History - without a TARDIS

For those of you who have an interest in history, I have decided to set up a second blog, which I hope you will find to be of some interest. It is called "History Without A TARDIS". (All the best titles with the word 'musings' were taken, sadly). A link will go up on this blog shortly.
As my opening post mentions, this is another excuse for me to set down in writing a lot of the arcane knowledge that normally clutters up my head - this time of the non-Doctor Who variety. I suspect that my love of history is in no small measure due to my love of Doctor Who. Apart from academics, Doctor Who fans probably know more about the St. Bartholomew's Massacre than anyone else, for instance. Obviously, where my two favourite subjects intersect, this will receive special mention.
Unless archive material, photos (such as the above) will be my own.
Don't worry - tardismusings will not be neglected. Posts on historywithoutatardis.blogspot.co.uk will tend to be shorter ones. At present I am still endeavouring to give you each week a story review, a TARDIS travel, plus the evolution of the Cybermen.
The first post proper on the new blog is up, and it manages to cover the Great Fire of 1666, grave-robbers, ladies of the night, and a ghost. All from one street corner in London.
I hope you will enjoy it as much as this blog.

Story 124 - Snakedance

In which Tegan is having nightmares about the time she was possessed by the Mara. The Doctor is perturbed to discover that the co-ordinates have been changed - causing them to go to the planet Manussa. The TARDIS materialises in a quiet corner of the local bazaar. Exploring, the Doctor learns that this world was once part of the Sumaran Empire - the home of the Mara. He realises that Tegan was never totally dispossessed, and the evil entity has lain dormant within her mind. He gives her a device which helps to deaden the senses, which should keep the malign influence at bay. Unable to hear, and bewildered by her surroundings, Tegan wanders into one of the fair booths - that of a fortune teller. The woman who runs the booth removes the Doctor's device - and the Mara takes full control over Tegan. Elsewhere in the city, Director Ambril is playing host to Lon - son of the Federator - and his mother, Tanha. The Federator rules the Manussan Federation, which supplanted the Sumaran Empire. His ancestor is reputed to have destroyed the Mara centuries ago. Lon is a bored teenager, with no interest in his heritage. A festival celebrating the expulsion of the Mara is due to take place, but this fails to arouse his interest. Ambril's young assistant, Chela, is one of the few who believes in the old legends. He meets the Doctor and Nyssa, and tells them of Ambril's predecessor - Dojjen - who became a Snakedancer and left the city to become a hermit in the wilderness nearby. The Snakedancers believe the Mara still exists and will one day return. The Doctor agrees with this, and tries to warn Ambril.

Tegan has taken shelter in another fair booth - that of a Hall of Mirrors, run by a man named Dugdale. He falls under her evil influence, and is sent to the palace to fetch Lon. Lon goes to the Hall of Mirrors and he too falls under the Mara's spell - a snake tattoo appearing on his arm. Tegan instructs him to ensure that Ambril is brought to a nearby cave system. This is where the forthcoming ceremony which marks the height of the festival is to take place. Wall carvings there tell of the legend of the Federator, and there is a slot in the wall where a great crystal is supposed to be set. In the ceremony, a fake crystal is always used, but Tegan wants the real one to be used this time - and this rests in the care of the Director. Tegan knows of a secret chamber full of early Sumaran antiquities - which should excite the interest and greed of the history-loving Ambril. In exchange for them, Ambril must agree to let the real great crystal be used. The Doctor's continual efforts to get Ambril to listen to him and to halt the ceremony land him instead in jail. Chela visits him there and gives him Dojjen's notebook. From this, the Doctor starts to comprehend how the Mara came into being - and how he can stop them.

