Doctor Who (TV Series) Revenge of the Cybermen: Part One (1975) User Reviews

"I don't want to lose my arm, I'm rather attached to it." Great start to a good story.

[poolandrews · 8/10 · 19 April 2007]

Doctor Who: Revenge of the Cybermen: Part 1 starts as after the events of the previous story Genesis of the Daleks where the time ring is supposed to reunite the Doctor (Tom Baker) & his friends Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen) & Harry Sullivan (Ian Marter) with the TARDIS on the space station Nerva Beacon, however it sends them too far back in time before the TARDIS is there. However according to the Doctor this is a temporary problem & the TARDIS will catch up with them soon. They decide to explore & find that a mysterious plague has killed most of the crew, they meet Commander Stevenson (Ronald Leigh-Hunt) who explains that they are there to warn passing space freighters about a newly discover satellite that orbits Jupiter & that most of his crew have fallen to the plague. The Doctor becomes convinced that other more sinister forces are at work & he is determined to get to the bottom of it...

This Doctor Who adventure was episode 17 from season 12 that aired here in the UK during mid 1975 & was the final story from Tom Baker's first season, directed by Michael E. Briant Revenge of the Cybermen seems to get treated pretty harshly but I have to say it's a story I really rather like. The script by Gerry Davis has the usual Doctor Who traits, the Doctor & his companions stumble across a sinister plan & become involved so in that respect it's nothing original but I like the story even though it hasn't really kept that much back. Already after this opening episode we know who the human traitor is, we have already seen the Cybermen & we already know what has caused the plague so while it has moved along like a rocket I'm not sure there's much left of the story to tell. Still, like most Doctor Who stories it's great fun & provides good solid sci-fi entertainment.

After more than six years the Cybermen return to Doctor Who with a slight costume change, I admit the Cybermen are my favourite Doctor Who monster & I really like how they look here although they were completely redesigned again for their next appearance in Earthshock (1982) during season 19 with Peter Davison.

Revenge of the Cybermen is a story I actually like probably because it's well made & feature my favourite Doctor Tom Baker against my favourite monsters the Cybermen, I reckon it's well worth a watch.

The cheap effects can't stump the story! ** Spoilers **

[naseby · 8/10 · 6 April 2010]

Perhaps it's too predictable to mention 'special effects' with the 'old' Doctor Who stories, much like saying regarding playing 'Monopoly' "Wouldn't this be good if the money was real". (There you are, it's out of my system!). However, with 'Who', you've got to hand it to them when the stories are good - as this one is.

A good plot again with the Cyber menaces, who always somehow scared me with the motionless mouths and the fixed round eyes - especially Christopher Robbie's 'transalantic accent in a tin', taking on the best Dr Who (Yes, Tom Baker, but really, all of them have been excellent INCLUDING Paul McGann!) and of course, failing. The Vogons are quite fairly made up (I don't mean when they assist in defeating the Cybermen, I mean their costumes!). Of course, the fun WAS the dodgy sets, costumes etc, but try telling that to my son and the present generation, who have now grown up with the Cybermen like some idiotic 'you will be deleted' moronic Robocop-walking-type armour-clad and totally brainless army.

A good story here nonetheless as I've said, with the small force invading the 'nerva-beacon' and being ruthless as usual and of course, having the usual human on their side, being a traitor to the rest of us, forgetting he'd be betrayed by the tin soldiers if they wanted to at anytime. We got our licence fee's worth here. But again it may only be for 'Who' fans who can get past the Bacofoil and vacuum cleaner-tubed maniacs! (I particularly liked the 'head guns' of the Cybermen, reminding of not much more than a couple of ciggie-lighters ignited at once!)

Doesn't quite work

[dmcderm · 6/10 · 5 May 2018]

Here's an an example of a basic premise that's sound, but the execution a bit short. The Vogons, they of the planet of Gold, and the Cybermen have a plan to eliminate the other, with the poor Humans (and our heroes) caught in the middle. But there are so many plot holes it's difficult to enjoy. For example, if the Vogons are so rich with deadly (to Cybermen) gold, why haven't they developed a effective weapon using it? What was Kellman's motive? Why can't Cybermen tie up humans effectively?

