February 20, 2013
Our celebration of the Doctor’s adventures continues, with a visit to the lost Tomb of the Cybermen in 1967.
Doctor:
Second, kicking off his second season in the role.
Companions:
Brave 17th century Scotsman Jamie, and the recently orphaned Victoria Waterfield, taking her first trip in the TARDIS.
Plot:
The TARDIS crew stumble upon archaeologists who have found the lost and frozen tombs of the Cybermen. Despite the danger, the Doctor can’t help his curiosity, and some in the expedition have sinister plans for the metal monsters…
The story so far…
- The Doctor has met and defeated the Cybermen twice - first in the Antarctic (The Tenth Planet), then on the Moon, where Jamie also met them (The Moonbase). Both events are mentioned in this story.
- Victoria has just joined the TARDIS crew, after her father was exterminated by the Daleks in the previous adventure (The Evil of the Daleks).
- After their home planet Mondas was destroyed by the First Doctor, the Cybermen found a new base on Telos – where the action of this story occurs.
- In a beautifully calm scene, the Doctor discusses his family with Victoria. Other than this scene and the First Doctor travelling with his granddaughter Susan, little else has been revealed about his family.
Best bit:
The awakened Cybermen release their Controller:
Key quote:
The Doctor: Our lives are different to anybody else's. That's the exciting thing. Nobody in the universe can do what we're doing.
Why it’s worth a watch:
It features some of the most iconic scenes in black and white Doctor Who, as the Cybermen ‘hatch’ from their tombs. Patrick Troughton turns in an extraordinary performance as the Doctor, always seeming to be two steps ahead of everyone else. And along with strong performances, the design, costume and music combine to make this a genuinely spooky and claustrophobic adventure.
More:
Read more about Tomb of the Cybermen at the BBC Doctor Who website.
