Doctor Who (TV Series) The Tomb of the Cybermen: Episode 1 (1967) User Reviews

Classic Doctor Who.

[poolandrews · 7/10 · 28 October 2007]

Doctor Who: The Tomb of the Cybermen: Episode 1 starts as the Doctor (Patrick Troughton), Jamie (Frazer Hines) & Victoria (Deborah Watling) arrive on the planet of Telos in the TARDIS, there they come across an archaeological expedition from Earth lead by Professor Parry (Aubrey Richards) who are trying to find the lost tombs of the Cybermen. When the word Cybermen is mentioned the Doctor becomes interested & helps the team break into the tombs, at first the tombs seem deserted but not for long as the Cybermen aren't as dormant as everyone first thought...

Episode 1 from season 5 this Doctor Who adventure originally aired here in the UK during September 1967 & was Patrick Troughton's first story from his second season, The Tomb of the Cybermen is a four part story which was wiped during the early 70's by the BBC & thought lost forever but all four episodes were discovered in 1991 as 16mm recordings at a TV station in Hong Kong & were subsequently returned to the BBC & has been released both on VHS & DVD. Since none of Troughton's first seven stories from his first season exist in their entirety The Tomb of the Cybermen is the oldest complete surviving Troughton story & is in fact the only complete surviving story from Troughton's first two seasons. Originally given the titles Planet of the Cybermen & The Ice Tombs of Telos this was directed by Morris Barry I rather enjoyed the opening episode of The Tomb of the Cybermen although one has to say there is a distinct lack of Cybermen so far, the script by Kit Pedler & Gerry Davis has started off rather nicely with a ominous feeling build up as the team & the Doctor enter the Cybermen's tomb & you just know that something is going to happen & the script manages to create a fair amount of tension. I must admit I didn't like the cliffhanger ending that much &, well I'd have liked to have seen some proper Cyberman action in this their third appearance in the show having last appeared in a story from Troughton's first season called The Moonbase (1967). I mean the story is called The Tomb of the Cybermen after all so it's not like the makers were trying to keep their presence a secret was it?

The old Doctor Who stories usually have really cheap production values (then again so do the modern ones...) but I was pretty impressed with The Tomb of the Cybermen, the sets look good & the Cybermen computer terminals look alright too & haven't dated as badly as a lot of 60's sci-fi. In fact I'd go as far as to say The Tomb of the Cybermen looks as good if not better than a lot of the horrible pantomime quality sets from Doctor Who during the 80's. There hasn't been any special effects in this one, we didn't even see the TARDIS materialise.

The Tomb of the Cybermen: Episode 1 is a great way for any self respecting Doctor Who fan to spend 25 minutes, I'm sure this is a story which would appeal to those who aren't huge Doctor Who fans & sci-fi fans in general as well as anyone looking for a bit of sci-fi entertainment.

The start of a classic.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 6 June 2017]

Having taken Victoria with them following her tragic encounter with the Daleks, she, The Doctor and Jamie land on a planet, and encounter a group of archaeologists, it turns out they're on the planet Telos, hunting the remains of the Cybermen. They discover the tomb together, and assume that what remains is dead.

I am fully aware that there was a huge amount of hype surrounding the discovery of this series, and that it perhaps didn't fully live up to the high expectations. In my humble opinion though I love this story, this first part is loaded with atmosphere and expectation, it boasts fantastic characters, notably Klieg and Kaftan.

I truly love the trio of Troughton, Hines and Watling,the sense of camaraderie is evident for all to see.

Very little not to love 9/10

It Is A Classic Despite The Hype

[Theo Robertson · 8/10 · 18 August 2013]

Refers to all four episodes

Arriving on the Planet of Telos the Doctor , Jamie and new companion Victoria Waterfield find an expedition from Earth who are excavating the ancient tombs of the Cybermen who have disappeared from the Galaxy and appear to have to become extinct . Going through the Tombs the Cybermen may not be extinct in the literal sense of the word and it's becoming clear that there's a saboteur amongst the party

For reasons due to the BBC purging their archive television material in the 1970s an act that would have made Stalin proud this is the third Cyberman story in a row that I've reviewed for this site and also means that Victoria doesn't have an introductory story which is a pity because the previous story that ended season 4 The Evil Of The Daleks is considered one of the all time greats of any archive television you care to mention which would the last Dalek story of the 1960s . By now the Cybermen were the show's most identifiable aliens , almost but not quite as popular as the Daleks That said there is a linking sequence of sorts where the Doctor explains time travel to Victoria before the opening credits start

