In case you didn't know a new series of Doctor Who is soon to be appearing on our screens in April and this last week a trailer was finally dropped on us. Series 10 is to be the final outing of the 12th Doctor Peter Capaldi and Showrunner Steven Moffat and if that trailers anything to go by its going to be a belter.
As well as showing us tantalising glimpses of new elements for this series there were a few familiar elements too. One of those was an unfamiliar sighting of a Cybermen - don't worry your eyes did not deceive you it was a Cyberman, trust me I know these things. If you thought to yourself " I didn't know Cybermen could like that" don't worry readers here at WhatCulture we're here to help with 10 facts that you didn't know about Doctor Who's second most popular monster. So without further ado lets release the facts;
1. The First Cyberman Story Concluded With The Death of the First Doctor
Yes indeed readers, after three magnificent years at the controls of the TARDIS William Hartnell departed the show in 1966. In order to send him off on a high the production team put their collective heads together to come up with a brand new monster for The Doctor to face on his swan song.
Script editor Gerry Davis and scientific adviser Kit Pedler were inspired by cybernetics and would explore the concept before applying a science fiction twist. The result was the Cybermen gracing our screens for the very first time and the show finally striking lightning twice and gaining a monster like the Daleks that would reappear many times in the future.
Although the Cybermen themselves were not responsible for The Doctors first death this adventure took its toll on the Time Lord. This meant that the first era of Doctor Who ended with two milestones the first regeneration and the first appearance of the Cybermen.
2. The First Cybermen Design Was Not The Traditional Cybermen Design
Think Cybermen think blank metallic faces, however that's not the case with their appearance. A few elements such as the height, chest unit and head handles were present on the first outing - they were humongous but they were present but nothing else was. Instead of the silver steel viewers would become so familiar with the Cybermen had a distinct cloth helmet, rubber suit and silver painted boots.
But wait readers theres more, the iconic modulated voices were also still yet to come. While the iconic robotic sound was a few stories away the Cybermen in this story had a high campy staccato voice that sounded far more human than machine. However this more simplified Cybermen is perhaps more in keeping with the original concept these for the silver giants.
The much more well known design was just around the corner arriving in their second story and this design would not be revisited until 2017 and this coming series.
3. They Were The First Aliens On The Moon!
Yes indeed dear readers, nearly two years before Neil Armstrong and Edwin 'the Buzzmeister' Aldrin Doctor Who beat them to it. Lo and behold in 1967's 'The Moonbase' who did he find there plotting another attempt to take over the Earth? The newly designed Cybermen fresh with their silver plated faces and more stream lined style.
While the show would revisit the moon over the years this was the first occasion. An iconic aspect of the Cybermen is their iconic metallic march along with the cybernetic clanking which the New series has added in recent years. This story is the first time we saw this and that silent march across the lunar landscape would forever be embedded in the minds of viewers at the time.
Certainly other monster in Doctor Who would use the moon be it Ice Warriors, Spiders and even be revealed to be an egg but the Cybermen would be the first monsters to place their flag on the surface.
4. They Were The Fist Monsters To Be Fought by Unit
Readers may be aware of the current incarnation of Unit fronted by Kate Stewart and Osgood who have appeared with the Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors but their history goes back a lot further. Back in 1968 colour TV was on the way and opposed to travelling alien worlds Doctor Who was experimenting with bring the aliens to Earth on a more regular basis. Hence the creation of Unit in their originally more military guise to assist the Doctor.
Originally popping up in 'The Invasion' this lengthy story would see Patrick Troughtons Doctor investigating the company 'International Electromatics' only to discover it was a front for the Cybermen. The silver giants would enter the story late breathing more life turning this story from one of international corporate subterfuge to one of invasion.
Again an iconic story, Unit and the Cybermens appearance here would set the template for the majority of stories from the first half of the 1970's and see the show enter its second decade.
5. They Didn't Appear As The Villains During The Jon Pertwee Era
Now this one is a bit of a shocker that even long time fans of the show are unaware of. We've already established that the Cybermen arrived right at the end of the First Doctor era, they turned up multiple time during the Second Doctor era but they failed entirely to turn up and terrorise the Third Doctor during Jon Pertwees era. The Third Doctor spent most of his time trapped on Earth and as the Cybermen had already attempted to take on the present day and Unit in the previous era the production team didn't use them.
