Attack of the Cybermen
Encyclopedia
Attack of the Cybermen is a serial in the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 science fiction television series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...

, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts from 5 January to 12 January 1985. It opened Season 22 of the series. Beginning with this serial and continuing for the remainder of Season 22, episodes were 45 minutes in length (as opposed to previous episodes which were 25 minutes long); for syndication, in some markets, this serial is re-edited into four 25-minute segments.

Synopsis

The Sixth Doctor
Sixth Doctor
The Sixth Doctor is the sixth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by Colin Baker...

 and Peri
Peri Brown
Peri Brown, full name Perpugilliam Brown, is a fictional character played by Nicola Bryant in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who....

 encounter the mercenary Lytton, stranded on planet Earth and in the employ of the Cybermen
Cyberman
The Cybermen are a fictional race of cyborgs who are amongst the most persistent enemies of the Doctor in the British science fiction television series, Doctor Who. Cybermen were originally a wholly organic species of humanoids originating on Earth's twin planet Mondas that began to implant more...

. A plot is being hatched that aims to change the history of Earth
History of Earth
The history of the Earth describes the most important events and fundamental stages in the development of the planet Earth from its formation 4.578 billion years ago to the present day. Nearly all branches of natural science have contributed to the understanding of the main events of the Earth's...

 in favour of the Cyber-race, and the Doctor finds himself on an alien planet he has visited before as he tries to defeat his enemies and work out who he can trust to help him.

Plot

In the sewers of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, two workers are attacked by an unseen force. In the meantime, The Doctor is trying to make repairs to the TARDIS
TARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...

's systems, in particular the chameleon circuit, which will enable the ship to alter its external form to something more suitable than the police box
Police box
A police box is a British telephone kiosk or callbox located in a public place for the use of members of the police, or for members of the public to contact the police...

 it normally looks like. His efforts have little success though and cause the ship to behave chaotically in-flight, much to Peri's consternation. The Doctor eventually manages to pilot the TARDIS to Earth in the year 1985, where he treats Peri to the sight of Halley's Comet, although Peri is more worried about the prospect of crashing into it.

Back on Earth, the former Dalek
Dalek
The Daleks are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Within the series, Daleks are cyborgs from the planet Skaro, created by the scientist Davros during the final years of a thousand-year war against the Thals...

 mercenary Lytton (from Resurrection of the Daleks
Resurrection of the Daleks
Resurrection of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts between 8 February and 15 February 1984...

) has apparently taken up a new life as a London gangster
Gangster
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Some gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from mob and the suffix -ster....

, and is plotting a £10 million diamond raid on the Bank of England
Bank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...

 with his cohorts Griffiths, Payne and Russell. The four intend to enter the bank the same sewers that the two workmen were ambushed in, though Lytton activates a strange transmitter before they enter the sewer. This emits a distress signal that the Doctor picks up, and he lands the TARDIS in a scrapyard in Totter's Lane to investigate. The TARDIS changes shape, albeit to a rather conspicuous ornamental stove
Stove
A stove is an enclosed heated space. The term is commonly taken to mean an enclosed space in which fuel is burned to provide heating, either to heat the space in which the stove is situated or to heat the stove itself, and items placed on it...

. After some searching around the area, he determines that the transmitter in that area is a dummy, and returns to the TARDIS to find the real source. They arrive at the sewer entrance (where the TARDIS reshapes itself into an organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...

) and find the transmitter, but are attacked by two policemen who are under Lytton's control. After dealing with them, the Doctor and Peri enter the sewers.

In the sewers, Payne falls behind the other three, and is beaten to death by the force that attacked the workers. In the meantime, Lytton and the other two come to a dead end, and find a Cyberman approaching them. Griffiths shoots it, but Lytton disarms him and surrenders himself to the Cybermen, who have a base in the sewers. Russell flees and encounters the Doctor and Peri, and after an initial misunderstanding he reveals himself to be an undercover police officer, who is investigating Lytton.