This story kick starts season five of the show and both the opening story and the season it opens are considered amongst the very best the show has given us . Tomb has a very interesting mythos behind it because it was another victim of the BBC 70s purge and not a single clip remained of it until a copy it turned up in Hong Kong in 1992 which was returned to the BBC and rushed released on to video . Between the news of its finding and its release fandom went in to meltdown since it was considered he holy grail of lost DOCTOR WHO material . To have it released led to the hype that it's the fandom equivalent of the second coming

This type of hyperbole does work against it to a degree but regardless of that this is a very good story indeed . It's DOCTOR WHO doing what it does best - horror lite and this owes a lot to Hammer horror movies . At this point in history DOCTOR WHO wasn't all that interested in contrast in the way the Hartnell era was interested in contrast but it's so well done here it's difficult not to care that almost every single story of the era just wanted to send the younger audience screaming and running behind the sofa . The Cybermen themselves don't make an appearance until the episode two cliffhanger but that there's so much atmosphere , mystery and suspense built up it doesn't matter in the slightest

I used to babysit my brother in 1992 and used to take a DOCTOR WHO video down to watch and my brother had very little interest in the show and would always be bored by the stories . That is with the exception of this one where he sat glued to the screen unable to not watch it , compelled by it and only spoke once to state that " They don't look like Cybermen " indeed to don't look anything like the ones from the 1980s but not even really Cybermen , they're metaphorical monsters like Vampires , Mummies or Zombies brought back to life to stalk and convert the humans in to them . I also remember reading a similar story of some bloke who was babysitting his relatives young kids and they'd no concept of th show and were playing on the floor while their uncle watched his newly bought video . Within a few minutes all the children were hypnotized by the on screen events and the writer of the letter said he was so amazed he felt the need to write on and share this magical moment

It is dated and some people might get a bit outraged that all the bad guys are invariably characters who are not of White Anglo Saxon stock which implies old fashioned ideals , and there's a couple of revealing mistakes such as " Oh is that harness I see " but apart from that this is a very solid DOCTOR WHO story that will have a compelling effect on children of all ages

Great entertaining adventure, superb start to a superb season.

[A_Kind_Of_CineMagic · 10/10 · 28 August 2014]

Review of all 4 episodes:

This story of an archaeological expedition in the future searching for the remnants of the Cybermen is rightly highly praised. It is great TV with thrills, fun and the Doctor on usual good form. Many people herald this as one of the all time top 10 or 20 greatest classic stories in the history of the series and I think that is only a very tiny exaggeration of its quality. It is a truly great 4 part story with only a few small imperfections. Parts 1, 2 and 4 are 10/10 classic episodes, whilst not necessarily absolutely perfect they are deserving of top marks overall. Part 3 has a few scenes that are less impressive but it is still brilliant and I rate Part 3 as 9/10.

The only real flaw in the production is the American characters Captain Hopper and Jim Callum which are cheesily written and woodenly performed. It is mainly the fact there are more scenes involving them in Part 3 that hold it back slightly from top marks. Thankfully they are not in it very much in the rest of the story.

Season 5 of Doctor Who is one of the most popular and highly regarded and I 100 percent agree with that as it is in my top 5 Doctor Who series of all time. In my opinion this story is mostly magical, memorable, exciting and fun but even then it is not quite as good as some of other stories that followed in series 5 like The Abominable Snowmen, The Ice Warriors or The Web of Fear which are even more magical and near perfect.

The ideas of Cybermen in a tomb and them coming out of their 'cocoons' are thrilling ideas and provide some great moments. The Cybermen themselves are marvelous villains although I am in the minority who feel their voices during this period are inferior to the earlier 'sing song' voices used in The Tenth Planet. The Doctor and Jamie are really entertaining throughout the story (although you as always have to suspend disbelief a bit with Jamie at times as he copes with time travel and science slightly too well for his supposedly simple Scottish Highlander character from the past). There is plenty of good dialogue and action and only a few less well executed scenes along the way.

Overall it is excellent and an all time classic but look forward to a few other stories later in Season 5 which I feel are even better!

