Attack of the Cybermen (TV story)

Attack of the Cybermen was the first story of Season 22. This story features the return of Lytton, last seen in "Resurrection of the Daleks," and also introduced the Cryons, the native race of Telos, whose world had been occupied by the Cybermen.

Synopsis
While attempting to fix the TARDIS's chameleon circuit, the Doctor returns to Foreman's Yard on Totter's Lane in 1985, where he meets up with his old enemies the Cybermen, who have come from the future to attempt to change history by sending Halley's Comet crashing into Earth. Lytton, last seen working for the Daleks, is also caught up in the Cybermen's plot. But is Lytton working for the Cybermen, himself, or someone else?

Part One
to be added

Part Two
to be added

Cast

 * The Doctor - Colin Baker
 * Peri - Nicola Bryant
 * Lytton - Maurice Colbourne
 * Griffiths - Brian Glover
 * Russell - Terry Molloy
 * Payne - James Beckett
 * Cyber Leader - David Banks
 * Cyber-Controller - Michael Kilgarriff
 * Flast - Faith Brown
 * Varne - Sarah Greene
 * Bates - Michael Attwell
 * Stratton - Jonathan David
 * Cyber-Lieutenant - Brian Orrell
 * Cyberman - John Ainley
 * Bill - Stephen Churchett
 * David - Stephen Wale
 * Rost - Sarah Berger
 * Threst - Esther Freud

Crew

 * Assistant Floor Manager - Pennie Bloomfield
 * Costumes - Anushia Nieradzik
 * Designer - Marjorie Pratt
 * Film Cameraman - Godfrey Johnson


 * Film Editor - M A C Adams
 * Incidental Music - Malcolm Clarke
 * Make-Up - Linda McInnes
 * Producer - John Nathan-Turner
 * Production Assistant - Llinos Wyn Jones
 * Production Associate - June Collins, Sue Anstruther
 * Script Editor - Eric Saward
 * Special Sounds - Dick Mills
 * Studio Lighting - Henry Barber
 * Studio Sound - Andy Stacey
 * Theme Arrangement - Peter Howell
 * Title Music - Ron Grainer
 * Visual Effects - Chris Lawson

Individuals

 * Lytton says that he comes from a satellite of Vita 15 (Riften 5) in the star system 690.
 * During one of the Doctor's rants he calls Peri the Terrible Zodin.
 * The Cyber Controller has met the Doctor before.

Planets

 * The Doctor and Peri view Halley's Comet from the TARDIS.
 * The Cybermen speak of preventing Mondas' destruction.
 * The Cybermen have tombs on Telos.

Races and Species

 * Lytton previously worked for the Daleks.
 * Cybermen
 * Cryons are native to Telos.

Technology

 * The Doctor (briefly) fixes the TARDIS Chameleon circuit.

Music

 * When the Doctor and Peri observe Halley's Comet the background music is Malcolm Clarke's music for the 1982 BBC documentary, "The Comet is Coming".
 * When the TARDIS lands in the junkyard, the music playing is a distorted version of the theme music to "Steptoe and Son", a BBC sitcom about a couple of rag-and-bone men. The original music was written by Ron Grainer, who also wrote the Doctor Who theme.
 * The Doctor plays the opening of J. S. Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in B Minor" on the TARDIS/organ. This piece had already been used in the film "Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD".

Story Notes

 * There is much contention over who exactly wrote Attack of the Cybermen, it was written under the pseudonym Paula Moore.
 * Paula Woolsey and Eric Saward, supposedly together wrote the story.
 * However Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis can/could also be credited as the inventors of the Cybermen.
 * There is also some argument whether Ian Levine also contributed to the story.


 * Attack of the Cybermen was first broadcast in two weekly parts; beginning with this serial and continuing for the remainder of Season 22, episodes were 45 minutes in length (as opposed to previous episodes which were 25 minutes long) for syndication, in some markets, this serial is re-edited into four, 25-minute segments.
 * Atypically for the title sequence used from Seasons 18 through 23, the story title is rendered in all capital letters.
 * This story had the working title The Cold War.

Ratings

 * Part One - 8.9 million viewers
 * Part Two - 7.2 million viewers

Myths

 * This story replaced one called The Opera of Doom featuring Lightfoot and Jago, Padmasambhava, Omega, the Master, the Rills and the Cybermen. (This was a rumour deliberately started by fans and printed as fact in the news magazine DWB.)

Filming Locations

 * Glenthorne Road (UCI House), Hammersmith, London
 * Davis Road, London, W3
 * Birkbeck Road, Acton
 * Becklow Road, London, W12
 * Gerrards Cross Sand and Gravel Quarry, Gerrards Cross
 * BBC Television Centre (TC6), Shepherd's Bush, London

Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors

 * How did the Cybermen get into the TARDIS before the Doctor arrived. The Cybermen might be advanced enough to break into the Doctor's TARDIS. It's also possible that the Doctor simply forgot to lock it, which he's done in the past.
 * Why do the Cybermen let the Doctor tamper with his controls when they are holding Peri?
 * It is established that the Cybermen went to Telos after Mondas was destroyed to use the freezing chambers. So why are there Cybermen in the freezing chambers in this story? They haven't come there yet. Yes they have. They have been on Telos for ages. The ones we see in the beginning are probably survivors from The Invasion who have somehow got in touch with the rest of their kind. Actually, it is clearly established that the Cybermen on Earth have traveled back in time to 1985. The Doctor is concerned that the Cybermen have discovered the 'secrets' of time travel, to which Flast (while they are both captive on Telos) assures him that they have only captured a time vessel, but that they don't understand why or how it works, just that it does.
 * It seemed like a very crude plan for the Time Lords to send him to stop the Cybermen against his will, without him knowing what he has to do? He has been sent on this sort of mission before (DW: The Brain of Morbius'')

Continuity

 * This story revisits the setting of DW: An Unearthly Child.
 * The Cybermen mention Mondas' destruction which occured in DW: The Tenth Planet.
 * Dialogue seems to indicate these Cybermen are from a period after DW: The Tomb of the Cybermen, it was also the first appearance of Telos.
 * DW: The Invasion featured Cybermen in the sewers as does this story.
 * Lytton last appeared in DW: Resurrection of the Daleks.
 * The Cybermen have a spaceship on the dark side of the Moon. They had a base there during the events of DW: The Invasion.

DVD, Video and Releases

 * Attack of the Cybermen was released in a tin boxed set with The Tenth Planet in 2000 on VHS.
 * Attack Of The Cybermen was released on DVD in the UK in March 2009.
 * Editing for VHS and DVD release completed by Doctor Who Restoration Team.

Novelisation

 * Main article: Attack of the Cybermen (novelisation)


 * Novelised by Eric Saward in 1989.