On the Cybermen's adopted homeworld of Telos
Telos (Doctor Who)
Telos is a fictional planet from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is an arid and mountainous planet, with little sign of vegetation...

, two slaves named Bates and Stratton escape from their work party and decapitate a Cyberman so that they can use its helmet to disguise Stratton as a Cyberman and enter Cyber Control. The Cybermen have captured a time-travelling vessel from Bates and Stratton, who intend to reclaim it and escape from Telos.

The Doctor, Peri and Russell return to the TARDIS, where they are ambushed by the Cybermen, who have also brought Lytton and Griffiths with them. Russell manages to kill two of them, but is then killed himself, and the Cyber Leader orders the other Cybermen to kill Peri.

However, the Doctor threatens to self-destruct
Self-destruct
A self-destruct is a mechanism which causes a device to destroy itself under a predefined set of circumstances.Self-destruct mechanisms are also found on devices and systems where malfunction could endanger large numbers of people...

 the TARDIS if the Cybermen do not release her. The Leader agrees to spare their lives, and reveals that the Cyber Controller (whom the Doctor had previously thought destroyed
The Tomb of the Cybermen
The Tomb of the Cybermen is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that originally aired in four weekly parts from September 2 to September 23, 1967 and is the earliest serial starring Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor to exist in its entirety...

) is still alive on Telos. Reluctantly, the Doctor sets course for Telos, and is imprisoned in one of the TARDIS's rooms along with Peri, Lytton and Griffiths. During the journey to Telos the Doctor fills Peri and Griffiths in on the history of Telos and its former inhabitants, the Cryons, who the Cybermen apparently wiped out in order to use their refrigerated cities to keep the Cybermen in cryogenic stasis
Cryonics
Cryonics is the low-temperature preservation of humans and animals who can no longer be sustained by contemporary medicine, with the hope that healing and resuscitation may be possible in the future. Cryopreservation of people or large animals is not reversible with current technology...

. All the while, the Doctor notes that Lytton seems oddly familiar with the history of the Cybermen, Telos and the Cryons.

Meanwhile on Telos, it is revealed that most of the hibernating Cybermen have somehow become damaged, and go on a rampage destroying anything in their path when revived. The TARDIS arrives on Telos (now looking like an ornamental gate), but in the depths of the Cybermen's cryogenic tombs rather than in Cyber Control thanks to the Doctors interference. Just as the Cybermen prepare to take the four there, a damaged Cyberman breaks out of its tomb and destroys one of the other Cybermen, before the leader disposes of it. Lytton, Griffiths and Peri escape in the confusion, but the Doctor does not. Peri is nearly killed by another rampaging Cyberman before two Cryons - who it turns out are not extinct after all, and have been sabotaging the tombs, resulting in the damaged Cybermen - deal with it and take Peri to safety. In the meantime, Lytton and Griffiths meet with another Cryon, and it transpires that Lytton has been working for them all the time. Griffiths is offered £2 million in diamonds (which are very common on Telos) if he will help Lytton to capture the time vessel. The two subsequently track down Bates and Stratton, who it transpires are failed attempts of Cyber-conversion who have had their arms and legs replaced by mechanical equivalents. The four agree to work together in order to escape Telos.

The Doctor is imprisoned in a cold storage room with Flast, the former leader of the Cryons. She reveals that the Cybermen intend to prevent their original homeworld of Mondas from being destroyed, by using their timeship to divert Halley's Comet into Earth, which will render it incapable of protecting itself from an attack by Mondas the following year
The Tenth Planet
The Tenth Planet is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 8 October to 29 October 1966. It was William Hartnell's last regular appearance as the First Doctor, and the first story to feature the Cybermen...

. By a stroke of luck however, the cold storage room happens to be filled with vastial, a mineral that becomes a powerful explosive when raised significantly above freezing point. The Doctor uses some to dispose of a guarding Cyberman then gives Flast a sonic lance to heat up the vastial to detonation point before he escapes. Flast puts the sonic lance in a box of vastial which she then hides away, and shortly afterwards the Cybermen arrive and suspecting that she helped the Doctor escape, torture her to death by throwing her out into the much warmer corridor, where her blood quickly boils away.