Nyssa and the Doctor convince the young man to help them, and Chela steals the key to the Doctor's cell from Ambril's office. Lon witnesses this, and orders the guards to kill them all - claiming they are trying to assassinate him. Tanha, disturbed by her son's recent behaviour, intercedes and they are able to escape. The Doctor decides to go into the wilderness to find Dojjen. The old man appears and the Doctor communes with him. He now knows that the Mara were created by accident, when the Sumarans perfected the great crystal. So perfect was it that they attuned their minds to it, and all of their negative emotion manifested itself as the Mara, and so it took on a life of its own. Should the great crystal be used in the ceremony, the Mara will be able to manifest itself once more and take over all the minds of the inhabitants. The festival begins, with Lon playing the part of the original Federator. At the moment in the cave ceremony when the fake crystal is revealed, he produces the real one - to the horror of the watching citizens. It is inserted into the slot in the wall carving as Tegan appears. The festival-goers all begin to fall under the Mara's sway. The Snakedancers all wear a smaller crystal - representative of the great one - but it is also shares similar properties. The Doctor focuses his mind through it just as Dojjen had instructed him, and so uses it to block the Mara from manifesting itself through Tegan. The great crystal is smashed, and the Mara are expelled, this time forever. Lon and Tegan are freed of its influence.

This four part story was written by Christopher Bailey, and was broadcast between the 18th and the 26th of January, 1983. It is a sequel to the previous Season's Kinda, which producer JNT and story editor Eric Saward had admired. Bailey had experienced a difficult time bringing his first story to the screen, but now he felt a little more in tune with what Saward wanted, and the writing came much easier.
Once again we have Buddhist references, as well as Hindu ones. Many of the names are significant. Dojjen derives from the monk Dogen, Duggan comes from Duggati - a sense of dissatisfaction with the path chosen, Chela means "apprentice", and so forth. There are some noticeable parallels to be found with Planet of the Spiders.
Snakedance is entirely studio based - though the scenes in the wilderness with Dojjen were filmed at Ealing. The designer, Jan Spoczynski, and director Fiona Cumming manage to make Manussa seem like a real place, with a proper culture and history.
One significant improvement since Kinda is the prop for the giant snake which appears in the final episode. This one just about gets away with it.
Even if not everyone watched Snakedance on transmission, or bought the VHS / DVD, just about the entire population of the UK has watched a clip from it - namely the early appearance of the now ubiquitous (on ITV at least) Martin Clunes, playing Lon. Those "before they were famous" clip shows about film and TV personalities always dig out a clip of Clunes with his (very 80's / New Romantic) lipstick and mascara - preferably a clip from the final episode where he also wears the rather fetching smock and headdress combo.
The cast also features the wonderful John Carson as Ambril, Jonathon Morris (famous for Liverpool-based sitcom Bread) as Chela, Collette O'Neil as Tanha, and Lis Sladen's husband Brian Miller as Dugdale.
Episode endings are:

1. In the fortune teller's booth, Tegan has become totally possessed by the Mara. A snake skull appears in the crystal ball before it shatters, and Tegan laughs as the fortune teller screams...
2. A terrified Dugdale is ordered to look at Tegan. He sees her eyes glowing red...
3. As they attempt to flee from the palace, the Doctor, Nyssa and Chela are trapped by guards, and Lon orders they be killed...
4. On the steps outside the cavern, the Doctor reassures Tegan that this time she is really free of the Mara.

Overall, an enjoyable story which makes for a good sequel to Kinda - giving Janet Fielding a better role than usual. Good cast and visuals, and as mentioned above a real sense of this being an actual place. The plot does leave Peter Davison stuck in a cell for pretty much the whole of episode three, however.

