Doctor Who (TV Series) The Tenth Planet: Episode 1 (1966) User Reviews

Radical Doesn't Begin To Describe It

[Theo Robertson · 8/10 · 14 August 2013]

Spoilers to all four episodes of which only three and a bit exist

The Tardis lands in the south pole in 1986 a time where the Earth space program is taking tentative but confident steps . Finding themselves in what's known as the Snowbase , a underground station tracking spacecraft the Snowbase crew are shocked to find another planet heading towards Earth

The Tenth Planet is the second story of the fourth season of DOCTOR WHO and by the season's end the show would have changed beyond all recognition . Out went the historical dramas and the production team of producer Innes Lloyd and script editor Gerry Davis changed the whole feel of the show in to one of science fiction horror which subsequent production teams continued to a degree . Terry Nation tried to get American networks interested in a Dalek spin off series and withdrew the copyright to the BBC for them hence they made their last planned appearance at the end of the season in Evil Of The Daleks and disappeared for several years leading new monsters to take their place as iconic creatures . Most radical of all was the change of actor in the title role

There's so much going on in this episode that if you know where it's heading with its introduction of the Cybermen and the writing out of Hartnell and the introduction of Troughton you almost forget all about the story itself which is rather nonsensical given any thought , Earth's twin planet Mondas suddenly traveling home to leech the energy from Earth , Z bombs , mad generals cybernetic men . All this feels it belongs in an Ed Wood movie or a Roger Cormen production and yet the imagination behind all this sweeps you along you forget the plot deficiencies and the awful American accents

Pride of place belongs to the Cybermen who are literally Cybernetic men and a million miles from the generic creatures they appear as in the new show . You might laugh at the sock masks but the scene where they make their first as they walk through the snowy wastelands of the South pole does hint that monsters to rival the Daleks as icons of numinous horror have arrived . Their sing song voices are both striking and chilling

Like Mavic Chen in the previous season's The Dalek Masterplan if you've got robotic villains it helps if you've got a human equivalent of sorts for dramatic purposes . Robert Beatty as General Cutler gives a fine performance . Not necessarily a villain he's just a man driven by emotion - a dramatic dichotomy counterpoint to the emotionless Cybermen - and the stress overwhelms him due to the fate of his son

It's interesting how redundant the Doctor is in this story and doesn't have much to do except to return to the Tardis at the end and regenerate in to the next Doctor . Internal BBC documentation recently released show that the regeneration scene was to be inspired by a bad LSD trip . Well it was 1966 but this means that the show is guaranteed an immortality of sorts . One lead actor leaves so you can just get a new one . Looking back now though the Hartnell era was unique and entirely different from the rest of the ear . There was a constant dramatic gravitas and a lack of horror and sexy bimbo companions and with the introduction of Troughton a new type of show had been born that continued in this spirit to lesser or greater degrees all the way up to the late 1970s

Show has a clever way of explaining cast changes

[AlsExGal · 7/10 · 28 January 2023]

"The Tenth Planet" is a four-part serial from early in the show's fourth season. I'm discussing the entire serial in this entry. This serial is notable for a couple of reasons. It introduces the Cybermen, robotically-enhanced humanoids from our solar system's previously unknown tenth planet. They would go on to be one of the series' more enduring antagonists. The serial also marked the end of William Hartnell as the Doctor, and the introduction of the character's periodic "regenerations", a clever way the show's producers had of explaining cast changes.

The Doctor's alien race are very long-lived, but they can regenerate into younger bodies when necessary. In this case, Hartnell passed the role onto Patrick Troughton, "the Second Doctor". I enjoyed this serial, even if the Cybermen looked rather silly. The last of the four chapters is lost, so for this release the producers commissioned an animated re-creation, using the existing audio tracks.

A "Legendary" End For The First Doctor?

[timdalton007 · 7/10 · 10 November 2008]

(Note: Review based on the 2001 BBC VHS release and that this is a review of all four episodes of the story.)

Watching the Tenth Planet some four plus decades after its original broadcast makes for some interesting viewing for any Doctor Who. This is for two reasons the first because of its legendary status it has in Doctor Who fandom because it contains two of the elements of the show's longevity: the Cybermen and the Doctor's ability to regenerate. The other is reason is to view it from the production values of the time and its realization of those two items of interests to fans. In fact it's those values that make this an interesting story to view. So how does The Tenth Planet actually rank so to speak? This was William Hartnell's final Doctor Who story and judging from this story's three surviving episodes (and episode four reconstruction on the VHS release) his time had come. Whether it was by design in the script or the fact that Hartnell was ailing, the first Doctor does very little in his final story. In fact the first Doctor's final story consists almost entirely of him being either a captive or (as in the case of episode three) being unconscious. It's a shame really considering that Hartnell shows that even in his final story he is still capable of bringing authority to his Doctor with the emotions speech to the Cybermen in episode two. As I said it is a shame that the first Doctor can only react to the events around him and not be more proactive like in earlier stories.

