The Tomb of the Cybermen
(DVD)

 

Starring Patrick Troughton
4 Episodes
1967
95 minutes (black and white)
Single Disc




 

 

Production Notes
Doctor Who
Patrick Troughton

Jamie McCrimmon
Frazer Hines

Victoria Waterfield
Deborah Watling

Written by
Kit Pedler
&
Gerry Davis
 
Directed by
Morris Barry

Produced by
Peter Bryant

Original Airdate
Sept 2, 1967 - Sept 23, 1967

US DVD  Release Date
August 2002

Warner Home Video
#E1181

U.K. Cover



 

 

 
Cover Blurb
Missing for nearly 25 years, full prints of "The Tomb of the Cybermen" were uncovered in Hong Kong in 1992. It remains the earliest complete Cybermen story.

The once-feared Cybermen have disappeared from the universe without a trace. On Telos, home world of the Cybermen, a secret expedition arrives from Earth on a quest to find the last remains of the silver giants. 

Having blasted through a mountainside to "a pair of doors," the archeological party suffers their first casualty just as the TARDIS materializes. As usual, the Doctor and his companions, Jamie and Victoria, have turned up at the worst moment, but the Doctor's ready knowledge of the Cybermen soon wins them a begrudging respect. Despite regular warnings from the Doctor, the expedition probes deeper and deeper into the site, whose Cyberman artifacts always seem to have a life of their own.


 

 

 

DVD Features

  • Title Sequence Tests:

 Approximately 3 minutes worth of test footage for the opening titles sequence used throughout most of the Troughton era.  Title music plays along too.  Pretty cool.
 

 
  • Late Night Line-Up:
 A short but interesting 3 minute segment from the late 60's highlighting the BBC's visual effects department. 
 

 
  • Photo Gallery:
 Lots of rare and never before seen photos taken during the production of this story.  Very nice.
 

 

  • The Final End:

 This is actually a recreation of the closing moments of the previous story "Evil of the Daleks."  The episode in question is missing/no longer exists.  The scene is of the climatic battle between two factions of Daleks and the destruction of the Emperor Dalek.  At the time that this model footage was being shot someone else behind the scenes was filming it.  Using this footage and overlaying it with the actual audio recording from that story we get about 3 minutes worth of scene.  A lower quality version of this sequence was included in the VHS release of "The Missing Years."
 

 
  • Tombwatch:
 This is one of my favorite extras on this disc.  It is a 28 minute compilation from the 1992 screening of "Tomb of the Cybermen" shortly after its rediscovery (after having been missing for 25 years).  At this event they had many of the actors and crew involved in the production of the story who reminisce about their time with the program.
 

 
  • Remastering for DVD:
 This is a short mini-documentary on some of the extensive restoration work needed to get this story ready for release.  You get to see before and after shots as well as explanations of techniques used.  Interesting stuff.
 

 
  • Morris Barry Intro:
 When "Tomb" was first released in 1992 director Morris Barry was filmed introducing the story to viewers and discussing some of the aspects of its production.  That segment is included here on the DVD release as well.
 

 
  • Information Text:
 Lots of trivia and tidbits of Whovian detail are provided.  The text appears intermittently along the bottom of the screen and is written by Richard Molesworth of the Doctor Who Restoration Team
 

 
  • Audio Option:
 This time around commentary is provided by Frazer Hines (Jamie) and Deborah Watling (Victoria).
 

 
  • Who's Who:
 A feature unique to the North American DVD releases.  It lists short biographical information on many of the actors involved in the story.
 

 
  • Easter Eggs:
 There is 3 eggs included in this release.  Highlight the blank area below to find out more information on each one.  For a full list of known Easter Eggs and screen grabs of them click HERE.

 

#1. "Clean" Troughton Opening Credits 
(w/o story titles)
Click on the "Doctor Who" logo on the main screen

 

#2. VidFIRE clip of scene from
"Tomb of the Cybermen"
Click on the picture of Patrick Troughton (2nd Doctor) 
to the right of the "Doctor Who" logo on the main screen

 

#3. Audio Trailer for 
"The Abominable Snowmen"
Click on the "Doctor Who" logo on the "Audio Options" page

 

 

 

 

 

Additional Notes
  • Lost for nearly 25 years, all 4 episodes of "Tomb of the Cybermen" were found in Hong Kong in 1992.  The only recovery of complete episodes (let alone complete stories) since then has been the recent find of "The Crusade" episode 1 in 1999.
  • It is the only complete story still existing from season 5.  The only other story that comes close is "The Ice Warriors" where only episodes 2 and 3 out of a total of 6 are missing.  Every other story from season 5 is only represented by one or two episodes, and sometimes none.
  • Very extensive restoration work was done by the Doctor Who Restoration Team for this release.  Apparently, time and use had taken its toll on the recovered reel.
  • Unfortunately, the recent VidFIRE "videoising" process pioneered by the Doctor Who Restoration Team was finalized too late for this release.  The effects of this new process will first be revealed on the Hartnell story "Planet of Giants."  Sadly, this process was not used for the U.S. release of the story.
  • "Tomb of the Cybermen" is considered a classic among fans.  Additionally, it introduces the Cybermats into the Doctor Who universe.