Things you might like to know:

• Chris Bailey did not write for Doctor Who again, though he did have other ideas that never proceeded to commissioning. He did have an idea for a third Mara story.
• The Mara were chosen for one of the first Big Finish audios after they finally secured the services of Janet Fielding - but it isn't Bailey's third story idea. They were also name-checked by Captain Jack in the Torchwood episode Small Worlds, but have yet to return to the parent programme. Bizarrely, the Mara turned up at Trenzalore - according to BBC books.
• Personally, this is my favourite of the two Mara tales, but polls disagree. In the DWM 50th Anniversary poll, Kinda is in 63rd position, whilst Snakedance is 112th.
• Was the designer a fan of Star Trek? The snake-head shaped cave mouth is reminiscent of the cave mouth seen in the episode "The Apple". Like Kinda, that also features strong Garden of Eden influences - as well as a young David Soul.
• Tegan and Nyssa appear to be sharing a bedroom, as both of their fancy dress costumes from Black Orchid can be seen hanging in the background in the opening scenes.
• Dojjen is played by Preston Lockwood (died 1996, aged 84). In 1994 he featured in a fly-on-the-wall documentary about his local golf club (Northwood in Middlesex). This resulted in the club members becoming a bit of a national laughing stock for a while, which Lockwood warned might happen if they let the cameras in.

Know Your Cybermen No.4

The Wheel In Space (1968).
We last saw the Cybermen at the start of Season 5, and they are back again to close it. We have the second significant design change, though this specific variation will only make this one appearance.
The faces are different - the eyes and mouth no longer having the silvered flashing around them. Added to the eyes are "tear-drops" - presumably oil-ducts. There is a similar notch added to the lower lip. The mouth no longer has the opening / closing hatch when they speak. The actual bodies are now more steam-lined. The previous version had a rather baggy appearance, whereas now it is like a silvered wetsuit. The chest unit is now inverted, and the piping which runs along the limbs is thinner, with less prominent joints. Their finger tips have thimble-like covers.
These Cybermen hail from the early part of the 21st Century - so before the ones who attacked the Moonbase. The design variations may be due to them coming from a different colony world - not necessarily Telos. However, one of the Cybermen seen trying to space-walk to the Wheel does have elements of the Telos design.
The Cybermen's plan is convoluted, to say the least. They first of all ionise a star in the Messier 13 cluster, causing meteoroids to head towards the Wheel which orbits the Earth. They then take over a space cargo vessel named the Silver Carrier and hide two Cybermen aboard along with a number of Cybermats. This ship is then sent to drift towards the Wheel. The Cybermats travel through space and break into the Wheel, seeking out and destroying the bernalium fuel rods which power the station's defences - needed to knock out those meteoroids. This forces the crew of the Wheel to send a couple of men over to the Silver Carrier to obtain the bernalium stocks held there. The men are put under the mental control of the Cybermen and are used to smuggle them onto the Wheel. Once there, the Cybermen will kill all the crew and use the station in their attack on Earth. A large Cybership is approaching, which contains their invasion forces.
The Cybermen take their orders from a small unit - a metal framework with a heart-shaped object at its centre. It allows the Cybermen to read people's minds. The Cybermen do not carry any hand-held weapons. Their guns are built into the top of their chest units.
Of the two Cybermen on board the Wheel, one is destroyed with a powerful electrical charge, whilst the other is despatched with a quick-setting plastic spray applied to the chest unit. A group of Cybermen attempting to space-walk to the Wheel are deflected off into space by the activation of its forcefield. The Cybership is destroyed by the Wheel's laser weapon, boosted in power by a TARDIS component.

Story Notes:

• Whilst the story is based on ideas from Cyberman creator Kit Pedler, the script this time comes from David Whitaker. Gerry Davis is not involved.
• The Cyber-plan is quite ludicrously complicated. Most of it is simply a means to get two Cybermen onto the Wheel. They could have simply shot it full of holes and let the crew asphyxiate, or just smuggle themselves on board directly. Why take the Wheel at all, when they could just destroy it and park their Cybership in the same orbit and launch the invasion from there?
• And if they really did ionise a star in Messier 13 to send the meteoroids this way, they must have started this plan tens of thousands of years ago. Presumably the meteoroids originate from a region of space much closer to Earth but in the direction of Messier 13, as seen from the Wheel. Early Doctor Who writers often exhibit a rather quaint understanding of cosmology - mixing up galaxies with universes and one person even placing Skaro in the Solar System.
• It had been hoped that this story slot would have been filled with a Cyberman / Dalek get-together, but this was vetoed by Terry Nation. He had already withdrawn the Daleks in an attempt to get their own series off the ground by this point but, even if this hadn't happened, he just did not ever want a Dalek / Cyberman story.
• One reason for the use of wetsuits for the Cyberman bodies was that the previous design tore easily. If you watch Tomb, you will see that one of the Cybermen has a noticeable tear under the arm pit.
• Only two new costumes were made, but a third was cobbled together from older costumes for the space-walking sequence.
• And the tear-drops were added to give the poor actors a bit more ventilation inside the helmets.
• Wendy Padbury makes her début as Zoe in this story. She isn't introduced until episode two. Padbury turned down a role in the Oscar-winning film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie to take the part.
• Jamie, forced to make up a name for the Doctor, calls him John Smith - after reading the label on a piece of medical equipment. This alias will be adopted by the Doctor himself from now on.
• And yes, some fans to this day are still convinced that the Wheel has a sexual air supply...

Tardismusings on Facebook

Trust me to pick the one day when there were no Cybermen... Just a little reminder that I am now on the Facebook of Boe. As well as having a few Doctor Who items which don't appear on the blog, I post personal stuff such as some pics I took on a walk I did today through the City of London (taking in a couple of DW locations, by the way. No dinosaurs at Smithfield Market today either, sadly).
You'll find me under my actual name, rather than as tardismusings - that being Gerry Donnelly. There's only about a hundred of me, so shouldn't take long to find the right one.
I have tried to put a link to my FB page on this blog, but the gadget keeps failing. Hope to see you there as well as here.

TARDIS Travels No.20

Season 20 - the anniversary year, when there is an element from the past in each story. In case you are wondering, I won't be covering the actual anniversary story, The Five Doctors, until next time.

Journey 206: Heathrow Airport, 1981, to the Arc of Infinity, date unknown.
We don't actually know how long Nyssa and the Doctor have been travelling without Tegan. However, Nyssa talks about her as though they have only recently parted. Some fan fiction has a whole 50 years elapsing - with Trakenites being long-lived. I don't personally subscribe to this nonsense. The TARDIS is idling in a region of space known as the Arc of Infinity. The Doctor fixes the sound on the scanner before being rudely interrupted by Omega's attempt to cross over into this universe. As events on Gallifrey are mirrored by events on Earth, it may be 1982 here as well.

Journey 207: Arc of Infinity to Gallifrey, dates unknown.
The Doctor is forced to return home to find out how the, as yet unknown, entity got his exact bio-data information. The Castellan has the TARDIS diverted to a security holding area. The space-time element is removed from underneath the main console - rendering the ship immobile. This also causes the lights to dim. The Doctor gets a new element later - this time without a recall device fitted. Presumably the recall thing was added after his trial in The War Games. Nyssa's room is close to the console room.
We also get to see Omega's TARDIS - presumably supplied by Councillor Hedin. He goes in for greenish lighting.

Journey 208: Gallifrey, date unknown, to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, 1982.
My Dutch friends always tell me off for using "Holland". Tegan has been able to inform the Doctor where Omega is hiding. As the Police Box prop never made it over there, we don't see it landing or get any idea where it is parked.

Journey 209: Amsterdam, 1982, to Manussa, date unknown.
If this civilisation began as an Earth colony then we are in the far future. The TARDIS materialises quite discreetly, tucked away in a corner of the bazaar.

Journeys 210 & 211: Manussa, date unknown, to Earth orbit, 1983.
The ship appears to have materialised in normal space in orbit near Earth - right in the path of a massive spacecraft. The Doctor makes an emergency rematerialisation aboard the ornately decorated vessel.

Journey 212: Alien vessel, 1983, to Brendon School, England, 1977.
The TARDIS travels to Earth but is deflected in time - arriving 6 years before the Doctor, who has travelled to the same geographical location in a transmat capsule. The ship is on a hill overlooking the school where the Brigadier now works, and where the alien Turlough is a pupil. Tegan makes use of the TARDIS locator - as does the future Brigadier.