The upside to the underwhelming Hartnell is that the companions get to shine. In particular Michael Craze gets to show some chops as Ben. This is no more evident then in fighting a Cyberman in episodes two or episode three where he in fact becomes the focus of the episode. Anneke Willis plays up her role as 60's secretary Polly for the most part though even she gets some good scenes like the scene with her and others in the tracking room talking to the Cybermen in episode two. While Hartnell might not have shinned very brightly in this story his companions sure did.

The supporting cast though is a mixed bunch. There is Robert Beatty's pompous and over the top General Cutler, who kills any realism of him being a military officer and more like a walking talking cliché. On the upside there is David Dodimead's wonderful Doctor Barclay who is as underplaying and believable in his role as Beatty is over the top. That in fact makes Dodimead the best of the supporting cast. While the supporting cast is mainly a group of really nameless technicians there is another group of supporting cast that stands out: the Cybermen.

These Cybermen may look rather silly physically with their cloth faces and car lights attached to their heads but there is potential in them that would later be realized and it is in fact these Cybermen's voices that really stand out some four plus decades later. These Cybermen may also lack the physicality of later stories like The Invasion or Earthshock but one should keep in mind that these Cybermen are a product of their time. That said, while the Cybermen would have better stories later in the 60's (especially The Tomb Of The Cybermen and The Invasion) they make a striking debut here.

In fact it is the Cybermen and the regeneration that raise up this whole story. Without both of them I suspect this would be just another average 1960's "Doctor / companions / supporting cast all under attack" story. Looking at the writing of this story in terms of both plotting and dialogue there is really little stand out material except the dialogue introducing the Cybermen's background and lack of emotions in episode two. While it is not a bad story by any means it lacks many elements of the "classic stories".

So how does The Tenth Planet hold up? Well it has an underwhelming final show by the first Doctor, a good showing by his companions, a mixed supporting cast, the first appearance of the Cybermen, the first regeneration and an average script. It is true that while The Tenth Planet doe shave some stand-out elements it is not a classic story. In fact is rather average in many ways and a little undeserving of its legendary status in my opinion. In short: average but not great.

The beginning of the end, of the end of the beginning......

[Sleepin_Dragon · 10/10 · 10 October 2019]

The Tenth Planet is a monumental story, the first episode is simply terrific. It's now so far removed from its original concept, this is pure futuristic science fiction at its very best. It's 1986, The Doctor, Ben and Polly wonder what life is like, it's December, it's cold, snowing, and there are some unwanted guests.

It's the ultimate base under seige story, it is original, it looks good, feels very futuristic, and features a marvelous performance from the outgoing Hartnell, despite his health suffering greatly by this point, he is commanding, and stands head and shoulders above all other performers here, he decided to go out with a bang.

Fantastic start. 10/10

Historic, very effective and entertaining - First ever Cybermen story and the first ever regeneration for the Doctor

[A_Kind_Of_CineMagic · 10/10 · 21 August 2014]

Review for all 4 parts:

This story from writer Kit Pedler is historic and thankfully the quality matches its importance. And important it really is because the idea of changing the actor playing the Doctor by having him 'regenerate' into a different version of the same character was incredible and untested. It is hard now to imagine how radical this idea was at the time. If it had failed Doctor Who would have been finished whereas as the time of writing we have just celebrated an amazing 50 years of Doctor Who with the show and most of its key elements still continuing as strongly as ever.

As a springboard for all that we have this excellent adventure which also has the historic first ever appearance by the Cybermen. I really like these prototype Cybermen and even their 'sing-song' voices. I think the concept behind them is great and the story itself has them involved in an exciting attempt to destroy humanity. Their unfeeling nature and the scares and action set them up as an iconic 'monster' to rival the Daleks.

All aspects of the production are very good indeed and any flaws are minor. The story unfortunately has the Doctor sidelined a lot of the time which was unnecessary and sad in Hartnell's last regular appearance. However, when he does get involved he is as good as ever, delivering his lines with his usual charisma and that magical touch Hartnell had for being somewhat other worldly and dangerous but also endearing and delightful.

This is a classic which all fans must see. All 4 episodes 10/10.

Average rating for all William Hartnell episodes 8.26/10.

A Landmark

[OneView · 16 March 2006]

"The Tenth Planet" marked a major change in Doctor Who, with its first leading actor, William Hartnell, bowing out of the role he had made his own. In his last appearance, Hartnell has precious little to do, but he brings a sense of authority to his relatively small role in three of the four episodes.

