Episode 224: The Invasion (5)

Synopsis:

The Doctor and Jamie have made their way into the warehouse basement of the IE building. There they witness Gregory and some technicians use a machine to supply power to a cocooned figure within one of the metal cylinders.

A Cyberman bursts out...

His suspicions confirmed, the Doctor ushers Jamie back to their waiting canoe and they leave via the canal to warn the Brigadier.

Arriving at the UNIT transport aircraft, they notify Zoe, Isobel and Captain Turner of what they have seen. The Doctor deduces that Vaughn's deep space radio transmitter is being used by the Cybermen to home in on, delivering troops to the compound which are then transported to London. He believes that there may now be a huge army hidden somewhere in the city as numerous UFO sightings have been recorded by UNIT.

Turner tells the Doctor that the Brigadier is at the Ministry of Defence meeting with their liaison there - Major General Rutlidge. The Doctor recalls how he was one of the people who entered the IE offices, and came out strangely changed. The Cybermen can control people's minds.

The Brigadier is telling Rutlidge about the incident at the IE compound, where his helicopter was fired upon. He counters by claiming that it was trespassing on private property and refuses to allow the Brigadier to take any further action. All he can offer is that he will talk to his superiors.

Frustrated, the Brigadier informs him that he will bypass the MoD and go straight to UNIT headquarters in Geneva for the necessary authority to take action.

As soon as he has left, Rutlidge puts a call through to Vaughn, who has arrived back at his London office. The Major General informs him of the Brigadier's threat, but then struggles to concentrate. Vaughn and Packer realise that their mental control over him is slipping, and so he is ordered to visit the office in person.

He arrives soon after, and Vaughn manages to learn from him that UNIT won't be able to act for at least another day, possibly two.

Vaughn is unconcerned, but instructs Packer that Gregory must carry out an experiment. Watkins' machine is to be taken to the warehouse area.

After Packer leaves, he opens the secret wall panel behind his desk and orders the Cyber-Director to connect him with the Cyberman fleet. A mentally conflicted Rutlidge remains in the office, unable to comprehend what is happening.

Vaughn informs the Cybermen that the invasion must be brought forward, to begin in fifteen hours' time - at dawn the next morning. They maintain that their invasion force is not yet complete, but agree when Vaughn threatens to dissolve their partnership and points out that they will meet resistance if they adhere to the original timetable.

Packer is supervising newly reanimated Cybermen, who are being sent down into the sewer system to await further orders.

The Brigadier has returned to his HQ where the Doctor is studying a map of London, one which features the main drainage system. He points out how a main sewer runs right underneath the IE building, and deduces that this is where the Cyberman army is being assembled.

The Brigadier informs the Doctor that going via Geneva will take time. The Doctor is wondering about what form the attack will take, and asks Jamie to hand him the radio which Vaughn had given him on their first meeting. He asks the Brigadier if UNIT have any IE technology, and Turner takes him to examine it.

Vaughn arrives in the warehouse for an update on progress. He orders that the next Cyberman to be reanimated be only given sufficient power for it to free itself from its cocoon.

He then has Gregory attach the Cerebratron Mentor to it, and switches on - setting the machine to generate fear. The Cyberman is driven insane and goes on the rampage before following the others into the sewers. Packer is horrified that they might have been killed, but Vaughn thinks it a useful test of the machine. He doesn't care if the rogue Cyberman kills anyone.

The Brigadier is bemoaning his lack of evidence to Isobel and the Doctor's companions - so she suggests getting photographic proof. She tells him how this could be done, even in the darkness of the sewers. Interested, he insists that he will get his people to arrange this - declining her offer to do it herself. 

Annoyed at his patronising attitude, Isobel decides to get the evidence for him anyway - and Zoe agrees to accompany her. Jamie tries to talk them out of this dangerous course of action, but they won't be swayed. Reluctantly he agrees to go with them, and they arrange transport back to London with Corporal Benton, who is unaware of what they have planned. 

The Doctor informs Turner that all IE equipment seems to contain a particular circuit which does not appear to have any function. It must serve some purpose...

Vaughn is conferring with the Cyber-Director on the final planning for the invasion. It states that a transmission from them will render all humans subject to their mental control. Some individuals will be allowed to live to help them, whilst the rest will be destroyed. Vaughn argues that this goes against their agreement, and once more threatens to withdraw his aid. He will rule the planet, supplying the Cybermen with the mineral resources they seek. The Cyber-Director insists that he undergo full conversion. He is content that his body has been converted, but his mind must remain unaltered.

It is agreed.

Concluding the meeting, he tells Packer that the Cybermen will likely turn on him the moment the invasion succeeds - hence his own plan to use the Cerebratron Mentor against them. They and many of the IE men have special implants designed to counter Cyber-control.

The Doctor tells the Brigadier and Turner about the micro-monolithic circuit he has found in all the IE equipment he has examined. He wishes to study it further at Watkins' home, where there is an electronics laboratory.

The Brigadier agrees to arrange transport after organising a photographic detail to follow up on Isobel's suggestion.

They then discover that she, Jamie and Zoe have gone to London with Benton, "to get something for the Brigadier". They realise what this means and Benton is contacted by radio.

He reports that he has already dropped off the young people close to the IE building.

They have opened a manhole cover and are descending to the sewers when spotted by a policeman, who follows them down.

Benton is ordered to locate them, with Turner on his way to assist. He will drop the Doctor off at Watkins' house on route.

The policeman stumbles into the path of a pair of Cybermen and is shot dead. This is witnessed by Jamie, Zoe and Isobel. 

Knowing that the Cybermen block their path that way, they move off in the opposite direction - only to see another Cyberman lurching along the tunnel towards them...

Data:

Written by Derrick Sherwin (from an idea by Kit Pedler)

Recorded: Friday 18th October 1968 - Lime Grove Studio D

First broadcast: 5.15pm, Saturday 30th November 1968

Ratings: 6.7 million / AI 52

VFX: Bill King & Trading Post

Designer: Richard Hunt

Director: Douglas Camfield

Additional cast: Dominic Allan (Policeman)

Critique:

Major General Rutlidge is never seen again after this episode. Our last glimpse is of him still sitting, mentally conflicted, in Vaughn's office. The implication is that he is no longer needed, now that the invasion is about to commence in a few hours, and he is disposed of.

One of a number of cuts to this episode in post-production dealt with his fate. After completing his discussion with the Cyber-Director, Vaughn turned to find Rutlidge pointing a gun at him, now realising what has been done to his mind. Vaughn is unconcerned, and tells him that he knows he will not shoot him. Instead, he reasserts his mental dominance over him and makes the hapless military man turn the gun on himself.

Ian Marter's novelisation of the story reinstates the bloody conclusion to his role.