Lytton, Griffiths, Bates and Stratton get through Cyber Control, but Lytton is captured near the landing pad. The Cyber Controller demands that Lytton tell him his plans, and when he refuses to do so, has two other Cybermen torture him by crushing his hands. Lytton still does not tell them anything though, and the Controller orders that he be converted into a Cyberman. The other three make it to the landing pad, but their efforts prove to be for nothing as a Cyberman emerges from the time ship and shoots them dead. In the meantime the Doctor manages to reclaim the TARDIS and the Cryons return Peri to him. However, they also reveal that Lytton was working for them all along, rather than the Cybermen as the Doctor assumed, and he agrees to try and save him.

The TARDIS arrives in Cyber Control (with the chameleon circuit stuck in police box form once more), where the Doctor finds a partially converted Lytton who begs the Doctor to kill him
Euthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....

. The Doctor still tries to free Lytton, but the Controller arrives with a gun. Lytton attacks the Controller, who in turns strikes back and kills Lytton. The Cyber Leader and his lieutenant also arrive, but end up killing each other in the crossfire. The Doctor then grabs one of the dropped guns and shoots the Controller, finally destroying it. However, it's too late to save Lytton, leaving the Doctor feeling guilty at having misjudged his character. He and Peri escape in the TARDIS, and seconds later the rigged box of vastial detonates, setting off a chain reaction of explosions that obliterates Cyber Control and the tombs.

Continuity

  • This story takes place immediately after The Twin Dilemma
    The Twin Dilemma
    The Twin Dilemma is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts from 22 March to 30 March 1984, the first to star Colin Baker in the title role.-Synopsis:...

    . Peri is still worried about the Doctor's problem regenerating, and the Doctor says they need a rest after Jaconda. This story has been criticised for relying heavily on elements from Doctor Whos past, confusing all but hardcore fans of the series.

  • The scrapyard where the TARDIS arrives in London is supposed to be the same location from which the Doctor departed in the first Doctor Who story, An Unearthly Child
    An Unearthly Child
    The serial that became An Unearthly Child was originally commissioned from writer Anthony Coburn in June 1963, when it was intended to run as the second Doctor Who serial. At this stage, it was planned that the series would open with a serial entitled The Giants, to be written by BBC staff...

    . The Doctor would again revisit the scrapyard in Remembrance of the Daleks
    Remembrance of the Daleks
    Remembrance of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 5 October to 26 October 1988....

    . The events of that story seem to take place shortly after the Doctor left in 1963.
  • The TARDIS changes from its police box
    Police box
    A police box is a British telephone kiosk or callbox located in a public place for the use of members of the police, or for members of the public to contact the police...

     shape for the first time when the Doctor manages to repair the chameleon circuit. It takes the shape of a decorated stove
    Stove
    A stove is an enclosed heated space. The term is commonly taken to mean an enclosed space in which fuel is burned to provide heating, either to heat the space in which the stove is situated or to heat the stove itself, and items placed on it...

    , a pipe organ
    Pipe organ
    The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...

    , and an ornamental gateway.
  • Peri claims that the Doctor has called her "Tegan
    Tegan Jovanka
    Tegan Jovanka is a fictional character played by Janet Fielding in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. An Australian airline stewardess and a native of Brisbane who was a companion of the Fourth and Fifth Doctors, she was a regular in the programme from 1981 to...

    , Zoe, Susan
    Susan Foreman
    Susan Foreman is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The granddaughter and original companion of the First Doctor, she was played by actress Carole Ann Ford from 1963 to 1964, in the show's first season and the first two stories of the second season...

    " and "Jamie
    Jamie McCrimmon
    James Robert "Jamie" McCrimmon is a fictional character played by Frazer Hines in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A piper of the Clan McLaren who lived in 18th century Scotland, he was a companion of the Second Doctor and a regular in the programme from 1966...

