Tomb of the Cybermen, The (DVD)
Science Fiction Video — Dr. Who story No. 37
Written by Robert Holmes
Starring Patrick Troughton
ISBN: 0-7907-7098-0
Publisher: Warner Home Video / BBC Video, $24.98
Another Dr. Who DVD release during the middle of 2002, “The Tomb of the Cybermen” is the earliest complete Cybermen story in the BBC’s archives. It is a testament to good science fiction, acting and a good plot to boot.
In this storyline, the Doctor, along with Jamie (Frazer Hines) and Victoria (Deborah Watling), land on the planet Telos just as an expedition of scientists arrives from Earth looking for the last remains of the Cybermen. For those not familiar with the Cybermen, just picture the Borg from Star Trek but more primitive (hey, it was the 60s) and yet still pretty cool anyway. Of course, the Doctor gets involved in the plot from the start, and it isn’t long before the expedition discovers live Cybermen. In this story, they have been upgraded again, as their costumes have often been since they originally appeared in their first adventure as human sock puppets (so to speak). With the Doctor’s knowledge and help, and of course the usual power hunger maniac who tries to win over the Cybermen, the viewer ends up with a pretty good series of Doctor Who episodes. The action is a bit slow at times, but then again Dr. Who was a sci-fi soap opera of sorts, not a Terminator movie. I still found the show to be entertaining, and that’s what really counts.
Besides the story itself, I have to say that the restoration team did a wonderful job of turning these episodes into nearly top-notch quality video. Considering that the original tapes and film they use were of poor quality, a fact that they show in a special section of the DVD, it’s nice to see Dr. Who in almost crystal clarity. I did notice some minor flaws in just a few scenes where the light background and dark foreground made some bars across the screen. This was for a short time only though, and may have something to do with the translation from PAL to NTSC (our TV’s have a poorer quality picture than they have in England). Sound has also been tremendously cleaned up and just adds to the restored video. If you have the old VHS tape, you owe it to yourself to get the DVD version. It’s so much better in quality.
Besides the short video glitch I mentioned, the only thing I didn’t like about this particular show is the silly Cybermats. They are supposed to be a metallic snakelike creature, but they always remind me of scrubbing bubbles. Sorry, but I just can’t take these creatures seriously. They got much better in later shows, but here they just aren’t the menace they are meant to be.
As for the set and actors, this is one of the better Doctor Who shows. The acting from all the actors is top quality, and the sets are done very well too. This was probably one of the better budgeted shows, or they just did a darn good job with the money they had. One note here, for those who don’t know, this entire show is in black and white. Again, it’s the 60s, and that’s the way it was. Just be glad it wasn’t colorized -- what a dreadful thought!
The extras on this DVD include the usual commentary, this time with actors Frazer Hines and Deborah Watling. Ok stuff, but not really necessary. There’s also a Tombwatch documentary that is decent, a rather interesting introduction by director Morris Barry, pop-up production notes, some boring unused title sequences, and a “behind the scenes” at BBC Visual Effects. All good stuff as a whole, but the best stuff is snippets from the lost story “Evil of the Daleks,” and the fascinating convention footage of the surviving cast and crew discussing the Tomb of the Cybermen and what went on behind the scenes. If you are a Dr. Who fan, you’ll get a big kick out of this section of the DVD. One last thing they have on this DVD, a feature I love that not all all Dr. Who DVDs have, is the option to have informational snippets pop up during the show. I found this fun and informative at the same time.
Definitely one of the better Dr. Who shows of its time from the 60s, The Tomb of the Cybermen is sci-fi done right. You really can’t go wrong buying this DVD, unless of course you are not a fan of the show (as I know some people aren’t).
(review (c) March 2003 / David Flemming)