Reviews (19)

Exciting Cyber-Adventure
The return of the Cybermen after their misuse in Revenge of theCybermen is a moody, exciting adventure that contains moment aftermoment of brilliance. The acting is sound on all levels, with special credit due Peter Davison, whose performance raises the tension level as his realization of the true purpose of certain events adds to the overall mood of the piece. The redesign of the Cybermen was criticized by some, but the see-through mouthpiece adds to the effect of the Cybermen's menace, rather than detracting, by allowing us to see the transformed humanity within the outfit. This is one of the best ones to show to new Doctor Who viewers, as it is accessible to those who've never seen a Cyberman adventure, and has high emotional moments -- especially the ending, which works on every level. One of Davison's best by far, and definitely one of the best Cyber-Adventures. A must-own. Now if only they'd get rid of that ridiculous vunerability to gold, everything would be fine. It works here as a plot point, but nowhere else. Enjoy!

"What are they?" "Cybermen!"
A great return for these foes of the Doctor. Emotionless, relentless and determined to destroy all life on Earth (surprise, they succeed). Yes, you need to get over the bad effects and sometimes horrific acting-- much like the old serials of the 30s and 40s, your imagination does a lot of work. This is a fast-paced and exciting story with a lot of memorable moments-- the Cybermen revealed, Cyber Leader in the Tardis, the race to save Adric. Best line: "It might interest you to know we've traveled backwards in time some 65 million years. Think about it."

Man and the Cyberman
This serial of Dr. Who brought back my favorite menace - the Cybermen. Not seen for years since "Revenge of the Cybermen" (1975, during the Tom Baker years), the Cybermen have a new look and a new plan. Using a bomb set deep within Earth, they will destroy the planet as its government is prepared to host an interplanetary summit aimed at - among other things - an alliance against evils like the Cybermen. Unfortunately for them, their plan is discovered by The Doctor who luckily (for us) materializes on the scene in his space-time ship (the "TARDIS"). With their initial plan foiled, the Cybermen switch gears and hit on a new idea. They hijack a huge cargo spaceship carrying a veritable army of Cybermen (originally intended to hold what's left of Earth when the bomb explodes), and aim it at Earth like a bomb. Tracing the source of the signal, the Doctor lands on the freighter and battles the Cybermen alongside a pitiful band of human soldiers and the ship's crew. With his companions - the boy genius Adric, the young but wise Nyssa and the tough but lovely Tegan Jovanka - the Doctor fights a seeming losing battle against the horde of Cybermen holding the ship.

This was a great episode on so many levels. The redesigned Cybermen - see-through mouth-grille and all - are an improvement over the silver-wetsuits of "Revenge", and the script plays up on their strengths: their numbers and seemingly boundless cool and aggression. Cheesy camera work exaggerates their numbers by having the image of a single column of Cybermen "multiplied" within a single shot - but we get the point. ("Who" fans who can't appreciate the "see-through mouth" because we now know that there are people behind the masks, are missing the point - the Cybermen aren't machines, they are mechanized people, the prototypes for the Borg. We always knew that there was a person behind the mask, but the grille still hides what that person must look like after being "assimilated". Also, individual Cybermen are more vulnerable here than they were in "Revenge" (their huge numbers wouldn't be as important if they were as bulletproof as they were in that story). The scene introducing the Cybermen is perfect - with the cold invaders huddled like a coven of witches around a holographic viewer. (They don't recognize the Doctor at first, but his spaceship tips them off) Of course the biggest thing about this story is the end of Adric - there are hints of his leaving from the start of the serial, but the final moments are unforgettable anyway.

IF YOU'VE NEVER SEEN AN EPISODE OF DOCTOR WHO none of the above will make much sense (a man - a "timelord" actually - who changes his appearance every few years, traveling across space and time in a ship looking on the outside like a London police call box, accompanied by a constantly changing cast of companions and battling a wide array of menaces both alien and human). Still, some episodes embody a sort of humanity that rises above the kooky continuity of the show, and this is one of them, so it's worth a look. The tragic ending underscores the entire series - times runs out, even for timelords.

CLASSIC! Considering who wrote it, this one really is good.
Episode 1 alone is overall terrific. Mysterious caves being guarded for some important reason, Adric bickering, the androids' way of killing people, this is a very taut and exciting episode. There is some rubbish technobabble about the device used to track the people in the caves, but otherwise this episode hangs together extremely well. As for the cliffhanger, it was a jaw-dropper in 1982 and still holds up exceptionally well.

Episode 2 isn't quite as tense, but still easily manages to retain excitement and interest despite a silly claim about the TARDIS' capabilities and how the main enemies in this story can see into the future where they go over the Doctor's bio/history record. But that is a small point. The moment leading to the cliffhanger is reasonably excellent as well.

Episode 3 is now a full shift away from the wonderful claustrophobia of the caves of the first 1.5 episodes. The freighter's interior is extremely well realized considering the show's budget (or even on a big movie budget, they got everything RIGHT) and provides some great tension for more than one gripping scene. The cliffhanger, despite using a prismatic lens to make one row of enemies look like 3 rows, packs a decent punch as well. I won't mention how kewl it was to see how the Doctor deals with the enemy force about to break into the freighter's bridge... So far, the story is worth all of the praise it gets.

Episode 4 is awesome, though the ending is flaky. The ending involves the freighter entering time travel, which seems to be cheaply written in as an afterthought. The reasons behind the ability of the freighter to do this don't cut it and they could have used some flimsy technobabble about the warp engines being the cause instead of the enemy machinery locking the ship's directional control panel. But that's one small point.

Episode 4 does end with another big surprise that you, depending on your point of view, will like...

The story was augmented with modern computer effects. I prefer the original effects, even if they are different than what was intended to be (for example, a spaceship exploding instead of crashing, though it can be said the spaceship exploded in the planet's atmosphere...).

I expect that the video and audio quality will be comparable to the other Dr Who releases (except "The Key to Time", which the UK Restoration Team did not work on). I gather the soundtrack is isolated, which is another BIG plus.

One of my big problems with 80s Dr Who is not as much JNT but Saward. Even from his earliest penned story "The Visitation", Saward loves using gore. Indeed, in "The Visitation" he wanted to have the remains of the smouldering murdered family to be shown, but the director had enough guts to show well orchestrated fade-in clips of the empty house's interior that was far more effective... Fortunately, we're still in the 5th Doctor's early run so it's not so pronounced (by Davison's final year, Saward - both as writer and script editor - went out his way to ensure pointless gore was used. But that's another story...) The only real gore in this episode is how the androids kill people (the people turn into a liquified state which is horrific yet doesn't go out of its way to be shock value. In other words, it's appropriate and maturely handled and properly tells us that the androids doing the killing shouldn't be reckoned with... (in later years (Davison's final year and to an extent Colin Baker's first year), the gore was haphazardly thrown in, with any true atmosphere chucked out the window in name of sleazy shock value. Colin's era did match gore with a coherent intent, but the purpose seemed to be excessive, resulting in the gore being just as pointless as in the prior season...)

But I digress. This is a WONDERFUL story, worthy of 5 stars and is ideal for showing to any potential fan. Also, the enemy I spoke of is the Cybermen. They were created in 1966 and had been disused since 1974. As the story was made 7 years later, it was deemed that they should be re-introduced with as little fanfare as possible. And it worked. and it worked so well that subsequent viewings don't wear the concept down. For a producer maligned with the stigma that he loved using continuity, the continuity works well in this story as it reminds of previous Cybermen history to whet our appetites (later stories merely use continuity to bury storylines, but Earthshock tells a story and uses references in a way that expands one's interest to become a fan, and doesn't pander to fans (who'd only nitpick any inaccuracies in continuity).

