Attack of the Cybermen The Moonbase The Wheel in Space |
BBC The Tomb of the Cybermen |
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| Episodes | 4 |  |
| Story No# | 37 | |
| Production Code | MM | |
| Season | 5 | |
| Dates | Sept. 2, 1967 - Sept. 23, 1967 |
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With Patrick Troughton, Frazier Hines, Deborah Watling.
Written by Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis. Script-edited by Victor Pemberton. Directed by Morris Barry. Produced by Peter Bryant. |
| Synopsis: The Doctor, Jamie, and Victoria encounter an expedition on Telos, half of which is determined to explore the lost city of the Cybermen... the other half anxious to wake the Cybermen and their deadly Controller. |
It's Craptastic by David Massingham 23/3/04
Take a gander at Kleig. What a prat. Such shallow characterisation, the writers cleverly delving into the bum-end of the crazed, self-important scientist stock for inspiration. Actor George Pastell imbues him with such ham-fisted over-the-top characteristics that it becomes near impossible to take him seriously. An ineptly thought-out and portrayed character.
Turn to Viner. The coward, the sniveling wretch who warns against the dangers of being unprepared for such a large expedition as the one undertaken here. Marvel as you realise you've seen this character ten thousand times over. Gasp as performer Cyril Shaps hits the same, high-pitched note throughout all of his screen-time. Breath easy when he is mercifully smacked down at the end of part two.
Examine the Cybermats. Ask yourself why. Arguably the most pointless and silly addition to any Doctor Who monsters' arsenal, the Cybermats demonstrate awesome powers by jumping across the room and, erm, nuzzling into protagonists' necks. Laugh at the story's end, when a remarkably cute-looking Cybermat is shown as the ominous "it isn't always over" shot necessary for all B-grade pap like this, the redoubtable Tomb of the Cybermen.
Finally, step back and look at this adventure as a whole. Take in everything -- the near-uniform abysmal quality of the guest performances, the cliched and basic plot, the sometimes bombastic and intrusive music. Also note the striking and effective set-design, the creepy Cybermen, the terrific performances from Pat Troughton and Frazier Hines, the sometimes atmospheric and effective music. Add up all of the elements present in Tomb of the Cybermen, and what have you got?
Answer: A smashing adventure serial, with a brain made from crushed ice, and a plethora of atrocious elements which are made null by the shows sheer exuberance.
It is not very often that so many bad actors are gathered together for one solitary Who episode -- yet with Tomb it matters not, as the performances are so over-the-top that they simply add a kind of nervous energy to it. Have any of you heard the old adage about nervousness and acting? Some actors think that having nervous energy backstage before a play will give them a boost once they make it to the platform. Maybe for some it does; here, the result is a collection of amateurish performances, which are so earnest that a more forgiving viewer will simply ignore them and feed off the energy they cast out. I feed off that energy in Tomb of the Cybermen, and this helps me to enjoy the show more -- whether that be by laughing at it (or specifically, Kafkan and Kleig), or contrasting these camper moments with the genuinely great moments.
And there are plenty of great moments in Tomb of the Cybermen. The most obvious example sees the Cybermen emerging from their tombs, covered in ice, their superbly designed masks giving away no feelings whatsoever.
(Slight side-bar -- the masks used in this story were probably the strongest Cybermen face-plates for that reason -- here, you cannot read any emotions, whereas the Earthshock-style mask seems to suggest malice (at least to me), whilst The Invasion model looks like it's smiling, which is just silly. And we all know that the Revenge versions just look bloody ridiculous. The Tenth Planet stockings are great and darn creepy, but look a tad on the cheap side. Because they are).
Back to the great moments. The Doctor and Victoria's quiet discussion about their families in part three. The claustrophobic and oppressive atmosphere. The quick pacing and action-bent of the adventure. The utterly chilling line "You belong to us. You shall be like us". Brrr... then we've also got the cliffhanger to parts two and three, the fantastic opening scene in the TARDIS, Patrick Troughton in general, and the fact that it kind of reminds me of an old cinematic version I saw of Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None".
Ultimately, however, Tomb of the Cybermen has B-grade written all over it. And as such, it works. This isn't a story with a revolutionary plot line, and I can guarantee it that you've seen it all before, and probably with better performances (by the way, am I the only person who thinks Victoria is a bit crap?). It's a lot of fun, and a good introduction to the Troughton years (well, it had better be, hadn't it. Can the BBC hurry up and find season four already?). Just don't expect to look at it with a straight face all the way through.
