBC.

Leon Maybank (Scientist Ted Braun) Oct 20 1920 to Sep 29 1983
Doctor Who credits
Played: Scientist Ted Braun in The Moonbase (1967)
Played: UNIT male operator in Day of the Daleks (1972, uncredited)
Career highlights
Leon's other work includes Don't Look Now (1950, as Laon Maybanke), Adam Adamant Lives! (1967), Villains (1972), Night Watch (1973, as Laon Maybanke), Upstairs, Downstairs (1974) and Jackanory Playhouse (1977, as Laon Maybanke). He was also responsible for the idea behind the series Hit Parade (1952).
Facts
He later became a photographer, and ran a gay nightclub popular with film stars called the Calabash in Fulham, London, in the 1960s.

Denis McCarthy (Voice of Controller Rinberg) Sep 27 1916 to Apr 11 1977
Career highlights
His CV also includes The Silence of the Sea (1946), Don't Say Die (1950), Quatermass II (1955), The Hypnotist (1957), Top Secret (1961), No Hiding Place (1965), Hadleigh (1969), Upstairs, Downstairs (1972) and Churchill's People (1975).

Victor Pemberton (Scientist Jules Faure) Oct 10 1931 to Aug 13 2017
Doctor Who credits
Played: Scientist Jules Faure in The Moonbase (1967)
Script edited: The Tomb of the Cybermen (1967)
Wrote: Fury from the Deep (1968), Doctor Who and the Pescatons (audio, 1976)
Career highlights
Victor was first and foremost a behind-camera man, writing radio serials in the early 1960s and, on TV, Send Foster (1967), Timeslip (1971), Ace of Wands (1972), Tightrope (1972), The Adventures of Black Beauty (1972-73), Within These Walls (1975) and The Case of the Frightened Lady (1983). He also acted as script editor on A Handful of Thieves (1969), was script consultant on Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock (1983-87), and producer of Benny Hill: The World's Favourite Clown (1991).
Facts
Victor is one of only a handful of people to have both written and appeared in Doctor Who credited (along with Glyn Jones, Mark Gatiss and Toby Whithouse). Victor's script for Fury from the Deep was based on his radio serial The Slide (1966), which starred Roger Delgado. From 1990, Victor wrote romantic novels based on his biographical radio series Our Family. During the 1950s and 60s Victor had a correspondence with comedy legend Stan Laurel. In 2016 Victor undertook a solo Arctic Adventure, driving 10,000km alone by car across seven countries of Europe and Scandinavia, from Murla in Spain to Bodo in Norway, all in aid of Help for Heroes (watch his video diaries here). His partner was actor David Spenser (who appeared in The Abominable Snowmen in 1967).

Edward Phillips (Scientist Bob Anders) 1927 to 2014-16 (exact date unknown)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Parisian man in The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve (1966, uncredited)
Played: Scientist Bob Anders in The Moonbase (1967)
Career highlights
Edward's first credit was in Harpers West One (1961), then Z Cars (1963), Gazette (1968), Miss Julie (1972), The Jensen Code (1973), Crossroads (1973), Robert's Robots (1973), The Dick Emery Hour (1980), Bergerac (1983), Terry and June (1985), All Creatures Great and Small (1989), May to December (1994) and Casualty (2002).
Facts
Edward Phillips went on to become an authority on jokes, and wrote many joke books.

Ron Pinnell (Scientist Jim Elliot) Mar 20 1928 to Oct 29 2021
Career highlights
Ron's further credits include Emergency (1959), Consider Your Verdict (1962), The Magic Boomerang (1965), The Long Arm (1970), Rush (1974), The Sullivans (1976), Bluey (1977), Neighbours (1985), Death of a Soldier (1986), Boulevard of Broken Dreams (1988) and The Flying Doctors (1990).
Facts
When Ron was 14, both his parents were killed in a road accident, and as both his older brothers were serving in World War 2, he had to move in with his neighbours. Aussie Ron played Dame Edna Everage's husband Norm, and her son Kenny, when Barry Humphries first began touring as the superstar housewife in 1959. In 1975, Ron and his wife Shirley got involved in a campaign to prevent the "social extinction by rapacious redevelopment" of the South Burnley suburb of Melbourne, Australia. Read all about it here, if you're so inclined.

John Rolfe (Sam) Mar 25 1935 to Aug 12 2020
Doctor Who credits
Played: Captain in The War Machines (1966)
Played: Sam Becket in The Moonbase (1967)
Played: Fell in The Green Death (1973)
Career highlights
John's long career began in Agib and Agab (1953), then The River Flows East (1962), Cluff (1964, as Det Con Barker), Adam Adamant Lives! (1967), Out of the Unknown (1971), The Brothers (1974), The Chinese Puzzle (1974), Hadleigh (1976), Blake's 7 (1978), Thomas and Sarah (1979), To Serve Them All My Days (1980), One By One (1985), Howard's Way (1985-86, as James Sinclair), Mr Bean (1992) and Joking Apart (1995).
Facts
John was apparently named after the English colonist who married Pocahontas in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1614.

