(628) Attack of the Cybermen - Part 2

I was thinking before I started to watch today’s episode about the 45 minute format. I think that before 2005, I wasn’t keen on the longer format as I somehow felt that I wasn’t getting a better deal in terms of storytelling. Having had a decade (nearly) of 45 minute episodes, I can now appreciate the longer running time in the classic era. I don’t think that I appreciated certain moments leading up to the cliffhanger in the previous episode enough. The shot of Russell shooting a Cyberman close up is one of the more violent instances in this serial. The death of Russell is dealt with quite interesting because after the reprise, you don’t actually get to see Russell’s body and that is so Terry Molloy doesn’t have to get paid for a second episode which is perhaps smart financial sense.

The first couple of minutes are quite dramatic as everyone boards the TARDIS and the Doctor is threatening to blow up the TARDIS if the Cybermen don’t let Peri go. It is perhaps unfortunate they use BBC computer graphics to illustrate the countdown timer. That aside, it’s a good little moment and the episode is filled with these good little moments. The Doctor really doesn’t trust Lytton which starts quite early on in the episode and becomes almost a theme.

Michael Kilgarriff is the Cyber Controller and at a risk of being mean, he is quite a large Cyber Controller. Kilgarrif has previously played the K1 robot in Robot (1974) and I think that it was perhaps unfortunate that he does appear to be a bit on the large size.

There is a bit of a backstory given to why the Cybermen adopted Telos as their home world. The problem with this period in the show is that continuity started to creep too much into the show but on this occasion it works quite well because it all seems to tie in together. The touchy subject of what happened in The Tenth Planet is raised between the Doctor, Peri, Lytton and Griffiths. Oddly enough the year that this particular story takes place in is a year in advance of when this story was transmitted.

The sight of the Cybermen in the console room of the TARDIS without the Doctor is a very strange one but it’s one that I like. Peri has a change of costume in this episode, even the Cybermen understand that Nicola Bryant wasn’t particularly well dressed for Telos. When the story moves to Telos properly, the thing that stands out about the set for the tombs is that it is just as grim as the quarry.

If there is one aspect of this serial that doesn’t quite work then it is the introduction of the Cryons. Visually they are something that are very 1980’s. Their story is interesting in the build-up but when they appear then it’s a little bit disappointing. It’s the eyes which just a silly and also the moustache that appears to be on their faces which looked equally silly. Sarah Greene (Varne) and Faith Brown (Flast) are two of the Cryons who were quite famous in the 1980’s. Greene having appeared in Blue Peter (1980-1983) and Going Live for several years. Brown is someone that I am not as familiar with but apparently she was a big name.

Bates and Stratton’s foolhardy plan to take one the Cybermen’s ships does seem to have a better chance of success when they team up with Lytton and Griffiths. There is a nice progression of the character of Lytton during this episode. When the Cyberman squeeze Lytton’s hands so that blood comes out of them is one of the reasons why the too much violence line was pointed at the show during this time. It was too excessive in my opinion and slightly disconnected me from the story for a brief moment. The deaths of Bates, Stratton and Griffiths are grim but happen quite quickly. Unlike Lytton’s death which takes place over several minutes after he is being converted by the Cybermen. Lytton had been working for the Cryons and so that makes his conversion quite sad.  The Doctor’s reaction after he has been killed is a nice moment.

The Death of the Cyber Controller and that whole scene is another dramatic moment but it shows the Doctor attacking and is another example of how different Baker’s Doctor is going to be very different to Peter Davison’s Doctor.

The Doctor believes that the Timelords have manipulated matters to get the Doctor on Telos. The Doctor and Flast come up with a plan to use powerful explosives against the Cybermen. The scene when a Cyberman is attacked by the explosives and its quite good. Flast’s death is quite grim as she is forced outside the chamber and she basically burns to death.

The episode ends with the Doctor attacking himself for misjudging Lytton but I think that he acted like most people would have done. Ok so Lytton turned out to be a good guy but if you base you impression on the last encounter then the Doctor probably did act the right way. Maybe if Lytton had acted different in their first encounter then things would have worked out differently.

It feels like this is the first story that Colin Baker’s Doctor should have started off with. It was one of the best Cyberman stories even better than Earthshock. At the moment the story is in fourth position and I think that is a fair position for it to be in. There were some moments that I think were perhaps misjudged but apart from that I thought this is one of the prime examples of why Colin Baker was underrated as a Doctor.