The Cybermen were organic creatures who replaced more of their limbs and organs with technology. They're like the Borg, only they'd been around long before the Borg were. And "Earthshock" is possibly the best story they're used in, apart from "The Tomb of the Cybermen". ("Tomb"'s plot is superlative but I don't think it was carried out well, apart from episodes 1 and 4. There are some great performances, but the technobabble is grating, episode 3 is pure pointless padding, and the inclusion of Toberman as an indentured servant of all things is boggling, why couldn't he be an equal? On the other hand, his contributions to the end of that story prove he is the most human of them all... and as "Tomb" had also been released on DVD, it's worthy of pick-up as well.)

Why did it take so long to get to US? WB or BBC problem?
I don't know why it took so long to get to the US but it's been out in Region 2 format (PAL) since last year. At any rate, this is the best Doctor Who DVD made to date. Its has full cast commentary by the stars as well as a well made documentary on the makings of "Earthshock" 20 odd years later. This is a must have for all Peter Davison fans. Lastly, the Cybermen's recount of the past Doctors is a real treat. Five stars. Keep it coming BBC... ... Read more

Reviews (11)

The start of Tom Baker's last season!A new look for the show
The Leisure Hive starts the beginning of Tom Baker's last season as Doctor Who.The Doctor and Romana are still running from the Black Guradian.K9 appears brief and becomes waterlogged.The Doctor then goes to Argolis, a planet of recreation.The Doctor ages several hundred years during this episode. The Doctor saves the planet from the cute Foamsi. This episode also marks the start of a new opening and ending for each episode.A semi confusing story for the start of Tom Baker's last season! Also Romana wears an annoying sailor outfit the whole time! Overall, a new season and new refeshing beginning for the series!

Not the best, but still underappreciated
Traditionally, although season 18 of the programme is oft-loved by fans (and deservedly so), "The Leisure Hive" is judged to be a story of merely 'okay' merits. I disagree - in the context of the series, it was a groundbreaking new look and feel for the show, taking it forcefully out of the 1970s and slamming it into the 1980s. Tom Baker, many fans' favorite Doctor, thankfully turns down the humor that made some of season 17's stories so annoying, and his new burgundy outfit is absolutely gorgeous. Joined by Lalla Ward as Romana, this is possibly the best Doctor/companion team ever seen on "Doctor Who". And I must say that Peter Howell's remix of the theme tune will forever be my favorite...it fills me with a sort of excitement I never get with the other versions.

All these points aside, "Leisure" itself isn't that bad. Sure, the plot is nothing terribly new, but the acting is credible and the special effects a definite step up from the previous year. Both the Argolin and the Foamasi are well-conceived aliens, even if the latter are somewhat ungainly. The incidental music deserves special note for being, in my opinion, some of the best heard throughout the 1980s era of the programme.

Although these factors don't all add up to make a classic story, they do make a solidly entertaining one; "Leisure Hive" definitely deserves re-evaluation. Even if you want to pick on a season 18 story (and IMO, none of them are really bad), this isn't the one to choose.

The Dawn of the New Argolis! And the 18th season.
Romana on Argolis: "It's the first of the leisure planets. In relative Earth Date 2250, there's a hideous war against some reptile people called the Foamasi. Most of the planet gets wiped out by two thousand interplanetary missiles, but the survivors build a recreation center called a Leisure Hive. And there's something called an experiential grid. Cells of different environments designed to produce physical, psychic, and intellectual regeneration."

After not only missing the opening of the Brighton Pavilion but also getting the century and season wrong, the Doctor and Romana go to Argolis in 2290, forty years after that terrible war, and become involved in the intrigues of the native Argolins. Bookings to their hive are disastrous, as other leisure planets have anti-gravity swimming pools and speed learning. Brock, the initially pessimistic Earth agent who advises the Argolins to do something about their cash flow, accepts the position on the Board, but recommends they sell the planet and hive to the Foamasi, their ancient enemies, of which the Argolin survivors still have bitter memories. After all, selling them their own planet would be the ultimate defeat. Things have a chance when Hardin, an Earth scientist and lover of Argolin Chairwoman Mena, claims to have found a better use of tachyonics--to manipulate time.

The main attraction of the hive is the Tachyonic Recreational Grid, run by the youthful Pangol. The science of tachyonics, the manipulation of faster-than-light particles, involves temporary duplication of any physical object, and the manipulation of the duplicate object without harming the original, demonstrated by Pangol going into the TRG and his tachyon duplicate's arms and head coming detached while it's talking. Soon, the TRG becomes the site of sabotage, accidents, and later murder, as Hardin's assistant Stimson is found strangled by the Doctor's scarf. And guess who's suspected?

There's wonderful exchange when the Doctor, Romana, and Mena are gazing at the glowing red sands of Argolis. "Radon 222 decays rapidly." says the Doctor. Mena says, "But not the heavy metal dust. It won't be habitable for three centuries. ... Now you understand the purpose of the Hive. ... to promote understanding between life forms of all cultures and genetic type. There must be no more such wars. Each race learns to understand what it is like to be a foreigner." And the Argolins have the helmet of Theron, a golden hooded helmet resembling a curved KKK hood as a reminder of what happened to them.

Adrienne Corri (Mena) is best known in Clockwork Orange as the ill-fated Ms. Alexander, the author's wife. David Haig does a good job as Pangol, being charming presenter, scientist, and Argolin patriot at the same time.

The first story of John Nathan-Turner's turn at producer heralded some changes that had some great consequences. He toned down the silliness of his predecessor, Graham Williams, and tried to rein in Tom Baker, whose hat, long coat and scarf are red instead of the familiar brown. In trying to get a Star Wars-style image to Dr. Who, he had the new digital Quantel special effects used, as well as an electronic revamping of the theme music. And he even recruited Barry Letts, who had produced Who in the Jon Pertwee era, as Executive Producer for Season 18.

The opening titles are changed, where instead of the bluish time tunnel, there was a galaxy of stars coming towards the viewer, with some in the center gradually forming the Doctor's face. The diamond logo was changed as well.

A story on the horrors of nuclear war and the necessity for cultural understanding between races, with stylish designs (the Argolins' beehive hairdo, flowing yellow robes, goatees for men, and plastic statues) and concepts, how Argolins turn from green to human colour when they grow older. A pity that this and the final season story, Logopolis, are the two best stories in Tom Baker's last season as the Doctor.

Not just the scarf changed.
The start of Tom Baker's season was interesting, but poorly written.

The basic plot was cool but I didn't think it was pulled off properly. The first and last parts of the story were entertaining. (I particularly liked the Beach Sequence.) Loosing the Randomiser was a good call. But something just didn't feel right here.

This was also the season where we saw a less physical Tom Baker, I don't know if it was a specific decision by the writers or just the way it worked out.

Lala Ward continues to grow in the role of Romana here. One would think they were preparing her for her own series.

Not the best of the Bakers by far, but still a good watch.

Tom Baker AND special effects
That's what makes this season so cool. Tom Baker who always steals the show(unlike his sucessors) and good flashy special effects to boot. There is only one setting throughout the whole show and it is the hive which can get boring(like a lot of so-called sci-fi shows nowadays which are single setting soap opras). But thier was that bit about the Doctor growing old which I thought was very well done. He appeared 103 but acted like a wize old 1250 year-old traveler of the universe. This wasn't Tom's best show(excellent acting though on his part) but it wasn't bad either and I had a feeling when I first watched it that things were only going to get better. I still think this season got progressively better, especilally the E-space Trilogy(another story). ... Read more

Amazon.com

"The Tomb of the Cybermen" brought the Doctor, Patrick Troughton, into conflict with his silver cyborg nemesis for a third time, following "The Tenth Planet" (1966) and "The Moonbase" (1967). The Doctor, Jamie (Frazer Hines), and Victoria (Deborah Watling) join an archaeological expedition to explore the planet Telos, where they encounter death traps, betrayal, and a waiting army of frozen Cybermen. Scripted by Kit Pedlar and Gerry Davis, who would later write Doomwatch (1970-72), many of the essentials of the plot anticipate James Cameron's blockbuster Aliens (1986): the barren planet with abandoned city, the tense wait for a rescue ship, the human traitors, the implacable, more powerful enemy. There are a few flaws, but this is a superior Doctor Who adventure of its time and a thoroughly entertaining piece of classic television. --Gary S.Dalkin ... Read more

Reviews (36)

Classic Who
I sat down the other day to watch this story for the first time, all ready to dispute its "classic" status. Once it was over, however, I felt like I might have to amend my all-time top ten list of Doctor Who stories. There were some notably poor elements (the "american" captain was just begging to be made fun of and the cybermats were used one too many times), but aside from these relatively small complaints there weren't very many problems. My favorite scene happened in the last episode when the Doctor pretends to agree with Klieg's plans, just to determine for sure that Klieg was mad. This was a very well realized episode and definitely deserves it's status as "classic" Who.