It had originally been planned that Cybermats might appear in The Invasion. Looking at the finished story, one wonders where they might have been included. One possible idea might have been as sewer guards, so it may have been they who threatened Jamie, Zoe and Isobel and who killed the policeman. They would only have been functional in a studio environment.

We know that the sequence involving the use of the Cerebratron Mentor on one of the Cybermen was revised by Derrick Sherwin in early August, possibly to give the aliens a role to play in this episode now that they had been revealed.

The new Cyberman costumes were designed by Bobi Bartlett, who wanted them to look tougher and more imposing.

Six new costumes were made for the story.

She retained the use of padded diving suits for the main body, but altered the helmets, chest units and the hydraulic framework for the arms and legs. These components were the work of freelance father and son prop-builders Jack and John Lovell. As with The Wheel in Space, they were later unhappy that their role went uncredited, with Doctor Who Monthly stating that Bill King's outfit were responsible. (They would only provide the new Cyberguns, more of which later when they appear).

For the helmet, Bartlett added the now famous "earmuffs" to the sides, increasing the size and making them less claustrophobic for the actors wearing them. She kept the teardrop below the eye holes, but got rid of the one beneath the mouth. Small army surplus torches were built into the helmets. Black gauze was placed behind the eyes and mouth.

The more compact, lightweight chest units had built-in lights which flashed in sequence, which would look good in the darkened sewer sets, though they were not employed on location filming.

The main filming for this episode took place on Sunday 8th September, on Fore Street in London, which lies close to Moorgate station and the site of the old Museum of London at the Barbican.

This was for the scenes of Jamie, Zoe and Isobel entering the sewers via a manhole, and their pursuit by the policeman. Peter Thompson played the workman who sees the young people enter the manhole.

Also filmed for this instalment was the departure from the IE building of the Doctor and Jamie by canoe on the Regent Canal in West London, recorded on Friday 13th.

Four Cybermen were used in studio on 18th October, their voices provided by Peter Halliday. The modulator was set to a higher frequency to differentiate it from the voice of the Cyber-Director.

Sherwin had looked to The Wheel in Space for the idea that the Cybermen could control people's minds, as well as the defence against this of a small metal plate worn on the back of the neck.

Douglas Camfield opted to record this episode out of sequence, based on sets. He began with the opening warehouse scene, then moved on to all the sequences in UNIT's aircraft Ops Room.

This was followed by all of the scenes in Vaughn's office.

Next up was Rutlidge's office, for his video call with Vaughn, followed by one further warehouse sequence involving Packer and the Cybermen.

The final scenes recorded were on the sewer set.

Only used on film, Peter Thompson provided a pre-recorded computer voice for Vaughn's office.

Recording breaks were for cast movements, including moving the Cyberman actors from the warehouse to the sewer set.

For the death of the policeman, a bright light came from the Cyberman chest units, and the picture went into negative through over-exposure - as used for the Dalek extermination effect.

Closing captions rolled over a shot of the approaching insane Cyberman before a fade to black.

As well as the death of Rutlidge, there were two further cuts made before broadcast. The first took place in the UNIT Ops Room. The Brigadier was sceptical about the Cybermen, with the Doctor countering that they were no more incredible than the Yeti. Discussing how large an army of the aliens there might be in London, the IE building seemed too small to be concealing a whole invasion force - and Jamie wondered if they might be hidden underground somewhere. This prompted the Doctor to seek out the map of the sewer system.

The final cut was a single shot of a Cyberman descending a ladder from the warehouse into the sewers.

It's from this episode onwards that the TARDIS crew dynamic changes. Jamie will start to become side-lined, and Zoe will come more to the fore.

Here, she allies herself with Isobel in a show of female solidarity and independence, whilst Jamie reluctantly agrees to tag along - more in his role of protective big brother than because he actually sees their plan as a sensible one. It is an extremely silly venture. Both have first hand experience of the Cybermen, and know just how dangerous they can be. 

Jamie might be being over-confident, having helped defeat them three times before. As for Zoe? Might she still be thinking of the death of her mentor Gemma Corwyn at their hands, and be looking for a way to fight back?

What triggers their crazy scheme is the Brigadier's insistence that any kind of dangerous mission is unsuitable for a woman. He's being presented as a chauvinistic, patronising authority figure, but the fact is that he is quite right to say that this is a job best left for his men - professional photographers who are also trained soldiers - as events subsequently show.

Of course, the whole point of Isobel's scheme is to get photographs of the Cybermen - but once in the sewers they then do everything they can to avoid them...

Oddly, the Doctor seems less than concerned about the fate of his companions and Isobel - leaving UNIT to handle their rescue even though he is being taken back to London himself. It seems very out of character that he would not want to be involved in person, even if he is somewhat preoccupied with the IE circuits. We're reminded of his apparent disregard for Dr Corwyn's safety in the penultimate episode of the previous Cyberman story.

For me, the Cybermen lurking in the sewers is just as iconic as the subsequent scenes of them marching around London landmarks. There's something ghostly about them, and they really suit these claustrophobic, darkened environments.

Trivia:

• The ratings see a slight improvement, both in terms of viewers and in the appreciation figure. Last week's episode was actually the lowest rated of the story.
• Tuesday 26th November 1968 saw a feature on the BBC Radiophonic Workshop on the TV programme Tom Tom. This included a brief clip of exploding Daleks from The Power of the Daleks (6), which is how this material came to be preserved in the archives.
• In an April 1989 interview with fan publication DWB, the Lovells claimed that Bobi Bartlett's husband used to visit their workshop to collect his wife, and always showed a keen interest in their work. She suddenly stopped using them, and they discovered that she was giving the work to her husband instead.
• Edward Dentith would be reunited with Frazer Hines a decade later when he joined Emmerdale Farm, appearing in 56 episodes between 1979 - 80. He also appeared in another production with Kevin Stoney, though they didn't share any scenes together - "The Plastic Eaters" episode of Doomwatch.
• Dominic Allan had a reputation for playing police officers in a number of series (11 times, according to IMDb). He also featured in four episodes of The Tomorrow People, and played Dracula author Bram Stoker in a 1974 edition of arts series Omnibus.
• Peter Thompson relocated to Australia, where he appeared in their version of Are You Being Served?, and soap Neighbours.

The Art of... The Invasion

The Invasion was novelised by Ian Marter and first published in hardback in May 1985, with the paperback following that October. The artwork, depicting a lone Cyberman and the UNIT logo, was by Andrew Skilleter. He has used an airbrush to give the Cyberman its metallic look.

Derrick Sherwin had originally intended to novelise his own story. When this fell through, Marter stepped in as he had already covered a Cyberman story - Earthshock - despite his dislike of writing for the monsters.

