Doctor Who: The Tomb of the Cybermen (Story 37)

Doctor Who: The Tomb of the Cybermen (Story 37)
by Morris Barry

Doctor Who: The Tomb of the Cybermen (Story 37)

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DVD details

Actor: Cyril Shaps, Deborah Watling, Frazer Hines, Michael Kilgarriff, Patrick Troughton
Director: Morris Barry
Brand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Unknown
Format: Black & White, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 95 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-08-06
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: BBC Video / Warner Bros.

DVD Reviews of Doctor Who: The Tomb of the Cybermen (Story 37)

DVD Review: Sadly...One of the worst!
Summary: 1 Stars

A Doctor Who fan should be objective and just because it is one of my favorite shows does not mean that every episode deserves at least 4 stars. Therefore, I felt obligated to give this one a relative rating to warn others who might be unfortunate enough to consider making this their first entry into Classic Who. If so, don't do it. Begin with any other episode or you might never watch another.

Like many I started with Tom Baker on PBS but I appreciate what all of the actors who play the doctor bring to the table. Troughton is probably the least known Doctor because many of his episodes are lost but for some reason, the programs that survive are among the cheesiest of all Doctor Who adventures, even more so than the older Hartnell era. Fortunately, the story and acting is usually good enough to make up for the lack of special effects, however that is not the case with this episode.

For example, why does everyone start randomly pushing levers and then act surprised when someone is killed? What kind of archaeologist behaves like this? No one including the Doctor makes decisions based on anything nearing common sense. One could even argue that the Cybermen could not have been revived without the help of the Doctor! Of course it wouldn't be much fun if they never awoke but at least make it the tiniest bit believable. Next, this must be one of the most simplistic of all Doctor Who plots...find Cybermen, push levers, revive Cybermen, Oops...they are evil, freeze them...that's it. There are no interesting side-plots and the Doctor does nothing clever other than figure out how to operate the various levers...again and again.

Finally, there is the acting, which is among the poorest ever with the guy who plays the spaceship captain taking the prize as the worst performance in the history of Doctor Who. He sounds like he is trying to mimic John Wayne based purely on a Rich Little impersonation. He is so bad that it made me cringe and laugh at the same time. The other side characters aren't much better including a token black performance that contributes nothing to the story. In the first few minutes we get such classic lines as, "There is too much ground to cover, we should split up", "There must be something behind that hatch (really?)", and "Doctor, you curiously lack curiosity" and that is just the beginning. There is one funny moment where the Doctor mimics Klieg, but it hardly makes up for the rest of the awful dialog.

I suppose many fans consider the Troughton era to be hallowed ground but I am completely baffled as to why so many gave this episode 5 stars. Yes it is remastered and contains some extras, however these things cannot fix a weak story and poor acting. Sadly, Tomb of the Cybermen cannot possibly compete with any of the better shows like The Aztecs, Spearhead from Space, Pyramids of Mars, etc. If you are new to the show, begin with one of these.

DVD Review: Solid Dr. Who - The Second Doctor
Summary: 4 Stars

Nice series for the Doctor. And now the Cybermen. Patrick Troughton has the role down. This may be the first surviving complete series with the Second Doctor. Thankfully now, the BBC knows they have a treasure to TV. If only American studios could realize the same thing.

DVD Review: Yay Doctor Who no. II
Summary: 4 Stars

I can't tell how much I enjoyed this. I am a fan of Patrick Toughton's work and would love to see more of his work available soon.

DVD Review: The 2nd Doctor Tackles The Cybermen
Summary: 4 Stars

Patrick Troughton heads up a solid cast in "The Tomb of the Cybermen." In it, the Doctor (Troughton), Jamie (the excellent Frazer Hines) and the strongheaded Victoria (the lovely Deborah Watling) land on Telos, the home of the Cybermen. They run into an archaelogical crew hoping to find the tomb of the last Cybermen. The majority of this expedition is hoping to find out why the Cybermen have seemingly vanished from the universe. Others in the crew are hoping to exploit the Cybermen's secrets. It's up to the Doctor and his companions to decide who's who and try to stop the revived Cybermen!

This is the third story to feature the Cybermen and the earliest known complete serial in existence that they are a part of. The story itself is pretty stock, although it is highlighted by the wit of not only Troughton, but Hines and Watling as well. They play off of each other exceptionally well, but can hold their own when they are broken up. Watling in particular takes the spotlight whenever she's separated from the Doctor and Jamie.