Though it would have been better without the Cybermats. They are a bit TOO much for my tastes.
8.5 out of 10
A Review by Steve Cassidy 12/10/04
What can be said about 'Tomb of the Cybermen'?
To be frank, it's laughable. Dated? Well, there are illustrations in the Bayeux tapestry who look less dated then this. How we laugh at the silly costumes, dreadful sound-effects and actors who are given lines that even the cast of 'Pearl Harbor' would find laughable. Oh come on, it's silly? You wouldn't show this to your friends on a boys night in? All that black-and-white sixties kitsch?
So why do I love it so much?
Because it has that very rare commodity - genuine drama.
I defy anyone not to have a feeling of horror in the pit of their stomach as the cybermen claw their way out of hibernation. I'll wager most people hold their breath as the Doctor is caught as he tries to climb out of the hatch, and, ye gods, the scene where they catch Toberman and take him away to be converted into a cyberman is chilling.
"You belong to us. You will be like us."And thats the rub. The fear here is of body conversion - the cybermen are almost ghoulish in their pursuit of living human bodies. The plot is given another twist by having the entire tombs designed to trap whoever breaks in. And for them to be so complicatedly designed that only the best brains can be used by the cybermen. And there is menace here, the very fact that they are clambering up from below. That there is only the metal hatch between them and the rest of the crew. So when the iron fist of the cyberman starts to bash through - it is one of the most exciting scenes in the adventure.
It may be, along with Fang Rock, be the ultimate base under siege story. There is nothing wrong with that. In fact I adore a good base under siege story. But what is interesting about this one is the fact that they have got themselves into it. In adventures such as The Moonbase or the fabulous Fang Rock it is the monsters who assault them from outside. Here they have got themselves into the mess - all is curiousity. There is a feeling permeating all the way through this adventure that 'curiosity killed the cat'. That the search for knowledge is dangerous and some things should be left well alone. It is this atmosphere so well created by director Morris Barry which seems to pervade every inch of the adventure.
And the director does a wonderful job. The small cast do wonders with an incredulous script and their individual characters come across very quickly. In fact I recognise half of them from the James Bond films. Cyril Shaps (Viner) is blown up in The Spy Who Loved Me, Roy Stewart (Toberman) plays Quarrel Jnr in Live and Let Die and George Pastell (Klieg) has a tiny part as the train conductor in From Russia With Love. And it seems to be the guest cast which gets all the abuse. Granted, the lines they are given aren't exactly Kafka but each actor gives his/her all. The director really pushes for good performances and it adds to the tremendous paced start of the adventure. All the cliches are there, the treacherous financier, the troublemaking vamp, the professional but out-of-his depth leader, plus numerous cannon fodder along for the ride.
Shirley Cooklin is the most over-the-top. Supposedly the expedition's bankroller the exotic Kaftan is also the employer of Toberman, her black servant/strongarm and is in league with Klieg with her own agenda. It's funny when I look back at the sixites adventures that when the heroes are British - the villains are undoubtedly (East?) European. And so with Kaftan who has the campest Russian/Czech accent ever put on TV. Was it paranoia over the 'Red Menace' and the cold war? Anyway, Kaftan is a very enjoyable character and her backstabbing of the naive Victoria Waterfield in the regeneration chamber was almost lipsmackingly delicious.
And George Pastell as Klieg? Well, he does seem to get a bit of a bashing. I think he is an enjoyable cliche of a character - the ambitious meglomaniac who wants to open the tombs for his own ends. He is so watchable because he never gives up, he is knocked back again and again and is even shaken by his first encounter by the deadly cybermen. This wonderfully masochistic character seems genuinely obsessed and deluded that he will be able to dominate and control the cybermen. I've of course not mentioned the strongman Toberman. There have been lots of comments of rascism and why is a black man in such a subserviant role. Most people have put this down to the unenlightened sixties. I'm not so sure. This adventure is set in the future, at a time when the cybermen have disappeared from the galaxy - and Toberman is more of a henchman then a servant. We don't know he is a servant I'd put him in the hired mercenary help category myself.