He made a number of changes, some controversial. He altered the name of Vaughn's company to International Electromatix, and the Russian rocket base was given the name Nykortny, after Nicholas Courtney. The actors had become very good friends through the convention circuit, for which they wrote and performed a double act for the evening cabarets. 

The opening TARDIS sequence was consigned to a prologue.

He included some swearing from Packer, but most noticeably gave Rutlidge (renamed Routledge) a rather graphic death.

This is the first time that an Invasion-style Cyberman has actually accompanied the correct story on a Target novelisation, having previously featured on the covers of both Doctor Who and the Cybermen and Doctor Who and the Tomb of the Cybermen.

The book was reissued, with new cover art by Alister Pearson in September 1993, using a mirror image of a Cyberman from the St Paul's location shoot. The Troughton portrait derives from a publicity image from The Power of the Daleks, of the Doctor looking at his 500 Year Diary.

A collector offered the original painting for sale on Ebay for £3000 in 2017. It failed to get a buyer.

According to DWM issue 97, artist Mark Bentham was in talks to provide artwork for the Target range and came up with sample covers for The Invasion and for The Mind of Evil. His work had been spotted in the Peter Haining book Doctor Who - The Key to Time. Nothing would come of these discussions. Here he used a portrait shot of Kevin Stoney as Tobias Vaughn, and the iconic Cyberman portrait previously used by Chris Achilleos for Doctor Who and the Cybermen. The image above was reproduced in Telos Publishing's The Target Book.

With two of the eight episodes missing, the story was given a soundtrack release as part of the BBC Audio Collection in November 2004 with linking narration from Frazer Hines, who also supplied an interview.

It has the usual photomontage cover, featuring some explosive action and a lot of Cybermen. One looks like it's popping up from a manhole behind Isobel Watkins, whilst she photographs a bunch of its dead comrades.

The surviving six episodes were released on VHS in a double pack in June 1993. The missing instalments were covered in condensed fashion by Nicholas Courtney, narrating events to camera. The artwork is again by Andrew Skilleter, who once more concentrates on a single Cyberman image, backed with a fleet of Cyberships.

For its DVD release, the decision was made to animate the missing episodes - the work going to the Cosgrove Hall company. This was the first of the incomplete stories to be presented in this way. Perhaps disappointed at the lack of Cybermen in their episodes, the company produced a trailer which reproduced the famous St Paul's scene, but set against a rainy, overcast sky.

The DVD was released in the UK in November 2006. The cover is the work of Clayton Hickman, and features Vaughn and the Brigadier prominently along with Cybermen and St Paul's, but also includes an action shot of the Doctor from the final episode.

The Region 1 release came in March 2007 with its own photomontage cover - which isn't anywhere near as satisfying as the more dynamic Region 2 version. The Troughton portrait is the same one used by Skilleter for the VHS cover.

Marter's novelisation was released as an audiobook in April 2016, using the original Skilleter artwork. As you can see, the reader was David Troughton, whilst Nicholas Briggs provided the Cyberman vocals. The image is sharper than the version used on the book, and benefits more from the stark black background.

Finally, Don Harper's music for the story was released on CD in September 2019. It also includes Brian Hodgson's radiophonic contributions to the score. The label was Silva Screen Records.

Harper's master tape of his score was actually lost soon after production, but the composer had luckily retained a personal copy.

Episode 223: The Invasion (4)

This episode no longer exists in the archive, and nor are there any telesnaps. Representative images have been used.

Synopsis:

The Doctor and Jamie are being hunted by Packer and his men. They conceal themselves in a railway freight car, Jamie climbing inside one of the metal cylinders they saw at IE's London warehouse.

He discovers that he is not alone, as something cocooned within begins to stir... 

Once the searchers have moved off, he tells the Doctor of what he experienced but they do not have time to go investigate as they overhear a guard state that Zoe and Isobel have arrived and are to be taken to the main administration block.

Packer reports back to Vaughn in his office. The security chief argues that he ought to have been allowed to dispose of the Doctor and Jamie sooner, but Vaughn argues that sometimes it is best to keep people alive if they can be made to serve his purpose. He has allowed Watkins to live only because of the Cerebratron Mentor, after noticing that their allies are troubled by it. It is his intention, once the planned invasion has been a success, to then discard them. The alternative would be conversion into inhuman creatures like them. Vaughn wants the Doctor's travel machine as a contingency plan should they fail.

The girls will be used to flush him out.

In the UNIT helicopter, Captain Turner reports all the increased activity at the compound to the Brigadier, who orders Sergeant Walters to put his troops in the area on standby.

Vaughn does not seem too concerned by it hovering so near his factory. He then makes a public address announcement, giving the Doctor ten minutes to surrender.

Zoe and Isobel are locked in a room on the tenth floor of the office block. They can see the Doctor and Jamie below, motioning them to keep back from the window. Zoe has also spotted an electronic eye in the room, spying on them.

The Doctor uses his UNIT radio to contact the Brigadier, to check if the helicopter has a rope ladder on board and to have it position itself immediately above the building. He and Jamie are going to make for its roof via a fire escape ladder.

They are picked up by the helicopter, and Jamie is then sent down the rope ladder to the window of the room where the girls are being held. They have jammed the door to prevent Packer and his men from entering. All three must then ascend the ladder to the helicopter, with IE guards opening fire on them.

The guards reach the roof just as the helicopter moves away, with Jamie - last to leave - still clinging to the ladder.

Vaughn is initially furious that Packer has failed yet again, but then announces that they will be returning to London with the professor and his machine. He intends to bring the invasion forward - to begin in 24 hours. He also assures Packer that there will be no official reaction to what has just happened, having his secretary contact Major General Rutlidge at the Ministry of Defence...

Rutlidge is informed that UNIT have been causing him trouble, and he is instructed to ensure there will be no further interference from them. Rutlidge agrees to arrange this, though is oddly hesitant in his response.

The Doctor and his companions are now all safely back at UNIT's transporter aircraft HQ. He tells the Brigadier about the spaceship on the dark side of the Moon which fired on the TARDIS, and of the deep space radio transmitter they saw at the IE compound.

From Captain Turner he then hears about UFO sightings near to the compound, one of which was photographed.

Watkins is notified that he is to be moved back to London - and given an ultimatum of 24 hours to complete work on his machine. Vaughn and Packer lead him to believe that Isobel is still in their power.

The Doctor examines the photographs and finds the craft depicted strangely familiar. 

He deduces that these spacecraft are delivering something to the compound, which are then transported up to the London IE premises. He recalls Jamie talking about something within his metal cylinder moving, and asks the Brigadier for a detailed map which covers the area around the building.

Noting something interesting, he then enquires if the Brigadier can get him a canoe...