As every episode of "Doctor Who" before and after it, this one is plagued by poor special effects. Fans of the classic series know what I mean, but fans only familiar with the new "Doctor Who" might be taken aback by the effects. Just know that the story is solid enough to make you forget about them.

This DVD is packed with wonderful special features. It comes with the standard commentary (provided by Hines and Watling), outtakes, pop-up production notes, Who's Who and a photo gallery. Of special note are "Tombwatch," a panel discussion of the serial and a wonderful sampling of the episodes before and after they were cleaned up. If you watch the serial first (which I suggest), you won't really notice the changes made to update the story. After you watch the clean-up process segment, though, you'll gain a new appreciation of the fine folks who updated the show. They did an excellent job.

If you're a fan of classic "Who," I highly recommend picking up this DVD. If you've never watched any of the original series, get this one to see just how far the show has come over the years.

DVD Review: "Tomb of The Toberman"/"Toberman of The Cybermen"
Summary: 4 Stars

My little joke for an alternative title for this story. Both would be appropriate, since Toberman was the first and only human tranformed into the "new" race of Cybermen, as was their intention, thus, Toberman of The Cybermen. Plus, considering Toberman bought it at the end, that's where the Toberman Cyberman is entombed, thus, Tomb of the Toberman. Confused? Good! Considering the second Doctor defeats his enemies using confusion as his weapon of choice, acting silly and lulling them into a false sense of security.

I love 60's Doctor Who, however I couldn't give this story five stars. For one thing, the villains Kleig and Kaftan have to be crazy to want to revive the Cybermen, thinking they could bargain with them. Not smart at all. But perhaps this is totally justifiable because, as the Doctor points out in ep. 4, they are mad. A demented mind causes one to perform acts which are very inadvisable. There's also a third villain, Toberman, but he shouldn't count. The most intelligent line this lump of brainless brawn had in the whole serial was, "ME TOBERMAN". Not a very formidable foe. Also, why exactly did the Doctor manipulate Klieg into dethawing the Cyberman? He even secretly aided him at one point. He could have left things alone, and they would have been on their way, no harm no foul. Could it be that the Doctor is so bored that he merely wanted to create a situation to solve and be able to accuse someone else of creating it? Incidentally, the scene when Jamie picks off Cybermen as they are coming out of the lift would have been crucified had it been in the Colin Baker era, much like when the sixth Doctor shoots that Cyberman in his TARDIS. However, nary a word is mentioned about this. This clearly illustrates that the sixth Doctor era does not own a monopoly of violence. All eras are equally violent.

All that stated, Tomb of The Cybermen is a very 60s Doctor Who story, possessing a certain charm. Despite its flaws, it represents an era of Doctor Who that is forgotten by many, and thanks to the BBC's wiping of stories, most of the Troughton era will likely never be seen. Patrick Troughton was a genius, so enjoy the very little we have of him.

Description of Doctor Who: The Tomb of the Cybermen (Story 37)

Aided by his two assistants Jamie and Victoria, the Doctor lands the TARDIS on Telos, last resting place of the infamous Cybermen. There he discovers a band of archaelogists on a secret expedition to unearth the reason for his old enemies' extinction. In the underground shadowy depths, they find the icy tomb. A whole army in hibernation. A threat to no one, if the temperature remains low. But if the traitor in their midst gets his way, things could really heat up. Originally broadcast in 1967 and then lost, this unique four part adventure starring Patrick Troughton - the Doctor's 2nd incarnation - was only recently discovered. It is now available for the first time on this special BBC Video which includes an exclusive interview with director Morris Barry.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:by actors Frazer Hines and Deborah Watling
Biographies
Documentaries: Tombwatch (panel of the cast and crew). Behind the scenes at BBC Visual Effects
Outtakes:unused title sequence and 8mm cine footage
Production Notes:Optional caption stream

"The Tomb of the Cybermen" brought the Doctor, Patrick Troughton, into conflict with his silver cyborg nemesis for a third time, following "The Tenth Planet" (1966) and "The Moonbase" (1967). The Doctor, Jamie (Frazer Hines), and Victoria (Deborah Watling) join an archaeological expedition to explore the planet Telos, where they encounter death traps, betrayal, and a waiting army of frozen Cybermen. Scripted by Kit Pedlar and Gerry Davis, who would later write Doomwatch (1970-72), many of the essentials of the plot anticipate James Cameron's blockbuster Aliens (1986): the barren planet with abandoned city, the tense wait for a rescue ship, the human traitors, the implacable, more powerful enemy. There are a few flaws, but this is a superior Doctor Who adventure of its time and a thoroughly entertaining piece of classic television. --Gary S. Dalkin

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