Story #137 - Attack of the Cybermen (1985)

Sarah -
Here we are in Season 22. We've come so far, Dear Harry!

It's the first story of Colin Baker's only full season as the Doctor and the only season of Doctor Who to feature 45-minute episodes before the series' return with "Rose".


Harry -
Interesting how the two episode structure cleaved this story into two very different halves.


Sarah -
I had the same thought. The two episodes felt more like a contemporary two-parter than anything we've seen before in our marathon.


Harry -
We'll see how the format holds up over a season. "Attack of the Cybermen" started off strong, but faded late and ended up neither good nor bad overall.


Sarah -
I agree. The first episode is so much stronger than the second.


Harry -
The story lived up to its title almost immediately, as a pair of municipal workers are attacked by an unseen assailant in the sewers somewhere below London. The underground scene is just the first of many familiarities that will be thrown our way.


Sarah -
Poor municipal workers -- doomed from the start!


Harry -
Up in the TARDIS, the Doctor is tinkering with the machinery, aiming to repair the chameleon circuit that has been faulty since the Hartnell era. He appears to have settled down from the manic psycho we met in "The Twin Dilemma". However, Peri is still wary and the two of them can't help acting like the Bickersons in space. Suddenly: console room pandemonium! The TARDIS lurches abruptly and our friends are forced to ride it out, clutching the console to avoid getting thrown around the room. Just like the Davison era.


Sarah -
I thought the opening scenes in the TARDIS were effective in establishing the state of the Doctor and Peri's relationship. I liked that Peri was still wary of the Doctor from their experiences in "The Twin Dilemma".


Harry -
Down in a London street, a quartet of criminals prepare to stage a bank heist. Their leader is another familiar face -- the Dalek co-conspirator Lytton, whom we last saw slinking away from the warehouse of death with his killer bobbies. Unlike "The Twin Dilemma", this story took much more effort to ease the viewer into the universe of Doctor Who.


Sarah -
I really liked the establishing scene with our bank robbers. It really didn't feel like a Doctor Who episode, which made everything so much more effective. Did you notice Terry Molloy as Russell, the undercover cop? He must have been delighted to be on Doctor Who without having to wear the Davros costume.


Harry -
It's always a thrill to see the faces behind the masks. We saw John Leeson playing a human in "The Power of Kroll", and a couple of Davroses (Davri?) have acted outside the chair. Michael Wisher appeared in several Pertwee-era stories before becoming the first actor to play Davros, and the most recent Davros, Julian Bleach, has made appearances as other baddies in both Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures.


Sarah -
The TARDIS rights itself and begins following Halley's comet towards 1985 Earth, only to land at 76 Totter's Lane. It's our first (televised) return visit since "An Unearthly Child". It seems appropriate that this is the moment the chameleon circuit activates, turning the TARDIS into an ornate cabinet of some sort. I have a very strong memory of watching this for the first time and being completely floored by the TARDIS changing its appearance.


Harry -
More fan-friendly throwbacks as the Doctor and Peri both name check some previous companions while pursuing a distress signal.


Sarah -
Tegan, Zoe, Susan, and Jamie name checks -- hooray!


Harry -
After successfully overpowering the bobbies of death, it's down into the sewers, following Lytton and his crew.


Sarah -
I love the scene when the Doctor and Peri overpower and outwit the bobbies. The sight of Colin Baker leaping into the sewer passage is brilliant -- as is his return, wearing the bobby's helmet.


Harry -
All the racket brings the Cybermen out of hiding. Ever the slick player, Lytton immediately ingratiates himself to them. He reveals (or so he says) that he's not from Earth, but from a planet in the future -- Vita 15. Russell legs it and runs into the Doctor and Peri. He reveals that he's a cop and they make a tactical retreat to the TARDIS. Too late! For some crazy reason the Doctor left the door unlocked and the place is crawling with Cybers. Lytton and Griffiths follow them inside and watch as Russell is killed. They turn their ray guns on Peri next, and we get a mini-close up cliffhanger to close out the episode.


