Original DVD Extras include:
- Audio commentary by actors Frazer Hines (Jamie)
and Deborah Watling (Victoria Waterfield).
- "Tombwatch" documentary, with "convention panel"-style 1992 interviews
with the cast and crew (28 min.)
- Behind-the-Scenes at BBC Visual Effects (3 min.)
- Unused Title Sequence and 8mm Cine Footage (3 min.)
- introduction by director Morris Barry
(from the VHS release, 3 min.)
- "The Final End" fx sequence from "The Evil of the Daleks" episode 7,
with story soundtrack (1 min.)
- 2001 Restoration featurette (5 min.)
- Pop-up Production Note Subtitles
- Photo Gallery (still menu)
- Easter Eggs
- "Who's Who" actor biographies (text only,
may not be included on the Region 2 PAL version)
Special Edition DVD Extras add:
- Additional restoration on the episodes, including the VidFire process
- Additional audio commentary.
- "Lost Giants" making-of featurette
- "Curse of the Cybermen's Tomb" documentary
- Cybermen documentary - extended edition
- "Tomb and the Magic of VidFire" documentary
- Sky Ray promotional TV spot
In-Depth Analysis Review
by Martin Izsak
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WARNING: This review contains "SPOILERS", and is intended for
those who have already seen the program.
To avoid the spoilers, read the
Buyers' Guide version instead.
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This neat little story shouts "classic" from its opening shot
all the way through to its closing visual statement, thanks to
the masterful direction of an exceptional script.
"The Tomb of the Cybermen" kicks off the infamous "Monster Season",
although technically speaking, the supreme reign of monsters
on Doctor Who might be said to begin with
"The Moonbase" (story no. 33)
and continue through to "The Seeds of Death" (story no. 48) with little
interruption. Season Five, however, marks a set of monster
stories of consistently high quality.
It's the beginning of a new season and a classic story,
and the very first scene takes time to introduce the TARDIS,
the Doctor, and his two friends, adding a bit of new information
and humour, and whetting the audience's appetite for exploration,
discovery, and adventure. All this fits perfectly into the series
storyline, with Victoria coming on board, and mention of her
father and Maxtible linking this story with the previous one.
Every season opener should be as easily understandable to the
masses.
Unfortunately, we don't get to see much of the police box
beyond the opening shot of it sitting on Skaro - no materialization
on Telos, no time travellers going in or coming out, all of which
would have been the icing on the proverbial cake. However the
interior scene is very satisfying, and the
sound effects and explanatory dialogue are sufficient enough to
expertly hold the story together.
Exploration is the name of the game all through the opening
two episodes, what with the tomb holding secret after secret in
its variety of hidden chambers, and half of the guest characters
harbouring secret motives which we can anticipate early but not
fully discover until later on. As the Doctor arrives with considerable
fore-knowledge of the principles by which the Tomb was padlocked, his
interest is more in the human characters, who prove to be as
interesting as the cybermen themselves.
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Music plays a large role in this adventure - even when it isn't
taking center-stage, there's almost always something playing very
low-key in the background, adding to the atmospheres of wonder or
tension or surprise or power. VERY well done! There are
some incredibly well done sets as well - not so much the rather
solitary wall of the tomb which appears only big enough to hold
a handful of cybermen, but the wall panel in the main control
room, and the large video-screen in the weapons testing room
are all extremely interesting while still appearing to have
practical, if sometimes alien, uses. The hatch itself also
proves very effective as a story device that lends itself well
to the cameras and characters telling their story around it.
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The cybermats work better in this story than in any other,
with lots of carefully-done close up and effects shots, and good
reactions from the rest of the cast. They have a story-beat
confronting the Doctor and his friends all on their own, as well
as important roles in several other scenes.
Putting an established actor in the role of the lead
cyberman also helps elevate all of the cyber performances.
They have more character here than in any other pre-80's story,
and Michael Kilgariff is, of course, the definitive Cyber Controller.
