Reprinted from Wikipedia with thaks
The Tomb of the Cybermen is the first of in the series that originally aired in four weekly parts from 2 September to 23 September 1967 and is the earliest serial starring as the to exist in its entirety. It stars and as companions and and features recurring villains the , as well as the introduction of the Cyberman Controller and the .
On the planet Telos, an archeological expedition uncovers a hidden entrance in a mountain. The lands nearby, and the expedition is joined by the , and . Parry, the expedition's leader, explains that they are here to find the remains of the , who apparently died out five centuries before. The expedition is funded by Kaftan, who is accompanied by her giant manservant Toberman and her colleague Klieg.
A man is electrocuted opening the doors, but the party manages to enter the chamber. They find a control panel and a large, sealed hatch. The Doctor is able to open two hidden doors in the walls, but the hatch remains sealed. Parry and Klieg continue to try and open it as Toberman slips out.
The remaining members of the expedition begin to explore. Victoria and Kaftan come across a chamber with a -like wall inset facing a projection device that was apparently used to revitalise the Cybermen. Victoria curiously climbs inside. Kaftan secretly seals Victoria in the sarcophagus and tries to activate the projector pointing at the sarcophagus but the Doctor, thinking Victoria had only accidentally locked herself in, frees her.
Meanwhile, Haydon and Jamie have been experimenting with a control panel in another room; a Cyberman slides into view and a gun fires, killing Haydon.
The Doctor points out that Haydon was shot in the back. Throwing the switches again, the Cyberman -in reality an empty shell - is destroyed by the gun which emerges from a hidden panel, showing that the room is actually a testing range.
Outside, Toberman reports to Kaftan that "It is done." Captain Hopper, the expedition's pilot, returns and angrily reveals that someone has sabotaged the — they cannot leave the planet until repairs are made.
The hatch is finally opened. Leaving Kaftan and Victoria behind, the men descend through the hatch. They find a vast chamber beneath, with a multistorey structure containing cells of frozen Cybermen.
Back in the control room, Kaftan drugs Victoria and reseals the hatch. Inside it, Klieg activates more controls in the tomb and the ice begins to melt. When Viner tries to stop him, Klieg shoots him dead and holds the rest at bay as the Cybermen return to life. Klieg reveals that he and Kaftan belong to the Brotherhood of Logicians, who possess great intelligence but no physical power. He is certain the Cybermen will be grateful for their revival and will ally themselves with him.
Victoria awakes and confronts Kaftan, who threatens to shoot her if she tries opening the hatch. A small mechanical cybermat revives and attacks Kaftan, rendering her unconscious. Victoria grabs Kaftan's pistol and shoots the cybermat. Not knowing which lever opens the hatch, she leaves to find Hopper.
Down in the tombs, the Cybermen free their leader, the Cyberman Controller, from his cell. When Klieg steps forward to take the credit for reviving them, the Cybercontroller grabs and crushes his hand, declaring, "You belong to us; You shall be like us."
The Doctor realises that the tombs were an elaborate trap: the Cybermen were waiting for beings intelligent enough to decipher the controls to free them. The expedition will be converted into Cybermen in preparation for a new invasion of Earth.
In the control room, Capt. Hopper and Callum have figured out how to open the hatch. Hopper descends into the tombs, and uses smoke grenades to distract the Cybermen while the humans make their escape - all but Toberman, who has his arms cybernetically converted.
Klieg and Kaftan are moved into the testing range to keep them out of mischief while the others decide on their next course of action. Klieg extricates the weapon from the wall, an X-ray he calls a cybergun, to coerce the Cybermen to do their bidding. Meanwhile, the others fend off an attack by cybermats.
Klieg and Kaftan step out, and Klieg fires the laser in the direction of the Doctor.
Klieg misses, wounding Callum. He opens the hatch, and calls for the Cyberman Controller. The Controller climbs up, accompanied by Toberman, who has been partially cyberconverted and is under Cyberman control. The Controller moves slowly, as his energy is running low — most of the Cybermen have been ordered back to their tombs to conserve power. Klieg says he will allow the Controller to be revitalised if the Cybermen help him conquer the Earth. It agrees. The Doctor helps the Controller into the sarcophagus in an attempt to trap it there, but the revitalised Controller is too strong and breaks free. Toberman knocks Klieg unconscious. The Controller picks up Klieg's cybergun and kills Kaftan when she tries to block its return to the tombs.
The death of Kaftan and the urging of the Doctor shake Toberman out of his controlled state. He struggles with the Controller and hurls it into a control panel, apparently killing it. The Doctor, wanting to make sure the Cybermen are no longer a threat, goes back down into the tombs with Toberman. Klieg regains consciousness and sneaks down with the cybergun and revives the Cybermen once again. Klieg expects to control them now that the Controller is dead, but a revived Cyberman throttles Klieg from behind and kills him. Toberman fights and kills this Cyberman by tearing open its breathing apparatus, while the Doctor and Jamie refreeze the others in their cells.
Hopper's crew have repaired the ship, and the Doctor rewires the controls to the station so they can't be used. He then sets up a circuit to electrify the doors again along with the control panels. The Controller, still alive, lurches forward. Everyone tries to shut the outer doors, but the Controller is too strong. Toberman comes forward, pushes the others aside and uses his bare hands to shut the doors. He succeeds, completing the circuit, and both he and the Controller are electrocuted.
The Doctor and his companions say good-bye to the expedition members and return to the TARDIS. No one notices a lone cybermat, moving along the ground toward Toberman's body.
[] Continuity
The iconography of this serial, in particular the image of Cybermen breaking through plastic sheeting to escape their tombs, has had an influence on nearly all subsequent Cyberman stories. Likewise, the idea of Cybermen being kept in cold storage has since been a continuing theme.