Sarah -
What is this, the Davison Era? I don't think Sixie is the type to leave out the welcome mat for everyone who wanders by.


Harry -
Part one was a great episode, and you're right, it did feel like something more contemporary.


Sarah -
I'd rate episode one as 7/10. Unfortunately, episode two will be dragging that rating down.


Harry -
Part one got a happy 8/10 from me for being such a pleasant surprise and better than I'd remembered.

As part two begins, the Doctor talks his captors out of killing Peri.  Thoughtful!


Sarah -
At least none of the Cybermen are putting the moves on her!


Harry -
The Cybermen demand he set a course for Telos, the planet they invaded and took over after the destruction of Mondas.

Down on the surface of Telos, a couple of seemingly unrelated characters are toiling in the work fields. Bates and Stratton have hatched a plan to kill one of their Cyber guards and sneak into Cyber Control, aiming to steal their time vessel and escape. I found their efforts amusing, maybe unintentionally humourous?


Sarah -
Bates and Stratton are an excellent double act. They are desperate men with nothing left to lose, but you're right, Bates' frustration with Stratton's incompetence provides some desperately needed comic relief. Michael Attwell's performance as Bates is a highlight of the story for me.


Harry -
Agreed, he was bursting with energy and determination. There is a seriousness to the duo's presence too. Later in the story, Bates and Stratton reveal themselves to the others as examples of failed Cyber conversions, something we haven't seen before.


Sarah -
How terrifying was that? This story does not hold back, which I kind of love.


Harry -
It was good to be reminded that the Cybermen are not just robots stomping around in space. Having hijacked the TARDIS (another rarity!), they contact Telos, where the Cyber Controller delights in learning that they have acquired the best time vessel in the universe. He all but drools "bring them to me."

The Doctor would never surrender that easily, and he tweaks the flight path so that they land inside a network of tombs rather than right in the Cyber Controller's lap. Things get hairy from this point. Another defective Cyber conversion bursts out of a tomb, going haywire. Everyone scatters, and the Doctor is separated from Peri as Lytton and Griffiths head for Cyber Control. Lytton hopes to continue ingratiating himself with the ultimate goal of stealing a time vessel for himself. He and Griffiths hook up with Bates and Stratton to pursue this purpose.


Sarah -
And this is where the story goes off the rails. It was kind of exciting to see the tombs, before the plot started to get in the way.

I do have to say that Brian Glover is absolutely brilliant as Griffiths. He’s one of those great characters who carries the weight of his back story – even if we don’t know what that back story is. In the commentary, Colin Baker mentions that he was a wrestler before becoming an actor. He certainly looks the part, but went on to have quite an impressive career.


Harry -
His is one of those faces that kept popping up in British telly throughout the 80s & 90s.

Meanwhile, Peri and the Doctor both encounter the native inhabitants of Telos, who were thought to have been compleletly annihilated by the Cybermen. The Cryons look like icy versions of the Fish People, with their buggy eyes and swanning movements. Best hand acting since William Hartnell for sure.


Sarah -
In a series know for naff aliens, the Cryons have to be among the most naff. I couldn’t understand half of what they were saying. Maybe that’s why the story made no sense.


Harry -
The revelations come fast from Flast, the Cryon leader. She tells the Doctor that they had been in contact with Lytton, and he was working on their behalf to lure the Cybermen to Telos. This seemed strange since they were already there. Flast also reveals the Cyber plan: to use a time vessel to go back, redirect Halley's Comet, crash it into the Earth and prevent the destruction of Mondas. Easy peasy!


Sarah -
Really, quite a simple plan.


Harry -
The Doctor suspects that it was the Time Lords who manipulated his TARDIS into landing where it did on Earth, so that he'd have no choice but to prevent its destruction. He gives Flask a sonic lance, a tool with which she will be able to ignite the convenient storehouse of explosive material the Cybermen had locked her up with.