And the regulars? Well, if you wanted to show someone the definitive Patrick Troughton adventure then this would be it. Half of Troughton's adventures are missing but the ones that still remain in their entirety (and there are only a handful of the 16 that he did) are fantastic. Everyone comments on how manipulative he is in this - and yes, he helps the expedition open the tombs because he knows they will do it sooner or later and it is better if he tacks along. But what always strikes me about this particular Doctor is his vulnerability, his humanity. The famous scene where he talks about his family to Victoria and how he can only remember them if he tries is striking. But also, his almost cowardice. Troughton's height and build meant that he wasn't a formidable physical presence (unlike Tommy Baker) and the Cybermen tower over him. He gets himself and others out of situation with his cleverness, the lightning mind can almost be seen behind those twinkling mischievious eyes.
Jamie and Victoria do well. Both being integral to the plot and benefit with interaction with the ensemble cast. Jamie in particular has several good moments with Haydon before he is killed by the Cyber-mannequin at the end of episode one. The chemistry between Partick Troughton and Frazer Hines means this is the first in the series to reach the famed Doctor/companion double act. And I love Jamie's blustering machismo - political correctness has all but stamped it out in 2004. Victoria makes an interesting companion as a 19th century lady cushioned from the world for so long, and then suddenly thrown into a terrible situation. She comes across as a petulant little girl sometimes and her bickering with Captain Hopper seems pointless. However, I love her wariness of Kaftan, her sensitivity has tipped her off about this scheming woman and the scenes between the pair of them are one of the highlights of the adventure.
And as for the cybermen themselves? Well, on screen they look ridiculous. I mean, what can you say about a six foot man in a silver suit with his voice modified to sound like 'metal mickey'. In reality they terrify - relentless, unstoppable machines who aren't out to kill you, oh no - something far worse, they want to make you like them. The costumes are excellent, the black-and-white benefiting their silver sheen and everyone remembers when they break out of their honeycomb-like tomb. In fact, the Cybermen do remind me of insects in this adventure, when they are curled up in their tomb they look like grubs in their burrows.
Michael Kilgareff plays the Cybercontroller and I must admit, I don't like his black costume with the glowing helmet. And the Cybermats... oh just don't get me started. I generally fastforward when ever the Cybermats appear. For a seven year old they must be creepy, insectoid metal creatures that prey on the sleeping expedition. But in reality they look like nail brushes with eyes painted on. I can see why this adventure stinks for some people because of the Cybermats.
However, it is a classic adventure and is now one of my favourites. The original tape has been cleaned up and looks fresh and sparkling in DVD format. And black-and-white add to the eeriness of this adventure - the shadows seem even more creepy. I must give a round of applause to the music as well. At the start it is big dramatic drumbeats reminding me of the opening scene of Face of Evil then at times it is lush and playful such as the scene where the Doctor mentions his parents. The DVD extras are excellent including an entertaining commentary and Deborah Watling (Victoria Waterfield) is just as starchy and funny as she was in 1967.
Some people might decry that Tomb of the Cybermen was found and laid bare before the world, saying like the Doctor "that some things are better left as they are...". I don't, and what's more its made me want to see more Troughton. Kitschy and sixties it may be and I can't guarantee it would be a ratings winner if shown on BBC1 at peaktime in 2004. But like a fine wine, it has matured over the decades.
Quality is timeless, and so is this adventure
A Review by John Greenhead 28/3/05
In my mission to reacquaint myself with Doctor Who an early priority was to watch a Troughton adventure, as I had never seen the second Doctor in action before and was well aware of his high reputation with fans. Given its fame, The Tomb of the Cybermen was an obvious choice among the surviving stories, and I settled down to watch the DVD with much curiosity.
I must confess that I was a bit alarmed right at the start of the story, when Troughton appears to be pulling a Ken Dodd impersonation in the TARDIS, but once the adventure gets going this gifted actor very quickly won me over. It goes without saying that this Doctor is a complete contrast to Hartnell's, but Troughton makes it very clear that under that bumbling, scruffy external appearance is a supremely intelligent mind and a relentless opponent of evil. One of the great strengths of The Tomb of the Cybermen is the way the Doctor manipulates events to ensure that the Cybermen are thwarted. He knows full well that the expedition to Telos is ill-advised, but he helps the archaeologists to enter the tomb anyway, knowing that if he doesn't Klieg and Kaftan will eventually find some other way in and be given a free hand to reawaken the Cybermen, with disastrous consequences. From the beginning the Doctor sees that this villainous duo are up to no good, but he also realises that he can only prevent their evil if he initially facilitates it and keeps the expedition company. Troughton is brilliant at showing the Doctor's deviousness and hidden intelligence in this situation, and he also has a wonderful sense of mischief. This is notable in the scene where he presses the button that opens the chute to the tomb, but gives the credit to Klieg, and then later on when he appears to praise Klieg's plans for world domination, only to completely alter his demeanour before saying "now I know you're mad." It is a wonderful Doctorish moment.