"Who'd be a woman?"
Landing on the Planet Telos, the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria run into an expedition searching for the last remains of the Cybermen. The Troughton classic is finally released on DVD, fully restored by the DWRT(Doctor Who Restoration Team), with loads of bonuses and extras. The story itself happens to be one of the BEST Cybermen serials. Although, there are some iffy accents, ridiculous dialogue and OTT acting, it's mainly a lot of fun. The enjoyment and fun level in this Who outing ranks among the best. It may not be for most of Today's Sci-Fi audience, but revelers' of B-movies and old TV programs will applaud.

Not sure if I understand all that symbolic logic, though...

One of the strongest Cybermen - and Troughton - episodes!
American fans of "Doctor Who" were usually introduced to the series through Tom Baker, the "Doctor with the floppy hat and long scarf" -- and rarely if ever got to see William Hartnell or Patrick Troughton in their roles as the first and second Doctors. Troughton's Doctor, although he remains one of the most loved actors in the role, has the least amount of surviving episodes, since the BBC thoughtlessly destroyed several stories in the 1970s. Ironically, since Troughton's great portrayal cemented "Doctor Who" as a continuing series. If he had failed in his role as the second Doctor, we wouldn't have forty years of the series to look back upon.

Ten years ago, I remember when word first leaked out about the discovery of more Patrick Troughton episodes. "Tomb" was considered a treasure, but if you held out for the DVD instead of buying it then, it was well worth the wait. This story has been lovingly restored, looking beautiful and not muddy, as the 1993 VHS release did.

And what a story - opened up tremendously by the restoration. The stop animation of the Tomb manages to be suitably creepy thirty-odd years later, and there's great acting all around, from Troughton to the supporting cast. The spaceship crew is a team of overeager Americans, which is the first time I'd ever seen "colonists", so to speak, on "Doctor Who". The creature Cybermats are also introduced, which are darling and just a bit menacing - although they didn't manage to storm the UK, and become as popular with children as the Daleks had. (My older brother had his own toy Daleks in the mid 1960s - too bad none of them made it into his adulthood.)

The extras on the DVD are also stellar, namely a short with background music, featuring snippets from lost story "Evil of the Daleks," and a fascinating convention discussion with the surviving cast and crew. Comments from Deborah Watling (Victoria) are particularly interesting - she was one of the companions least seen, as most of her episodes had been destroyed. Watling, nicknamed "Leatherlungs" by Troughton and costar Fraser Hines (Jamie), because of all the screaming she did throughout the serial, turns out to be an loyal and fairly smart companion, not the dainty dips*** she had been previously remembered as.
A wonderful scene between her and Troughton show the world-weariness of the renegade Doctor, and how both he and Victoria miss their home and families. Hines, as always, retains his roguish charm both in the story and in the documentary.

Only two teeny drawbacks. One, the Cybermen costumes aren't quite as scary as in future stories, although the white goop coming from a flailing Cyberman in death throes apparently got the Mrs. Mary Whitehead types very upset. Two, this DVD would be even better if it showcased the fab vocal stylings of Frazer Hines, singing a dippy and jangly guitar-ridden "Who is Doctor Who", a la William Shatner and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds".

THE DOCTOR, CYBERMEN...CLASSIC WHO ON DVD!
Thanks to a discovery in Hong Kong in 1992, "The Tomb of the Cybermen" is now the earliest "Doctor Who" of the Patrick Troughton era to remain completely intact. And it is a great adventure. The scenes with the Cybermen are quite frightening, but Troughton's humour keeps it from becoming too scary. With a great supporting cast and some fairly decent visual effects, "The Tomb of the Cybeermen" is a treasure that belongs in anyone's collection of "Who" episodes. The extras on this disc are little, but totally worthwhile!
Program Grade: A+
DVD Grade: A-
Overall Grade: A

Action, silly costumes, melodrama: Dr Who at its best
This is one of the best Dr. Who episodes I've seen and children and adults alike will enjoy the mystery, action and drama encountered in The Tomb Of The Cybermen. The story is entertaining as are the costumes, performances and FX (such as they are). This one is fun to watch repeatedly and is a good introduction for anyone who wants to see what Dr. Who is about. For fans, you've got to have this one! ... Read more

Description

In the heart of a Victorian house lies a dormant alien spaceship whose cargo rekindles a terrible fear in Ace's past. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Dr Who at it's atypical best
Ghost Light is a brilliantly dark, slightly humourous concoction, full of literary delights. Sylvester McCoy is brilliant as the Doctor, portraying a manipulative, scheming but likeable Timelord. Sophie Aldred excells also as the troubled companion Ace, revisting her greatest fear. The supporting cast is well above average for Dr Who, and a superb atmosphere is generated via the brilliant Victorian sets, dialogue and haunting incidental music.

ACE: Don't you have things you hate? THE DOCTOR: I can't stand burnt toast. I loathe bus stations, terrible places full of lost luggage and lost souls. And then there's unrequited love, and tyranny and cruelty... We all have a universe of our own terrors to face.

Ghost Light is clearly a very inventive, evocative story, hardly typical of Dr Who, but definately one of it's crowning glories. A MUST-SEE.

eerie... i wouldn't stay in this house after dark!
This is a really good story. We find out some of Ace's past and also get some quirky haunted house story going on. Sylvester McCoy is a really excellent Doctor. Ace is pretty cool, too. If you like bizarre stories, this is one you will love.

This is True Doctor Who
Dont let those one star reviews fool you. What is so great about Doctor Who is that each new actor gives his own "expression" to the main title role. Each new Doctor has his own quirks, his own shadows, his own mystery about him. Think about it, there have been eight Doctors and that is wonderful.

While Tom Baker was a great Doctor, for example, he was only one of many Doctors. I have to give Sylvester McCoy a standing ovation. While I loved the Colin Baker stories, all of them, and I hated to see him end before he could truly shine, S MyCoy gives a new additive and a new dimension to the role of the Doctor.

The Doctor by now has returned to his mystery. Just who is the Doctor? Just what is the Doctor? Yes we think we know where he comes from, we think we know why he left his world. But do we? Do we indeed? That's what's so great about Sylvester. He's awesome as the Doctor. He's funny and yet he can be almost terrifying at the same time. Think, for example, how comical he acts at first in the Greatest Show in the Galaxy, and yet suddenly he shows that he knows just what is happening and why.

Ghost Light is a wonderful additive to any and all Doctor Who collections. The story is rich, it is advanced. The story is haunting and so fast pace at times. While I dont agree with the Evolution lauding of the storyline (as a Christian I am a Creationist), as a fiction story, I love how it is produced in the story.

Good Science fiction with strong elements of reality!
I would have given it more stars if I could. This story makes you wonder why Ace is feeling so troubled. This show has a psychological element, which is hard to describe. Sort of like the movie "Panic Room", only better. I found myself so fascinated watching it, that I went back and viewed it several more times. There is something about this show that sort of defies explanation yet viewing it brings to light understanding.

