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37) THE TOMB OF THE CYBERMEN

2 - 23 September 1967

Average Viewing Figure: 6.8M

Plot

On the planet Telos, The Doctor, his companions and an expedition team discover the lost tombs of, The Cybermen

Cast

Patrick Troughton (The Doctor), Frazer Hines (Jamie), Deborah Watling (Victoria), George Pastell (Eric Klieg)

Aubrey Richards (Professor Parry), Cyril Shaps (John Viner), Roy Stewart (Toberman), Clive Merrison (Jim Callum), Shirley Cooklin (Kaftan)

George Roubicek (Captain Hooper), Alan Johns (Ted Rodgers), Bernard Holley (Peter Haydon), Ray Grover (Crewman)

Michael Kilgarriff (Cyberman Controller), Hans de Vries, Tony Harwood, John Hogan, Richard Kerley

Ronald Lee, Charles Pemberton, Kenneth Seeger, Reg Whitehead (Cybermen), Peter Hawkins (Cybermen Voices)  

Crew

Kit Pedler, Gerry Davis (Writers), Ron Grainer (Title Music), Victor Pemberton (Stoy Editor), Sandra Reid (Costumes), Gillian James (Make-Up)

Graham Southcott (Lighting), Brian Hiles (Sound), Peter Hamilton (Film Cameraman), Alan Martin (Film Editor)

Michaeljohn Harris, Peter Day (Visual Effects), Martin Johnson (Designer), Peter Bryant (Producer), Morris Barry (Director)

Broadcast

Filming Locations

  • Gerrards Cross Quarry, Gerrard Cross, Bucks

  • Ealing Film Studios: Stage 2

  • Television Centre: Puppet Theatre

  • Lime Grove: Studio D

Deaths

  • Toberman [electrocuted to death]

  • John Viner [shot and killed by Klieg]

  • Kaftan [shot and killed by the Cyber-Controller]

  • Eric Klieg [beatten to death by a Cyberman]

  • Peter Haydon [shot and killed by a Cyber weapon]

  • Crewman [electrocuted to death]

  • Cyber Controller [electrocuted to death]

Production Days

  • 10 days between Monday 12 June - Saturday 22 July 1967

Production Errors

  1. As Kaftan knocks on the sarcophagus in episode one, Patrick Troughton can be seen standing in the entryway waiting for his cue to enter the set. Viner had previously left to get The Doctor

  2. As Toberman spins the Cyberman Controller over his head, the Controller is clearly a dummy 

  3. At the end of episode two, the Cyberman Controller says 'You belong to us. You shall be like us'. However, during the reprise of episode three, the Controller delivers the line in a much higher pitch

  4. Victoria leaves Kaftan's gun on the steps beneath the hatch which leads to the tomb as she leaves to get Captain Hopper. In episode three, Kaftan picks her gun up from the floor, so who moved the gun?

  5. The Cybermat's size continually changes throughout the serial

  6. During episode three, Jim Callum attempts to find the lever to open the door, however, Captain Hooper is later seen to pull a completely different lever â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹

Working Titles

  • The Ice Tombs of Telos

  • The Cybermen Planet

Verdict

The first Cyberman story which uses the villains at their best who hardly appear or do anything at all. The first two episodes act as a waiting game where the Cybermen can emerge from the shadows at any given moment and strike the heroes as they explore their surroundings. There is a lack of subtly with the unconvincing villains who are best suited for B-Movie epic pictures. The direction is impressive as are the set pieces and location work. The plot moves well, and the pacing is great but does run out of steam in episode four. The Cybermen are again - quite emotional– a common problem for some Cybermen stories. There are some genuinely smart moments but the lack of Cyberman action keeps it from being an all-time Cyberman classic. On saying that many Cybermen stories fall short on creating anything classic. The Tomb of the Cybermen is the near enough to a good Cyberman story. *****

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