But suppose that after the initial good news, the reunion never went as expected? Say that Long Lost Relative didn’t meet expectations, and what’s more had somewhat questionable ideas on race and gender? Now take that idea and consider the reaction to the discovery of The Tomb Of The Cybermen.
Tomb had become The Holy Grail of Doctor Who stories. Missing presumed lost forever, one cold day in January 1992, the news broke that all four episodes had returned from BEYOND THE GRAVE (copyright, John Lumic). Cue dropped jaws, much rapture and a rush release on BBC Video. However, after the initial wonder and delight faded, some fans began to question whether The Tomb Of The Cybermen was actually any good. They cited the blatant sexism, the iffy treatment of Toberman, the hammy acting and also the occasionally ropey effects. When Frazer Hines appeared on This Is Your Life, they actually showed a clip from Tomb. The roar of scornful laughter from the audience was deafening.
All this derision comes in sharp contrast to the previous opinion that Tomb is a highly revered classic. Admittedly, the tide has started to turn, especially since it’s received a glowing endorsement from one-time main man Matt Smith (who’s allegedly watched the story 20 times - now that’s impressive). Personally, I think it’s got a lot to recommend it, albeit with one or two caveats.
The premise of Tomb pays homage to the old Hammer Horror movies, in particular, any of the old Mummy films. An expedition visits Telos to find the lost tombs of the Cybermen, only to find that it’s nowhere near as easy as they thought. Naturally, the body count starts to escalate as members of the expedition die in various grisly ways.
The twist is that normally The Doctor would do his best to stop the humans from reaching the Cybermen. In fact, in a slyly manipulative manner, he allows the humans to achieve their goal - it’s all a plan to destroy the Cybermen once and for all. Look at the way in which arrogant logician Klieg initially fails to find the right sequence to open the hatch that leads to the tombs. The Doctor sneaks up behind Klieg and furtively enters the right sequence. He also cleverly manipulates Klieg into finding the right sequence for activating the dormant controls. “I wouldn’t do it if I were you,” he cries. “Oh no, I really wouldn’t do it!” He probably knows full well that Klieg will react to his pleas and activate them to satisfy his own ego.
This is a story that draws upon the Second Doctor’s unassuming personality and the way in which it masks a brilliant mind. Throughout Tomb, he subtly manipulates the expedition into finding a way to reawaken the Cybermen and then to finally defeat them once and for all. This dangerously manipulative streak carries on from the previous story Evil Of The Daleks, in which his manipulation of Jamie could have had fatal consequences.
It’s a hugely effective ploy, since the Second Doctor’s shambling, vulnerable persona suggests to the viewer that he’s bitten off more than he can chew. In fact, this incarnation of The Doctor looks at the bigger picture and takes the risk of manipulating other people simply for the greater good. Even if it means a few deaths in the process, The Doctor has to put the fate of the universe first - it’s a familiar moral dilemma that crops up again in stories like Pyramids Of Mars.
Troughton, needless to say, is one of the key reasons that The Tomb Of The Cybermen works well. He is on top form throughout, mixing great humour (the way in which he mistakenly grabs Jamie’s hand instead of Victoria’s), steely resolve (his confrontation with Klieg) and compassion. The most obvious case of this is the charming scene in which he quietly tells Victoria about his lost family. It’s perfectly acted by both Troughton and Deborah Watling, and is one of the key scenes of the Second Doctor’s era - not only because of this revelation, but also because it highlights the Second Doctor’s compassionate nature. He gently asks Victoria if she is happy with her new life and consoles her over the death of her father. This parental nature would manifest itself further in future Second Doctor stories, but it’s at its most explicit in this scene.
At least the Second Doctor makes up for some of the other wonky characterisation, which is one of the issues with the story. Mention of Victoria brings me on to the fact that this isn't her finest hour. She acts like a gormless child who’s misbehaving on a school trip to the Science Museum. Let’s see now: For no good reason, she blunders into the empty Cyberman sarcophagus and inevitably gets trapped. She puts a Cybermat in her bag after The Doctor’s told her not to. She can’t even keep her eye on Kaftan without falling for the old drugged coffee routine.
Victoria’s not meant to be as worldly wise as some of the other companions, but there are too many blunders. Deborah Watling, however, does her best with the material, and has already gelled superbly with Patrick Troughton and Frazer Hines. And at least Victoria does manage to hold her own against the bland sexism of Hopper.
On the subject of which... most of the expedition members are faceless clichés. The Moaning Minnie. Misguided Out Of His Depth Leader. Sexist captain. Too many bad American accents floating around here too, like a bad cowboy parody on Play Away.