A classic.
Watch this once, and you might not work it all out. But this really is video generation Dr Who, one of the most densely-plotted and sophisticated episodes ever made. Virtually every line of dialogue has some kind of significance or deeper meaning. McCoy's Doctor and Sophie Aldred's Ace continue to prove they are one of the strongest Doctor-and-companion duos in the series' history, the Doctor taking his unsuspecting sidekick back into Victorian Perivale to confront childhood demons. The Victorian house looks like it could have been designed for an expensive period drama, there are strong performances from all the cast, the soundtrack is one of the most moodily atmospheric ever written for the series. Well worth watching. ... Read more

Description

Part Lawyer, part detective, Rumpole's brilliant mind and sly sense of humor have solved many a case and delighted families across America for over ten years. Volume 3: "Rumpole's Last Case" and "Rumpole and the Judge's Elbow". ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Part lawyer, part detective
This series closely follows the feel and the sarcasm of the written stories. The stories are not in the same order as the book however each one stands alone. In a brief time there is posed a mystery or a problem and then some recognizable interaction with people that I am sure you can say you know someone like them. A little drama and it is finally wrapped up in short order. More than the stories that do not leave you hanging it is the comments that make the episode interesting to watch.

Volume Three covers:

Episode 4. "Rumpole's Last Case" As usual several overlapping stories interacts as Rumpole may even over react. Mr. Rumpole has parlayed a two pound bet into 100 pounds. Strange his wife also spends that amount on a new rug. Well anyway he gets a tip from his client that is in for burglary and possible carrying a gun. Why not 100 to 30000 and hence his last Case. Going out in stile he lets everyone know what he thinks including the judge.

Episode 5. "Rumpole and the Judge's Elbow" A judge has a bit of tennis elbow. Doctor's advice does not seem to be working so on other advice he visits and alternative clinic (massage parlor). Some one paid with a credit card. And guess who gets to defend a massage parlor owner and rummage through credit card receipts? Yep Rumpole for some reason is offered the Deputy Circuit Judge.

A note on the side you will recognize many of the actors from both Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers movies. ... Read more

Description

London, 1966. The TARDIS materialises in the shadow of the newly-completed Post Office Tower, and the Doctor senses a strange energy in the air. He instinctively knows that evil is at work nearby. Posing as a scientist, the Doctor and his 'secretary' Dodo gain access to a suite at the top of the tower and meet the driven Professor Brett. His life's work, the thinking computer WOTAN, is about to be linked up in a problem-solving network with many other machines around the world. But the Doctor is concerned. How can WOTAN possibly know the meaning of the word 'TARDIS' and about the Doctor's travels through time and space? What is the strange control that WOTAN can exert over humans via a mere telephone call? And what is the computer's link with the deadly robots being assembled in Covent Garden warehouse? ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Doctor Who grows up
Plenty of outdoor scenes instead of cardboard sets. Inept government officials, military men with assault rifles, the Doctor tampering with electronics, present-day London in danger. With this story Doctor Who entered a new age. Although starring Hartnell, it is much more like Throughton or early Pertwee. I prefer this style to the less mature, if likeable, stories with Susan, Ian, Barbara & co.
Sure, War Machines has it's silly and naive moments, but that applies to almost every Doctor Who story. It is scientifically less ridicilous than The Tenth Planet. The machines themselves are like much more crude and clumsy Daleks, but i like them. People who like swinging London-stuff like Adam Adamant could enjoy this. Also those who prefer later doctors to Hartnell might find War Machines a positive surprise. I did, this is my favorite first doctor story.

Doctor Who finally Becomes Doctor Who
This is the first story that really brings the formula of the series until its demise into play. The focus is on the Doctor, who is now a willing adventurer and hero basically, and also brings up a more adult appraoch to the companions. The story is pretty good and very ahead of its time, but the War Machines are totally impractical killing machines and not frightening in a context except maybe if you were the poor chap operating it! As for the characters of Ben and Polly, they are excellent and it is a shame this is the only complete story in the BBC archives that feature the two of them. Also, it is a shame the magnificent Hartnell didn't stick around longer to try on this new modern Doctor Who on for size. A good one from the Hartnell era and a big turning point for the show... all that's missing is Nicholas Courtney as the Brigadier.

The story that influenced the Terminator? Perhaps.
This story is one of many examples of an intelligent concept being utilized in a very exceptional way in the Doctor Who format. This adventure has the good Doctor and Dodo arriving in London of 1966, and soon they would become involved in a very insidious plot put forth WOTAN, the very first example of a thinking computer, otherwise known as A.I., artificial intelligence, and the subsequent construction of an army of robots known as War Machines.

This adventure is something that I believed may have had a hand in influencing the Terminator movies, for in both cases, there is the talk of a super artificial intelligent computer system that has come to the realization that mankind's time is up, and the age of the machines must begin.

However, there is are differences, in the Terminator, the fact that once SkyNet was brought online, it launched nukes that practically destroyed half the world's population and brought about a dismal, dystopia, where there is nothing but wars and fighting, between the human resistance, and the robotic warriors of SkyNet.

In this adventure, the events build up slowly, first learning that WOTAN is a highly advanced computerized problem solver that was envisioned to assist humanity in it's global progress. But as it is connected, in a gothic sort of manner in various thrillers, as the menace is not quite made apparent, but slowly builds up as people of significant importance are brought under WOTAN's control, as more and more people are brought under its control, more of the War Machines are constructed and brought online.

This adventure is also notable for the somewhat abrupt departure of Dodo, and the introduction of two new companions for the good Doctor, Polly and Ben. In addition, there are some rather humorous scenes having the Doctor and his friends in the hottest nightclub in the area, 'The Inferno', as a display of the youthful exuberance of the Swinging Sixties.

In addition, what I thought was great was for the Doctor to be working alongside the military, lending his intelligence to their militaristic strategies, something that served as the first prototype story format that would be utilized during a majority of the 3rd Doctor era. I found this adventure to be very satisfying on an intellectual level, for it serves as an allegorical warning to not allow technology to dominate mankind. A must have for any Dr. Who fan.

Nice Predection Of Networking
This episode of Doctor Who isn't that great. Basically, you have a super computer who has a bunch of killer robots (the "War Machines") and it wants to take over the earth. Blah, blah, blah.

What made this episode interesting to me was the then almost unknown concept of networking computers. The idea for the super computer villian was that it had other computers that all linked to it and each other. The result made the super computer smarter. While that was laughable, today we do have corporate networks that span the globe and enable people to do more than ever.

Bottom line, a mostly dull episode with an close prediction of the future of computing in the 1960's. That part makes it worth having (IMO).

Dare I say...'Internet'
This story is built on the proposition that computers networked together will have a much gretaer capacity. Having a super computer, in this case WOTAN, at the heart of the network allows for the subjugation of mankind by computer. These days we could liken that to the internet.

As others have pointed out this is a thought provoking drama on the dangers of the over-reliance on cold calculationg computers. Recent movies such as Bicentennial Man and AI have sought to couter much of this type of propaganda which is still prevelant throughout the world. Once again, the good old BBC has brought a thorny scientific issue to the fore in the guise of a children's television show.

This is one of the most fab, with it, hip of the shows which was originally broadcast between June 25 to July 16 1966. Polly's fashionable dress and make-up together with the symbols of the swinging 60s, the Post Office Tower, the mini, among others are the touchstones of the new generation that was emerging. This was the year of the Beatles being awarded the MBE by the queen and once again the BBC pays lip service to social developments while helping the British tourist industry with their pictures of London. If you have an attractive outdoor location use it I say!

