This story in a nutshell: Death, death and more death...
Aristocratic Adventurer: Whilst I am unashamedly a sixth Doctor apologist even the staunchest of critics has to accept that this is pretty damn good showing for his Doctor. He has been meaning to repair the chameleon circuit for some time and doesn’t know why he hasn’t gotten around to it before. A man of science, temperament and passion (and a very loud voice!). I love how he very sweetly taps Peri on the nose after his theatrical rant, somehow making everything okay. The Doctor feels like a hungry man eager for the feast and wants to go off exploring. A little gratitude from Peri wouldn’t irretrievably damage his ego. Thinks he has perfect rapport with the TARDIS. I loved his line ‘I suddenly feel conspicuous’ to which Peri replies ‘I’m not surprised in that coat.’ Maybe I have just been brainwashed for too long as a fan but I really studied that coat hard in this story and despite its obvious clashes of colour and style I couldn’t find anything that insulting to my optics. A sure sign that you have been watching this show too much. Are they slips of the tongue he is having (oo-er!) or slips of the mind, either way he calls Peri Jamie (a bloke), the Terrible Zodin (a villain) and most heinous of all…Tegan (what an insult). I know I bang on about this all the time but it because I have an innate sense of fighting injustice and it bothers me greatly that the same writers (Cornell, etc) that weep and moan about the sixth Doctor using his fists who are perfectly happy to endorse the new series where the Doctor has more blood on his hands than ever (what the Doctor does in Cornell's own scripted The Family of Blood is far more obscene than anything committed in Attack of the Cybermen). The sixth Doctor is violent and unpredictable, a perfect antidote to all the meekness of the last three years. When he is frightened he covers it with blatant rudeness. The scene where Russell holds a gun on the Doctor are some of Colin Baker’s finest; he is witty, callous and alien and I love it when he orders Peri to shoot the policeman because if you strain you can hear weak hearted fan boys lamenting the vacancy of their hero's morals. Has his new regeneration made him vindictive? ‘Even I have to be careful’ he says about his interference in the affairs of others and Lytton suggests dire consequences if the Time Lords catch up with him which acts as a nice hint to his upcoming treatment in Trial of a Time Lord. The Cybermen’s torture of him is sadistic and my heart quickened to see the Doctor being so mistreated in the TARDIS. I adore the scenes between him and Flast where he gets to act all sweet and kind, it’s precisely the sort of thing we needed to see from this fiery Doctor to balance him out. He displays some real anger when he realises that once again he is a Time Lord pawn. His quiet goodbye to Rost is very nice. The Doctor realises too late that he has misjudged Lytton in what is nice piece character development. Although there must have been a story between Resurrection and Attack where they crossed paths because they didn't set eyes on each other in Saward's Dalek massacre last season. The decision seems t have been made to give the sixth Doctor a wealth of personality, quite aside from the charm and volume that Colin Baker brings to the role. Was it a reaction against Davison's occasional ineptitude?
Busty Babe: Already Nicola Bryant and Colin Baker have developed a great chemistry and they bounce of each other very well in the first episode. Peri still thinks the Doctor might be a little unstable. A little? She is frightened as they fly in Halley’s Comets wake. Go watch the scene where the Doctor is looking off into the distance in a dream and Peri is literally jumping at his face to get his attention...and people say that these two don't light up the screen in the same way as previous Doctor/companions used to. Peri holding the shotgun probably caused a whole generation of wet dreams. The poor girl is dragged down back alleys and into the sewers for her impressive first view of London. I really like the scene where the Doctor mentions that the Cybermen are a particularly nasty alien race…and Peri starts backing away. ‘You’ll get used to it’ says Peri to Griffiths of their madcap lifestyle. Peri shows some real concern over the fate of the Earth in some eerie scenes with the Cryons. There's rather too much going on in Attack of the Cybermen to give Peri a large share of the action but she's fun for the most part and fulfills her function adequately.
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‘I used to use one of those when I worked for the council’ ‘This time its for swinging, not leaning on.’
‘Drop it, unless you want me to open up his throat.’
