Writer: Gerry Davis and Kit Pedler
Original Broadcast Date: 2 September 1967 - 23 September 1967
Back yet again, the Cybermen face the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria as an archaeological dig uncovers a control centre, where deep below a chamber holds the long-lost tomb of the Cybermen - an archaeological marvel, that is until they start to wake up. Often credited as one of the best stories of Doctor Who ever, The Tomb of the Cybermen inevitably has a reputation that precedes it, but I never expected be as clumsy as it was.
My major complaint behind this four-parter is the lack of genuine threat behind the Cybermen, something that was what made previous stories such as The Moonbase and The Tenth Planet so good. This is mostly due to the fact they have very little to do throughout the story, being trapped down n the tomb for the entire length, and when they do get some action their movement seems more erratic, destroying a certain edge from their emotionless robotic factor.
Two new additions to Cybermen lore comes in the forms of the rodent-like Cybermats and the Cyberleader - I'll get to him later. The Cybermats seem like a poorly explored idea done to bring a bit more action to the story, seeing as the Cybermen are unable to get out of the tomb. This isn't the only case of this: the story constantly relies on short sequences of action that feel totally irrelevant to the plot, clutching at straws to stretch the story to fit four parts, namely the Episode 1 cliffhanger, which you later learn doesn't affect standings much at all. The aforementioned Cyberleader who again could have been quite scary isn't simply because he looks rather phallic, and doesn't add much, again feeling like another side-step just to stretch out the rather lacking main plot.
Victoria, having joined the TARDIS in the previous story, The Evil of the Daleks, doesn't do much, failing to sell me on her character, simply because all she seems to do the entire story is stay out of trouble's way and scream... a lot. She does get a bit of action when she tries to attack a Cybermen with a water bottle (again adding to her lack of suitability as a companion), but apart from that she is pretty void of any integrity or character for that matter. Despite this Troughton and Watling have some great chemistry and real potential is shown in the character by the Doctor's side.
"Ah, you scream real good, Vic!"
Missing episodes often benefit in terms of fans' opinions due to the lack of visuals, which means visual faults cannot be judged, and I feel this story would be much higher regarded if so. The direction is pretty clumsy throughout, with some erratic Cybermen attacks, and poorly thoughout camera angles and cuts. Sometimes it is not entirely clear what is going on, and I sometime had to rewind the episode to figure it out.
Despite all the problems there are glimpses of genuine script-writing genius, especially in the opening half of the first episode, setting an excellent tone, utilizing the setting of an archaeological dig that works really well in Doctor Who. Other highlights include the Doctor's interactions with his companions, with some great comedy moments (such as the Doctor and Jamie's accidental hand-holding, and Jamie's reactions to the Doctor's 'metal breakdown' pun), but also those with some great insight into the characters (such as the Doctor and Victoria's talk about the events of the previous episode and the death of her father).
"You probably can't remember your family"
"Oh yes, I can when I want to. 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 is so much more to think about. So remember, our lives are very different to anybody else's. Thats the thing. There's nobody in the universe who can do what we're doing"
Opening Season Five in a clumsy fashion, The Tomb of the Cybermen suffers from lack of a meaty plot, leading to blatant points added in just to dial up the action, poor direction and Cybermen who feel not at all scary, but does have glimpses of brilliance, adding some redeeming factors to this highly overrated adventure.
6.5/10
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