It's not the best of Doctor Who stories monster wise as others have said but it was a pretty novel idea at the time which certainly is one of the most endearing features of Doctor Who. The scary thing about the mobiles is that their construction was relatively simple and thus could be replicated quickly and easily. An enemy that could grow as fast as you can say 'production line' is scary indeed. ... Read more

Description

Gateway Collection. In one of the most popular episodes, an archeological dig revives Sutekh, an ancient Egyptian god of destruction. ... Read more

Reviews (21)

"There are other humans within these walls...."
"Pyramids of Mars" might contain the most chilling and powerful enemy the Doctor has ever come across in his travels. Instant classic comes to my mind when this adventure is mentioned in casual company. The story itself is outstanding. Wonderful writing from Robert Holmes, even Sarah gets some great one-liners("Your shoes need repairing", "Must've sneezed" and "Must've been a nasty accident"). Baker, of course, is zany, dramatic and unhuman, but humane. All guest actors provide their all, but it's Sutekh who steals the show in an unforgettable performance. The mummies are great! And Clements the poacher's death is not to be missed. Great location work help seal its fate in Who masterpieces, along with its creepy soundtrac, and flawless design and execution. Simply astounding, not to be missed. Probably one of Whos all time greats!

The very best DW ever!
I'll make no pretense - this is my favorite Doctor Who adventure of all time. It is moody and intense, with brilliant performances by Tom Baker, Lis Sladen, and Gabriel Woolf. No other DW villain has really been so imposing - we never see Sutekh's face (unless that mask -is- Sutekh's face) or see his lips move, but his voice is so powerful and resonant it sends chills down the spine; more than a worthy adversary for the tall and deep-voiced Tom Baker.

The story is nicely claustrophobic, mostly taking place in and around a mansion, with the marvelous sense of a horror movie. The script is another real gem by Robert Holmes (despite the writer's credit, he wrote almost all of what appeared onscreen), and no actor is off-par.

The only downside about this video is that it was one of the first DW videos released, so the four 25-minute episodes have been truncated into a long 95-minute "movie". Still, in lieu of an unedited video or DVD release, this is a fine purchase and should be in anyone's Doctor Who collection.

Good story
This continues the good stories that are well known in the early Baker years. His companionship with Sarah, one of the best Doctor/Companion pair ups of the entire series. The location and set designs, music and villians are all well done. Sutek makes a chilling villian, and the characters are all well acted. Classic scenes are infact the Tardis' voyage to 1980 earth to show Sarah what would become if Sutek were allowed to go free. Also the Mars pyramids and its many puzzles I found to be intriguing. The only flaw I found in this story is the organ playing in the beginning. Someone should delete this on the DVD release. We all know that is why Sutek sent his servant to kill the egyption in the first place. This is a classic Doctor Who story.

One of the Best Tom Baker stories
I like this story throughout. The plot is action packed with little padding. Tom Baker for once manages to stick to the script most of the time and is not guilty of massive overplaying as he is in many other episodes. There is humour but it is good. There are some genuinly scary moments. Along with Genesis of the Daleks in my view the best of T Baker!

Doctor Who with an Egyptian motif
Some stories done during Dr. Who producer Phillip Hinchcliff's time has been known as the Gothic era of the show. He commissioned stories based on old horror and sci-fi. Pyramids of Mars is a tribute to Hammer Films' mummy movies, using a lot of Egyptology themes and names.

After being mysteriously drawn off course to 1911 in an old priory where UNIT HQ would be built, the Doctor and Sarah become involved in the attempted return of Sutekh, an Osirian who was imprisoned by his brother Horus in a tomb recently uncovered by archaeologist Marcus Scarman. He returns to the priory, a zombified puppet of Sutekh, who with help of service robots disguised as mummies, create a deflection barrier around the priory and set about constructing a rocket to destroy the pyramids of Mars to free Sutekh.

The Doctor and Sarah rescue Dr. Warlock, a friend of Marcus's who has been shot by an Egyptian, and enlist the aid of Laurence, Marcus's brother. Laurence is an affable fellow, but despite seeing the possessed Marcus, still thinks of Marcus as his brother and not a puppet of Sutekh. Laurence is played by Michael Sheard, a multiple Who alumni and Admiral Ozzel in The Empire Strikes Back. Bernard Archard (Marcus) is effectively terrifying, his evil-looking eyes, curved down lips, and paled face put to good use.

How evil and how much Sutekh hates life is demonstrated in these lines: "The humans, animals, birds, fish, reptiles. All life is my enemy. All life shall perish under the reign of Sutekh the Destroyer." "Your evil is my good. ... Where I tread, I leave nothing but dust and darkness. I find that good!" Gabriel Woolf's sepulchral voice is put to good use here as Sutekh.

Lots of Egyptology comes in, such as Horus's defeat of Sutekh with the help of 740 Osirians. Not so coincidentally, 740 gods were listed on the tomb of Thutmosis III. The answer to that is the wars of the gods (Osirians) entered into Egyptian mythology and the whole of Egyptian culture founded upon the Osirian pattern. The various sarcophagi and artifacts boost the story's theme.

An interesting discussion takes place between Laurence Scarman, Marcus's brother, and the Doctor. He takes Sarah and Laurence to a future Earth, a desolate planet circling a dead sun, which is how Sutekh would leave it. "Every point in time has its alternative. You've looked into alternative time. ...The actions of the present fashion the future." When Laurence asks him if a man can change the course of history, the Doctor says "To a small extent. It takes a being of Sutekh's limitless power to destroy the future." The Doctor is thus a prisoner of moral obligation--until he stops Sutekh, he just can't up and leave.

Funny lines from Tom Baker: "deactivating a generator loop without a correct key is like repairing a watch with a hammer and chisel. One false move and you'll never know the time again." And he panics at Sarah throwing him a box of gelignite, saying, "Sweaty gelignite is highly unstable. One good sneeze could set it off." When he asks the chastised Sarah for detonators or fuses, she can't find any, and mischievously says, "Maybe he sneezed," meaning the owner of the gelignite. We also learn here that he is 750 years old.

A blaring booboo comes when Sarah claims she comes from 1980. UNIT stories generally take place the year the story is filmed. Also, as the Brigadier retired in 1976 (q.v. Mawdryn Undead, this is clearly inaccurate, as a future story in the same season has the Brigadier still working. So Sarah should've said she comes from 1975.

Trivia: at the time of shooting, the property where this was shot belonged to no less a person than Mick Jagger, but before, the house in the story had belonged to Lord Carnarvon, the archaeologist who uncovered King Tut's tomb, so a coincidence there.

Stylish and evenly-paced, with the Egyptology motif a good asset. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Before there was Quincy and The Practice, there was Rumpole. Rumpole of the Bailey is, quite simply, one of the best television series ever and has served as a model for all law dramas that followed it. Edgy and satirical, Rumpole is based on John Mortimer's books of the same name. A determined and committed criminal defense barrister at the Old Bailey, or criminal court (whose clients have included three generations of the Timson family, among others), the antihero Rumpole is portrayed by esteemed actor Leo McKern. As champion of the downtrodden, the self-righteous Rumpole finds himself again and again in trouble variously with his wife Hilda, his peers, the head of chambers, and judges, to name but a few. A connoisseur of Wordsworth, cigars, and cheap liquor, McKern's usually disheveled Rumpole belies the character's dry sense of humor and astute skill as a barrister. The upwardly mobile Hilda is played by Peggy Thorpe-Bates, known for her Miss Toliver in Alcatraz Island (1933), and Justice Sir Guthrie Fetherston is played by Peter Bowles, known for his Richard DeVere in TV's To the Manor Born.

Rumpole's Return is the 1982 two-hour special that started off the third Rumpole series after 1980's original Rumpole of the Bailey and 1981's Trials of Rumpole.