They do appear in this era - in a blink and you miss them cameo but the silver giants wouldn't reappear until Tom Baker reared his head.
The Third Doctor would finally get to take on the Cybermen in a sequence during 'The Five Doctors' that was so memorable a generation would forever associate the silver haired Doctor with arch silver nemesis.
6. Gold
Weaknesses, everyone has them! Daleks have staircases, Angels you look and Sontarans can be taken out with a blow to the back of the neck but how do you take down a Cybermen? During their early years The Doctor had used a wide variety of tactics to take them out including gravity, radar and nail varnish remover - yes you did read that last one correctly! In the mid 1970's the production team decided it was finally time to give the Cybermen a weakness and what did they choose?
Gold! Not the chart topping hit from Spandau Ballet the glittery yellow metal favoured by jewellers everywhere. This would manifest itself in a number of ways from arrows, gold dust clogging up their breathing apparatus and nearly being wiped out with the wonderfully named glitter gun.
This is something that has largely been ignored since the show came back in 2005. However if they Cybermen get to big for their boots expect to see Peter Capaldi heading for the nearest Harvey Nichols to stock up on ammo.
7. Word Of Mouth
As we've already covered the Cybermen are one of Doctor Who's longest running villains but there were periods of the show where they didn't appear. The really good thing about writing a race or a character off is that you get to bring them back. Hell, virtually every other cliffhanger from 'Lost' involves a character reappearing.
However in 1983 the production team did what many people think would be impossible today - they brought them back without the fans or the viewers finding out in advance!
How was this done? Studio observation galleries were closed, Cybermen were confined to the studio where they could be kept a secret, their name was taken off the title and even a Radio Times cover was turned down. The first time the Great British public found out the Cybermen were back was when they popped up at the climax of episode one.
And what was the end result? Everyone was talking about it! Fans, school kids, parents the papers! By going with no publicity the show had generated the most publicity it had in years.
8. Spare Parts
Ask 100 Doctor Who fan to name their ten favourite stories and you will no doubt get 100 different lists. One story that will no doubt pop up a lot is Genesis of the Daleks where the show tackled the origin of the Daleks. After watching it you may get the idea to dig out the story where we get the Cyberman origin, don't bother looking for it as you wont find it.
Bizarre as it may seem the Doctor Who never tackled the origin of the Cybermen. The first time we got a glimpse into their origin was during the 'wilderness' years when the show was off the air. The audio company Big Finish, released the story 'Spare Parts' which saw the Fifth Doctor witness the birth of the Cybermen.
This story would go on to become so well regarded that when Russell T Davies decided to bring them back he set 'The Rise of the Cybermen' in an alternate universe so 'Spare Parts' would still stand as an origin story.
9. You've Got Me Feeling Emotions
One of the key features about the Cybermen is that technology has done away with emotion. However to the eagle eyed observer this isn't often the case, from their early appearances to most recent emotions have often been on display.
Season 8 saw a number of characters being cyber converted including companion Clara's love interest Danny Pink. Not only did he retain his humanity he showed a range of emotions including love and shock, he also uses his army skills to command the Cyber army.
During Season 2 during David Tennants era on the show the Cybermen would convert members of Torchwood including Yvonne Hartman. One of the most memorable moments from this story is the post conversion Hartman crying through her emotionless face.
During the classic run of the show the Cybermen were at their most emotional when facing Tom Bakers Fourth Doctor. Tom Baker was able to antagonise them as easily as a schoolboy and set the tone for future confrontations where the Cybermen would show a distinct touch of smugness when confronting The Doctor.
10. They Killed Adric
As we touched on earlier 1983's Earthshock saw the triumphant return of the Cybermen with a shock return as the surprise villains. However the producer of the time John Nathan-Turner, wanted the story to have more of impact. How did he choose to do this? By killing off Adric, a companion whose time of the show crossed over from the Fourth to the Fifth Doctor.
Again like the reappearance of the Cybermen this was kept under wraps and nobody knew about it until broadcast. The production team were so determined to keep it a secret they even hired the actor - Matthew Waterhouse for the next story where he appeared as a hologram. The viewers of the time were being treated to shocks right left and centre, a companion hadn't been killed since the 1960's.
Repercussions of this would be carried over into the next story and into future seasons as Doctor Who looked to cast off its cosy image and carry on into the 1980's with a more gritty feeling. But for the Cybermen the death of Adric would be the moment that catapulted them back into the public consciousness.
correspond.