Tomb is therefore undoubtedly a triumph for Troughton, but does it live up to its reputation as a "classic?" Probably not, although it is still a very entertaining story, with lots of good moments. The Cybermen themselves are very well realised, and the Cyber Controller looks particularly impressive with his tall helmet and imposing physical presence, the latter of which comes courtesy of the tall actor playing him, Michael Kilgarrif. The scene where the tomb thaws out and the Cybermen awaken still looks impressive today (apart from the clingfilm they fight their way through), and they come across as chillingly ruthless in their determination to survive and thrive.
As for the human cast, I like both Jamie and Victoria as companions, and in fact I liked Victoria far more than I expected. She has a reputation as a screamer, but Deborah Watling doesn't let rip that much in this story, and she also succeeds in making Victoria quite courageous, notably when she defies Kaftan to try to open the chute, and when she shoots the cybermat. I also enjoyed the indignant way she responds to being called "Vic", and the scene she shares with Troughton in which they talk about their families. This is very tender and well-acted, and it gives Troughton a chance to emphasise the Doctor's caring side and his wide-eyed love of adventure. Frazer Hines plays Jamie in an easy-going, affable way and while he doesn't get much of substance to do, it is obvious that his loyalty to the Doctor is absolute and his courage not in question; it is also clear that Hines and Troughton have excellent chemistry together. My opinion of the guest cast is rather more mixed. I like the gruff Professor Parry and the nervy Viner, but Klieg and Kaftan are too close to being pantomime villains, with both George Pastell and Shirley Cooklin verging on hamminess on several occasions. The American accents of the rocket crew are as bad as everyone says, though they are likeable enough as characters, and then of course there is Toberman. While it looks a little unfortunate today, I don't think the production team was being "racist" in casting a black actor in this role, and Toberman is actually quite an effective character; it should not be forgotten that he is also very heroic at the end.
As far as other positives about this story are concerned, I thought the sets were impressive and that the script is simple and easy to follow. On the negative side, my main problem with Tomb is that it just seems a bit too lightweight to qualify as a true classic, its simple premise having to be stretched out too far to accommodate four episodes. The cybermats were also a mistake, as they just look laughable rather than menacing, and too much like the toys they were intended to be turned into; the moment one of them jumps onto Kaftan's shoulder is unintentionally hilarious. Despite this, however, Tomb is still well worth watching. There are other Who adventures with more substance, but it has its share of memorable scenes and is certainly an excellent showcase for the second Doctor.
A Review by Finn Clark 23/4/06
Tomb of the Cybermen used to be "a lost classic", but people's opinions of it dropped after someone found the episodes in Hong Kong. Having just watched The Moonbase I dutifully embarked upon Tomb as part of my big Doctor Who rewatch, which turned out to be a fascinating experiment. I've given this some thought and the naysayers are wrong. Tomb of the Cybermen really is as good as everyone used to say it was.
The problem is that it's a surprisingly delicate little horror tale which fails if you have inappropriate expectations. You won't appreciate it properly if you're wondering, "Where's the classic?" or, "What shall we watch now after Silver Nemesis?" Everyone knows that it's ripping off Curse of the Mummy's Tomb horror movies, but an extension of that is that it's assuming a certain level of audience anticipation about the Cybermen. In September 1967, everyone was primed and ready. It was only eight months after The Moonbase and thirteen months after The Tenth Planet. What's more, no other Doctor Who monster had ever returned except the Daleks.
I'd stayed away from eighties Cyber-stories. Instead I watched The Moonbase before proceeding to this... and as a result it blew me away.
Episode one positively fizzes. It's a million miles from JNT's Cyber-massacres, instead being 25 minutes of escalating anticipation and byplay from a cracking cast. The Doctor's "special technique" is just one of many gems, with even Jamie and Victoria each getting their own little moment. (1: "I'm all right, thank you." 2: "Oh aye, that.") Yet again I was reminded that I adore this TARDIS crew, but the original characters are just as impressive. There's tension, backchat and suspicious bastards, with everyone busting their nuts to get into the tombs that you know will kill them.