Alan Rowe (Voice from Space Control, Dr Evans) Dec 14 1926 to Oct 21 2000
Doctor Who credits
Played: Voice from Space Control in The Moonbase (1967)
Played: Dr Evans in The Moonbase (1967)
Played: Edward of Wessex in The Time Warrior (1973-74)
Played: Skinsale in Horror of Fang Rock (1977)
Played: Garif in Full Circle (1980)
Career highlights
New Zealander Alan's career began with You Never Can Tell (1955), then Sword of Freedom (1957) An Age of Kings (1960), Maigret (1963), The Forsyte Saga (1967), The First Churchills (1969), Heil Caesar! (1973), The XYY Man (1976), Crown Court (1975-79, as Justice Quinlan), Number 10 (1983), Morgan's Boy (1984), Lovejoy (1986), The Manageress (1989-90), Forever Green (1989-92) and Wycliffe (1997).
Facts
He was the long-term partner of actor Geoffrey Bayldon, who appeared in The Creature from the Pit (1979).

Robin Scott (Scientist Charlie Wise)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Scientist Charlie Wise in The Moonbase (1967)
Played: Resistance man in The War Games (1969, uncredited)
Career highlights
Other work includes Adam Adamant Lives! (1967), The Power Game (1969), Upstairs, Downstairs (1972) and Sorry! (1982).

Alan Wells (Scientist Joe Benson) Died Apr 18 1993
This was his only credit.

Reg Whitehead (Cyberman) Dec 11 1932 to Mar 11 2016 Click here for Reg Whitehead's entry on The Tenth Planet

John Wills (Cyberman) Jul 20 1925 to Jan 20 1990 (heart attack)
Doctor Who credits
Played: Frankenstein* [sic] in The Chase (1965 - as John Maxim)
Played: Cyberman in The Moonbase (1967)
Career highlights
Australian John's acting career began with Ivanhoe (1958), followed by roles in William Tell (1959), Consider Your Verdict (1963), The Big Spender (1965), Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) and The Prisoner (1967).
Note
*The character John portrays is actually Frankenstein's monster, not the scientist who created it.

Sonnie Willis (Cyberman) Aug 12 1912 to May 7 1977
Doctor Who credits
Played: Cyberman in The Moonbase (1967)
Played: BBC3 TV crewmember in The Daemons (1971, uncredited)
Career highlights
Other work includes The Voices in the Park (1967), Z Cars (1970/71) and Doomwatch (1970/72).

Michael Wolf (Nils) Jun 14 1934 to Mar 26 2002
Career highlights
German born Michael first appeared in Espionage (1964) and over the following years popped up in The Baron (1966), The Possessed (1969), The Pathfinders (1972-73), A Bridge Too Far (1977), The Enigma Files (1980), Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (1983), War and Remembrance (1988-89) and The Countess Alice (1992).

CREW

Kit Pedler (writer) Jun 11 1927 to May 27 1981 (heart attack) Click here for Kit Pedler's entry on The War Machines

Morris Barry (director) Feb 9 1918 to Nov 20 2000
Doctor Who credits
Directed: The Moonbase (1967), The Tomb of the Cybermen (1967), The Dominators (1968)
Played: Tollund in The Creature from the Pit (1979)
Career highlights
Morris started out behind the cameras, directing Escape (1957), Starr and Company (1958), Barnaby Rudge (1960), Compact (1963-65), 199 Park Lane (1965), The Doctors (1970), Spy Trap (1972), Z Cars (1962-72) and Angels (1978), as well as producing The Common Room (1959), Swizzlewick (1964), Compact, The Newcomers (1965-66), The Donati Conspiracy (1973), Spy Trap (1972-75), State of Emergency (1975), Poldark (1975-76), Rough Justice (1977) and Count Dracula (1977). He latterly went into acting, debuting in Blake's 7 (1979) and including Are You Being Served? (1979), All Creatures Great and Small (1980), Tales of the Unexpected (1980), The Day of the Triffids (1981), Nanny (1983), Hi-de-Hi! (1984) and Mapp and Lucia (1986).
Facts
His wife was actress Sally Lahee, best known as Eunice Huntley in soap The Newcomers.

Innes Lloyd (producer) Dec 24 1925 to Aug 23 1991 Click here for Innes Lloyd's entry on The Celestial Toymaker

Gerry Davis (script editor) Feb 23 1930 to Aug 31 1991 Click here for Gerry Davis's entry on The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve

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