Attack of the Cybermen

No-one really knows who actually wrote Attack of the Cybermen. Various people have claimed responsibility though, if I were them, I’d want to distance myself as much as possible from this script. As with Resurrection of the Daleks, the story presents a series of set pieces that are linked by a plot that utterly fails to work dramatically or logically and is full of badly thought out references to the programme’s past, mainly to The Tenth Planet (which is currently missing its final episode) and Tomb of the Cybermen (which was missing at the time of broadcast). However, the writers evoked the spirit of 60s Cybermen stories very well, in making the Cyber Plan torturously complex and incredibly stupid. The dialogue is, however, somewhat better than Resurrection of the Daleks and the characters more engaging, but the story has no idea what to do with them. The Doctor plays a more active role than in Resurrection of the Daleks, but not as great a role as he should.

Matthew Robinson again makes the story look very good- the robbery scenes look like they belong in an 80s heist film, Telos looks great and there is atmospheric shooting in studio sets for the sewers. However, Robinson’s direction of scenes in the TARDIS is very lazy- the cliffhanger to part one is terrible and Russell’s death is conveyed in a way that barely registers so, for a while, you think he has simply been forgotten by the writers. There is also some very impressive production design and costuming- The Cryons are excellently realised and portrayed and the sets for the Tombs, although rather different from the originals, are rather good. One aspect that I must comment upon is the violence. Doctor Who has had violent scenes the past, but there is a line that should not be crossed. The Cyber-massacre in The Five Doctors is just on the right side of the line, but the Cyberman being shot in the head in close up and the crushing of Lytton’s hands are going too far. This may appeal to the type of fan who is ashamed to be watching a kids show, but it shows a lack of artistic and perhaps moral judgement on the part of the production team.

The story is helped considerably by the guest performances. Of course, we have Maurice Colburne returning as Lytton, and he is accompanied by the inimitable Brian Glover. Michael Attwell and Jonathan David make Bates and Stratton memorable, even though they are given short shrift in the script. However, a rather large problem is the portrayal of the Cybermen. In other 80s stories, David Banks and Mark Hardy effectively portrayed various Cyberleaders and Cyberlieutenants. However, Hardy is not present here and while Banks is as good as ever, the other Cybermen lack the skill to make us believe in them as emotionless cyborgs- we see one of them on fire flailing about like Manuel from Fawlty Towers and another making ‘Legggiiit!’ gestures when Cyber Control is going to blow. There is also the return of the Cybercontroller, played again by Michael Kilgarriff, perhaps the most pointless piece of ‘homage casting’ ever. Kilgarriff does his best, but his more…mature physique is distracting.

Colin Baker is, again, treated poorly by the script, but he does manage to make the Doctor engaging and his interplay with Peri comes off well, with Nicola Bryant ably supporting. Overall, like Resurrection of the Daleks, Attack of the Cybermen is something of a varnished turd- but thankfully, the last of the Earthshock knock-offs.

NEXT: Vengeance on Varos