Doctor Who: 8 Times The Cybermen Were Scarier In Black And White
6. Attack Of The Cybermen (1985)
For all the grousing about the Colin Baker era being one of gratuitous violence and poor scripts, most people admit that it is at least held together by a dedicated performance from the leading man himself. In this example, it really is only Baker that holds the story back from becoming one of the most disappointing in Doctor Who history. The opening of this overly-complex, time-spanning story is actually extremely promising, with Baker finally fixing the TARDIS chameleon circuit and a side-story concerning the alien mercenary Lytton, now trapped on Earth and working for mysterious employers. Even the bit where it seems that the Doctor has a dust up with a Cyber-controlled policeman (all off screen) is actually entertaining and more in keeping with his character than some would have you believe. But it all falls apart when the Cybermen lumber awkwardly onto the scene spouting some nonsense about time travel to Telos and the tombs of the Cybermen as they attempt to resurrect the Cyber-race. By this point the Cybermen really have become, as Tom Baker said, a bunch of pathetic tin soldiers skulking about the galaxy.... Their endless speechifying is almost ludicrously funny and then, just in case you are taking them seriously, the Cyber Controller waddles in with a fat stomach and a cheap dummy acting as its double. It feels like such a fall from the mighty heights of Tomb of the Cybermen, an adventure referenced quite deliberately by the Cybermens evil scheme. The added introduction of a strange, ethically muddled and previously unknown race called the Cryons is interesting enough but only serves to add even more of a sense of confusion to an already uncertain script. In the end, it all falls into improbable incomprehensibility and weighed down by the attempt to appeal to dedicated fans more than general viewers - and it doesnt succeed in either regard.