Sarah -
The Doctor gets all shouty at the Time Lords, but it’s not clear that they’re listening. The sonic lance was an interesting touch. I started to wonder how they got it past JN-T and then realized he was probably planning for his next American convention and didn’t know about the lance.


Harry -
Writing it all out, the story seems to make a lot more sense.


Sarah -
I’m not so sure about that!


Harry -
Okay, maybe it was "better on paper", but watching it was another matter. By the end of part two, everything unravelled. Lytton and his group enter Cyber Control, but the Cybermen turn on them. Bates, Stratton and Griffith escape while Lytton is seized, has his hands broken, and is tossed into a Cyber conversion chamber to meet his fate.


Sarah -
Talk about not holding back! Lytton’s hands being crushed may be the most horrifying thing we’ve seen so far – so much blood.


Harry -
The other three are gunned down not long after.


Sarah -
I found that moment especially heartbreaking. They came so close to escaping, to be gunned down when it was finally in their reach.


Harry -
Having learned that Lytton was on the side of the Cryons, the Doctor makes a last ditch attempt to save him, triggering a gun battle inside Cyber Control. It's a particularly wild gun battle with the Doctor blasting away. There's yet another rare sight.


Sarah -
The Doctor is so remorseful about having misjudged Lytton that resorting to firearms almost makes sense.


Harry -
So much chaos at the end, I just wanted it to be over.


Sarah -
The story winds up with one of the most awkward endings I can think of. The Doctor and Peri escape into the TARDIS just as cyber-control explodes and have this exchange:

DOCTOR: It didn't go very well, did it?
PERI: Earth's safe. So is history and the web of time.
DOCTOR: I meant on a personal level. I don't think I've ever misjudged anybody quite as badly as I did Lytton.

What? All this death and destruction and this is the takeaway. Good grief!


Harry -
The Doctor's first line that you quoted sums up how many of us must have felt by the end. "Attack of the Cybermen" started off surprisingly well, but it got bogged down in too much continuity for its own good, and it became a noisy mess by the end. At least the Cybermen did a lot of attacking, so it lived up to its billing in one respect.

Best Line:
DOCTOR: Unstable? UNSTABLE?! This is me, Peri. At this very moment I am as stable as you will ever see me.
PERI: Oh dear.

Favourite Moment: Bates and Stratton assemble their own Cyberman cosplay.

Lasting Image: the freaky looking Cryons.

Part one 8/10
Part two 6/10
Overall 7/10


Sarah -
Best Line:
DOCTOR: I have perfect rapport with this machine.
PERI: I hope the TARDIS knows it.

Favorite Moment: The TARDIS changing into a cabinet and organ.

Lasting Image: The Doctor smugly emerging from the sewer passage wearing the bobby's helmet.

Part One 7/10
Part Two 5/10
Overall 6/10

 




Our marathon continues with Story #138 - Vengeance on Varos...

Story #133: Resurrection of the Daleks (1984)

Sarah -
Brutal.


Harry -
Grim.

That about sums up the Eric Saward era, and we haven't even gotten past the opening massacre in the alley.


Sarah -
What a fantastic opening.


Harry -
It's a very atmospheric start. A slow tracking shot through a grey, rainy setting -- something different for the Davison era. I've gotten so used to console room pandemonium at the start of every story. This felt cinematic.


Sarah -
The opening feels like a Third Doctor UNIT story.


Harry -
Good call.


Sarah -
An older man standing in an industrial district watches as a group of jumpsuit-wearing people burst of a warehouse, only to be gunned down by policemen. For an extra shot of pathos, they shoot and kill the old man before beaming up a police officer and the corpses. But we soon discover that two of the fleeing prisoners have evaded capture…


Harry -
The escapees search the warehouse looking for the time corridor that brought them there, but Galloway is gunned down and Stien is left to cower in fear.


Sarah -
I was confused about why they were trying to find the time corridor, assuming that they had used it to escape. Why do they want to get back to it?


Harry -
Maybe they eluded their captors inside the warehouse and thought the time corridor might take them back to safety.

