Episode #79 : Revenge of the Cybermen

"You're nothing but a pathetic bunch of tin soldiers skulking

about the galaxy in an ancient spaceship."

Episode 79:    Revenge of the Cybermen.
Companions:  4th Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan.
Air Date:        Four episodes. 19th April to 10th May 1975.

Expecting to be reunited with the TARDIS following a secret mission for the Time Lords, they instead find themselves on a plague-stricken space station orbiting the remnants of Voga, Planet of Gold. The Doctor, Harry Sullivan and Sarah Jane Smith have stumbled into the last battle of an ancient conflict between humankind and one of its most terrifying foes — the Cybermen.

At last we have the long awaited return of the Cybermen to the show. We last saw them in The Invasion, story of the 2nd Doctor. The appearance of the Cybermen has been improved and they now look much closer to the excellent 80's Cybermen design. These ones even sport weapons in their foreheads which is somewhat odd. The voices are now supplied by the actor in the suit and we can finally understand what they are saying properly. Unfortunately this is the only on screen appearance for the Cybermen for the 4th Doctor and we have to wait several years until they return.

The reason for the Cybermen's revenge is the fabled moon of Voga which is made of gold. The Cybermen have been given a new weakness which doesn't make too much real world sense, but then I am no scientist to explain it. Supposedly because gold is noncorrosive substance it can block their breathing apparatus. Why does a machine like being need a breathing apparatus? I have no idea. But you can just go with it.

This story concludes the Nerva Beacon arc which started with The Ark in Space, and we get to see what the Nerva Beacon looked like before the solar flares. The only disappointing element to this story is how closely it resembles The Moonbase. Both stories feature a Cyberman attack with Cybermats and a plague to strike down the human crew. While it may have been a staple mode of operation for the future Cybermen it just comes across as reusing the same old plot elements from an older story.

But saying that I can't complain about this story. Revenge of the Cybermen is a good piece of entertaining Who made better by the return of the Cybermen. The plot is straight forward but we get some good acting from our regular actors and Harry Sullivan gets to shine once again. Sarah Jane though seems to have continued the trend of being a screaming female companion.

At the culmination of this story our companions are reunited with the TARDIS and discover that the Brigadier has summoned them back to the Earth.