Shrouded in mystery for over two decades, ‘The Tomb of the Cybermen’ was rediscovered in 1992 and became a firm favourite among fans. But what is it about this Doctor Who story that makes it so popular?
Like many Doctor Who episodes from the 1960s, ‘The Tomb of the Cybermen’ was wiped by the BBC shortly after its transmission. Many of you will already be aware of this fact, but for the uninitiated, this was a common practice in the 1960s in order to make room for new material. Black and white programmes weren’t considered to hold any value, particularly with the age of the colour television looming on the horizon. As such, the BBC’s videotape collection was routinely wiped or burned, and alas ‘The Tomb of the Cybermen’ was no exception.
In Doctor Who terms, being destroyed is actually good for one’s reputation. The missing Doctor Who stories are often shrouded in mystery, with fans fantasising about how wonderful these lost classics must have been, particularly in the case of tales like ‘The Massacre‘ where there are no off-air photographs, and we know so little about what those adventures looked like.
For many years, the same was true of ‘The Tomb of the Cybermen,’ and all fans had to go on was the story’s audio recording. Ironically, this came out on cassette only a short while before the adventure was rediscovered and rush-released onto video.
And this is where fandom splits when it comes to ‘The Tomb of the Cybermen.’ Many people hailed the adventure an instant classic, and indeed the story did exceedingly well in terms of sales, rocketing to the number one spot in the charts – remarkable for a 25 year-old piece of television, and a rare occurrence for Doctor Who, even today.
But some people found ‘The Tomb of the Cybermen’ quite disappointing. At the end of the day, it is still a low-budget BBC drama, and as impressive as ‘The Tomb of the Cybermen’ looks, it was never going to match the production values of a major movie; the truth is, some fans had become so enraptured by the story’s mystique that they’d pictured something more epic and mysterious in their mind’s eye. It’s possible that ‘The Tomb of the Cybermen’ may never have met their high expectations.
Conversely, many fans also cite this story as one of their favourite Second Doctor adventures. It may be low-budget, but there is still much to admire about its production. For instance, the model shot of the Cybermen‘s tomb is a beautiful piece of design, and the scene in which the metal giants burst out of their pods en masse and start stalking towards the Doctor and his companions is, arguably, an iconic moment in Doctor Who history. This is all-the-more impressive when one remembers just how restrictive the studio space (and the budget) really was.
Moreover, the Cybermen costumes are equally impressive. In the 60s, the look of the Cybermen evolved with every story, and by ‘The Tomb of the Cybermen’ the metal giants were clad in loose-fitting, silver rubber suits which were lined with pipes. They had the signature handles on their helmets, and they spoke through ‘letterbox flaps’ which stood in for their mouths.
Their voices, meanwhile, were heavily modified and monotone. It’s hard to put the sound of their voices into words, but they’re sinister and devoid of emotion, and interestingly it was this version of the voice which inspired the sound of the re-imagined Cybermen in 2006, as difficult as some of the dialogue is to hear at times.
However, all of this adds to the metal giants’ creepiness, and ‘The Tomb of the Cybermen’ would have been the cause of many a nightmare in the 1960s. One particularly stand-out moment (which is still quoted to this day) is the scene where the Cyber Leader tells the Doctor and his companions that they will “become like us,” referring of course to the Cybermen’s obsession with ‘upgrading’ humans into cyber form.
‘The Tomb of the Cybermen’ is also notable for being the first full adventure for the new companion Victoria Waterfield, played by Deborah Watling. She had been introduced at the end of the previous season in ‘The Evil of the Daleks,’ and in fact this adventure picks up from where that story left off. But ‘The Tomb of the Cybermen’ represents her first trip in the TARDIS, and prior to this adventure’s discovery there was woefully little of Victoria in the BBC archive – only eight episodes, in fact. This number now stands at an impressive 21 thanks to the later discoveries of ‘The Enemy of the World’ and ‘The Web of Fear.’
And, unusually for classic Doctor Who, ‘The Tomb of the Cybermen’ also takes the time to acknowledge the character’s journey. How does she feel about leaving her family behind? How does she feel now that the TARDIS is her only home?
This culminates in a lovely scene between herself and the Doctor when, during a break in the action, the pair sit down to reflect. “Are you happy with us, Victoria?” the Doctor asks.
“I am,” Victoria replies. “At least, I would be if my father were here… I wonder what he would have thought if he could see me now.”
This leads to a rare and important moment where the Time Lord reflects on his own family, with Victoria mentioning that the Doctor probably can’t even remember his. “Oh yes, I can when I want to,” he answers. “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 who can do what we’re doing.”
In short, ‘The Tomb of the Cybermen’ isn’t simply a cheap sci-fi adventure from the 60s, nor is it ‘just another Doctor Who story.’ As the above scene demonstrates, it has an important place in the show’s continuity, acknowledging the series’ past and emphasising the enigma of the eponymous hero. And there is depth to the writing, blending character with high-octane action. It may not have the appearance of a big-budget American movie, but the same could be said for the majority of classic Who. If you have never seen ‘The Tomb of the Cybermen’ before, it is well worth two hours of your time.
In the meantime, tell us: what do you love most about ‘The Tomb of the Cybermen’? Let us know in the comments below.
Leave a Reply