Combine that with mediocre acting and questionable special effects (though the cybermats were well-executed), you get an episode that doesn't quite work.

All that glitters, or not in this case.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 6/10 · 24 October 2019]

The Doctor, Harry and Sarah are back on Nerva, thousands of years before, only the station is now full of death.

On paper, and the fact that this followed on from Genesis of The Daleks, you'd assume an instant classic, this first part is good, but it's no classic. This first episode offers up a degree of intrigue, what was that metallic creature? What exactly is that plague?

I found it a bit dull and clunky, it lacks any sense of atmosphere, something Genesis had in abundance. The set design is of course very good, very wise to recycle and save costs. Tom is good, putting his physicality to a good use.

I may be a little harsh in my criticism, but this season had been so impressive. For a series finale, it begins slowly. 6/10

New Arc for the Ark...

[Xstal · 6/10 · 21 June 2022]

A brand new arc takes us right back to the Ark, where there's a shiny snake-like thing that leaves a nasty mark, an asteroid of gold and some Cybermen of old, but where's the Tardis, and when will it decide to park.

Not gold but a decent bronze.

[A_Kind_Of_CineMagic · 9/10 · 22 November 2014]

Review of all 4 episodes:

Cybermen are a favourite of mine and I think they are effectively portrayed in this story albeit quite different to earlier Cybermen. The leader of the Cybermen actually is quite Darth Vader like (this was of course made before Star Wars so it is NOT a copycat).

The story involves The Doctor, Sarah and Harry arriving back on the Space Station Nerva but some considerable time before the time it was used as an 'ark'. The station is hit with deaths of numerous crew and The Doctor tries to help, eventually discovering involvement of Cybermen.

The Cybermen are suitably villainous and decently realised. The aliens native to the 'planet of Gold' are acceptable, if very unexceptional, aliens. The Doctor, Sarah and Harry are great and the other main humans are well portrayed. The story is entertaining and enjoyable. The problem holding this adventure back a bit is an occasional unclear logic in how events and choices progress.

My ratings: Episodes 1 & 2 - 8.5/10, Episodes 3 & 4 - 7.5/10.

I expected much more from a cyberman episode.

[ianweech · 8/10 · 17 March 2020]

I went into this episode excited, and i left the first part feeling kinda underwhelmed. What even was this? It makes the timeless children look like an absolute masterpiece, which it is!

A Slightly Flat End To The Season

[Theo Robertson · 5/10 · 22 March 2011]

Slight Spoilers To All Four Episodes

Revenge Of The Cybermen had its genesis under the producership of Barry Letts . The prozine DWB published the original script in its entirety in the early 1990s . Reading though it you become aware how it would perfectly fit in with the style brought to the show by Hincliffe and Holmes . It's a grim tale of a bunch of miners trapped on an asteroid thinking they've been abandoned by the inhabitants of a space station but for some reason script editor Robert Holmes heavily rewrote the story in to being an action fest . In many ways it's a story produced in a manner similar to the previous era

It's not a bad story but it's also that's not wholly successful either . People aboard a space beacon are dying from a " space plague " which is quickly explained then totally forgotten about once the Doctor knows what's going on which typical of how the plotting takes place in the classic series . It's not necessarily a criticism but this type of mystery means that it's not really the type of story that stands up to repeated viewing

Perhaps the biggest problem is the Cybermen themselves . Once a monster is introduced to the show it then becomes difficult trying to find any new to do with them . This is the problem with many Dalek stories and the Daleks in every Pertwee tale could have been any alien race . Likewise in most Cybermen tales and here they could be any alien race that you care to mention . . Well any bulletproof alien race since the third episode revolves around their trip to Voga where they're involved in a firefight with the inhabitants and unfortunately director Michael Briant isn't able to top his action scenes from The Sea Devils

All in all Revenge Of The Cybermen is an okay adventure but a rather forgettable one from the early Tom Baker era , not helped by the fact its surrounded by so many genuine classics . It holds the distinction of being the very first DOCTOR WHO video released in 1983 and a combination of Tom Baker and Cybermen might on paper seem a winning combination but from a storytelling point of view it may disappoint