Meanwhile, the lead policeman -- Lytton -- has beamed up to a space ship, a battle cruiser with a very Star Warsy looking bridge and crew. In their sights is another ship, one they intend to seize and board. This second ship is a run down hunk of junk manned by a somewhat demoralized crew. It turns out that this is a prison ship, carrying a single prisoner whose re-acquisition is the goal of Lytton's battle cruiser.


Sarah -
I like that the story takes its time. So much happens before we even see the TARDIS crew.


Harry -
Before we find out who Lytton is after (although it's a pretty easy guess), we get our weekly dose of console room pandemonium.


Sarah -
Console room pandemonium is its own specialized acting skill!


Harry -
This picks up from the ending of "Frontios", where the TARDIS suddenly lurched out of control. It has run up against the same time corridor and the Doctor manages to pilot the old girl to a safe landing beside the Thames, London, 1984. While having a look around, the Doctor, Tegan and Turlough encounter Stien, who begs for food and help.


Sarah -
Seriously, could they not have offered him something from the TARDIS kitchen to shut up the whinging? Of course, the Doctor is more intent on finding the time corridor that brought them there. We meet some UNITish soldiers on our way to the big revel -- or what would be the big reveal if the story wasn't called "Resurrection of the Daleks".


Harry -
The UNITish soldiers add to the Pertwee-era feel.


Sarah -
Definitely!


Harry -
The Colonel even had to use a payphone to ring HQ. How absurdly quaint!


Sarah -
I know, right? If he were a proper UNIT soldier, he’d have a field phone.

It's been five years since a Dalek story and I have to admit that I haven't really missed them. Still, the Cybermen had their triumphant return in "Earthshock", so why not give the Daleks their day in the sun -- or the warehouse, as it may be.


Harry -
One of the DVD features is JN-T's last recorded interview, where he admits that he started bringing the Daleks back repeatedly because of their "bums on seats" drawing power. Even so, they only appear three times in the 80s -- compare that with the annual Dalek story we viewers have been treated/subjected to in each season of the new series. It's definite overkill nowadays.


Sarah -
A little Dalek can go a long way. They're iconic, but not terribly interesting. Davros and the human collaborators are what make this story more compelling.


Harry -
"Resurrection of the Daleks" is remembered for the relentless killings that occur throughout the story. So many people are killed senselessly, like the old man in the opening scene, or the man with the metal detector down along the riverside. There was no need for that!


Sarah -
In a slaughter-filled story, that moment had to be the most heartbreaking.


Harry -
The bulk of the slaughter is done by the Daleks, once the battle cruiser docks and they smash their way aboard. Each death hammers home the fact that the Daleks are terrible creatures. A particularly unsettling moment was hearing the screams of terror from the prison ship crew when they were cornered by some Daleks. The believeability of the terror, and the realism of the production (the poison gas!) make this an important Dalek story, though certainly not a fun one to watch. Does that defeat the purpose of Doctor Who? I don't know.


Sarah -
It's not fun, but it's definitely watchable. Even having seen it before I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat over what would happen next.


Harry -
As the Daleks lay waste to the crew, the few who remain scramble to destroy the prisoner: Davros.


Sarah -
Even though we know none of them will survive, I really liked the way the prison ship crew was handled. In a few concise scenes, Saward presents fairly well-developed characters. We're introduced to the prison ship via a conversation between Lt. Mercer and Dr. Styles -- he's the idealistic newbie who is horrified by the conditions on the the ship and she's the cynical veteran, biding her time so she can get a transfer out. Their initial conversation and the scene on the bridge when the attack comes shows us all we need to know to understand the situation. Well done, Saward!


Harry -
Back at the warehouse, Turlough is the first to discover the time corridor, which transports him aboard the battle cruiser.


Sarah -
Turlough would manage to stumble into the time corridor, wouldn't he? Once again, he bumbles his way through a story with a late opportunity to rise above his own self interest.