Well, now I know you're mad. I just wanted to make sure.

[laurawanco · 8/10 · 10 April 2021]

It's the first appearance of the cybermats! I still don't really get why the Cybermen need them, but they're cute and Linkara likes them so who cares. Even more importantly the Cybermen have a theme song here, not sure it ever comes back, but I kinda hope it does because I dug it. I really like the dynamic between Jamie and the Doctor, I had heard great things about his time on the show and he hasn't disappointed. Victoria was alright, she's a bit tougher that some of the other female companions have been so she has the going for her. She also gets a nice moment with the Doctor as they both discuss those they've lost and how they deal with it. On a totally unrelated note I love that everyone in the hatch is freezing, then there's Jamie wearing a kilt because he's a Scottish highlander and he's gonna make sure everyone knows it.

Side note: I think my reviews for this show are gonna start being focused more on my observations and less on analyzing. Depending on how much there is to say about the plot of each serial of course, but for ones where I don't have much to say that'll definitely be the case. Otherwise I think they'd just become really repetitive.

Episode 1 - the plot thickens

[Glen_Chapman · 9/10 · 21 January 2011]

Although I've never considered myself a Cyberman fan, I really enjoyed the brooding set up this first of 4 episode. A strange deserted city is presented with the knowledge we know it is the home of the cybermen and we really know they are not dead. It is not stated in the episode, but we just know, just like the Doctor The cast is competent, although the bad guy/girl Klieg and Kaftan seem a little more stock standard and Hammer Horror orientated than the others.

The cliff hanger does not seem to make a lot of sense at this stage, but I assume as always the reasons for the death of the scientist and Jamie becoming almost hypnotized will be revealed

Another Classic! You shall belong to us. You shall be like us...

[wetmars · 10/10 · 15 November 2020]

The TARDIS arrives on the planet Telos, where an Earth archaeological expedition led by Professor Parry is trying to uncover the lost tombs of the Cybermen. With a lot of help from the Doctor, the archaeologists enter the tombs. There, one of the party, Klieg, reveals himself and his business partner, Kaftan, to be planning to revive the Cybermen.

He wants to use their strength, allied with the intelligence of his own Brotherhood of Logicians, to create an invincible force for conquest. It transpires, however, that the tomb is actually a giant trap designed to lure humans suitable for conversion into Cybermen - a fate that almost befalls Kaftan's assistant Toberman.

After fending off an attack by Cybermats - small but dangerous cybernetic creatures - the Doctor destroys the Controller, defeats the revived Cybermen and reseals the tombs.

Review of all four episodes -

As more DW viewers sent many letters to the BBC to bring back the Cybermen, they indeed bring back the Cybermen once more but in an way that'll forever make this story a great classic!

A great scene I love to share with you: "Are you happy with us, Victoria? Yes, I know, I know. You miss him very much, don't you? No, of course you won't. But, you know, the memory of him won't always be a sad one. Eh? Oh yes, I can when I want to. And that's the point, really. I have to really want to, to bring them back in front of my eyes. The rest of the time they... they sleep in my mind and I forget. And so will you. Oh yes, you will. You'll find there's so much else to think about. To remember. Our lives are different to anybody's else's. That's the exciting thing! There's nobody in the universe can do what we're doing." Such a heartwarming scene between the Doctor and Victoria.

I do fricking love the set designs of the wall that shows the Cybermen, no words for me to describe how cool they are. An Interesting fact, though, is that some sort of orange squash was provided in the studio for the actors playing the Cybermen, who got very hot inside their heavy costumes. Poor them, it was the 60s, back then.

Jamie and Victoria did perfectly well in this one. I'm delighted to see Victoria's development arc from being a total shy girl who is grieving over her father died due to the Daleks to something else. Jamie was just engaging.

Many watchers after they watched this story got to enjoy watching the Cybermen more than the Daleks. I wish that the Cybercontroller's head exploded when the Tombdoors were sealed. How awesome would that be? But, it would be quite controversial if they did that.

10/10.

Effective early outing for the best of the Who enemies

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 15 November 2014]

Review of the Complete Story:

The Cybermen have always been my favourite villains in the DOCTOR WHO franchise and THE TOMB OF THE CYBERMEN, a serial for second Doctor Patrick Troughton, has given me the opportunity to see what they looked like in the 1960s. And they don't disappoint; TOMB OF THE CYBERMEN is an effective and atmospheric outing showcasing this programme at its best.

