THE TOMB OF THE CYBERMEN
THE TOMB OF THE CYBERMEN. Written by Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis. 4 eps.
2nd - 23 September 1967.
COMPANIONS:- Jamie and Victoria.
The TARDIS lands on a barren planet and encounters an expedition which is
looking for the remnants of the Cyber civilisation. This is Telos, refuge of
the last of the Cybermen. The expeditionary force is led by Professor Parry
but financed by the mysterious Eric Kleig and his companion Khaftan, who
employs a huge bodyguard in the shape of Toberman, a silent negro.
Having uncovered a pair of giant doors, the group are preparing to enter
what are rumoured to be the tombs of the last Cybermen. The massive doors
are booby trapped however and the first attempt to open them results in the
death of a man. The Doctor fixes a device to the doors which drains them of
their electrical charge and Toberman forces them apart.
The group enter a large antechamber containing a hatchway and a bank of
switches. There appears to be only one other door but the Doctor reveals
there to be another door too. Kleig begins to try to work out the logic
code to open the hatch whilst the others split up into groups to explore.
Khaftan, Victoria and the edgy Viner discover a room with a huge outline
of a man hollowed out of the wall. There is a large gun-like device pointing
at the hollow and another bank of controls following the same complex logic.
Khaftan surmises that they are in a revitalisation room.
Jamie and Haydon, another member of Parry's team, find a room with just
bare walls and a control panel. Haydon begins to throw levers and a pattern
appears on the far wall, mesmerising Jamie. Haydon snaps him out of it and
tries to think of a solution as to what the room is for.
Victoria meanwhile has become stuck inside the revitalisation chamber
after Khaftan has thrown some switches. Viner frantically tries to get her
out whilst Khaftan looks on with interest. The Doctor comes into the room
and throws the correct sequence of levers, releasing Victoria.
Haydon persuades Jamie to operate the panel again while he shades his
eyes from the effects of the lights. He gets Jamie to throw one extra
switch just as the Doctor enters, shouting a warning. A Cyberman emerges
in front of Haydon and he is shot down from the rear. They are in a
target range.
Back in the main control room, Kleig is trying to work out the logic
code without too much success. The Doctor gives him the basics but then
warns him not to proceed further. Of course, Kleig DOES proceed and
manages to open the hatch, revealing frozen tombs below.
The men enter the tombs leaving Khaftan and Victoria behind. Once down
there, Khaftan closes the hatch and pulls a gun on Victoria. Kleig also
pulls a gun and begins to thaw the tombs. Viner makes moves to stop him
and is shot down. The Cybermen emerge but when Kleig offers an alliance,
they disarm him and tell of their intention to convert the men into a new
race of Cybermen.
They escape but Toberman is left behind. The Cybermen release small
mechanical creatures, Cybermats, to attack the expedition but the Doctor
lays an electric cable on the floor to keep them at bay.
Kleig and Khaftan have been locked in the target range where they find
the Cyber gun and prepare to use it in their escape. After they do so, a
Cyberman kills Kahftan and Kleig is also killed. The Doctor shows Khaftan's
body to the semi-converted Toberman and convinces him that the Cybermen are
evil. They descend once more into the tombs and re-freeze the Cybermen.
The Cyber Controller fights with Toberman back in the control room and
finally Toberman kills himself by re-sealing the electrified doors and
killing the Controller.
This story was discovered in a vault in Hong Kong in 1991 and is rated
as the most important find in the search for lost WHO so far. It is
available as an audio cassette or video.
Comments
Post a Comment