Harry -
A Dalek is dispatched in the other direction with orders to capture the Doctor. In the ensuing mayhem, the Doctor and some of the UNITish personnel team up for some rare hand-to-plunger combat and destroy the Dalek.


Sarah -
Tegan is hit in the head during the skirmish and spends much of the rest of the first episode lying on a mattress on the floor.


Harry -
It's a final rough outing for Janet Fielding. She's experienced so many bumps and bruises this season, and she still plows on valiantly. She was probably relieved to say goodbye... until they made her run away in those heels one last time.


Sarah -
I suspect Janet never imagined so much of her acting career would involve running around in heels and a short skirt!


Harry -
Before that, Lytton briefs the reawakened Davros on the failure of the Daleks, who lost their war against the Movellans when the latter developed a virus that only the Daleks were susceptible to. Davros is enraged by their failure, but pleased that they have returned to him, "like an errant child" needing his help. Cue Terry Molloy's first great megalo-rant, and it was a good one!


Sarah -
Can't have Davros without the inevitable rant.


Harry -
A second, larger Dalek force is sent through the time corridor. After more mayhem, the TARDIS lands aboard the Dalek battle cruiser. Stien then reveals himself to be a Dalek agent -- a duplicate in fact, something that the Daleks want to create from the Doctor as well. It seems they had a pre-existing plan ready for just this moment. A duplicate Doctor would be sent back to Gallifrey to assassinate the High Command and render the Time Lords vulnerable to invasion.


Sarah -
The first attempted volley in the coming Time War, perhaps? The Daleks are really playing the long game: 1) create duplicates of useful humans to do their bidding, 2) find Davros, 3) find the Doctor and trap him in the time corridor, 4) manipulate Davros into developing an antidote to the Movellans' virus, 5) create duplicates of the Doctor and his companions and send them to Gallifrey to do the Daleks’ bidding. What could possibly go wrong?


Harry -
It's an impressive stratagem. There's a wrench in the works, however. Davros is utterly paranoid. Fearful that the Daleks may turn on him (and his fear would be borne out later) he spends most of the story assembling a protective force of servitors, starting with some zombified aides and engineers. Eventually he takes control of some Daleks, triggering the civil war that they will wage for the remainder of the classic series.


Sarah -
Of course Davros immediately starts plotting against the Daleks, assembling his own team of Daleks and humans under his control.


Harry -
It's the first spark of the Dalek civil war, but it also sets the template for Davros moving forward: always paranoid, always plotting, always playing the innocent -- although you'd think people would stop themselves for a moment and realize, "Wait, this is freaking DAVROS! Why am I helping him??"


Sarah -
Whenever we see a Davros story, I always find myself thinking of Big Finish’s brilliant “I, Davros” series. I love having that backstory in my head cannon.


Harry -
I loved Terry Molloy in "I, Davros" -- one of the best things Big Finish has ever done.

The Doctor even has a wobble with Davros, despite holding him at gunpoint. He was intent on killing his enemy once and for all, but blew his chance and Davros sealed himself off in the laboratory. Oh Doctor, you can never do it, and we love you for it!


Sarah -
Ah, the inevitable Doctor-Davros showdown. We know the Doctor won’t kill Davros but it’s always satisfying to see him point a gun at Davros.


Harry -
What are we up to by this point? Thirty, maybe 40 characters dead already? The story is a nonstop killing spree. I was really heartbroken when Professor Laird -- a kind of "UNITish scientific advisor" character -- was gunned down. Senseless.


Sarah -
Professor Laird was wonderful – kind and protective toward Tegan, but more than willing to drug the Dalek clones into a long sleep.

While Turlough eventually stumbles into an alliance with the prison ship crew, they never have any interaction with the Doctor. We haven’t had many stories where an entire plotline develops without any interaction from the Doctor – it’s an early Doctor-light motif!


Harry -
Interesting point.


