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.
Having apparently been "lost" since its original airdates (in 1967), this newly restored, four-part, black & white adventure is sure to delight
Doctor Who lovers, especially since it's packaged in a two-disc set that includes an entire disc of bonus features. On the other hand, given its rather arch, hokey content and presentation,
The Tomb of the Cybermen is likely to have a somewhat more limited appeal for those yet to acquire the taste. The villainous Cybermen are not new to this long-running British show. But when the serial begins, they've been frozen in their burial chamber on planet Telos for hundreds of years, a threat to no one--at least until an expedition arrives from Earth, intending to find and open the Cyberdudes' Saran-wrapped resting places (parallels to the discovery of King Tut's tomb are purely intentional). It's a scheme that we know will not end well. When Doctor Who (Patrick Troughton, the second of the dozen or so actors who've played the part over the years) and his young friends Victoria (Deborah Watling) and Jamie (Frazer Hines) arrive soon thereafter in the TARDIS, their time machine, they are quickly swept up in the expedition's tedious internecine squabbling and conflicting agendas, some of which are decidedly sinister. Meanwhile, the bad guys, replete with their iron masks and plastic skin, come back to life, led by their leader, the Cyberman Controller, and prepare to invade Earth. Will our heroes be able to stop them?
Those used to the far more sophisticated sci-fi shows that followed in its wake will be bemused by Doctor Who's clunky dialogue and action sequences, cheesy sets, and primitive special effects. But then, all of that's part and parcel of the show's appeal. As for the bonus material, arguably the most entertaining of the lot is a 32-minute look at the Cybermen's various manifestations over the decades. Other special features, which range in length from one to nearly thirty minutes, include a making-of featurette (with contemporary interviews with those cast and crew members who are still alive), an examination of the program's Egyptian iconography, and audio commentary tracks. --Sam Graham