(627) Attack of the Cybermen - Part 1

Today is the first episode of the 22^nd season. Something I forgot to mention with episode 3 of The Twin Dilemma and that was it was the 100^th episode for John Nathan Turner as producer meaning he is only the second producer in Doctor Who history to his the 100 mark. This is the first of the new 45 minute episodes and also the first story to feature on a Saturday since Logopolis back in 1981. This is an Eric Saward script but it is credited to Paula Moore although there is a lot of confusion about this because it seems that continuity advisor Ian Levine suggested some idea. Moore only acted as the author of this to avoid any problems with the Writers’ Guild. What is more certain is the involvement of the director. After his success on Resurrection of the Daleks, Matthew Robinson was asked to come back for this. He wasn’t the original director intended but I think that Robinson was the right person to direct this serial because he is someone that like Graeme Harper, can inject some energy into the action.

There is a really nice opening scene between to characters who don’t have much of an involvement in the story. It’s helped that the sewer scene is so badly lit because that in itself creates the atmosphere even before the performances begin. Some mysterious figure kills the two workers then sometime later kills Payne. Even though Cybermen is in the title, it’s good that they have at least held back on stating the obvious and have the Cybermen appear early on.

This episode sees the Doctor try and fix the Chameleon Circuit. The chameleon circuit working means that the traditional iconic Police Box design is replaced and it seems to be purely to act as a source of comedy. Also the fact that the TARDIS materialises in 76 Totters Lane is a huge continuity nod and seems like a little bit of a joke.

The opening scene with the Doctor and Peri does seem a bit more toned down than in The Twin Dilemma. It does seem that Colin Baker has got a handle on the role know and the loudness of his opening performance has been replace with a cocky but more likeable Doctor. Nicola Bryant has a better time than she has had in her two previous adventures but sadly her performance is overshadowed by the bright pink lycra costume that she wears.

Lytton’s return is welcomed and he seems to have turned to criminal activities as he is interested in £10 million worth of diamonds. As well as Lytton (in a rather dapper suit), the two police officers from Resurrection make an appearance although have more involvement than in the previous story where their actions consisted of shooting a stranger on the banks of the Thames.

This episode sees Terry Molloy out of the Davros costume. This was Matthew Robinson’s way of thanking Molloy for what he had to put up with in Resurrection of the Daleks. He plays Russell and I like the character because he is the one of the team that doesn’t trust or like Lytton. Another familiar face is Brian Glover who plays Griffiths. He is perhaps famous for appearing in such shows Kes (1969), Porridge (1974), Bottom (1991) and Alien 3 (1993). He doesn’t come across as the smartest person in the world but he is a likeable character. Maurice Colbourne is really fun in this serial and seems to be thriving not being with the Daleks. The insults that Lytton delivers to Griffiths are the few moments of comedy in this serial.

The Cybermen’s appearance happens where the 25 minute episode would normally end. It’s a good start for them and when Lytton wants to work with the Cybermen it comes as quite a bit of a mystery. It’s not quite clear what their involvement is but there is the sense that they are going to be using people for converting. Part of the action takes place on Telos which was briefly seen in the 1967 adventure Tomb of the Cybermen. It really does look like a grim place, the 1967 version seems like a quarry with a nice sun but this version is grim with a lack of warmth. The stuff that happens of Telos is seen through the eyes of Bates (Michael Attwell) and Stratton (Jonathan David) who are trying to escape but aren’t the smartest people ever. They are involved in another violent scene where they decapitate a Cyberman’s head but I suspect things are going to get more grim in the next episode.

It’s fun seeing the scene between Colin Baker and Terry Molloy because there will be another encounter between them but in the final story of the season except next time Molloy will be dressed as Davros.

As the Doctor doesn’t have his Sonic Screwdriver anymore, he seems to have created a sonic lance which doesn’t have quite the ring to it. The Doctor killing a Cybermen is quite violent for the show and it does show a different tone in terms of style from Colin Baker’s Doctor to Peter Davison’s.

The final scene leading up to the cliffhanger is rather actioned packed. The Doctor, Griffiths and Peri enter the TARDIS but Cybermen are already waiting for them. Peri is about to be attacked by Cybermen before screaming. This is quite a good cliffhanger and the whole episode in general is impressive. I can get past the violent moments that take place in the episode because everything around it was so enjoyable. The performances were superb, the directing was superb and even the writing was on the same level which even if you can get to the bottom of that confusing part is good. The new 45 minute format is working well so far and I look forward to final part.