The Most Questionable Decision in the Universe
written by Marc Platt
directed by Gary Russell
Broadcast - 6th May 2000 - 27th May 2000
Since their first appearance in The Tenth Planet back in 1966, fans have been debating the origins of the Cybermen, the half human half machine race from Earth’s long lost win planet Mondas. So it seems natural that the show would eventually take the Doctor and companion, who in this case is Sammy, to Mondas at the point of the Cybermen’s birth. What doesn’t seem to be natural is what writer Marc Platt did with the story. The Most Questionable Decision in the Universe, yes that is it’s real title, isn’t just another Doctor Who adventure by any means. It’s a compelling blend of science fiction and drama in a story that asks one of the most basic questions of human nature: how far would we go to survive?
The performances from the regulars are nothing short of astonishing. Paul McGann is at his best as the Ninth Doctor, going from reluctant innocent abroad to the man trying to change history for the better. Late in the story there’s a plot twist that shocks the Doctor and Cybermen battle to its core and McGann plays it incredibly well. Spurring him on is companion Sammy, played to perfection by Jennifer Lien who also gives her single best performance in the role. In fact it is Sammy’s friendship with the Hartley family that makes her force the Doctor to make that change. The performances of these two give the story much of its emotional depth and make it even more compelling.
The supporting cast is just as phenomenal. The Hartley family as played by Paul Copley (as the Dad), Kathryn Guck (as the optimistic and sickly Yvonne), and Jim Hartley (as the impatient Frank) serve as a microcosm of the people of Mondas, trying to remain hopeful in a world fast running out of hope. On the other side of the spectrum is Darren Nesbit as the spare (body) parts dealer Thomas Dodd, the shady businessman thriving on the pain and suffering. Yet he’s the sane one when compared to Doctorman Allan (Sally Knyvette) and Sisterman Constance (Pamela Binns), just two of many scientists and doctors slowly converting the population into Cybermen for work on the surface…or so it starts out. Then there’s the voice of the Cybermen, Nicholas Briggs. Briggs provides the voice not just for the various Cybermen but for the Central Committee who runs the city and there’s something about the voices (the Cybermen’s based on their voices in The Tenth Planet and the Central Committee’s on the Cyber-Controller’s voice in Tomb of the Cybermen) that sends chills down the spine.
If the performances weren’t enough, Marc Platt’s script is enough reason to consider this story amongst the best for the show. Platt made the smart choice not to do a Cybermen version of the Tom Baker story Genesis of the Daleks but to do a story entirely different. At its heart Spare Parts is the story as old as history of a civilization on the verge of collapse desperate to survive by any means possible. The means in this case is the use of saws and laser scalpels to remove emotions and insert cold logic, in essence the death of humanity and the birth of machines with human bodies.
In fact, the most chilling sequence of the story comes when a member of the Hartley family finds themselves in the assembly line for that process. To hear those saws and lasers coupled with screams, tears, and cries for help makes for a moment where even the most hardened television viewer stops to feel the shiver going up one’s spine. Platt plays the horror of that and when coupled with how closely Mondas is like our own world in the mid-1950’s (a fascination with television and even a form of Christmas) there’s only one description for it: chilling. The dilemma faced by the people of Mondas is only slightly different from the questions we face regarding genetics and other scientific advances that give us reason for pause.
The fundamental question of the Most Questionable Decision in the Universe is how far must we go to survive and what must we sacrifice to do so? Marc Platt’s script asks that question and gives us a horrifying answer. That script, when coupled with the excellent performances, makes for one of the best Doctor Who stories ever. Science Fiction works best when its not just adventure but a question of moral importance. It’s disturbing and glorious. Marc Platt has given the show a great story to add to it’s history and I’m sure this will be remembered for years to come.
Next Week, however, we have an odd story called Never Eat Shredded Wheat and from it’s title and DWM Preview alone, I am going to have wild stab in the dark and predict it’ll be a bit rubbish.