A short time later he and Jamie are paddling the canoe along a canal and into a tunnel which provides an access point into the IE warehouse, managing to evade the guards.

Once inside, they witness Gregory, Vaughn's head of research, and some technicians employing a strange electronic device. Cables run from it to one of the cocoons, standing within an upright cylinder. 

The power quickly builds, and a Cyberman bursts out...

Data:

Written by Derrick Sherwin (from a story by Kit Pedler)

Recorded: Friday 11th October 1968 - Lime Grove Studio D 

First broadcast: 5.15pm, Saturday 23rd November 1968

Ratings: 6.4 million / AI 51

VFX: Bill King & Trading Post

Designer: Richard Hunt

Director: Douglas Camfield

Additional cast: Edward Dentith (Rutlidge), Sheila Dunn (MoD Phone Operator)

Critique:

During the making of An Unearthly Child, Eileen Way, playing the Old Woman, told William Hartnell that she didn't think Doctor Who would last more than a few months at best. He always said it would last 5 years. The pair decided to bet on it, but never met again - so Hartnell never did get his money. Of course, when he made the bet he would have assumed that he would still be in the title role but, sadly, that was not to be. Doctor Who celebrated its fifth anniversary, with no fanfare and with a different star, with this episode. 

It's just a pity that this episode no longer exists in the archives, as this is the one where the story really picks up a gear. UNIT get involved in the action and Vaughn's allies make themselves known - and it's the return of a popular monster.

Rutlidge was described in the script as "about forty, greying, and with a nervous disposition which he covers up in normal circumstances with false bonhomie".

The UFO photographed by UNIT was described as being of an elongated hexagonal shape. Sherwin may have intended use of the same model seen in The Wheel in Space. 

It was originally intended that the Cyberman would be reanimated using a bio-projector, as seen in The Tomb of the Cybermen.

In August, script amendments were made to the scene of the Doctor and Jamie overhearing the mention of the girls being taken to the admin block; the rooftop rescue sequence; and the Doctor and Jamie using a canoe to get into the IE building.

The filming for this episode centred on the dramatic helicopter rescue by UNIT. This had been due to be filmed at RAF Fairford on Tuesday 3rd September, but had to be postponed when insurance problems prevented the arrival of the helicopter.

The filming then got underway on Thursday 5th at Denham Airfield. Close-ups of the cast in the aircraft, including Robert Sidaway playing Captain Turner, were filmed with it on the ground. Concerned about being filmed from below climbing up the rope ladder, Frazer Hines had lead weights sewn into the hem of his kilt to stop it showing the football shorts he usually wore. As a good Highlander, Jamie would have been expected to wear nothing under the kilt. Hines had read that the Queen used this lead weight technique on her skirts. Unfortunately, Sally Faulkner hadn't read the same article and so her underwear did make an appearance - spotted, like her dress, it would appear from photographs taken on location...

The pilot was Mike Hughes of Gregory Air Services. He took Hines and Sidaway up on a short flight and alarmed them by jokingly claiming that, as it was an Alouette, all the controls were labelled in French and he couldn't understand them.

It was on this day that Hines announced to the press his imminent departure from the series.

The following day, cast and crew moved to Wallingford, Oxfordshire, to film all the ground level action for the recue sequence at the premises of Associated British Maltsters.

The final filming for this episode took place on the Regent's Canal on Friday 13th September, when work was underway at Ealing Studios - Troughton and Hines being filmed paddling the canoe.

Having been seen only in a photograph in the second episode, the cast was now joined by Edward Dentith, playing Major General Rutlidge. He had appeared alongside Nicholas Courtney in the thriller Watch The Birdies, directed by Douglas Camfield.

And having previously voiced the IE reception computer, the director's wife Sheila Dunn now featured as the video phone operator.

A sizeable amount of the running time for this episode had been pre-filmed, so the studio session ran relatively smoothly. The only new sets this week were small offices - the one where Zoe and Isobel were kept, and Rutlidge's. The Cyberman was reanimated in part of the IE warehouse set.

The first recording break allowed Hines to move from the cylinder with the cutaway section into a complete one, to be seen climbing out of it.

Other breaks were for cast movement between sets.

One of the new Cyberman spaceship models, filmed at Ealing on Friday 30th August, was photographed against a neutral background and slightly blurred, to be shown to the Doctor by Captain Turner.

The Cyberman which emerges from the cocoon at the episode's conclusion was played, uncredited on this instalment, by Pat Gorman. He had been a background artist and monster performer on the programme ever since the second episode of The Dalek Invasion of Earth. Terrance Dicks used to joke that it was in the BBC Charter that he had to be cast in everything.

We'll discuss the new-look Cybermen next time, when they feature more prominently.

After being consigned to the periphery of events up until now, UNIT finally get involved in the action through a dramatic helicopter rescue of the Doctor and his friends. The Brigadier, though, is still confined to his transport aircraft and yet to make his mark.

Vaughn's allies are revealed to be the Cybermen. Even if Radio Times hadn't spoiled their return - or if they had stuck with the working title of "The Return of the Cybermen" - then I think the audience in 1968 might have guessed their involvement. We've had a few clues, such as the Doctor thinking that the threat on the dark side of the Moon might already know who he is, the look and sound of the Cyber-Director, and the talk earlier in this episode about conversion and the significance of emotion. Watkins' machine delivers emotional impulses, and the allies don't want it developed.

There's also the fact that the Cybermen were appearing on the programme frequently during this period. They featured twice in Season 4, and topped and tailed Season 5, so it was pretty inevitable that they would be showing up again soon.

Invasions of Earth are a bit of a cliché in the programme, especially since it returned in 2005. Whilst the planet has been threatened quite a few times, actual alien invasions have been relatively rare in Doctor Who up until this point. Only The Dalek Invasion of Earth comes really close, and then the TARDIS arrived after the invasion had already been accomplished and the Daleks were now the rulers of Earth, with only a small band of ill-equipped rebels to trouble them.

In this story, we get to see the build-up to the attack, as a human collaborator schemes to pave the way.

Vaughn isn't only interested in taking power once the Cybermen have conquered the Earth. His ambitions - like those of his future look-a-like Mavic Chen - are much greater than that. Both have a secondary plan in which they will get rid of the alien allies once their work is done, in order to rule single-handedly. Not for them ruling under a foreign power. Chen could easily have kept his initial involvement with the Daleks a secret from the rest of the Solar System, attacking them with his fleet based on Venus and coming across as some sort of avenging saviour. Vaughn isn't interested in what the people of Earth might think of him. He plans to rule them, and that's all there is to it as far as he is concerned.