‘You’re bonkers!’ ‘That’s debatable.’
‘You murder a police officer and you’ll get thirty years!’ ‘Handful of heartbeats to a Time Lord!’
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Whilst it is amateurishly directed (it feels like the clock was about to strike ten and they had to get it in the can as quickly as possible) I rather like the furious energy of the Doctor taking on the Cybermen and murdering them all out with a weapon. It feels like things have gotten wildly out of control and the only way to restore a sense of normality is to kill the lot of them. Is it the only way this story could have been concluded? No, but Saward has once against boxed himself into a corner with too much going on and the only way he can see out is the murder everybody. It is becoming a habit on the show.
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The Shallow Bit: If you like a bit of rough, Attack of the Cybermen is the story for you. Peri bazumbas are extremely accentuated in that pink leotard. Even more so than usual.
Result: The first episode is very good; well paced with some violent and exciting touches. It feels like Doctor Who is back with a bang. The second episode fares less well with too much continuity and not enough clarity but there are still plenty of good moments and the whole story remains entertaining as a whole. What I love about Attack of the Cybermen is not only Matthew Robinson’s stylish and imaginative direction (his pacing, action sequences and ingenious use of the camera are all great) but also despite a few bumpy moments the Cybermen actually feel like a vicious threat and their conversion process is a genuinely chilling prospect. It’s a great story for the sixth Doctor because he gets to be heroic, violent, unpredictable, funny and even questions his own prejudices. Despite the general stylishness of the production there are some notable lapses, the budget fails the director on occasion and the musical score is so insistent that it will actively distract you from the action taking place. Should Doctor Who favour action over morality? Should it stick to fast paced set pieces over strong characterisation? Absolutely not, but this is where Saward and JNT took the programme in the mid eighties and your choice is to either go with it and find the treasures within (of which there are many) or resist it and sit in the corner pouting whilst still enduring the thing anyway because it is Doctor Who. Attack of the Cybermen isn’t perfect but it certainly tries very hard to be a gripping action thriller and for the most part it succeeds in it's aim to provide a high octane couple of hours worth of entertainment. Fantastic guest cast too: 8/10
5 comments:
Yes, bravo to the Doctor for realizing that he misjudged Lytton the homocidal space mercenary who did everything he did for money, including murdering dozens in "Resurrection of the Daleks". ;)
To be fair, you are right on in pointing out the few strengths of the previous story, especially Hugo's awesomeness (he definitely should have been a companion!)
This one is a definite guilty pleasure for me.
Whoops, meant to comment that second part on Twin Dilemma!
This is as enjoyable on a purely popcorn action level as the story for which it serves as a sequel, but with better supporting characters and a much more interesting leading man.
I think the people who are outraged by this doctor's use of violence have a very selective memory. Pertwee, for example, would have gunned down all the Cybermen while eating a sandwich. He never batted an eye when vaporizing Ogrons. "I have always been pragmatic in all my lives," says Baker's Doctor in The Sirens of Time, "as I am in this regeneration, but more so!"
Watching all in order. The hand crush scene scared me at the time and has put me off watching this. It is too much, taking it too far, sick in fact, unnecessary and not appropriate for Saturday evening, or any day before 9pm. This has too much going on in the end, the Cybermen are a little bit crap where they are so vulnerable, David Banks does not have enough to do and he is always far better than Kilgarriff. The voices are way too muffled. The action is relentless though. Love the black Cyberman. Russell being killed was a waste, as was Griffiths. Stratton and Bates are execellently played and again wasted in their knee jerk deaths. Nicola is gorgeous, inappropriate but gorgeous. Not a fan of the Cryons. The music apart from the Earthshock bits is really bad. 3 out of the last 5 stories were Malcolm Clarke, Resurrection by far the best score. Too much though. Great nostalgia. Baker is superb as are Colbourne and Glover. Why pay extra to have Faith Brown and Sarah Greene when you could save the money for better Cryon costumes, or Timelash. Some excellent set pieces, part 2 isnt that bad, I quite like the end, the Cyber Leader gets caught in the cross fire, you have to watch the scene twice though.
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