In an unusual move the BBC have issued images of the new look Cybermen which are due to appear in the Series 12 finale a couple of weeks early. We only get face and head / shoulder shots, but they are enough to let us see what's new about them, and what might have stayed the same. The bodies don't look like they've changed all that much, but you'll notice in the image below that some little spikes have been added to the shoulders, and the shoulder sections are bigger. The main change is with the helmet, which now has a face very similar to the Cybermen which appeared in The Invasion and Revenge of the Cybermen. What's more - the ear muffs are back. I think they look great, but we do need to see the whole costume to get the full look.
What is hugely significant about these images is that they bear no resemblance to the damaged Cyberman seen previously in the series trailer...
As you can see from this close-up shot, there is definitely a human left eye visible - suggesting that someone is wearing this like armour, or it is some kind of half-human / half-Cyberman construct (as in more hybrid than they usually are). If the latter, then this might still tie in with the Frankenstein / Mary Shelley story (Episode 8). The full version of this Cyberman glimpsed in the same trailer did show a body made up of different Cyberman versions, such as a Mondasian arm - so the alternative is that this relates to the fact that this Cybermen originates with the end of the Cyber-War (Episode 9) when they are simply using whatever parts they can get hold of.
It has also been announced that Ian McElhinney (Game of Thrones, Krypton) is in the finale, along with Steve Toussaint.
Cyberman/human hybrid? But that's what the cybermen are meant to be. Doctor Who writers have had this problem over the years where they make the cybermen 'just robots', or brains inside robotic suits. I'll bet 100 bucks it's because emphasizing theres a *human* inside the cyber-body would break the age ratings. Only Attack Of The Cybermen, Death In Heaven and (Of course) World Enough And Time have dared dive into this....Until now. I've got a wonderful sneaky feeling Chibnall is going to highlight the fact the Cybermen are "butchered human bodies"...2017-2020 could be the time that finally makes the cybermen truly terrifying again!
ReplyDeleteI did add the qualifying statement in parentheses- as in more hybrid than they usually are. Like you I'm hoping the Cybermen are given a decent story. They've been poorly used apart from World Enough and Time in recent years. The worry is that the story arcs / potential companion departures will relegate them to the background.
ReplyDeleteWhen I've looked over that treatment over the years, I've noticed it's really just been Moffatt that put the cybermen in the background (until 2017 of course). I don't think Chibnall would have any reason to continue that way of writing them. The Dalek featured pretty heavily in Resolution, and there were some nice moments like the dalek creature in the bag attacking and 'bonding' onto the woman. I'm just trying to hope though...Maybe 'Ascension' means the writing for the cybermen just gets better from here on in, haha
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