Trivia:

• The ratings see a sharp fall this week, of over half a million viewers. The appreciation figure also drops some three points.
• This was the second time "The Return of the Cybermen" had been used as a working title for a story, the previous time being for The Moonbase.
• The image of a Cyberman bursting out of a cocoon was so striking Eric Saward reused it in Earthshock, which also borrowed elements of Revenge of the Cybermen. The Invasion will also inspire one aspect of Attack of the Cybermen - namely Cybermen exploiting London's sewer network and having a spaceship hidden on the dark side of the Moon.
• Isobel asks Zoe why they were kidnapped, and not just handed over to the police. She seems to think they're in trouble purely for sabotaging the IE reception computer - forgetting entirely that she was told back in Episode 2 that she was going to be used to force her uncle into cooperating with Vaughn...
• The filming at Denham Airfield was covered by the local press:

• This week's Radio Times published a photograph of Isobel climbing up to the UNIT helicopter, to accompany the day's programme listings...

• And it also ran a feature on Kit Pedler, though not in all regions. On Tuesday 12th November he participated in a Radio 3 discussion titled Of Ombudsmen and Cybermats, which considered the ethics of science and looked forward to his new series Doomwatch, co-written with Gerry Davis. This would focus on the potential dangers to people and the environment of unregulated science. The discussion wasn't broadcast until June 1969, and would be his final link with Doctor Who. There was an article in The Listener, dated 10th July 1969, to accompany the broadcast...

Episode 222: The Invasion (3)

Synopsis:

The Doctor and Jamie are in the warehouse area of the IE building, having heard Zoe and Isobel cry out. They are challenged by security guards, led by Packer. Jamie attacks him and they make for the exit - only to encounter more guards. Packer approaches, pistol drawn...

He is prevented from harming them by the sudden appearance of Vaughn. He does not deny that the two young women were here, but claims they left. Jamie insists that they heard them call out, and he saw Zoe's feather boa sticking out of one of the large metal cylinders. Vaughn invites them to search and they move away, but Packer quickly orders the freight train carrying these containers to leave immediately.

By the time the Doctor and Jamie reach the platform, the train is already on its way.

Vaughn explains that it is going down to his factory in the country, and states that he himself is going there now. They can come with him and inspect the containers on their arrival.

They take to Vaughn's Rolls Royce outside the offices and drive off. 

This has been observed by Corporal Benton, who reports back to the Brigadier at UNIT HQ.

Asked if he and Tracy should follow, the Brigadier instead instructs Sergeant Walters to send a helicopter to track them. On board will be Captain Turner.

He soon reports seeing the car enter the IE compound, and is advised to remain in the area.

The Doctor and Jamie are taken to Vaughn's office - which is identical to the one in London. He explains that uniformity is a key part of his business efficiency.

Vaughn tries to get information from the Doctor about the TARDIS circuits, which his own people have failed to explain. He then leaves to arrange for them to meet with Professor Watkins.

Jamie is worried that he is being far too nice to them, whilst the Doctor is more concerned about his interest in the circuits. Both are curious as to why Vaughn is letting them speak with Watkins.

Vaughn and Packer are in the professor's workshop, threatening to use Isobel to force him to collaborate with them.

The Doctor is looking out of the window and is intrigued to see a number of large white domes at the edge of the compound, of the sort which house long-range tracking systems. Jamie notices the UNIT helicopter in the distance.

They are then taken to see Watkins. He knows of the Doctor through Anne Travers, and wants to hear more about the TARDIS. The Doctor evades his questioning and produces a magnet from his pocket, which he uses to disable an electronic eye which has been spying on them. They then learn of the professor's work on a teaching machine he calls the Cerebratron Mentor, which induces emotional impulses.

Vaughn and Packer see the monitor in his office reduced to static. Vaughn had hoped to learn more of how his allies could know of the Doctor, and his presence on an alien planet. He has deduced that the Doctor must have some sort of travel machine, and the strange circuits are part of this.

He decides that the time to play games with them is over as he and Packer go to the workshop and remove the Doctor and Jamie, threatening Zoe if they won't co-operate with him.

As they are marched towards a lift, the Doctor causes a distraction. Packer is shoved aside and they enter the lift and ascend to the upper levels. The Doctor sabotages the controls so that it can't be brought back down.

Packer has guards sent to every level - unaware that the Doctor and Jamie have exited the lift through a hatch in its ceiling and are climbing a ladder up the shaft to the roof of the building.

When the lift controls are overridden, Packer is surprised to find it empty - but Vaughn is furious with him for failing to realise that they would have gotten out the way they did. Packer sends the lift up to the top of the building - hoping to crush them, despite Vaughn wishing them to be taken unharmed - but they are already safely outside.

They find a fire escape and climb down to ground level. Packer is forced to report to Vaughn of his failure to capture them on the roof - infuriating him further. 

The entire compound is put on full alert.

The Doctor and Jamie have found their way to the railyard. As Packer and his men approach, they decide to hide in one of the freight cars - Jamie climbing inside one of the metal cylinders, which appear to contain large cocooned objects.

He is shocked to discover that he is not alone in the darkness of the container. There is something alive, stirring within the cocoon...

Data:

Written by Derrick Sherwin (from a story by Kit Pedler)

Recorded: Friday 4th October 1968 - Lime Grove Studio D

First broadcast: 5.15pm, Saturday 16th November 1968

Ratings: 7.1 million / AI 54

VFX: Bill King & Trading Post

Designer: Richard Hunt

Director: Douglas Camfield

Additional cast: Edward Burnham (Professor Watkins) 

Critique:

In writing The Invasion, Derrick Sherwin first concentrated on the opening few episodes, which are the ones which more closely resemble a conventional spy thriller. The action concentrates on Tobias Vaughn and his henchman Packer, with the Doctor investigating International Electromatics with only Jamie as companion. Zoe has been side-lined in the plot, with Isobel, and doesn't feature at all this week.

We are only drip fed the information that Vaughn has less than conventional allies. There's the strange machine hidden in his office, which alerts him to the fact that the Doctor is known to it and has been seen on an alien planet. This pins down who might be behind all this, and the voice of the Cyber-Director would probably have given the game away for those who might not have read the Radio Times for the week of the first episode. The Brigadier and UNIT have been introduced, but they are very much sitting on the side-lines for now - held back until the invaders finally show themselves, though they will have something exciting to do in the fourth instalment.

This week, we move away from London to IE's rural compound. Visually, there's not a lot of difference as the same locations are used, and Vaughn likes his offices to look identical.

We get one new character introduced - Professor Watkins, whose disappearance got the Doctor into this in the first place. As mentioned last time, he was initially going to appear in Episode Two but his first appearance was kept back until now.