    ", as well as the "Terrible Zodin". Zodin is a never-seen character first referenced in The Five Doctors
    The Five Doctors
    The Five Doctors is a special feature-length episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, produced in celebration of the programme's twentieth anniversary. It had its world premiere in the United States, on the Chicago PBS station WTTW and various other PBS member stations...

     and later mentioned in a Martha Jones
    Martha Jones
    Martha Jones is a fictional character played by Freema Agyeman in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. She is a companion of the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who, replacing Rose Tyler...

     blog entry labelled Infinity on the official Martha Jones Myspace site.
  • This story has a scene where the Doctor shoots the Cyberleader with a laser rifle, a rare occasion in which the character has used a gun (although the Fifth Doctor
    Fifth Doctor
    The Fifth Doctor is the fifth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is portrayed by Peter Davison....

     struggles with a Cyberman in a similar scene in Earthshock
    Earthshock
    Earthshock is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts from 8 March to 16 March 1982...

    ).
  • Other continuity references in this story include the Cybermen's first attempt at destroying the Earth in 1986 (The Tenth Planet
    The Tenth Planet
    The Tenth Planet is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 8 October to 29 October 1966. It was William Hartnell's last regular appearance as the First Doctor, and the first story to feature the Cybermen...

    ) and the Second Doctor
    Second Doctor
    The Second Doctor is the second incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by character actor Patrick Troughton....

    's earlier encounter on Telos (The Tomb of the Cybermen
    The Tomb of the Cybermen
    The Tomb of the Cybermen is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that originally aired in four weekly parts from September 2 to September 23, 1967 and is the earliest serial starring Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor to exist in its entirety...

    ). The Cyber-controller was originally introduced in that story and apparently survived being electrocuted on the tomb doors at the end of that serial. Michael Kilgarrif reprises the role from that story.
  • The Doctor makes reference to his first encounter with Lytton in the Fifth Doctor
    Fifth Doctor
    The Fifth Doctor is the fifth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is portrayed by Peter Davison....

     story Resurrection of the Daleks
    Resurrection of the Daleks
    Resurrection of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts between 8 February and 15 February 1984...

    , where Lytton was working as a mercenary
    Mercenary
    A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...

    , though they actually only meet once. The Doctor and Lytton are briefly seen on-screen together – when the Doctor is captured by the Daleks and is about to be duplicated - they are also seen again twice where Lytton tries to fire at the Time Lord before he escapes.
  • First introduced in The Hand of Fear
    The Hand of Fear
    The Hand of Fear is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 2 October to 23 October 1976...

    , the TARDIS
    TARDIS
    The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...

    ' "temporal grace" function, where weapons are unable to be used inside the ship, appears still to not work in this story, just as it previously did not in Earthshock
    Earthshock
    Earthshock is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts from 8 March to 16 March 1982...

    .

Production

  • The repair to the Chameleon Circuit was in part a publicity effort by John Nathan-Turner to drum up more interest in the series. He hinted publicly that it might be a permanent development, but never pursued the idea beyond this story.
  • Pennant Roberts was originally assigned to direct Attack of the Cybermen; however, he proved to be unavailable, so Matthew Robinson was asked to direct instead. Roberts would later go on to direct Timelash
    Timelash
    Timelash is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts from 9–16 March 1985.-Synopsis:...

    .

Authorship

The serial is credited to "Paula Moore"; however, behind that name lies one of the most confused and controversial authorships in the entire series' history. Authorship copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...

 on the serial is divided between "Paula Moore" (real name Paula Woolsey) as the author; Kit Pedler
Kit Pedler
Dr Christopher Magnus Howard "Kit" Pedler was a British medical scientist, science fiction author and writer on science in general....

 and Gerry Davis
Gerry Davis (screenwriter)
Gerry Davis was a British television writer, best known for his contributions to the science-fiction genre. He also wrote for the soap operas Coronation Street and United!....

 as creators of the Cybermen; Eric Saward
Eric Saward
Eric Saward was born on 9 December 1944 and became a scriptwriter and script editor for the BBC, resigning from the latter post on the TV programme Doctor Who in 1986....

 as the creator of Lytton and the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 who hold the copyright on the series elements.

