C12S05 Revenge of the Cybermen
Synopsis
The Doctor and his companions are lost in time.
Expecting to be reunited with the TARDIS following a secret mission for the Time Lords, they instead find themselves on a plague-stricken space station orbiting the remnants of Voga, Planet of Gold.
The Doctor, Harry and Sarah have stumbled into the last battle of an ancient conflict between humankind and one of its most terrifying foes – the Cybermen.
Cover notes
In Revenge of the Cybermen the eponymous villains return – after a long absence – in a rather diminished form. No longer an invincible superhuman army, they are, as the Doctor puts it, "a pathetic bunch of tin soldiers skulking about the galaxy in an ancient spaceship."
Lacking the slick 'gothic horror' styling of other early Tom Baker stories, Revenge of the Cybermen itself seems somewhat out of time, in many ways more like a product of the mid-1960s than the mid-70s.
There is still plenty to enjoy, though. The atmospheric location of Wookey Hole, Tom Baker's sense of humour, Elisabeth Sladen's sparkling performance and Ian Marter's public-school heroics all make for a fun caper to end the Fourth Doctor's first series.
Furthermore, Revenge of the Cybermen will always have a special place in the hearts of Doctor Who fans. When the BBC began to release older stories on videotape in 1983, this one was the first to be chosen.
When the programme was taken off-air in 1989, regular BBC Video releases helped keep its memory alive. Thanks in part to Revenge of the Cybermen, Doctor Who survived to fight another day...
Cast
| The Doctor | Tom Baker | listed as Doctor Who |
| Sarah Jane Smith | Elisabeth Sladen | |
| Harry Sullivan | Ian Marter | |
Crew
| Written by | ||
| Written by | ||
| Production Unit Manager | ||
| Production Assistant | ||
| Title music | Ron Grainer and BBC Radiophonic Workshop | |
| Title sequence | Bernard Lodge | |
| Incidental music | Dudley Simpson | |
| Special sound | Dick Mills | |
| Visual effects designer | ||
| Visual effects designer | ||
| Costume designer | ||
| Make-up | ||
| Studio Lighting | ||
| Studio Sound | ||
| Fight arranger | ||
| Film Cameraman | ||
| Film Sound | ||
| Film Editor | ||
| Script Editor | Robert Holmes | |
| Designer | ||
| Designer | ||
| Producer | Philip Hinchcliffe | |
| Director |
DVD Extras
| Elisabeth Sladen Philip Hinchcliffe David Collings |
commentary track | |
| The Tin Man and the Witch | The making of Revenge of the Cybermen. | |
| Location Report [1975] | A contemporary BBC News interview with Tom Baker on location at Wookey Hole Caves. | |
| Cheques, Lies and Videotape [2009] | What was it like in the days before commercially released videos, when TV was as ephemeral a medium as theatre? How did Doctor Who fans enjoy old episodes of their favourite programme? All is revealed in this new documentary. | |
| photo gallery | ||
| Radio Times listings |
Special Edition DVD Extras
BluRay Extras
Loose Canon Extras
Commentary
| serial code : | 4D |
| episode count : | 4 |
| initial broadcast date : | 1975-04-19 |
| DVD release date : | |
| DVD SE release date : | |
| BluRay release date : | |
| part of the Revenge of the Cybermen / Silver nemesis boxset | |