Doctor Who #173: The Tomb of the Cybermen Part 2

"You shall be like uzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz."TECHNICAL SPECS: First aired Sep.9 1967.

IN THIS ONE... Kaftan shows her hand and gets bit by a Cybermat while Klieg awakens the Cybermen from their frozen tomb.

REVIEW: While Jamie stays at the Doctor's elbow, usually in a state of disbelief, Victoria stays behind and babysits Kaftan, which is an opportunity for her to shine and for us to get to know her better. Her father's daughter, she collects a Cybermat as a sample, or perhaps a souvenir, and she may be as foolish, stuffing something dangerous into her purse after being warned not to. Well, she won't be told what to do, a young girl freed from the restrictions of home and era. And anyway, the Cybermat proves useful, attacking Kaftan with surprising bursts of speed. Why didn't every kid ask for a wind-up Cybermat in the fall of 1967?! Victoria makes her escape and will get a hold of Captain Hopper, he of the most colorful idiom ever experienced, who's out fixing his ship (when did the Logicians have time to "ball up the fuel pumps"?

The Doctor's behavior continues to be very strange. He fixes Klieg's mistake and opens the hatch to the tomb, then lets Klieg activate the controls that awaken the monsters. Why? Is his curiosity really stronger than his common sense? Or is he actually manipulating events? He does have that book with the Cybermats pictured in it... Does it also reveal historical information on the Cybermen that requires he awaken and destroy them here? That's 7th Doctor territory to be sure, and here just looks foolhardy. I'm with Jamie on this one. He allows Klieg to show his hand, but it's pretty obvious from the start the team mathematician is trying to reactivate the Cybermen. He's one of those megalomaniacs who thinks they'll be beholden to him. You know what, Mr. Klieg? If you say you're like the Cybermen with all your logic and things, they're just gonna want to make you MORE like them. At least his killing of Viner was something of a mercy. I was about to have a sympathetic panic attack just watching him go.

The return of the Cybermen is well worth waiting for. Their transparent ice tombs have real scale and so do they, giants opposite the rather short cast. Their signature theme tune has never been so well utilized. A big effects sequence both in the model shop and pratically in a studio. Very cool and a large part of this story's reputation. When the Cyber Controller comes out, from a balled position at the lower center of the wall, he unfolds into a even taller individual with a glowing brain and frost sticking to his face. A striking figure and awesome monster. And wouldn't you know it, I was right. Your logic WILL be assimilated.

REWATCHABILITY: Medium-High - The thawing of the Cybermen alone warrants its high position in many hearts, but it's also a nice episode for Victoria, if not for Logic.

Comments

snell said…
Perhaps the opening of the Cyber Tombs is one of those "fixed points in time" deals.

And perhaps he learned of this from the 6th Doctor mentioning Attack Of The Cybermen, if you somehow wrangle that the Second Doctor's side of The Two Doctors happened before Tomb...ouch, I just hurt my brain...
Siskoid said…
I'd rather believe in Season 6b than have Doc2 and Jamie from before this story (when? the only real hole would be later, between Fury and Wheel) showing up in The 2 Doctors. But then, no one theory is airtight when it comes to The Two Doctors.
snell said…
If the BBC truly loved us they'd CGI a few stray Cryons into the "special edition" of Tombs.

"the only real hole would be later..." Ahh, but it was a mission for the Time Lords. They don't worry about twiddly things like gaps where stories could take place. They just rip you outta time and then put you back, no time having passed for you (cf War Games...).