It is 1986, and Earth’s sister planet has come home, bringing with it the emotionless, unstoppable Cybermen. At the Snowcap base in Antarctica, the invasion begins, but the Cybermen have not reckoned on the First Doctor and his companions. However, the Doctor’s body seems to be wearing a bit thin…
The Times They Are A Changing I never thought that I would ever buy another VHS cassette but until 2entertain release the story on DVD (they tell me they have plans to but no set release date yet) then this is the only way to see The Tenth Planet.Fortunately I still have a player set up, so having recently become a fan of this era of the series I had to buy it and was lucky enough to find a new one, which was still sealed.As most people know, the story features the debut of the Cybermen and the departure of William Hartnell.The restoration team make a good job of “reconstructing” the missing episode 4 (apart from one telesnap in the wrong place) and there were more actual clips than I realised existed.Companions Ben and Polly see plenty of action, which is great as I’ve become a big fan. (Ben gets more screen time than originally intended because WH wasn’t able to film episode 3 due to ill health).The Cyberman are much better than those in the series now. They look really good and the voices (mostly provided by Roy Skelton, who passed away last week) are brilliant. You can really believe that this is what humanity could become and I imagine that viewers found the concept quite chilling in 1966.Fortunately most of the very first regeneration scene still exists (although it was some years before the term was used). A really novel idea that showed how ahead of its time the series was. Viewers must have wondered what on earth was happening (but they only had a week to find out).Recommended.
A Renaissance In ’60s Television. What more is there to be said about this watershed story? The introduction of the Cybermen; the end of the first Doctor – with the obvious exception of the series’ pilot episode, ‘An Unearthly Child’ ‘The Tenth Planet’ is the single most important serial in the history of Doctor Who. Rose-tinted glasses aside, though, it has to be said that, innovation aside, ‘The Tenth Planet’ does have its faults. The supporting characters are hackneyed, the plot itself is nothing more than the trusty old ‘base under siege’ device, and despite being set twenty years ahead of its original transmission date – i.e: in the mid-1980s – Polly is still left making the tea and screaming while the men do the tricky work. Also, it’s a great shame that the crucial last episode no longer exists and is depicted here as a series of stills played over the original soundtrack. But, having said that, relax, the most important scene – the Doctor’s regeneration (or, at least, the first stage of it) – is featured in all its glory. Overall, not the best of Doctor Who by any means, but certainly one to watch.