Admittedly there are some downsides in the performances. As so often in Doctor Who, a BBC actor attempting an American accent seems to lose all acting ability. Then there's Toberman, who can be uncomfortable to watch. I don't find the character inherently racist, but what hit the screen looks unfortunate today. It's scary to think that in 1967 the character might almost have been argued to be a step forward for the portrayal of blacks on television! In the end he's the hero who seals the tombs. After all, this was an age when classic Trek's Uhura could be a blow for racial equality.
However if I can watch The Talons of Weng-Chiang and The Crusade, I can watch Tomb of the Cybermen. We progress to episode two and the death toll mounts. Episode two still has plenty of tension among the characters ("You do a lot of insisting, Viner"), but the head count is dwindling as the Cybermen become increasingly prominent... which raises another problem.
This may be a Mummy's Tomb horror film in which the Cybermen want to eat us all, but a modern audience might only see unconvincing rubber suits, comedy Cybermats and Kirby wires. If so, that's their problem. If you let yourself get lured in then this story has atmosphere, helped by being in black-and-white. I like the Cybermen's design and I particuarly like how the story was built around them, exploiting their mythology more imaginatively than any other classic series story. These aren't the usual sixties rent-a-goons besieging a scientific outpost. We see Cyber-pets and Cyber-conversion, while they themselves are more iconic and less chatty. It's noticeable that episode two keeps us waiting forever as the Cybermen assemble, silent and unstoppable. They're the Terminators of the black-and-white era. Eventually Klieg actually asks, "Do you understand me?" Only just before the theme music, exactly halfway through the story, do they speak for the first time in that ear-rattling whine. "You belong to uzzz. You shall be like uzzz."
Incidentally this is the only 1960s Cyber-story for which they weren't redesigned. I don't think it's a coincidence that no other story relies so heavily on their image and reputation. I even like the Cybermats, which despite normally inching along, every so often dart like lightning. As an aside, that looks like an eighties Cybergun in the weapons testing room.
The visuals impressed me. I've seen this story's production values criticised, particular problems being apparently the fights, the reversed film and some plywood sets, but personally I don't see it. On the contrary, yet again I was astonished by the quality of the production. It's hard to credit this as the same show as the Hartnells I'd been watching. You won't see a better-shot quarry in a month of Sundays, while the Cybermat attack could have been infinitely more embarrassing. Imagine a similar scene in Warriors of the Deep, then shudder and scrub your brain clean. For me it works. I credit the direction and the performances.
The last episode's violence was criticised back in 1967. The foam-spurting Cyber-death is surprisingly explicit, though what really sells the shot is Patrick and Frazer's reactions. However even nastier is the (richly deserved) fate of Eric Klieg. Listen to the soundtrack. That's no clean Cyber-chop. Think about that for a moment... beaten to death screaming by a Cyberman. Good thing we never saw the body, eh?
Some people think the plot is a head-scratcher. Why does the Doctor help the archeologists enter the tombs in the first place? Why does he put everything back as he found it at the end? Why is shoring timber lying around on the surface of Telos? Nevertheless I've never had a problem with it. Re-electrifying everything is the best way of sealing away the Cybermen short of actually blowing them up. (I'm sure he'd have happily done that, but for once the Cybermen failed to fit their tombs with a convenient self-destruct facility.) I don't even mind the Doctor leading everyone to their deaths in the first place, since someone will clearly get inside sooner or later and the Doctor's decided it's going to be him. He couldn't have known the precise nature of the Cybermen's plans or that he wouldn't be able to do more than just seal up the tombs again. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Had he blown them up after all, no one would even be asking these questions.
Besides, Troughton is so lovable that it's not often acknowledged how sinister he can be. Check out his expression as he freezes a Chameleon in The Faceless Ones or fondles a camera in The Abominable Snowman location footage. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to meet that in a dark alley. Personally I love this story for the Doctor's manipulativeness, but that's just one of many reasons.
I love Kit Pedler's use of real mathematics instead of technobabble. I love Troughton's late-night discussion of family with Victoria, which even today remains unique. I love the killing smoke, which is one of Doctor Who's best-looking death effects. (I'd have loved Earthshock even more with death smoke.) I love the way Klieg goes so dribblingly bonkers. "Well, now I know you're mad; I just wanted to make sure."
Perhaps we should start listening again to popular opinions from the sixties. If everyone said something was brilliant, maybe it was!