Journey 213: Brendon School, 1977, to alien vessel, 1983.
With the earlier Brigadier and Mawdryn on board, the TARDIS returns to the alien ship, but now back in 1983. Problem is, the Doctor has brought the later Brig along with him in the transmat capsule.

Journey 214: Alien vessel, 1983, and return.
The Doctor tries to leave the vessel, but Tegan and Nyssa have been infected with the Kastron mutation. The Doctor tries going forwards and backwards in time, but to no avail, and so is forced to return.

Journey 215: Alien vessel, 1983, to Brendon School, 1977.
The earlier Brigadier is taken home.
Journey 216: Brendon School, 1977, to same in 1983.
The later Brigadier is taken home.

Journey 217: Brendon School, 1983, to unknown region of space at the centre of the universe, date unknown.
Turlough, under instructions from the Black Guardian, sabotages the TARDIS. The outer shell is compromised. A safety device causes the ship to latch onto the nearest spacecraft. (The HADS perhaps?). A door appears in Nyssa's bedroom, and this leads to the other ship - an old passenger liner now used to ferry people suffering from Lazars Disease to Terminus. The doorway is not stable, and it comes and goes. The Doctor is able to reconfigure the scanner to show the TARDIS interior. We never know if Nyssa gets her room back, as she leaves in this story. Before that, all her clothes fall off - but it's all done in the best possible taste...

Journey 218: Lazar ship, date unknown, to location / date unknown.
The TARDIS is idling in space again, whilst the Doctor tries to work out what is causing a power drain. Cue very moody lighting in the console room. Shame the lights couldn't be dimmed more often. The White Guardian appears and gives a set of co-ordinates, and a cryptic message.

Journey 219: Date / location unknown, to schooner The Shadow, date unknown.
The TARDIS materialises in the hold of what appears to be an Edwardian sailing ship. This turns out to be floating in space, about to take part in a race round the Solar System. Captain Striker - an Eternal - hides the TARDIS in the Doctor's own mind. When he releases it, it appears on the ship's bridge.
Journey 220: The Shadow to The Buccaneer, date unknown.
To rescue Turlough, and to prevent Captain Wrack - and the Black Guardian - winning the race for "Enlightenment", the Doctor takes the TARDIS to the pirate vessel.

Journey 221: The Buccaneer, date unknown, to Fitzwilliam Castle, England, 1215.
March 4th of 1215 to be precise. The TARDIS materialises in the jousting field outside the castle. French knight Sir Gilles Estram (wonder who he might turn out to be...) orders the ship to be moved inside.

Journey 222: Fitzwilliam Castle to same, 1215.
Tegan takes the ship to the dungeons so that she can rescue Turlough.
Journey 223: Fitzwilliam castle to same, 1215.
The TARDIS is then used to collect the Doctor and Kamelion from the King's bedchamber.

As with the previous season, we end with a bit of a damp squib involving the Master. This anniversary year should really have gone out on a high, but a planned Dalek / Davros story had to be postponed due to industrial action. More on that story next time.

Story 123 - Arc of Infinity

In which the Doctor and Nyssa are enjoying a bit of peace and quiet for a change. The Doctor has fixed the sound on the scanner whilst the TARDIS is idling in a region of space known as the Arc of Infinity. Suddenly, they come under attack as a powerful force breaches the ship. A ghostly figure appears and attempts to meld itself with the Doctor. This fails. The Doctor realises that for this unknown entity to try to meld with him, it must have access to his precise bio-data - to which only the Time Lords on Gallifrey have access. He sets the controls to take them to his home planet.
On Gallifrey, a member of the High Council is in contact with the mysterious entity, and is helping it to take over the Doctor's body. The attempt will be traced, so the Time Lord destroys the evidence and kills one of the technicians. Gallifrey is put on alert by the Castellan - head of security and a member of the High Council himself. The entity has been traced to the universe of anti-matter. Should it succeed, but the passage through to this universe then fail, matter and anti-matter would collide catastrophically. The approaching TARDIS is detected, and is diverted to a security area. However, the Doctor recalls the Presidential codes which unlock the doors, and he and Nyssa are able to avoid arrest. The Doctor is annoyed, as he had returned home willingly to try to resolve this issue. Maxil, Commander of the Chancellery Guards, shoots and stuns the Doctor and he is captured.