Filming for this episode began on Thursday 5th September, at Kingston Minerals in Gloucestershire. This was for scenes involving the UNIT helicopter which tracked Vaughn's Rolls Royce - a Silver Cloud. The 'copter was an Alouette supplied by Gregory Air Services, who had previously contributed to Fury From The Deep. A nearby field was used, and close-ups of Robert Sidaway (Capt. Turner) in the machine were filmed on the ground from a low angle.

The following day saw the crew move to Associated British Maltsters at Wallingford, for the sequence where the Doctor and Jamie climb down a fire escape. The company provided a modern office block and more railway sidings. This filming made the local press.

On Saturday 7th, Troughton, Hines, Stoney and Halliday were filmed exiting Millbank Tower and getting into Vaughn's Rolls Royce. Hines would later borrow the vehicle to drive around London to impress his friends.

Last time, we mentioned that Troughton, Hines and the crew had finished filming in Notting Hill on Wednesday 11th September, and moved to Acton - the location of the Guinness Brewery. This had been identified by local resident Chris D'Oyly John who was Production Assistant on the story (pictured below right).

They arrived in time for lunch, which included several bottles of the company's famous product. The visitors were gifted Guinness Christmas Puddings. (Troughton would later report that the alcohol fumes caused his to explode). Troughton organised a water fight after the meal. Everyone got a little merry, but fortunately only some action scenes were required from the cast that afternoon, with no dialogue.

For one scene where the Doctor and Jamie had to peer round the corner of a building, both actors kept falling over.

The final filming for Episode Three took place at Ealing on Friday 13th September, for the sequence where the Doctor and Jamie climb up the lift shaft. "Kilroy Was Here" graffiti was added to the set for a touch of verisimilitude. This had been at the suggestion of Hines who argued that British workmen would do this sort of thing, after Douglas Camfield had initially objected.

Prior to recording on Friday 4th October, a few script amendments were made - including Packer using a wrist-mounted communicator instead of a conventional telephone next to the lift.

Watkins was described as short, bald and short-sighted.

The US Information Office supplied footage of an Early Warning System, which would be used when the Doctor spied on it from Vaughn's office. This was viewed through a circular mask to indicate the Doctor's POV through his telescope.

The compound office was simply the existing London set with a new backdrop behind the window blinds. As well as saving on creating a new set, this obviously tied in with Vaughn's ultra-efficiency through uniformity nature.

John Levene had been hired to play Benton in this episode, but did not feature on screen - only providing a radio narrative for the Brigadier.

Recording breaks were mainly for cast movements. The last was for Hines to move from the cylinder prop to another which had a cutaway section, for his close-up as he sees the object within the cocoon begin to stir.

"Our friend the Doctor's a resourceful man. No wonder our allies fear him".

"Our allies know him?"

"Oh yes, I was ordered to destroy him. But first I must learn the secrets of this extraordinary machine of his"

"If you've been ordered to destroy him - "

"I don't take orders, Packer, I give them!..."

"You know something? You're a clever wee chappie".

This episode is really about two pairs of characters - a couple of double acts. One is humourless and regimented, the other funny and anarchic. 

The Brigadier does feature briefly and we get to meet Professor Watkins, who gets two scenes - one with each of these pairs, and which very much highlight their different characteristics.

Vaughn and Packer are deadly serious (though Vaughn has a smirking charm about him). Vaughn threatens, and Packer bullies. We also get to see how the boss is infuriated at the incompetence of his underling (which takes us back to why he not only employs him, but seems to rely on him a great deal. Last week we also met Gregory, who doesn't exactly inspire confidence as a head of research). 

There is some humour to be had from watching Packer becoming increasingly exasperated at what is his own incompetence. 

The Doctor and Jamie, meanwhile, do what they do best - get into trouble then find clever ways to get out of it. It's very clear that Troughton and Hines are completely in tune with each other as performers. Hines has said as much in interviews, claiming they could each tell what the other was thinking - and this sometimes comes across with their characters. They've not only worked together solidly since The Highlanders, but they had acted opposite each other in previous drama productions. 

Troughton and Kevin Stoney were both character actors, who had found steady work in supporting roles. Halliday had been a leading man for a time, starring in low budget British movies such as Dilemma (a suburban thriller written by Pip & Jane Baker) as well as on TV in the two Andromeda serials. 

Hines had been a juvenile lead, but at this stage in his career was being pressured by his agent to get into films, so was hoping to land leading (or more prominent supporting) roles.

We're concentrating on the main characters this week, as it's another episode which is really treading water. 

We're biding our time until Vaughn's allies make themselves known, and the promised invasion gets under way. All that's really happened is that we've moved from one location to another, which in many ways is identical to what we've already seen so far. 

Being a technocrat, it was easy to have him obsessed with uniformity and duplication - so that his offices would have the same overall design and layout (which was obviously a blessing for the designer and for the budget).

One new element of significance is the work which Watkins is being forced to carry out for Vaughn. A machine which generates emotional impulses. 

It's a 'Chekov's Gun' - introduced now because it must have some relevance later. 

Edward Burnham will get a very good scene with Kevin Stoney later, but otherwise the professor's invention is the character's only real contribution to the story. You can see why they decided it wasn't really worthwhile hiring Jack Watling again. 

Trivia:

• The ratings remain stable, with the appreciation figure actually rising by a point.
• Edward Burnham will return to the series as another professor - Kettlewell - in Robot.
• There is some confusion as to just what the professor's invention is called. I've gone with what appears in DWM's The Complete History. A transcript site has "Cerebraton", whilst the TARDIS wiki insists on "Cerebration". Burnham certainly doesn't pronounce it as "Cerebration".
• Packer presses Floor 3 to get to Watkins' workshop - yet Jamie declares that they are 6 floors up when he and the Doctor first escape into the lift, having just come from the workshop...
• The Guinness company's in-house magazine covered the filming at Acton, including a photograph of Troughton and Hines with some of the workers:

Episode 221: The Invasion (2)

Synopsis:

Vaughn studies the circuits which the Doctor gave him, then activates a control on his desk. A panel in the wall behind it slides open to reveal a strange machine...

The Doctor and Jamie are walking away from the IE building when they become aware of a car slowly following behind them. Another then blocks the end of the street.

They decide it would be useless to run and so sit down on the kerb, where the Doctor produces a pack of playing cards.

Back at her studio, Isobel is trying to find out more about her new friends. Zoe is worried that the Doctor and Jamie are still not back yet - knowing how easily they get into trouble.

Vaughn has summoned his head of scientific research - Gregory - to his office, to show him the TARDIS circuits. He gives him a deadline to work out their function and method of manufacture, then orders Packer to provide him photographs of the two recent visitors.

Zoe and Isobel decide to go and find the others at the IE building.

