The part two "climax" where they breach the beacon, firing bolts from their heads, fails to impress, and isn't helped by an unconvincing tumble from Tom Baker. "Oh, you are mistaken", "Excellent" and "It is good" are among other execrable lines. Their voices are the worst to date, like someone droning into a biscuit tin - with the Cyberleader often conveying vexation and pride rather than cold logic. The first shot of them, silent, in a bland, boxy spaceship set is an anticlimax. It's been a seven-year wait for the Cybermen to return, and they do so with an overall lapse of scripting, performance, design and direction. Even the Doctor describes them inaccurately as "total machine creatures". And whoever thought that "revenge" was a credible motivation for such emotion-free creatures fundamentally misunderstands one of the series' classic foes. Gold dust being lethal to Cybermen is a ridiculous development. The mid-60s script editor was completely out of touch with the requirements of mid-70s Who, and what we see on screen has been radically reworked by Robert Holmes at his least inspired. Perhaps it's unfair to condemn Davis squarely for this travesty. RT Review by Patrick Mulkern There's almost a tradition of Who's greatest writers running out of juice: David Whitaker, Terry Nation, Robert Holmes, Russell T Davies… All retired from the fray visibly spent of ideas.
Production Location filming: November 1974 at Wookey Hole, Somerset Studio recording: December 1974 in TC1 and TC3Ĭast Doctor Who - Tom Baker Sarah Jane Smith - Elisabeth Sladen Harry Sullivan - Ian Marter Commander Stevenson - Ronald Leigh-Hunt Kellman - Jeremy Wilkin Lester - William Marlowe Warner - Alec Wallis Tyrum - Kevin Stoney Vorus - David Collings Magrik - Michael Wisher Sheprah - Brian Grellis Cyberleader - Christopher Robbie First Cyberman - Melville JonesĬrew Writer - Gerry Davis Incidental music - Carey Blyton (& Peter Howell, uncredited) Designer - Roger Murray-Leach Script editor - Robert Holmes Producer - Philip Hinchcliffe Director - Michael E Briant First transmissions Part 1 - Saturday 19 April 1975 Part 2 - Saturday 26 April 1975 Part 3 - Saturday Part 4 - Saturday
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