Doctor Who: The Wheel in Space (Doctor Who, No 130)

Rating:
Summary: Cybermen in a slow story of fortuitous coincidences
Review: Two things that can be said about the Cybermen: they are one of the classic Doctor Who monsters, and they are usually featured in relatively poor stories ('The Tomb of the Cybermen' being the exception).

'The Wheel in Space' is no exception. Adapted by the prolific Terrance Dicks, his work in this case is extremely straightforward and unlikely to inspire much additional good feeling for this relatively slow-paced and quite predictable story.

The Doctor and Jamie arrive inside a rocket, where they encounter a hostile servo-robot. With the TARDIS out of action, the two are forced to complete the rocket's journey to an enormous space station (the eponymous wheel in space) where they assist the crew against the steadily unfolding plans of the Cybermen.

The story is full of coincidences (for instance, the Doctor disconnects a TARDIS component, which they bring with them, which fortuitously makes a handy weapon and tool) and generally shows signs of lazy plotting. These are not the fault of Mr. Dicks, although the text might possibly have helped to conceal some of these had he made a stronger attempt.