Troughton is on top form as the impish Doctor, interrupting an archaeological expedition when it transpires that those involved are plotting to resurrect his age-old foe. Inevitably it all goes wrong and the Cybermen are once more brought back to life with thrilling results. Although the old cyber-suits were more clunky back in these days, the episodes are nevertheless good: suspenseful, full of action, twists and danger.

Fans of the era should watch out for Hammer veteran George Pastell playing yet another weaselly character while Roy Stewart makes an impact as an imposing strongman. Frazer Hines and Deborah Watling have a good repartee as the companions, but inevitably it's the Cybermen themselves who are the stars of the show here and who can disagree with that?

It Takes a Brilliant Intellectual to Do Something Really Stupid

[JamesHitchcock · 6/10 · 18 May 2022]

The Doctor and his travelling companions Jamie McCrimmon and Victoria Waterfield arrive on the planet Telos at the same time as an archaeological expedition. The explorers have come to find the remains of the Cybermen, who are believed to have died out five hundred years earlier and to be buried in an underground tomb on the planet. This, however, is no ordinary tomb; it is more like a laboratory containing scientific equipment which, despite the lapse of five centuries is still in good working order. The tomb is also well guarded by traps; one of the members of the team is electrocuted when he tries to open the doors. It eventually becomes clear that the Cybermen are not dead but merely frozen, awaiting re-animation by unwary travellers.

Moreover, it also emerges that the financiers of the expedition, Eric Klieg and a woman known as Kaftan, were well aware that the Cybermen could be revived. Indeed, their sole purpose (unknown to the scientific members of the expedition) was to revive them. They are members of the Brotherhood of Logicians, a sort of super-Mensa of brilliant intellectuals, who believe that with their intellect and the Cybermen's physical strength they will be able to dominate the world. Klieg sees himself as the future Dictator of Planet Earth; his logic is that the Cybermen will willingly serve him out of gratitude for their resurrection. The flaw in his logic, of course, is that gratitude is an emotion wholly alien to the Cybermen. (Indeed, they seem incapable of any emotion other than a will to power even more ruthless than Klieg's own). Which only goes to show that it takes a brilliant intellectual to do something really stupid. It falls to the Doctor and his companions to save the day.

"The Tomb of the Cybermen" is not, in my view, the greatest "Doctor Who" serial. It takes its time to get going, and the plot at times seems over-elaborate. (My synopsis above is greatly simplified). Those "Cybermats", robotic creatures looking like a cross between a giant silverfish and a child's toy, look too strange and whimsical to be really frightening. The character of Toberman, the only black member of the expedition- stolid, silent, employed only for his physical strength- can look like a racist stereotype fifty-odd years on.

I was, however, glad to catch the serial on television because it is a reminder of how good Patrick Troughton could be as the Doctor. I was only a young child during his tenure in the late sixties, so I do not have the vivid memories of him that I do of Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker. Watching serials like this, however, remind me that his Second Doctor, however, was a wonderful character- humorous, kindly, rather disorganised and somewhat dishevelled. This serial also featured one of my favourite companions, Frazer Hines's feisty Jamie, whom I, strangely enough, remember better than I do the Second Doctor. (Possibly because he shared by own Christian name).

Unfortunately, most of the serials in which Troughton starred are missing or incomplete due to the short-sighted, penny-pinching policy of the BBC during the seventies, which allowed tapes of old programmes to be erased so they could be reused. At one time it was thought that "The Tomb of the Cybermen" was one of these lost serials; thank goodness it was later rediscovered and restored to the BBC archives.

Blatant casual racism against black people make this a difficult watch

[TARDIS_Tech_Support · 4/10 · 24 October 2023]

Between racism against Turkish people in the previous serial, and now Black people, it's tough to forget how racist 1960s England was, despite wearing a progressive front throughout the series. I realize the over-wokeness of the 13th Doctor's run (i.e. Being spoken at as if you were 5 years old about social matters instead of being treated as an adult that mostly agrees with what they have to say) is not the way to go, but jeepers they made this strong black man speak like a tribal stereotype of the 1800s. I really enjoy this serial, but this stands out like a neon sign, and it's just hard to get past it.