Let's move on to the panto villainy of Klieg and Kaftan. The latter tends to roll her eyes and over-emphasise every single word she says, but still makes a meal of every situation that she’s placed in. Despite this, Kaftan can’t hold a candle to Klieg in the Rubbish Villain stakes.
Although George Pastell does his level best to muster some dignity from the character, Klieg must be one of the most laughable villains in Doctor Who. He stomps around shouting at the top of his voice proclaiming his own genius and self-brilliance. Yet he just comes off as a hilarious laughing stock. Consider the facts.
* He’s basically a great big nerd with delusions of grandeur. He’s forever prattling about the merits of logic like a one-man Spock fan club. He even belongs to a group called The Brotherhood Of Logicians - the group that brought you timeless classics such as “United We Sad” and “Save All Your Hisses For Me”.
* He talks way too much. Even Jamie comments on this in the last episode when he’s boring for Telos about how puny The Doctor and his friends are for about the thousandth time. Most of the time, Klieg stands around making lengthy pompous speeches about how great he is - a bit like a crazed TV evangelist who’s found that all his followers have deserted him.
* He takes the concept of delusion to a whole new level. For some bizarre reason, he thinks he can rule the Cybermen. Even though they are about two feet taller than him. Even though they crush his pudgy hand in Episode Two. Even though they tell him that he will be converted into one of them. In the end, he only gets the point after a Cyberman has beaten his head into lumps of jelly (in the most brutal scene of what’s quite a grim story).
Another character problem is the somewhat dodgy racial stereotype, Toberman: a stock silent slave. However, Roy Stewart gives a subtly brilliant performance, conveying Toberman’s thoughts and actions perfectly through facial expressions. Look at the scene in which he silently smiles after Hopper announces that the ship has been wrecked. Toberman’s last few moments are also excellently acted by Stewart, in particular his last brave speech before he gets electrocuted. Ironically, Toberman is the one character to show any hint of depth - he realises what it really means to be human after he has partly been converted into a Cyberman. He uses his last vestiges of humanity to help defeat his conditioning and ultimately the Cybermen - at the cost of his own life. On paper, the character of Toberman is highly dubious, and yet on screen, Roy Stewart turns this character into a three-dimensional triumph.
The other dated aspect of Tomb is of course, the sexism. Victoria and Kaftan are frequently left to their own devices. “The women will, of course, stay here,” puffs Parry, as the blokes head off to investigate the Cybermen tombs, like a gaggle of beer-swilling lads on a stag do. Again, Doctor Who couldn’t get away with this in 2017, but don't forget that this is a historical artefact of a different time.
For all these non-PC blunders, The Tomb Of The Cybermen is still a classic: a highly dramatic, exciting slab of Doctor Who. The script motors along and contains many memorably creepy moments: The atmospheric prologue in the quarries of Telos. The fast zoom-in into the dummy Cyberman at the end of Episode 1. And of course, the awakening of the Cybermen, all to the strains of that evocative stock music.
The Cybermen are at their best here - seemingly unstoppable, faceless, emotionless creatures who are still one step ahead of the humans. The only downer is that for some odd reason, the Cybermen go back into their tombs after they have been woken up. Seems they just can’t get enough of a crafty power nap.
Morris Barry also turns in his best direction. It’s not quite perfect. The shot of Toberman on wires is careless, as is the scene in which Toberman casually chucks a dummy Controller across the room with remarkable ease. But overall, this is a step up in quality. In particular, he’s not afraid to send the little ’uns scuttling behind the sofa in terror. The resurrection of the Cybermen is marvellously shot, with lots of unusual slanting angles and close-ups. There’s also the aforementioned scene of Klieg’s death (The many off-screen chops, George Pastell’s convincingly agonised wails and Troughton’s and Hines’ facial reactions really sell it) and the many close-ups of foamy Cybermen innards. While it looks like washing up liquid, for the time, this was grim stuff.
And there’s the rub. The Tomb Of The Cybermen is very much of its time. That’s why it doesn’t quite live up to some of the fans' expectations. I wonder what will happen if other lost classics are found - what will the reaction be after they get released on shiny DVD? Will they live up to expectations or will the daggers be drawn? Taken on its own, The Tomb Of The Cybermen certainly has its flaws, but it’s still mesmerising, absorbing TV.
You can understand why Matt Smith likes it a lot.
* More teatime horror tales are explored in my ebook guides about 1970s Doctor Who:
JON PERTWEE ERA
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071P3CQ9M
US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071P3CQ9M
TOM BAKER ERA VOL 1
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0746NQZ4J
US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0746NQZ4J
TOM BAKER ERA VOL 2
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B077K8MN2P
US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077K8MN2P