Several separate accounts offer wildly differing versions of who actually authored the story. Most accounts agree that series fan and continuity advisor Ian Levine
Ian Levine
Ian Levine is an English songwriter, producer, and DJ. He is also a well-known fan of the long-running television show Doctor Who.Levine attended Arnold School in Blackpool from 1963 to 1970...

 suggested a number of plot elements. At the one extreme, it is suggested that the story was authored by series script editor
Script editor
A script editor is a member of the production team of scripted television programmes, usually dramas and comedies. The script editor has many responsibilities including finding new script writers, developing storyline and series ideas with writers, ensuring that scripts are suitable for production...

 Eric Saward, with or without substantial input by Levine, with Woolsey only acting as the story's author to prevent problems with the Writers' Guild, who objected to script editors editing their own scripts. Alternatively, it is suggested that Woolsey originated the story, but Saward heavily rewrote it in his capacity as script editor. Levine himself claims that Saward wrote the dialogue to Levine's story and plot and that Woolsey "did not write one single word of that script". Saward has flatly denied this in an interview with Doctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Magazine is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...

.

One reason for the complexity and confusion around the script's origin is that under Writer's Guild guidelines, script editors were forbidden to commission themselves, and Levine's deal with the series specified that he could not receive any on-screen credit for his work. Thus the use of "Paula Moore" may have been an attempt by Saward to disguise the fact of his involvement from John Nathan-Turner.

In print

A novelisation of this serial, written by Eric Saward
Eric Saward
Eric Saward was born on 9 December 1944 and became a scriptwriter and script editor for the BBC, resigning from the latter post on the TV programme Doctor Who in 1986....

, was published by Target Books
Target Books
Target Books was a British publishing imprint, established in 1973 by Universal-Tandem Publishing Co Ltd, a paperback publishing company. The imprint was established as a children's imprint to complement the adult Tandem imprint, and became well known for their highly successful range of...

 in April 1989.

In 1995 the novel was also issued by BBC Audio as an abridged audio book
Doctor Who audio releases
There have been many official and unofficial Doctor Who and related spin-offs released on audio, as LPs, audio cassettes, audio CDs and MP3 CDs. Recordings here are listed by their original release date.-Television soundtracks:...

, read by Colin Baker.

VHS and DVD releases

  • This story was released on VHS
    VHS
    The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....

     in November 2000 from BBC Video as "Doctor Who: The Cybermen Box Set: The Tenth Planet
    The Tenth Planet
    The Tenth Planet is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 8 October to 29 October 1966. It was William Hartnell's last regular appearance as the First Doctor, and the first story to feature the Cybermen...

     and Attack of the Cybermen" double-tape set for its United Kingdom release (both stories were released individually in the United States, Australia and Canada in 2001).
  • The DVD version of "Attack of the Cybermen" was released on Monday 16 March 2009. The special features on the disc included a commentary featuring Colin Baker
    Colin Baker
    Colin Baker is a British actor who is known for playing Paul Merroney in The Brothers from 1974 to 1976 and as the sixth incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who, from 1984 to 1986.- Background:Colin Baker was born in London, but moved north to...

    , Nicola Bryant
    Nicola Bryant
    -External links:** at shillpages.com/dw *...

    , Terry Molloy
    Terry Molloy
    Terry Molloy is an English actor known predominantly for his work on radio and television.Molloy has been a member of the cast of BBC Radio 4's The Archers playing Mike Tucker since 1973 and has won awards for his work as an actor on radio.On television, Molloy is perhaps best known for his role...

     and Sarah Berger that was recorded on 26 June 2007, along with an interview featuring real-life Cyberman Kevin Warwick
    Kevin Warwick
    Kevin Warwick is a British scientist and professor of cybernetics at the University of Reading, Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom...

    .

Further reading

  • Howe, D, Stammers M, Walker, S The Handbook: The Sixth Doctor (1993) Doctor Who Books (Vigin Publishing) ISBN 0-426-20400-X

External links


Reviews


Target novelisation

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