Sarah -
After a strong introduction of the prison ship crew, Saward gives them a worthy sendoff. Yes, they all die, but they go down swinging:

Mercer: Look, as far as we know, there are only four of us still alive. We can't fight the Daleks alone.
Styles: Only minutes ago you were prepared to fight till the bitter end.
Mercer: And look where it got me. A dead crew.
Styles: Then don't let it be for nothing.
Mercer: What can we do?
Styles: Have you forgotten? This station has a self-destruct system.

How great is Rula Lenska in this story? My only other memory of her is the series of Alberto VO5 ads she did in the late 70s:

Styles sets about activating the self-destruct system, delivering one of my favorite lines of the story: “We're nearly there. Why am I so excited? It'll be the last thing I ever do.”

So quietly heartbreaking.


Harry -
More so because she failed at the attempt.


Sarah -
And it was the last thing she would ever do.


Harry -
Eventually, all sides lose control of the situation. The Daleks order the destruction of the prison ship. Agent Stien, who famously can no longer stand the confusion in his brain, works his way to the self-destruct chamber intent on ending things himself.


Sarah -
A great performance by Rodney Bewes as Stien!


Harry -
Davros releases the Movellan gas and destroys the Daleks who are with him. Over at the warehouse, a final deadly firefight ends with the Doctor unleashing the same gas to wipe out the Dalek invaders. It's annihilation on all sides.


Sarah -
The Movellans’ final revenge!


Harry -
It's odd that we've never seen nor heard from them again after all this time.


Sarah -
I’m trying to imagine how their superfreaky look might be updated for the 21st century…


Harry -
Anyway, not many survive the carnage. Stien succeeds in blowing up the prison ship. It's uncertain whether Davros escaped, but we all know the answer to that. Stranded on Earth, Lytton and his silent policemen stroll away from the scene. Having escaped death by the slimmest of margins, the Doctor, Tegan and Turlough prepare to depart. Only, Tegan decides that she's had enough...


Sarah -
And who wouldn’t after all that? The longest-serving companion of the Davison Era has finally had enough.

Watching Doctor Who as a teenager in the 80s, Tegan was my first favorite companion. I absolutely adored her and was heartbroken when she left the series.


Harry -
What's sad about Tegan's farewell is that life with the Doctor -- which should be a thrilling thing -- is what ultimately drives her away from him.  Nyssa stayed behind on Terminus because she felt she could help people there. Romana wanted to forge her own path in E-Space. Leela stayed on Gallifrey for the love of a man in tight red trousers (and we can all understand that). Sarah Jane was dropped off, thinking that she'd get picked right back up again. Jo linked up with a younger man with big visions of his own. Liz Shaw's departure might be the only comparable one. However, Tegan seems to be the only companion who ended up so traumatized that she couldn't go on, and that's so sad considering how strong she was.

A sad note to end a grim story. Like I said above, this is an important story because it hammers home the evil, destructive force that is the Daleks. I with they'd get a kind of reboot like that in the new series, where their familiarity -- and their string of defeats at the Doctor's hand -- lessens their impact with each appearance.


Sarah -
I know Janet Fielding is often disparaging towards the character and the way Tegan was treated on the series. Rewatching her era, I can understand how she feels. With thirty years perspective, I’m more irritated by the lack of strong stories for Tegan and how often she’s given little to do but complain. That said, Janet’s performance made me love Tegan and she’s still one of my favorite companions today. I’m still impressed that I managed to speak in full sentences when we met her at Chicago TARDIS. Janet, you are the best!


Harry -
She was lovely in person, and amazing as Tegan.  One of the best companions ever!

Best Line:
STIEN: Impulsive, aren't they?
LYTTON: They'll kill anybody, even if they need them.
STIEN: How long before it's your turn?

Favourite Moment: Stien hurls himself onto the self-destruct activator.

Lasting Image: Davros in his laboratory, facing off with the Doctor.

8/10


Sarah -
Best Line: "It's stopped being fun, Doctor."

Favorite Moment: The Doctor’s faceoff with Davros.

Lasting Image: The last shot of Tegan after the TARDIS dematerializes.

8/10

 



Our marathon continues with Story #134: Planet of Fire...