Benton and Tracy have driven the Doctor and Jamie to an RAF base, and they approach a large transporter aircraft which is sitting on the tarmac. Within is a mobile headquarters, and they are pleasantly surprised to find that in charge here is their old acquaintance Lethbridge-Stewart. He is a Brigadier now, and leads a force called the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, or UNIT for short. He states that their encounter with the Yeti in the Underground was some four years ago.

UNIT was set up as an investigative, intelligence gathering organisation, and at the moment they are particularly interested in International Electromatics and its CEO Tobias Vaughn. This is why they were monitoring the building and noting everyone who visited. The Brigadier recognised them from photographs sent to him by Benton and Tracy.

He states that whilst they observe people entering, not everyone comes out again...

At that moment, Zoe and Isobel have arrived at the reception area of the IE building and encountered its automated receptionist.

With his photographs of the Doctor and Jamie, Vaughn is consulting with the machine behind the secret panel. It tells him that the pair are known to it from Planet 14 and are regarded as hostile.

Vaughn is intrigued to know how they could be known from an alien planet, and is concerned that the plan for an imminent invasion might be threatened. 

He is interrupted by the security feed from the reception area.

Frustrated by its failure to tell them anything about Professor Watkins or the Doctor and Jamie, Zoe gives the computer an unsolvable mathematical problem. It blows a fuse.

Vaughn watches, bemused, from his office - then sends Packer to fetch the two young women.

They are captured by uniformed security guards.

The Brigadier is showing the Doctor and Jamie images of the people entering the IE building whom he is concerned about. Some are top computer scientists and one is of Major General Rutlidge from the Ministry of Defence, who is UNIT's liaison with the government. Not all the people have vanished. Some have emerged but with changed personalities. Rutlidge, for instance, was in favour of his investigation into IE, but is now opposed to it.

The Doctor and Jamie then recognise another image as that of the lorry driver who gave them a lift at the IE compound. He is a UNIT agent, and has failed to report in.

The Brigadier informs them that IE have cornered the market in computer technology, thanks to the invention of a micro-monolithic circuit which features in all their products. He explains that Vaughn has powerful friends and his options for investigating him are limited, so the Doctor agrees that he and his companions will have to find their own methods of finding Watkins.

The Brigadier gives the Doctor a communications device before they leave, then arranges a lift back to London.

They find Zoe and Isobel absent when they get back to the house, and the Doctor begins to examine the radio which Vaughn had given to Jamie, intrigued by one particular circuit. They then read a message Zoe has left to say they have gone to the IE building to look for them. They hurriedly depart. 

Vaughn is explaining to his latest visitors that he can now use Isobel to make her uncle more co-operative.

Arriving outside the IE building, the Doctor contacts the Brigadier and learns that Zoe and Isobel were seen to enter but haven't come out yet. The Doctor decides to bypass the main entrance and use another at the rear by some railway sidings.

They find themselves in a warehouse area filled with large metal cylinders. They observe a workman carrying one of these effortlessly - but when Jamie tries to lift it he finds it impossibly heavy.

Their arrival has been spotted on security cameras and Vaughn alerts Packer. He must use the girls to trap the Doctor and Jamie.

In the warehouse, they hear the girls cry out. When they rush towards the sound they see Zoe's feather boa sticking out from inside one of the cylinders, which Packer is ordering be loaded onto a freight train.

Jamie attacks him, but more guards appear and they are forced to run - only to find their exit blocked.

Packer approaches them, his pistol drawn...

Data:

Written by Derrick Sherwin (from an idea by Kit Pedler)

Recorded: Friday 27th September 1968 - Lime Grove Studio D

First broadcast: 5.15pm, Saturday 9th November 1968

Ratings: 7.1 million / AI 53

VFX: Bill King & Trading Post

Designer: Richard Hunt

Director: Douglas Camfield

Additional Cast: Nicholas Courtney (Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart), Robert Sidaway (Captain Turner), James Thornhill (Sergeant Walters), Ian Fairbairn (Gregory)

Critique:

If you read the novelisations, or certain early reference materials, UNIT was set up at the Brigadier's personal instigation because of the incident with the Yeti in the Underground. His proposal for a taskforce designed to deal with future events of this sort was accepted, and he was placed in charge of the British division of UNIT. This may well be the case, but it is never specifically set out that way on screen.

Though described as a military / scientific organisation in Sherwin's notes, there is no evidence of the Brigadier actually employing any scientific staff in this story. There are uniformed troops, such as Captain Jimmy Turner and Sergeant Walters, but he also employs plain clothes agents for undercover work, such as the lorry driver in Episode One. Corporal Benton and Tracy are also seen to be wearing civvies as they mount surveillance on the IE building.

Douglas Camfield was involved in the design of the UNIT uniforms, which were of a mushroom colour. Berets were used as their headgear, which bore the UNIT emblem - the initials printed above a circular grid pattern.

Barry Letts hated these uniforms and changed them to conventional British Army dress at the first opportunity - something which Camfield was unhappy about when he returned to the programme to direct Terror of the Zygons.

Camfield did not agree with Lethbridge-Stewart being promoted to Brigadier as this looked wrong on screen, but was purely down to budgetary constraints. A Colonel, he argued in an interview with the DWAS, would have some 900 men to command, and a Brigadier three times that number - yet all the Brigadier ever seemed to have was about half a dozen or so.

The Ministry of Defence were approached to provide help with this production, which was granted when it was seen that the script showed the military in good light.

Filming for this episode began on Tuesday 3rd September at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. An RAF Hercules transporter 'plane was provided to act as UNIT's mobile HQ, and RAF personnel acted as UNIT groundcrew for the sequence where the Doctor and Jamie are brought to the site in a Jaguar motorcar.

Geoffrey Cheshire, playing Tracy, actually drove the vehicle onto the plane, even though you can't really see the driver on screen. 

On Saturday 7th September, Millbank Tower in Pimlico was used for scenes of the Doctor and Jamie returning to the IE building. These scenes were filmed at the same time as those for Episode One.

Wednesday 11th then saw Troughton and Hines on Heathfield Street and nearby Walmer Road, Notting Hill, for the sequence where the Doctor and Jamie are pursued and trapped by the cars, then sit down to play cards - a visual ad lib as the pair were always playing card games during breaks in rehearsals. Troughton also suggested the idea that they begin walking slowly in unison then quickly gain speed.

The Production Assistant on this story, who would work frequently on the programme up until The Talons of Weng-Chiang, was Chris D'Oyly John. He lived in Acton and identified the nearby Guinness Factory on Western Avenue as a suitable location for many of the scenes requiring IE's industrial premises, both in London and at their rural compound. Part of the factory was no longer in use.