Typical of British drama, production values are low while the caliber of script-writing and acting is unsurpassed. A rare example of a television serial that is as appealing and engaging after watching it 10 times as it was the first. --Erik Macki ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Rumpole's Back
This Rumpole is a longer tha the episoses of Rumpole. It is a wonderful story that has Rumpole at his best in the Courtroom. Leo McKern is Rumpole. From the cigars to the poerty quoting it is hard to imagine anyone else as Rumpole. The story proceeds at a good pace. The acting is very good with McKern and the actor who plays the criminal defendant taking top honors ... Read more

Description

Suspicious illnesses and deaths are linked to the Welsh operations of the high-handed Global Chemicals corporation. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Jo's finest hour!
Global Chemicals have a process that results in 25% more petrol from crude. While that may mean "more money, more jobs" it also means "more muck, more devastation, more death," as well as a doubling in atmospheric pollution. When a miner is found dead in the mine in Llanfairfach, South Wales, covered by a green phosphorescent glow akin to putrefaction, UNIT is alerted. The Doctor, however, wants to go to Metebelis Three to get one of their blue sapphires and Jo wants to help Nobel Prize-winning ecologist Professor Jones and his hippie group of scientists against Global Chemicals.

Soon, two more deaths follow, and Jo and the Doctor discover the cause down the mine--a green petrochemical slime that causes death on contact. Worse, the slime has irradiated maggots to two feet in length who also kill on contact.

The Brigadier, and the Doctor (after a perilous but successful expedition at M3) work against Global Chemicals and the director, Jocelyn Stevens. However, in Episode 1, Stevens is seen talking to (himself?), as if he's under control by someone else.

Professor Jones reminds Jo of a younger version of the Doctor. He believes in using alternative energy sources, such as solar power, movements of the wind, tides, and rivers. No waste means no pollution. Stewart Bevan, then Katy Manning's beau, is a most welcome guest performer as the progressive but ecologically conscious Jones.

This is Jo's show all the way. She did well as the Doctor's assistant, but here, she's more than just a pretty face. Her concern and compassion whenever the Doctor is near death is shown to its best when she hears of the death of Bert, a "funny little Welshman" she only met for a few hours down the mine, but whom she felt was very special. Jones' comforting words to her are magic here. She chooses to go to South Wales instead of "all the time and space being offered" to her by the Doctor. As the Doctor says quietly, "So, the fledgling flies the coop." His reaction after he says goodbye to her at story's end tells his fondness of her.

For a good example of Who, Episode One is simply packed with action and a chain of events that draw the viewer in. The writhing and hissing maggots are well-constructed. They used fox skulls for those up close, and for those far away, inflated condoms! No joke!

Note: Tony Adams (Elgin) fell ill midway through production and so his lines were carried on by Mr. Dalek voice himself, Roy Skelton (Mr. James) in Episode 5. John-Scott Martin (Hughes) is best known for as being one of the men inside the Daleks. Roy Evans (Bert) later appeared next season in The Monster Of Peladon as Rima.
As for errors, notice the hand at the bottom right of screen giving Mostyn Evans (Dai) his cue to speak in Episode One. The CSO effects aren't that good when people go down the mine in the lift. And why use CSO and film intermittently in the "field of maggots"?

Katy Manning not only had three seasons as one of the series' most memorable and lovable companions, but had the best farewell story of any companion. The danger on pollution and condemnation against irresponsible corporations who flagrantly poison the Earth so that the ends (more fuel and money for everyone) justify the means, is still relevant--why else were films like A Civil Action and Erin Brockovich made over twenty years later?

Jo's rallying words at the beginning of Episode One still serves as a reminder today: "It's time that the world awoke to the alarm bells of pollution instead of sliding down the slippery slopes of..." Slopes to ruin, yes. Bye, Jo. We'll miss you!

It's Mine I tell you
This story is a peculiar ending to this particular season as it does not really fit in the overall scheme of things.

Another six part story, typical of the Pertwee years, what is of interest here is not so much the story but the way that it sets up the next season, which was to be Pertee's last.

As often was the case, the story reflects some of the scientific issues of the time and this is no exception as it deals with the environmental consequences of toxic waste. There is apolitical edge to this story to as it concerns the mine closure and the promise of future jobs as well as highlighting the dangers of working underground and the lack of investment in the pits. This was an ongoing dispute in Britain at the time between the Conservative Government of Ted Heath and the National Union of Mineworkers which resulted in strikes and eventually the country being on a three day week with electricity being rationed to the general public.

The storyhas considerable merit though it is really a little too long. The attempt to make the show more interesting by giving it feature length time was in itself admirable, but given the financial constraints under which Doctor Who operated, it was not sufficient to make it work.

What was also interesting about the Pertwee years was the way in which it was presented as a coherent package. The whole thing is interlinked with references to other stories within his playing of the role. In the Green Death, Jo leaves the show when she falls for the handsome young Professor and the Doctor gives her the crystal from Metabilis Three as a wedding gift, which assumes a crucial role in the final show of the Pertwee years.

One final note. The VHS version was released to mark the death of third Doctor Jon Pertwee who died suddenly at the age of 76 in May 1996. The show originally aired 19 May 1973 to 23 June.

JON PERTWEE AT HIS BEST
Story: Jo Grant, the Doctor's assistant, decides to help a group of environmentalists in their protests against Global Chemicals who are attempting to use a new, more productive technique to refine oil in an old Welsh mining town. This presents a conflict of interests when her boss, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, anounces that he has been tasked in protecting Global from the eco-terrorists by providing security. The doctor gets involved when an miner, sent to perform rountine checks on the abandon mine, collapses and dies while he skin turns bright green. Global Chemicals are unsurprisingly revealed to be the villans and have been dumping their highly toxic waste into the abandoned mine to save costs. The waste has mutated maggots into glowing green killers which have to be stopped before they turn into flies and infect the world! If this isn't enough, Global is actually run by a meglomanic computer with the ability to control minds of humans and is intent on taking over the world. Can the Doctor stop the mad computer? Can the Doctor find a cure for the infected Jo Grant? Can the Doctor kill the maggots and save the Earth? What do you think!!!???

Feeling like a cross between a Quatermass film and the old William Hartnel episode "The War Machines", The Green Death is an enjoyable romp from the Pertwee "exile" period. The wriggling green maggots are (fondly?) remembered by all children who watched the original transmission back in the '70's, the cast ham it up beautifully and the story ends on a sad note as Jo elects to leave the Doctor for a young scientist. While the scipt is very good and moves along at a decent pace, the effects are unfortunatly typical for the time period - the CSO (green-screen) effects in the mine are awful and the flying insect is laughable, however the maggot infested slag-heaps and the attacking maggots are done very well.

An American in London first view of Dr. Who!
Okay I grew up on the original Star Treks and one day my family went to live in England for 3 years. I was going on 9 at the time.

One weekday, after hearing about this show called Dr. Who from school mates, I got to see the first episode of the Green Death and was hooked on Dr. Who until returning to the states.

Naturally, my return to the states actually meant an end to me seeing Dr. Who until going to college in which local public TV stations ran the 3,4, & 5 doctor shows on Friday nights.

The Green Death, features the overtones of the misuse of the environment. A chemical company secretly pumps its waste into their end of a mine shaft. Overtime the miners start to discover strange green slime and a few go missing in the event.

UNIT is called in, and Dr. Who takes the lead into seeking out the missing miners and the apparent green death. His discovery reveals that maggot-like creatures have mutated via the chemical waste and now nature is taking its due back.

Seeing this again on VHS, not only sparked the memory of seeing this first the first time, its brings the Doctor back into my family's enjoyment of such a timeless series!

I only wish that the BBC would consider to release Dr. Who on the DVD format in the US if only to preserve this series for future generations. The American fans brought Star Trek back from the dead, we can support the Doctor just as well!!!