Meanwhile, on Earth, a pair of backpackers in Amsterdam have got themselves into a spot of bother. Colin Frazer has had his passport stolen, and he and his friend Robin Stuart are not able to book into their Youth Hostel as planned. Robin knows of the crypt of an abandoned building where they can spend the night. Their sleep is disturbed when a TARDIS materialises, disguising itself as a funerary monument. A bird-like bipedal creature emerges and shoots Colin, causing him to vanish. Robin runs off. The next morning he goes to the airport to meet Colin's cousin, who is due to join up with them for a few days. She is Tegan Jovanka. Robin informs her of the previous night's events, and so Tegan insists that they go to the crypt. Both are shot and stunned by the creature and wake to find themselves inside a TARDIS, where a mind-controlled Colin is being forced to work. on Gallifrey, the Doctor finds that he is to be executed - his body vapourised as a drastic measure to prevent the entity crossing over into this universe. This is sanctioned by the High Council - including Borusa, who is now Lord President. Only old friend Chancellor Hedin tries to save the Doctor. A last minute escape attempt organised by Nyssaand anotther old friend - technician Damon - fails. The execution takes place, and the Doctor's body is seen to vanish. However, the entity has intervened at the last moment and the Doctor finds himself in the Matrix facing his foe - the Time Lord he thought he had destroyed, Omega.

Omega reveals that he has Tegan as his hostage, but she is able to tell him she is in Amsterdam. The Doctor is returned to Gallifrey, on the understanding that he will not interfere - otherwise Tegan will die. The member of the High Council who has been aiding Omega proves to be Hedin. He attempts to frame Borusa, but dies in a gunfight. Borusa and Damon assist the Doctor in leaving Gallifrey without Omega noticing, and the TARDIS travels to Amsterdam. The Doctor and Nyssa manage to find the crypt just as Omega crosses over to this universe. As he has used the Doctor's bio-data as a template, he now looks just like him. The Doctor manages to wreck his TARDIS and destroy the bird-like servant, which he identifies as an Ergon. Omega flees into the city, and the Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan give chase. The Doctor knows that the transference is unstable, and Omega will shortly revert to anti-matter. The Doctor gives him the opportunity to return to his own domain willingly. When he refuses, the Doctor is forced to shoot him with a molecular dispersal weapon and his body vanishes. Tegan reveals that she had lost her job with the airline. Now that they are reunited, she will rejoin the TARDIS crew.