Cast and crew moved there after the Notting Hill filming, and scenes shot included the Doctor and Jamie breaking into the IE building via railway sidings to its rear. 

We'll talk about the filming here, and what went on after a (very) liquid lunch, when the location features more prominently in the next episode...

Work on the story for Ian Fairbairn was supposed to have included location filming - a sequence where Professor Watkins is rescued - but this had been dropped, so his first involvement was in this episode.

Also joining the cast was Nicholas Courtney, who got back into the swing of rehearsals with Troughton and Hines by participating in their games during the breaks. One popular game was liar dice, where each person takes a turn to roll 5 dice which are hidden from the others. They make a claim as to how many dice of the same score are present. The others then have to bid against the claim, which may be true or false.

One aspect of rehearsals which Courtney did not like was the "fun runs" which Camfield employed to get rid of any nerves or silliness from his actors - playing out the episodes with silly accents, for instance.

Edward Burnham, playing Professor Watkins, was originally supposed to be introduced in this episode, and the actor was initially contracted to also provide the voice of the Cyber-Director. When the scripts were rewritten to have him not appear until later, this role went instead to Peter Halliday.

A number of photographs were taken near Millbank Tower - high angle shots of a number of people which the Brigadier shows to the Doctor and Jamie. Three of these we get a good look at - a scientist named Gordon Jones, Major General Rutlidge and the lorry driver. There are more on the desk, and these are actually photos of the production team: Sherwin, Camfield, Terrance Dicks and Peter Bryant.

The reception computer prop was rigged with smoke charges for when Zoe confounds it with an ALGOL problem.

The Doctor's request for a pat-a-cake biscuit with his tea was another ad lib from Troughton.

Recording breaks were mainly to allow cast members to move from set to set, though one was used to place stage weights in one of the cylinders so that it would look genuinely heavy when Frazer Hines attempted to lift it.

The warehouseman seen carrying the large cylinder is Gordon St Clair who, as Gordon Stothard, had played a Yeti in The Web of Fear and is better known for playing Grun, the King's Champion, in The Curse of Peladon. Another warehouseman is played by John Lord, who had also been a Yeti.

Wendy Padbury and Sally Faulkner had pre-recorded their screams earlier that day.

Neither would be required to work on the following week's episode, meaning a holiday for Padbury.

The earliest surviving episode from this story, it lets us have some idea of what the missing Episode One looked like - but that's pretty much all it gives us beyond the introduction of the Brigadier and UNIT. Not a lot happens otherwise.

We learn that Vaughn is planning an invasion with some unknown power - but then the story is called The Invasion...

Not only does he have a fairly incompetent henchman in Packer, it also appears that his head scientist isn't terribly good at his job either. Presumably all of IE's innovations have come from the Cybermen - but surely they must have been a major global business already for the Cybermen to have agreed to collaborate with Vaughn.

There is some humour in the episode - such as the scene where Zoe wrecks the computer, which even Vaughn finds amusing. Then there are the little bits of business from Troughton such as the card playing on the street; his rather shocked reaction to the Brigadier giving him a TM-45: "Is that a tank?"; and his child-like request for a pat-a-cake biscuit.

Last week we mentioned that paperwork suggested a date of 1976 for this story, whist both Radio Times and the continuity announcer stated that it was set in 1975. Here, the Brigadier says of the business with the Yeti in the Underground: "Must be four years ago now". This would place the events of The Web of Fear around 1971 - whereas Travers had claimed about 40 years had passed since his first encounter with the Doctor, which was dated to 1935. If we went by that dating, then The Invasion should be taking place around 1979.

Discussion of when this story takes place is important, as it will affect the whole chronology of the Cybermen. Remember, they are only supposed to first be encountered by the human race in December 1986 when Mondas returns in The Tenth Planet. We'll look at this later, once they've made their appearance.

The other issue to consider is this mention of "Planet 14".

Wherever this is, it has been visited by the Doctor, in his second incarnation, and Jamie. It may well refer to some unseen story, but if it's one we've seen then there can only really be one contender - Telos.

The Cybermen, being creatures of pure logic, would never give fancy names to planets they have invaded and taken over. They are much more likely to simply code them with a number - i.e. Planet 14 is the fourteenth planet they have taken over. They only used the name Telos as that is what it was called by its original inhabitants, in the same way they continued to call Mondas by the old name it was known by before they became the Cybermen.

One issue with Planet 14 being Telos is, of course, the dating again. The Tomb of the Cybermen definitely takes place in Earth's future, perhaps 500 years after the events of The Moonbase if Viner is to be believed. Up until Attack of the Cybermen, they certainly do not have time travel capabilities, as in that story the time-ship they do have is stolen from someone else - then blown up before they can really exploit it.

Going back to that missile strike in Episode One, it seems that the Cyber-Director only becomes aware of the Doctor's involvement once it has been shown the photographs of himself and Jamie - so that attack was most likely just some automated defence, probably to prevent some conventional Earth satellite from observing the dark side of the Moon.

Trivia:

• The ratings remain comparatively steady from the previous week, with only slight dips for both figures.
• Robert Sidaway had previously played Avon in The Savages.
• Turner is the first of the Brigadier's "Jimmy's" - a succession of different captains prior to the arrival of Mike Yates.
• Ian Fairbairn is another of Camfield's repertory of actors, though his first appearance in the series was as Questa in The Macra Terror. He will return to the series as technician Bromley in Inferno, and as Dr Chester in The Seeds of Doom.
• Isobel plays The Teddy Bears Picnic on an old gramophone she says she picked up on London's Portobello Road, famous still for its street market. This song was written and performed by Henry Hall and his Orchestra in 1932. The melody predates the song, being written by American composer John Walter Bratton in 1907.
• Pat-a-cake biscuits were manufactured by Peek Freans in the first half of the 20th Century. They lent their name to a popular children's nursery rhyme which begins: "Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man, bake me a cake as fast as you can...".
• It was during the making of this story that Frazer Hines made his stab at pop stardom, with the song Who's Doctor Who. He had met songwriters Barry Mason and Les Reed through his charity football playing. Their hit songs included Who Knows (Where My Rosemary Grows) for Edison Lighthouse, The Last Waltz for Engelbert Humperdink and Delilah for Tom Jones. 
• Heathfield Street no longer exists, having been turned into car parking and garden spaces for the residents of Portland Road, W11, in the 1970's. The website theundergroundmap.com actually mentions the filming of The Invasion there. The same website claims that Walmer Road is the oldest street in the area, once a footpath known as Greene's Lane.
• Jon Pertwee was a friend of Chris D'Oyly John's parents, and in an interview once said he dreaded the actor telling them about what went on during location shoots - as it was usually his hotel room which was used for parties. His first work on the series had been as an AFM on The Ark.