The Doctor returns to Telos in the serial , where he also encounters the Cryons, the original inhabitants of the planet.
The story contains a rare reference to the Doctor's family. When Victoria doubts he can remember his family because of "being so ancient", the Doctor says that he can when he really wants to and "the rest of the time they sleep in my mind" because he has "so much else to think about, to remember".
The Doctor mentions here that he is about 450 years old.
actor has stated that it was watching this serial that inspired his own costume as the Doctor.
[] Production
Serial details by episode
EpisodeBroadcast dateRun timeViewership (in millions)Archive
"Episode 1"
2 September 1967
23:58
6.0
16mm t/r
"Episode 2"
9 September 1967
24:44
6.4
16mm t/r
"Episode 3"
16 September 1967
24:14
7.2
16mm t/r
"Episode 4"
23 September 1967
23:22
7.4
16mm t/r
[] Writing
The working titles for this story were The Ice Tombs of Telos and The Cybermen Planet.
, who had previously been assistant to and been newly promoted to script editor on the preceding story, was allowed to produce this serial in order to prove that he could take over from as producer later on in the season. Bryant's own assistant, acted as script editor on this serial, but left the series after production of the serial was finished, deciding that he didn't want to be a script editor. When Bryant's eventual promotion to producer came, would become script editor.
Toberman was originally intended to be deaf, hence his lack of significant speech; his hearing aid would foreshadow his transformation into a Cyberman.
[] Recording
The cybermats were controlled by various means - some by wires, some by wind-up clockwork, some by radio control, and some by simply being shoved into the shot. The scene of the Cybermen breaking out of their tombs was filmed entirely in one take.
[] In print
A novelisation of this serial, written by , was published by in 1978, entitled Doctor Who and The Tomb of the Cybermen.
book
Doctor Who and the Tomb of the Cybermen
Series
Release number
66
Writer
Publisher
Cover artist
Jeff Cummins
ISBN
Release date
18 May 1978
Preceded by
'
Followed by
'
[] VHS, DVD and CD releases
When the 's film archive was first properly audited in 1978, this serial was one of many believed (although it is absent in earlier 1976 listings). This story was prepared for release in early 1991 on cassette as part of the "Missing Stories" collection, with narration by Jon Pertwee. Then in late 1991, film of all four episodes were returned to the BBC from the -based television company. In May 1992, the serial was released on , to much fan excitement and with a special introduction from director Morris Barry. The VHS release topped the sales charts throughout the country. This was the only original Doctor Who episode from the original era to top the UK charts.[]
With the recovery of the film prints, the planned soundtrack release was delayed until 1993, when contractual obligations forced its release. See .
UK DVD front cover
In the UK the was released 13 January 2002.
A special edition of the DVD, with new bonus features, is to be released in the uk on 13 February 2012 in the third of the ongoing Revisitations DVD box sets.
Following the 1993 cassette release, on 1 May 2006 the soundtrack was released on a 2-CD set with linking narration by and a bonus interview with Frazer Hines. This was the first existing story to be released on audio in the same format as the missing story range.
[] Music release
Music from The Tomb of the Cybermen
Released
1997
Soundtrack
Length
22:40
Via Satellite Records
chronology
(1993)
Music from the Tomb of the Cybermen
(1997)
and sound effects from this story was released on a "mini-album" by Via Satellite in 1997. It is composed of 2 versions of the , sound effects from and used in the story. It was planned to be the first in a series of mini-albums, with and being mooted as future albums. Neither were produced.
[] Track listing
Track #ComposerTrack name
1
(realised by )
"Dr. Who Theme"
2
"Tardis Interior"
3
"Tardis Landing"
4
"Tardis Doors Opening"
5
M. Slavin
"Space Adventures (Parts 1-3)"
6
J. Scott
"Palpitations"
7
E. Sendel
"Astronautics Theme (Parts 1-7)"
8
H. Fleischer
"Desert Storm"
9
"Space Time Music (Parts 1-4)
10
Brian Hodgson
"Tardis Take Off"
11
Ron Grainer (realised by Delia Derbyshire)
"Dr. Who Theme (A New Beginning)"
This recording does not actually feature in The Tomb of the Cybermen
See also: and
[] References
. Writer "Paula Moore" (), Director , Producer . . . , London. 5 January 1985–12 January 1985.
(Panini Comics) (418). 3 February 2010.
Shaun Lyon et al. (2007-03-31). . Outpost Gallifrey. Archived from on 2008-06-18. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
. Doctor Who Reference Guide. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
Sullivan, Shannon (2008-03-22). . A Brief History of Time Travel. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
^ , p 184
Morris Barry. Tombwatch. Event occurs at 8:20.
Morris Barry. Tombwatch. Event occurs at 15:13.
(1997) Album notes for Music from The Tomb of the Cybermen [CD Booklet]. , : Via Satellite Recordings (V-Sat ASTRA 3967).
Ayres, Mark. . Archived from on 2007-10-12. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
. Archived from on 2007-12-06. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
[] Bibliography
Andrew Beech (Producer), Peter Finklestone (Editor) (January 22). (Documentary; Special feature on The Tomb of the Cyberman DVD release). London, England: . Retrieved 2008-01-12.
& (23). The Television Companion: The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to DOCTOR WHO (2nd ed. ed.). Surrey, UK: . .
The Tomb of the Cybermen. Writers , , Director , Producer . . . , London. 2 September 1967–23 September 1967.
[] External links
at
at
at the
- The Tomb of the Cybermen
[] Reviews
reviews at
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[] Target novelisation
reviews at