This four part adventure was written by Johnny Byrne, and was broadcast between 3rd and 12th January, 1983. It marks the opening of the Anniversary Season 20, and sees the return of Omega, who had played a part in the Tenth Anniversary run. It is the second story to have overseas filming - this time in the Dutch city of Amsterdam.
It had been producer JNT (then Production Unit Manager) who had worked out that the programme could afford to film in Paris back in Season 17. He did his sums again and they came up with the Netherlands. Neither the writer nor the script editor (Eric Saward) were happy about this as they felt is was hard to justify in narrative terms. The fourth episode does comprise mostly a touristy run-around. The locals, who did not know much about Doctor Who at the time, were bemused to see first Peter Davison then Ian Collier (who played Omega) running around with their faces covered in green Rice Crispies. The city's inclusion in the script is justified only by a throwaway line about Omega's need for a location below sea level - so this could equally have been filmed in Norfolk.
The story also sees a return to Gallifrey - though this time it is presented as rather bland. Colours are beige and pastel shades, and the furnishings come straight from Habitat. Time Lords lounge around as though waiting at an airport.
Borusa is now President, and he has regenerated yet again. This time he is Leonard Sachs, who had appeared in The Massacre back in 1966, but was best known for the music hall variety show The Good Old Days. Hedin is another veteran of the Hartnell era - the wonderful Michael Gough. (He's the best thing about this). The unnamed Castellan is played by Paul Jericho. He will reprise the role within the year. Damon is Neil Dalglish. Significantly, Commander Maxil is played by future Sixth Doctor Colin Baker. He was reportedly disappointed, as he thought this meant that he couldn't go on to ever get to play the Doctor. Of course, Peter Capaldi has since gone on to return to play the title role after earlier guesting in an episode. As mentioned above, Omega is played by Ian Collier, who had been Stuart Hyde in The Time Monster. He will also play Omega in a Big Finish production. The costume is radically redesigned. It would have been nice if they had recreated the original, or at least referenced it. When Peter Davison briefly takes on the double role of Doctor and Omega, Collier still provides the villain's voice.
One design disaster which is universally slated is the Ergon - a sort of giant skeletal plucked chicken. One of Omega's less successful attempts at psycho-synthesis indeed...
Episode endings are:

1. Fleeing the Chancellery Guards, the Doctor turns a corner and comes face to face with Maxil, who shoots him down...
2. In the execution hall, the Doctor's body vanishes in the vapourisation chamber...
3. Omega takes control of the Matrix...
4. Tegan announces that she is rejoining the TARDIS crew. The Doctor's expression says it all...

Overall, a disappointing story - considering all the elements that it includes. Much of this is down to the design and the flat direction. It should have been so much better. Byrne is hampered by JNT's shopping list approach to story-telling.

Things you might like to know:

• It has been generally assumed that it was a conscious decision to include returning elements from previous stories throughout the anniversary season. This is not the case. It was only before the season was broadcast that fan adviser Ian Levine pointed out to the production team that there was something in each story from the past, so JNT added this to the publicity.
• Janet Fielding finally gets out of that dreadful lilac flight attendant costume. Sarah Sutton would have to wait until the next story for a change of clobber, but publicity pictures were taken of her wearing her new outfit on location in Amsterdam.
• Sheepskin jacket wearing JNT can be glimpsed in one scene in Amsterdam, as he was helping with crowd control during filming.
• Byrne was instructed to avoid any Amsterdam clichés in his scripts - namely drugs, diamonds or Rembrandt Van Rijn. The other thing Amsterdam is famous for was obviously a no-no. Tegan and Robin do sit down together in a Brown Cafe but the absence of a smoky atmosphere is noticeable...
• To hide the fact that Omega was back, he was simply referred to as "The Renegade" for the first two episodes. The Scottish Daily Record newspaper announced that the story would feature Omega weeks before, however.
• Guide books continue to persevere with the myth that Alastair Cumming, who played Colin Frazer, was the son of the late Fiona Cumming (director of the next story, amongst others). He is forced to dispel this myth at every convention he goes to. As well as the surname, the error might also be due to the fact that Fiona Cumming's husband has the surname Frazer.
• A couple of "might have beens" in the casting - imagine Peter Cushing as Borusa, Pierce Brosnan as Maxil, and Patrick Stewart as the Castellan. Cushing had earlier been considered to play Solon in The Brain of Morbius.
• Omega has yet to make a third appearance in the programme, though his return is often speculated. (There was a very strong rumour that he would be back in Series 4 - to be played by Jason Isaacs). As mentioned above, he was resurrected by Big Finish (as is, seemingly, everything - no matter how rubbish). As Ian Collier has now passed away, his next outing on audio is going to be with the original actor, Stephen (Understated) Thorne.

