ILLOGICAL CYBERMEN: THE TENTH PLANET

The Cybermen, the emotional mercenaries from the planet Mondas. Ever since they marched into the Doctor Who universe back in The Tenth Planet they have remained as a special part to the show’s canon. Despite the fact that their presence has been somewhat diminished over the last few years with a total of just 10 appearances (some of them very brief) in 16 years, no one can deny that they provide a special ingredient to the shows’ format and continuity which will hopefully continue for years to come.

                Yes, it would seem that the Cybermen, with their emotionless face in The Tenth Planet, their electronic voices in The Moonbase (and The Tomb of the Cybermen, their not-so frightening appearance and presence in The Invasion, and their superior intelligence evident throughout the classic, and revived series to a certain extent, all contribute as defining factors which make the Cybermen the formable villains that we love today. Or are they? It’s undeniable that the Cybermen are geniuses with intellectual levels which far surpass that of the average human. Right? And they boast that they have gotten rid of all emotions and are invincible. Haven’t they?. But at least they come up with seemingly fool proof plans which The Doctor cannot possibly escape from. Or do they? Let have a look and find out.

                The Cybermen, as many will know, were introduced back in 1966 with William Hartnell’s swansong The Tenth Planet. During the serial they ‘take over’ an Antarctic Base with a small group of international humans at the helm. The Cybermen plan to drain Earth’s energy to save their home planet Mondas, which is also the lost twin planet to Earth. Coincidentally the Cybermen are also linked to Mondas (like the Axon Monsters are to Axos in The Claws of Axos. The Doctor figures out that Mondas will eventually absorb too much energy and will disintegrate, which it eventually does towards the end of the climax. So – The Doctor effectively just has to sit back, and wait to defeat the Cybermen. No, that’s not accurate, The Doctor doesn’t have to do anything! The Doctor does not have to use his wits or smartness to overcome the cybernetic aliens. Episode four ends just how The Doctor predicted, Mondas disintegrates after absorbing too much energy, and the Cybermen collapse into nothingness, and the day is saved. So if all The Doctor needed was time, then what danger do the Cybermen pose exactly? The ending is pretty much spoiled in episode two, when The Doctor deduces that Mondas will eventually absorb too much energy – resulting in its destruction. It’s not that ‘fun’ fighting supposedly invincible, towering aliens when all the protagonist and hero needs is time. Nor is it credible that all The Doctor has to do is sit back and relax, in a manner of speaking. The Cybermen for some reason are totally oblivious to the fact that Mondas can’t sustain itself indefinitely, and their end game undermines their invincible persona. Not exactly the best start is it?

                So – what about the rest of the story? Perhaps the Cybermen show what they are made of throughout the rest of the narrative. It’s not as if they like to stumble around, getting themselves in really inconvenient and ridiculous ways – right? Well unfortunately the answer is no. Many characters find themselves either imprisoned or backed into a corner by a Cyberman, but every time the Cyberman or Cybermen are disposed of in tomfoolery situations. Ben Jackson uses an old film projector to blind a Cyberman, and is murdered when he uses its chest unit as a weapon to protect himself. Another Cyberman is easily tricked into walking into a room full of radiation – when radiation is deadly to the Cybermen, and various other characters use the Cybermen’s weapon against them to dispose of the Mondas mercenaries. So if the Cybermen are geniuses why not create a weapon or weapons which only they can use? The Master created the laser screwdriver which only worked for him in The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords (so why couldn’t the Cybermen? For that matter why do the Cybermen profess to be invincible when they clearly aren’t. They have a dozen weaknesses, some of which are pretty silly. Imagine if a superhero’s arch villain had several weaknesses, the superhero wouldn’t need to work that hard to save the day.  It’s evident that The Tenth Planet was not the ‘best’ way to introduce the Cybermen, but maybe their second appearance puts them in better light. One hopes.