George Pastel puts in a very convincing job as Eric Klieg, a man
whose quest for power believably seems to have developed as an
over-compensation for his carefully guarded feelings of inadequacy
and incompetence. His companion Kaftan, expertly played by Shirley
Cooklin, seems to have realized that this is his button, which she
pushes often to keep him and his mathematical skills wrapped around
her finger, but not even her cool calculation seems to have bargained
for the depths of sadistic insanity he is capable of descending to.
The story is not without a few technical hitches, which do
not detract from the story very much. Curiously, they all seem
to involve Toberman in battle scenes, from the cyber-sparks not
lining up with him when he gets knocked unconscious, to the wires
connected to his back showing before he gets lifted into the air,
to the unbelievable whiplash that reveals just how empty the
cyberleader's costume is when Toberman hurls it onto the end
of the console. Roy Stewart is better with straight acting,
providing a good lasting sense of believable menace in only a
small number of earlier shots.
George Roubicek as Captain Hopper has a large number of
well-played scenes, but unfortunately a few of his shorter odd
remarks come across a little cheesy.
What would a cyber-story be without a few cups of coffee?
Victoria has one on behalf of cyber-stories everywhere, but
unfortunately it doesn't sit well with her.
"Well, ya scream real good, Vic!"
Victoria is seen trying to verbally combat female stereotypes
throughout this story, particularly against Captain Hopper and his
crew, however actions (not to mention screams) speak louder than words,
and once more Victoria resorts to "damsel-in-distress" mode fairly
consistently. She does manage a major act of bravery, tackling a
cyberman with nothing more than a coffee thermos, but again this
predictably leads her into another damsel-in-distress situation.
She still comes off with a few more strong moments, bluffing the
human villains early in episode four, and gaining enough of an
intimate rapport with the Doctor to actually get him to talk about
his family. Apart from
"The Curse of Fenric" (story no. 158) and
"The Rescue" (story no. 11),
this is the only other story to mention his family without Susan
actually being present, as far as I can remember. This story is
actually one of Victoria's better ones.
"Congratulations, Doctor. And now let's see what you can do
against this...."
There are several story-beats successively wrapping up the plot
and resolving the conflicts surrounding the characters, most of which
keep the Doctor and Jamie well occupied in problem-solving mode. Jamie
is happy enough just to apply his brawn to action in whatever capacity
the Doctor recommends, but the motivation behind the Doctor's
manipulation of the other characters is not so purely heroic: his
partly morbid curiosity seems to be a little too expensive in terms
of human lives to be justifiable. The line is hard to draw, as his
earliest plan for dealing with the power-drained Cyber Controller is
a poorly-executed mistake, and he could be covering up a few other
miscalculations after the fact to make it look as if he planned it all.
Re-electrifying the main door at the end doesn't seem to be a very
humane or smart move either. It will easily kill good and/or innocent
explorers, and it won't stop any plundering band of Rutans or other
power-crazed, electricity-friendly creatures. This end does not quite
justify the means, at least in terms of motivation nit-picking.
In terms of dramatic and cinematic quality, the ending is quite
good and satisfying. The Doctor and friends can claim to have saved
what's left of the expedition and the rest of civilization from the
cybermen once more, but we are left with the haunting feeling that
the cybermen are not finished yet..... In my view, only one other
Pat Troughton story surpasses the level of fascination and excellence
found in the "Tomb of the Cybermen." Stay tuned to the continuing
reviews on this web site to find out which it is.....
This story has become available on DVD and VHS video.
Original release:
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DVD NTSC
Region 1
for the North American market:
in the U.S.
in Canada |
DVD PAL
Region 2
for the U.K. |
VHS Video
NTSC
A
for North America
NTSC
B
for North America
PAL
for the U.K.
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New Special Edition "Revisitations Volume 3" re-release:
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DVD NTSC Region 1
Special Edition
for the North American market:
in the U.S.
in Canada
NEW for
Mar. 13, 2012
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DVD PAL Region 2
"Revisitations 3"
Box Set
for the U.K.
NEW for
Feb. 13, 2012
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