VERY BORING
Like most of Jon Pertwee's era this story sent me to sleep by episode two. Terrible,terrible CSO, and as usual, nauseating musical scores. BOSS is absolutely crap. The most pathetic monster/villain in who's history (seriously, I preferred that green pantomine dragon thing from Warriors). The lighting is atrocious. I could go on and on. Dr Who did not start getting decent until season 14 - I'd avoid purchasing any videos prior to that. I give it one star because it is a very imaginative script and could have worked given a better budget, acting, direction, music etc. The book would probably be better. Otherwise, avoid it. ... Read more

Description

Another "peaceful holiday" goes awry when the Doctor and friends encounter the Dominators and their deadly robots on a planet paradise. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Dominating the Doctor
Great little story with Troughton displaying his inimmitable style.

Troughton is the best Dr and this is an entertaining 5 parter that shows Troughton off as a mixed bag of fun and fear.

The story sees dastardly dominators who aim to destroy a planet with a nuclear bomb in order to fuel their star fleet.

The Doctor, with Jamie and new recruit Zoe manage to thwart their plans but not without a great deal of team work and action. With Jamie out and about exploding Quarks the Dominators is an entertaining tale to the end.

Just a simple tale of peace vs. war?
First transmitted August 10 through September 7 1968 in England, this is a traditional Doctor Who quarry story. Actually they spend more time in this particular quarry than in practically every other Doctor Who story.

The tale is a relatively simple one, a spacecraft lands accidentally on a planet thought to be uninhabited. The lifeforms, Dominators, are in need of an unknown fuel source with the aid of the robot QUARKS and that would be that except for the fact that the planet is not uninhabited, there are humanoids who are a peace loving race in the aftermath of an atomic debacle and then there is the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe.

To all intents and purposes it is a standard story of peace versus war with the Doctor forced tom act to free the Dulcians from evil and oppression. Nothing is quite so simple. The Dominators are cast as evil but in fact there is a trainee, a cold blooded, rash killer of everything he sees. His mentor, although a believer of the mental and physical superiority of the Dominators, is a different creature with a more 'noble' purpose. His consideration for life is more of a calculation than an emotional atttachment and the quest for domination of the universe is to bring order to all things. The destruction of the Dominators is more of a tragedy to be mourned rather than a triumph of good over evil.

The Dulcians are foppish and cowardly unlike the Thals of the Dead Planet and do not have the stomach to fight even for themselves. Science has resulted in an indifference to real new knowledge and has been replaced with a Disneyesque view of the world.

Patrick Troughton is admirable throughout and Zoe, despite the high intellect for which she is renowned as a Doctor companion, is again more of a visual aspect rather than a contributor. The story could have done with some tougher editing too.

"Just act stupid, do you think you could manage that?"
The majority of Patrick Troughton's stories as Dr Who are either incomplete or missing entirely from the BBC Archives. After watching "The Dominators" I can only conclude what a tragedy it is that this survives while others are lost. It is tedious all the way through. The Dominators are unconvincing and unengaging aliens/villains who look like a cross between Quasimodo and Humpty Dumpty - if their feuding between themselves is meant to be an interesting plot device, it doesn't work. (Ronald Allen, who plays Rago, is much better as Ralph Cormish in the Jon Pertwee story "The Ambassadors of Death".) The Quarks are laughable. They are meant to be killer robots, but their slow, comic movements and high pitched shrill voices make them more cute than anything else. All the Dulcian characters are uninteresting, one dimensional, bland and irritating. The pace of the story drags from the opening moments and lumbers its way through five ponderous episodes. Not Dr Who at its best.

Excellent sci-fi.
Dr Who deals with the then-topical subject of the atom bomb, a group of people on an alien planet visiting an atomic testing island but finding that the radiation has somehow disappeared. It transpires that a spacecraft inhabited by two war-like beings and their robots is powered by radiation and his absorbed it all. Before long the Doctor, Zoe and Jamie have arrived on the scene and uncoverda plot to turn the whole planet into a radio-active mass to fuel an invasion fleet.

One of the best Troughton stories I've seen. The Doctor himself is at his best. The two Dominators (an experienced navigator and his over-enthusiastic probationer) are memorable characters, the cold-eyed navigator especially effective. The fact that they have individual and differing characters leads to some excellent confrontational scenes between them. The robotic Quarks are eerily effective with their bizarre crystaline heads and creepy voices and the sound-effects and special-effects are mostly good. A story which is truly worthy of that over-used term 'classic'. ... Read more

Reviews (18)

One of the best Cyberman stories.
The Doctor and his companions return from Skaro after 'Genesis of the Daleks' to Nerva Beacon, which is in isolation due to a mysterious plague. Before long the remains of the Cyberman army is on the scene.

This is a well-written and interesting story - it is here that we discover the effect gold has on the Cybermen, who are at their menacing best. The characters are well-thought-out, there are some memorable scenes, the cybermats are finally creepy rather than comical and there is a nice doom-laden soundtrack. Seeing the Doctor arriving in the past of a location he visited in a previous story is also an interesting idea.

A much maligned classic!
Okay, I admit I gave this episode four stars just to catch your eye. I'm that kind of deceitful, attention-grasping loser. But now that you're here, I'll be honest and say that I do indeed consider this an episode scorned by vengeful fans, who hate it for all the wrong reasons. I would give it a solid three and a half stars, or better.

"Cybermen" is Tom Baker's only tangle with this staple villain of the Dr. Who series; the clanking, droning, mechanical men bent on...gasp!...conquest of the universe (why do machines always want to conquer the universe?) He twice battled both the Daleks and the Sontarans, and crossed swords with the Master at least three or four times, but for the tin men, this his is his sole contribution. Apparently, fans of previous doctors found the Cybermen as they are portrayed in this episode to be extremely lame and toothless, and felt a good villain had been wronged with a weak portrayal. I have admittedly little interest in the other doctors, being a Baker freak, so I can't really say, though I admit the more mobile (and combustible!) versions I saw in "The Five Doctors were more threatening.

"Revenge" is an underrated episode for several reasons. First off, it makes excellent use of the underground caves in which it was primarily shot; given the show's modest (meaning pathetic) budget, Dr. Who episodes were generally stronger when shot on location than when they were entirely confined to sets. The costume design is very good, the script clever and full of double-crosses, the villains suitably evil (excluding the admittedly boring Cyberleader), and the plot imaginative and well-developed. I also thought the regular cast (the Doc, Harry & Sarah) and the guest starts worked very well together.

The story is, I think, one of the better and more inventive of the series, since it does not depend on the standard formula of A) the Doctor delivering some or other race from oppressive masters or B) the Doctor foiling yet another conquest of Earth by aliens. "Revenge" is about an earth beacon designed to monitor space traffic around Jupiter is quaranteened when a plague breaks out on board. Only three crewmen and a smarmy scientist named Kellerman, who is on board to study a newly discovered moon of Jupiter, remain alive on the dismal space station. Cue the Doctor and friends, who as usual arrive just in time to be blamed for causing the plague. Of course, the Doc quickly figures out that the plague is not a plague at all, but a poison delivered by a nasty mechanical slug which, as it turns out, answers to Kellerman, who controls it like a homicidal radio-controlled car (but then he's a homicidal guy). The Doc recognizes the technology as that of the Cybermen, and when he realizes Jupiter's new moon is in fact the blasted remains of planet Voga, whose population are the Cybermen's natural enemy, he puts two and two together: the tin men, still smarting from the beating they took in their last war with the Vogans, have arrived to wipe them out once and for all. Unfortunately, he does not do his addition in time to stop the Cybermen from showing up and knocking everybody cold with their silly head-mounted stun guns, and then forcing them to carry into the planet core the bombs which the metalheads plan to use to blow the planet to bits, thus eliminating the universe's most ready supply of gold (which said Cyberman find lethal) and allowing the Cyber army to, well, conquer everybody.

The story moves to the planet, where it turns out a scheming Vogan bigshot named Vorus has been planning all along to lure these last remnants of the Cybermen back to Voga and then blast them into tin foil with a big ass rocket. This is the story's nicest twist, and features a very unexpected double cross, but Vorus' scheming backfires all the same, and now it is a race to see which side's ultimate plan will carry the day.

