Doctor Who/Recap/S5/E01 The Tomb of the Cybermen

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< Doctor Who‎ | Recap‎ | S5


Daft Punk, the early years!


Our lives are different to anybody else's. That's the exciting thing. Nobody in the universe can do what we're doing.
The Doctor

The TARDIS lands on the planet Telos, where a group of Earth archaeologists is trying to uncover the fabled Tomb of the Cybermen. The Doctor helps them get in, where they discover the creepy silent remains of the Cybermen's city.

After one of the expedition's members dies in an accident in the weapon testing chamber, the expedition leader, Professor Parry, decides that the expedition should return to Earth and be better prepared for the next expedition. Kaftan, one of the expedition's financial supporters, makes her servant Toberman sabotage the rocket so they can't get of the planet and has to explore further.

The Doctor helps them to open the way down to the tombs of the Cybermen, whereupon Kaftan and logician Klieg awaken the Cybermen from their cryogenic sleep and reveal that they are in fact there to revive the Cybermen, using their brains and the Cybermen's strength to conquer the universe.

As bad an idea as this would be, it turns out to be irrelevant anyway, as out the tomb is just a giant logic puzzle designed to weed out everyone but the smartest people, whom the Cybermen judge worthy to be turned into more Cybermen. The Cybermen punch their way out of the tombs and attack the party accompanied by little slug-like Cybermats.

The party manages to find weapons and use them to defeat the Cybermen, and the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria go on their way.


The story was thought to be lost for decades, until a complete copy was discovered in Hong Kong—it is the only complete story of Season 5 and of the first two years of Troughton.

Also, this episode turned Matt Smith (i.e. The Eleventh Doctor) into a fan of the show.

Tropes

  • Big Bad: The domed Cyber Controller. As Cyber Leaders hadn't been invented yet, this was the first time we saw a chain of command with the Cybermen.
  • The Cavalry: Captain Hopper distracts the Cybermen with some smoke bombs, allowing The Doctor, Jamie and Professor Parry to get away just in time.
  • Creepy Monotone: The Cybermen.
  • Evil Is Not a Toy: Klieg never learns this. Well, technically he does, but it's a rather fatal lesson...
  • Food Pills: And suddenly Victoria is not hungry.
  • Hand Blast: Several Cybermen fire electrical bolts from their hands.
  • Heel Face Turn: Toberman
  • Heroic Sacrifice/You Shall Not Pass: "They will not get past Toberman"
  • Impossibly Lame Pun: Jamie does not appreciate the Doctor's attempts at wit.

Doctor: The power cable generated an electrical field and confused their tiny metal minds. You might almost say they've had a complete metal breakdown! [Jamie groans] I'm so sorry, Jamie.