Know Your Cybermen No.3

Tomb of the Cybermen (1967).
The Cybermen have been on ice for the last 500 years or so - so we assume this refers to their trip to the Moon in 2070. Running out of resources, they have taken to their cryogenic chambers on the planet of Telos - one of the worlds which they colonised before Mondas was destroyed. As such, these are the same design as the Cybermen we saw attacking the Moonbase. Identical save for their footwear. Instead of lace-up boots they now have wellington-type boots. There is also some additional piping beneath the chest units.
These Cybermen are waiting for someone to come along who is intelligent enough to crack the means of accessing their tombs - so they will be suitable subjects for conversion. What they get is a badly organised archaeological expedition which is financed by Kaftan and Klieg - a couple who are members of the Brotherhood of Logicians on Earth. They want to make use of the Cybermen to take over the planet and run it along more rational lines.
We get to meet the Cyber-Controller. This is a taller Cyberman with a larger cranium and lacking any chest unit. The dome-like skull is internally illuminated and appears to be covered in visible veins. It is slightly darker than its underlings.
The Cybermen have sarcophagus-like recharge units. On emerging from their tomb cubicles, they need to re-energise themselves. To save power, the bulk of the force returns to their frozen state.
They do not carry any firearms, though we do see a powerful, bulky hand-held blaster in a weapons-testing area. This is effective against the Cybermen themselves.
Another weapon is a small metallic creature known as a Cybermat. (I won't go into too much detail at this stage about these as they are going to get a post of their own. And there will be one on Cyberships).
Only the Controller is heard to speak. The others do make a noise, but it sounds garbled. Cybermen are unable to see in smoke-filled environments, so no evidence of, say, infra-red vision.
Only the Controller remains active once the other Cybermen have been sent back to sleep. It is damaged by being picked up and hurled across a room by Toberman, Kaftan's bodyguard who has had his limbs converted by the Cybermen. (The Controller is also able to influence his mind, though this conditioning is quite weak and the Doctor helps overturn it when the Controller kills his mistress). The Controller appears to be destroyed finally by a massive electric shock when the tomb is re-sealed.
The Cybermen decorate the tomb complex with stylised depictions of themselves - even on the furniture. Yes, they actually have furniture.
At least one Cybermat is still active when the Doctor and the Earth people depart.

Story Notes:

• The supposedly final Dalek serial had already been broadcast at this point (at the end of Season Four). Tomb of the Cybermen opens Season Five (the Monsters / base-under-siege season). They are the new Big Bad for the series, and will return to see out this season.
• Thanks to folk-memory and a very good novelisation, this story was always regarded as an absolute classic. It was lost for many years, and when a copy did turn up (in Hong Kong, 1992) it was rush released onto VHS. Once seen, fan opinion re-evaluated slightly downwards.
• At the Longleat 20th Anniversary event, fans were asked which story they would like to see as the first ever VHS release. They went with Revenge of the Cybermen. Apparently most people went for Tomb, not realising that it wasn't in the archives at the time, and so the Tom Baker story went out instead (for a whopping £40 for a one hour edited version - an awful lot of money in the mid 1980's).
• The BBC came close to transmitting the newly found story, but decided just to go down the VHS route instead.
• As with the novelisation of The Moonbase, the first edition Target covers featured the wrong type of Cyberman (one from The Invasion).
• Kaftan is played by Shirley Cooklin, who just happened to be the wife of producer Peter Bryant (really the script editor, but promoted for this story). The part was written especially for her. She was quite heavily made up to play an Egyptian, and Frazer Hines did not recognise her - even attempting to chat her up, until he found out she was the boss' missus.
• The story is heavily influenced by the Hammer / Universal Mummy movies. Klieg is played by George Pastell (really a Cypriot) who had played the exact same type of role in the Peter Cushing / Christopher Lee The Mummy.
• The Controller is Michael Kilgarriff, who took some persuading to play the part. He was best known for voice work on radio - yet his voice would not be used in this. He was chosen specifically for his stature. He would reprise the role - with his own voice - in 1985. That was Attack of the Cybermen and, as well as being a sequel of sorts to this story (also set at least partly on Telos), the planet exteriors were filmed in the same quarry as Tomb's.