By Kit Pedler and
Gerry Davis
“Oh
yes, I can when I want to. And that's the point, really. I have to really want
to, to bring them back in front of my eyes. The rest of the time they sleep in
my mind, and I forget. And so will you. Oh yes, you will. You'll find there's
so much else to think about. So remember, our lives are different to anybody
else's. That's the exciting thing. There's nobody in the universe can do what
we're doing. You must get some sleep and let this poor old man stay awake.”
The
Tomb of the Cybermen is the earliest complete story to survive featuring
Patrick Troughton. It was found in Hong
Kong back in 1991 and until The Enemy of the World was found with The Web of
Fear (minus ep 3) the only complete story from Season 5 of Doctor Who. The Tomb of the Cybermen opens up Season 5
and also brings back The Cybermen yet again last seen in The Moonbase (which is
out on DVD with animated missing episodes 1 &3). What is a pretty cool side bar for Season 5
is that it is known as The Season of Monsters.
The Cybermen start off the Season of Monsters in The Tomb of the
Cybermen and also finishes it with the Cybermen returning in The Wheel in Space. So in all essence Season 5 is bookend with
Cybermen stories.
I
remember when this story was found back in 1991 I was really excited to see
this story as I had read the Target novelization way back in the 80’s and
enjoyed it. So when the VHS copy of the
story was finally released in the US in 1992 I headed for the video store right
after my college course was over for the day to purchase it and watch it that
day and well the studies took a back
seat to my parents dismay. Well there
wasn’t a test to study for so the homework could wait an hour or two.
There
was a lot of hype for this story and while some felt disappointed with The Tomb
of the Cybermen I did not. I really
enjoyed this story and it is one of my all-time favorites. What’s not to like it has Cybermen in it and
it takes place in their tombs. But some
think the story did not live up to all the hype which generally can happen when
a missing story is recovered as those who saw it before don’t think it was as
good as they remember and those that have bought into the hype are equally disappointed. But I fall into the camp that really enjoys
the story and believe it is one of Patrick Troughton’s best.
This
story takes place on the planet Telos.
We learn that Telos is the Cybermen’s adoptive home planet as we know
that their home planet of Mondas was destroyed when the 1st Doctor
stopped them back in The Tenth Planet. The
Doctor, Jamie and Victoria, who is joining them on their travels after the
events in The Evil of the Daleks, encounter an archeologist expedition who is
in search of the lost tombs of the Cybermen who have died out centuries
before. There are lots of traps in the
tomb like the first one they encounter before The Doctor arrives is the
electrified door which claims one member of the expedition. With The Doctors quick thinking and use of
logic they gain entry to the tomb and eventually get into the catacombs below
where the Cybermen are not dead but sleeping.
What they slowly find out and realize is that the trip to Telos was not
for archeology but to wake the Cybermen up and have them serve Eric Kleig and
the Brotherhood of Logicians because they have great intelligence but no power
and they hope that the Cybermen will ally them with Kleig. This is not to be as The Doctor must now
quickly come up with a plan to stop the Cybermen and Kleig and Kaftan and to
save everyone from the Cybermen.
The
Tomb of the Cybermen is the ultimate base under siege story as the base is
under siege from within and by two groups.
First you have Kleig and Kaftan that want to free the Cybermen from the
tombs and are willing to sabotage the rocket ship that brought them there to do
it. Then you have the Cybermen who want
to capture the humans and make them Cybermen and they are trying to get them
from deep inside the tomb. This is a
pretty good plot twist as The Doctor must defend from both sides and for a
moment teams up with the Cyberleader against Kleig.
The
Tomb of the Cybermen has one of the best cliff hangers in Doctor Who
history. At the end of episode two when
Kleig activates the wakeup call for the Cybermen. We see the tombs light up and start to fill
with activity as the Cybermen are awakening from their long sleep. Then the Cybermen burst out of the tomb
ripping the plastic that was keeping them sealed in. The awakened Cybermen
then proceed to open up the door that has the Cyberman seal on it which reveals
the Cyberleader. With frost on his face
he looks at the humans and says, “You belong to us. You shall be like us.” Now that is a pretty scary cliffhanger especially
when they throw Kleig back after he makes his fool hearted appeal to the
Cybermen. That scene really sticks out
to me and is one of the first things that come to mind when The Tomb of the
Cybermen is mentioned in conversation.
It is just a classic scene that sends chills down your spine and makes
you wonder how The Doctor will get out of this situation. That scene is also a good example of what
makes Classic Who so good is the cliff hangers and The Tomb of the Cybermen has
a couple of good ones.
The
Cybermats made their first appearance in The Tomb of the Cybermen and have made
a few appearances since then most recently in Closing Time. The Doctor has been back to Telos and the tombs
since then in the Sixth Doctor story Attack of the Cybermen where he has
another encounter with the Cyberleader.
While that story is looked upon as a semi sequel to the much superior
Tomb in reality it shouldn’t be considered a sequel.
The
Tomb of the Cybermen cemented the Cybermen as the other greatest villain for
The Doctor and during the latter half of Sixties Doctor Who they were the go to
villain as the Daleks were given a break as Terry Nation tried to get a show in
the US for his creation. It is one of
the best stories to feature the Cybermen and one of the best stories during the
Patrick Troughton era. It is also one of
my all-time favorite stories and is a true classic in Doctor Who.
Grade
A
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