This episode has some silly moments (those head-mounted guns are as intimidating as slingshots that shoot marshmallows), the Cybermen are indeed dull villains with their plodding gait and monotone voices, and there are some logical inconsistencies you can drive a truck through (if gold kills Cybermen, why are guns which fire gold bullets useless against them but handfulls of gold dust thrown into their chest apparatus fatal?...why isn't the gold-dust-laden air poisonous to them? Why don't the Vogans, the arch-enemies who defeated them in the space war, have weapons that would kill them?) But I feel none of these things does enough to drag "Revenge" down. It is a good, solid, fun episode from, if you will pardon the pun, the show's "golden age" and it deserves a second chance.

THE CYBERMEN ARE BACK!
The Cybermen return after a long absence to pose more havic for the Doctor and his companions. The story is a bit of a mystery as the Doctor , HArry and Sarah return to Nerva Beacon. They have traveled back in time to find the station used as a ... This is an excellent Doctor WHo story

Welcome back, Cybermen. Has it really been 7 years?
It's been seven years after the 1968 story The Invasion that the Cybermen put in a full appearance, apart from a cameo in The Mind Of Evil and Carnival Of Monsters. As the Cybermen were overused in the Troughton era, coming out in four stories in three years, perhaps a long absence was necessary. But guess what? It would be another seven years until Earthshock in the Peter Davison era.

The adventure starts aboard the space station from The Ark In Space, where the TARDIS crew are waiting for their wayward time machine. The Doctor opens a door and a body leaning on the other side falls toward him. But in a sterile atmosphere, with "no sign of injury" and "nothing to indicate a cause of death," what could have happened? The Doctor, Harry, and Sarah have to tiptoe through a trail of bodies sprawled along the corridor. Captured by Commander Stevenson and his second-in-command Lester, they learn that a plague is responsible. With the discovery of a Cybermat, the Doctor realizes who's behind the deaths of 47 crewmen.

Key to this is Voga, the legendary planet of gold instrumental in wiping out the Cybermen in the Cyber Wars centuries ago. Two factions, the long-haired Councillors wearing tatty fishnet robes, and the Guardians, with clipped shorter hair and wearing black vests with gold pinstripes, are at odds with each other, although the cautious but kindly Councillor Tyrum is clearly the wiser as opposed to the audacious and ruthless Guardian leader Vorus.

A Cyberleader makes his first appearance here and this is one of the most curious ones ever. He has an obvious non-British accent and speaks of Voga in a hateful tone. How can creatures of logic use words like "unhappily," and "it is good"? Even the Doctor says, "For a moment, I thought he was going to smile."

The Doctor also has fun taunting the Cybermen: "You have no home planet, nothing. You're just a bunch of tin soldiers skulking around the galaxy in an ancient spaceship." And thanks to the glittergun, Cybermen were nothing but "gold-plated souvenirs that people used as hat stands." Ouch and double ouch!

The Cybermen are the same as in The Invasion, with the handlebars on both sides of their heads, but with slight modifications.

One item of curiosity: the Seal of Gallifrey is apparent in Councillor Tyrum's chamber, appearing on his table, and on Vorus' uniform. Was there a Gallifreyan influence on the Vogan civilization, i.e. a time agent of the Celestial Intervention Agency? The symbol later appears in The Deadly Assassin so I wonder if the series producer coopted it to become the Seal of Gallifrey. Interesting. Another is Sarah's remark of travelling for weeks, meaning that there were further adventures after Genesis Of The Daleks, the previous televised story.

Michael Wisher who plays the worrying Magrik, has an offscreen role as crewman Colville. Busy guy, considering he was Davros in the previous story, Genesis Of The Daleks. Kevin Stoney (Tyrum) also appeared in another Cybermen story, The Invasion, playing Tobias Vaughn.

Goof: English words on a Cybership's screen? Uh, hello?

Revenge Of The Cybermen is a perfect season closer and was the last story of Tom Baker's debut season, but as the second Nerva Beacon story, was filmed back-to-back with The Ark Of Space so they could continue using the same set before it was taken down.
Some have criticized this for story weakness, but in terms of story entertainment, it works.

bbc golden period
tom baker was good in this production defeating the cybermen who where like margarat thatcher bad and made of steal a good story of cheating and revenge you have to watch it to get the idea this was the first video of docter who to be released by the bbc in 1985 ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Eldrad must live...and Sarah Jane must go bye-bye
In Sarah Jane Smith's last adventure with the Doctor, she goes through a bit in the first two episodes. One, she is buried under a pile of rubble, when she and the Doctor accidentally stray near a quarry that is been dynamited. Two, she is possessed by a strange fossilized hand that is uncovered during said blasting that leads her to say "Eldrad must live." Three, she has lots of fun going around firing a blue light from a ring at anyone who tells her to stop. And four, are you ready for this... she locks herself and the hand in the outer chamber of the radioactive core at the Nunton Power Complex. I've heard of A Boy And His Dog, but A Girl And Her Hand? Hmm... But as Liz Sladen (Sarah) was with the series for three seasons, script-editor Robert Holmes thus made that part of the story central to Sarah.

The Doctor hypothesizes that the hand, originating from a silicon-based lifeform, is alive and is using radiation to regenerate itself. That does explain why Sarah comes out of the radiation chamber alive and well despite being exposed to enough radiation to kill a school of whales. But who or what is Eldrad?

There is a scene when the director of Nunton, Professor Watson, phones his wife and tells her in a calm voice that he may be delayed. He lies that there is nothing wrong and to kiss the children for him. This is when it looks like the facility might undergo meltdown. At the end of the call, his expression is one having resigned to the fact that he might well die before the day is over. This is Glyn Houston's best part in his role as Watson.

The crystalline costume for Eldrad is quite a beaut, which is clearly a blue-gray body suit with crystals and metal pieces attached to resemble a clump of jewels at various points. Judith Paris's portrayal of Eldrad retains the alien nature of this being, down to the voice. As Eldrad has been an alien exiled from Kastria and sentenced to obliteration, something that didn't succeed, the obsession of paranoia, in not trusting people, is well-acted. And the sight of a hand moving by itself isn't something one sees everyday. As Sarah says, "Careful, that's not as 'armless as it looks." Harmless, armless,... right.

The one thing that may throw fans is the farewell between the Doctor and one of his longest traveling companions. In contrast to the Third Doctor being shattered when Jo leaves him, here, the Fourth Doctor's not too emotional goodbye is a bit questionable. Then again, Tom Baker and Liz Sladen reworked that part of the dialogue themselves, so who knows?

The scenes in the nuclear plant, mainly episodes 2 and 3, are the bright points of The Hand Of Fear, as it's fast-moving and tense. Indeed, location filming was done at the Oldbury Nuclear Power Station in Avon, where the people there were enthusiastic in helping out the production team. Things slow down in the last episode, but it's an all right story.

Eldrad Must Live!
Bob Baker and Dave Martin seemed to have a knack for embedding catchphrases into the minds of their viewers: these are the same guys that gave us "Contact Has Been Made" (The Invisible Enemy), and "The Quest is The Quest" (Underworld). Here the catchphrase is the simple imperative: "Eldrad Must Live." By the end of chapter two, this mantra has been repeated at least once by every principal cast member, building up to the moment when we finally get a look at this Eldrad character -and SHE is not at all what we expected!

The episode kicks off by making fun of the series itself: the TARDIS materializes in what looks like yet another rock quarry --Sarah immediately concludes that they have once again gone astray and landed on some remote alien planet. The joke is, of course, that they have in fact arrived in present-day England...in an actual rock quarry!

The first half of the story plays out in the present day, with the Doctor interacting with ordinary everyday characters in a hospital, a pathology lab, and a nuclear reactor complex --certa