The story is also notable for introducing the Cybermen, robots developed from the organic remnants of a species of humanity from Earth's sister planet. Their costumes are bulky and crude, but the fabric masks stretched across the faces of the actors create an effect like a partly exposed skull. Their presence is mainly limited to episodes two and four. As such, they are seen as more threatening due to the concentration on the human's fear of them and their world.

Production values are quite reasonable with an effective set depicting the Antarctic landscape and the well-executed final moments of Hartnell's Doctor - flickering lights, evocative sound effects and a clever effect showing the change from one actor to another that makes that change barely perceptible.

Of the supporting cast, Robert Beatty is a convincing American general, finding the right balance between loud-mouthed arrogance and quieter concern for a son who may lose his life. Also notable is Earl Cameron, still acting today in 2006 at the age of 88, who portrays a lost astronaut.

'The Tenth Planet' is most notable for what it inspired than what it is. For at least two years after, it would prove a template for Doctor Who, being remade in various forms (notably as another Cybermen story, 'The Moonbase') and its isolated setting under siege being a template for stories such as 'The Ice Warriors' and 'Fury From the Deep.'

Review for the whole serial

[laurawanco · 6/10 · 9 April 2021]

It's the introduction of the Cybermen and William Hartnell's swan song, I'm sad to say it didn't live up to my expectations. There's a lot going on in this one, but beyond the Cybermen there's a lot of telling instead of showing going on. Much like the Daleks though a lot of the core ideas of the Cybermen have remained intact. There's also a nice parallel in this story with the Cybermen being emotionless and uncaring and General Cutler slowly becoming more paranoid and aggressive. Ben gets a chance to shine here, I really like how his first method for dealing with a problem is to fight it, then when that doesn't work he resorts to coming up with an actual plan. As for Hartnell it took a while, but at some point he just clicks in the role. He starts off very cold and self-centered, but gradually comes to appreciate those he travels with. He's also very mysterious, never shining a light on his past or where he came from. He's not all serious though as he's got plenty of lighthearted and comedic moments. He'll by no means go down as my favorite Doctor, but that doesn't undermine the importance of his version.

Side note: Twice Upon a Time kinda did 1 dirty with all the sexist jokes, he's barley if ever like that (unless it's all in the lost episodes I skipped).

The Doctor's Last Stand at the Snowcap Base!

[wetmars · 10/10 · 10 October 2020]

Many years ago, Earth's twin planet, Mondas, drifted away to the edge of space. Its inhabitants grew weak, so their scientists created spare parts for their bodies. Limbs and organs were slowly replaced by metal and plastic. Emotions were removed. The Cybermen were born.

The Doctor's TARDIS lands at the Snowcap space tracking station in Antarctica in December 1986. A routine space mission starts going wrong. When the base personnel's suspicions are roused, the Doctor informs them that the space capsule is being affected by the gravitational pull of another planet - a tenth planet in the Solar system.

The loss of a routine space mission and the appearance of that planet in the sky herald the arrival of the Cybermen, who are intent on the destruction of the Earth and the conversion of all humans into Cybermen. Ben and Polly fight to save the world, but it is a battle that may be the Doctor's very last.

Review for four parts -

I admire this story, I love it, it's so entertaining, the characters are well-written neatly, the Cybermen were downright so terrifying! They sent chills down my spine, I prefer the Mondasian Cybermen to be my most favorite Cybermen, they are the true definition of 'emotionless', they seem very friendly but they are for sure deadly, very deadly. I do like their voices and their dialogue.

"I do not understand you, there are people dying all over your world, yet you do not care about them." I have no words for this quote, it is true, the Cybermen can beat you in an argument. I would like to thank the voice actor who did the Cybermen's tone perfectly done. Just love the concept of the Mondasian Cybermen, what makes them scary is that they have a very human-like appearance, seem very friendly, they're the true definition of 'emotionless', and the way they speak with their mouth opens is unnerving.

The later Cybermen in the NuWho seems to have an angry tone, very hostile, they gunpoint at people and force them to be upgraded into Cybermen, I don't see the later Cybermen as "utterly terrifying".

This story also introduced the concept of 'Regeneration' which truly made Doctor Who immortal and still runs 57 years now. It was so sad to see Hartnell go, he's somewhat an underrated Doctor, people just now think of them as a grumpy old sexist man, but no! He's far greater than that, he has a complex personality? I do enjoy Hartnell being the Doctor, he does an astounding job at it. The Doctor gave out a wonderful defining moment where he was saying Goodbye to Susan and one day, he shall come back, yes he shall come back. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs and prove to him that he is not mistaken in himself.

Such a classic story that introduced a great concept of regeneration and the utterly terrifying Mondasian Cybermen, 10/10.