Doctor Who:
Revenge of The Cybermen
By Gerry Davis
Reviewed By
Will Barber
You've no home planet, no
influence, nothing! You're just a pathetic bunch of tin soldiers skulking about
the galaxy in an ancient spaceship!
The Doctor,
Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan arrive at the Nerva Becon several hundred
years before it becomes the home of the human race. The Doctor soon discovers
that his old foes, The Cybermen want to destroy the planet of gold, Voga. The
Doctor, Sarah and Harry must defeat the Cybermen before they can once more
become the most powerful force in the universe.
The beginning
of this story is reminiscent of the beginning of a David Bowie video. The
Doctor, Sarah and Harry are floating in front of a space station in the worst
green screen effect I’ve ever seen. Revenge of The Cybermen is an odd
mixture between action adventure and silliness. The whole affair is very 70s,
although that is not a bad thing. Looking at it as a period piece is it very
good. However, when we scratch the surface and compare it to more modern
stories, it does not fare as well.
Revenge is a child of its time. With effects
that look like they have escaped from The Clangers, Cybermen who look like their
pants should have flares on them and a supporting cast who have some of the
oddest fashion you are likely to see. The story, however, when measured up to
more recent stories is very good. Revenge
is dampened by the effects of the time which do not live up to the grand
vision of the story. For instance, when the Cybermen invade Voga, The Vogans are
terrified of the two Cybermen that stalk their land. If the story was done today
it would be hundreds of Cybermen, not two. However, this toned down vision of
the Cybermen fits the story, they, rather like the Vogans are nomads trying to
survive as they float through space. If the Cybermen were on the brink of
extinction then it would not make sense to have hundreds of them, like in
previous stories such as The Invasion
and Tomb of The Cybermen. Indeed,
it is ironic that the Vogans fear fellow nomads who don’t have many weapons to
attack them with.
The story
regularly jumps from The Beacon to Voga and this gives us an interesting mix of
sub plots throughout the story. The Vogan subplot shows us the political
struggles on Voga between Tyrum (who seems to be doing an impression of a drunk
William Hartnell) and Vorus. One wants to change the old way and the other wants
to keep it. Vorus, who represents youth, though you wouldn’t be able to tell
that with the white wig he rocks, wants to destroy the Cybermen once and for all
and lead his people into the light. Tyrum on the other hand represents the old
order and want the Vogans to stay beneath the surface of Voga and just wait
until the Cybermen go away. Interestingly, Tyrum eventually shoots Vorus
restabilising the old order as the true and decent one. One could suggest that
Gerry Davies is saying that a change from new to old is a bad thing and
everything is all right as it is. Davies was known for his obsession with new
technology and the reason he created The Cybermen was to warn people about
prophetic limbs. Davies was in some way frightened of technology and the way it
could affect human behaviour. It seems from this episode that he preferred us to
be like the Tyrum’s of this world, cowering in the old order.
The second and
shorter subplot deals
with how the remaining crew manages with the death of
their fellows. The whole thing portrays the British stiff upper lip; nobody
complains about the stress of it all and they don’t think that they should call
in reinforcements because they don’t need it. It is interesting to suggest that
the two subplots stem from the same fear of change and that if we carry on as
always then everything will be all right.
Tom Baker
is all tooth and curls in this story. It is in Revenge that we truly get to see Baker’s
Doctor emerging more. We see, like the previous Doctor that he is fiercely
moral, lambasting the Cybermen for their plans of destruction and death.
However, the best parts aren’t the scripted dialogue, no, they are Baker’s small
and precise movements. His big grin, his twirling of the hand and his all-round
sense of fun help Baker make the part of The Doctor his own. Even though the
writers are still writing for Pertwee, something Baker would mention many times
later, his ability to add lib changes it from simply a Pertwee stand in to full
on Tom Baker. This shows just how good when it comes to making a part his own,
Tom Baker is.
Revenge is a 70s story. It is goofy, it is
silly but above all it is fun. We can invest in the characters and see them
develop as the story goes along. It may not be the greatest Doctor Who story of
all time but it is one of the most enjoyable.
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