The Tenth Planet

There are very few Doctor Who stories that are as important as The Tenth Planet. It introduced one of the programme’s most enduring adversaries, the Cybermen and it introduced the very concept that enabled the programme to become the longest-running science-fiction show in television history.

The Cybermen are a brilliantly realised race, with excellent costume designs by Sandra Reid and there is the genius touch of having the Cybermen not move their ‘lips’ when they speak with their eerie voices. Derek Martinus manages to come up with some very effective shots and his revelation of the Cybermen at the end of episode one is excellent. We see eerie figures in the snow, who knock out the men outside the base. The camera then focuses on a human hand, which is attached to a grotesque robotic parody of a human body.

Gerry Davis and Kit Pedler try and show a future where racial barriers no longer exist- not only is one of the astronauts in the Zeus IV capsule black, he is the commanding officer. However , the script itself is at best unpolished and at worst, downright terrible. The Cybermen’s plan doesn’t make much sense- if Mondas is the Earth’s twin, why not simply move operations there instead of risking both planets? There is real stupidity in some of the finer plot points. We are asked to believe that it never occurred to Barclay to sabotage the Z-Bomb missile. We are asked to believe that General Cutler would sacrifice millions of lives for the mere possibility of saving his son. Scientific accuracy completely goes out of the window in a story that was co-written by Kit Pedler, who was meant to be the programme’s scientific adviser. I won’t go into his complete ignorance of astrophysics and just point out one thing that demonstrates the lack of care in plotting and scientific accuracy- the radiation chamber has a ventilation shaft that leads to other rooms in the Snowcap base!

There are some truly dreadful performances in episode one and it is a real relief that the two main offenders (Tito and the American Sergeant) are killed by the Cybermen at the end of episode one. Of the remaining cast, only Robert Beatty is really better than adequate which is strange, considering the quality of the cast, such as the wonderful Earl Cameron, who had been touted as the ‘British Sidney Poitier’ since the 1950s. The blame for this must be shared by Derek Martinus- whilst he is excellent visually, he is less successful in directing performances.

It is truly astonishing how little the Doctor contributes to the story and it is a real pity that Hartnell is effectively playing second-fiddle in his own swan song- Ben essentially fulfils the Doctor’s function in this story, and it is Michael Craze who comes out best in this story, playing Ben as being resourceful, intelligent and being the prime motivator of events. However, the focus is on the Doctor again in the last third of the final episode. He is obviously weakened by events and needs to be helped into the TARDIS. There then follows one of the most striking scenes in the history of the programme. It seems that the TARDIS is in as unpredictable a state as the Doctor, with the light flickering and levers on the console moving of their own accord. The weakened Doctor manages to open the doors to let Ben and Polly in, before collapsing. Alarmed, they see the Doctor’s body glow in an unearthly light- and when it fades, there is a stranger lying on the TARDIS floor.

This scene is still hugely effective now, but the impact it must have had on audiences in 1966 must have been staggering. It is one of the iconic movements that make this hugely flawed story a must-see for anyone interested in Doctor Who.

Next: The Power of the Daleks