Doctor Who: The Tomb of the Cybermen (Story 37)
by Morris Barry
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Cyril Shaps, Deborah Watling, Frazer Hines, Michael Kilgarriff, Patrick TroughtonDirector: 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.
Movie Reviews of Doctor Who: The Tomb of the Cybermen (Story 37)
Movie 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.
Summary 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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