Doctor Who: The Tomb of the Cybermen

We've reached the first 2nd Doctor story that exists in its entirety. No missing episodes! I wonder if that's why it came up so much in that one panel at the first (Re)Generation Who...so much so that it's a running joke with a friend of mine. It's a great story, but every single person asking a question wanted to talk about it! It's like they didn't know that there are other 2nd stories as great or better.

Jamie, the Doctor, Victoria

The story begins on Telos. Telos, you say? Planet in the video game KOTOR II? Why yes, but Star Wars doesn't have Cybermen, so no, not really. They make Victoria change from her, well, Victorian garb into a short skirt. She mildly objects but goes with it. I think it would've been cooler to keep her in her original clothes, but then, Doctor Who does love its female companions in short skirts. They run into an archaeological expedition looking for Cybermen. And they find them...

They explore the area and find the Cybermen down a hatch, frozen in ice. But some of the expedition turns out to be baddies, and they unfreeze the Cybermen. Good job, baddies. Incidentally, one of the baddies looks just like 1st Doctor companion Barbara, and it's a little distracting. So, the Cybermen are unfrozen, and out pops the Cyber Controller, threatening to turn everyone into Cybermen.

Cyber Controller, with regular Cybermen behind him

I don't know why the baddies thought they could control the Cybermen, but that's not happening. This story marks the first appearance of Cybermats, the Cybermen's little pets. Or deadly robot thingies. Whatever.

The Cybermats look brilliant and never really pose a threat, ever. The Doctor has a heartfelt chat with Victoria about her father and memories of family members that are gone. I thought that was sweet and showed a deep kindness and thoughtfulness in his character.

In the end, the Cybermen are refrozen, and the baddies lose. Hooray!

THE RUNDOWN

Doctor: Second
Companions: Jamie, Victoria
Episode: #37, "The Tomb of the Cybermen," four parts
Adversary: the Cybermen
Classic Lines: the Doctor, to Victoria: "Our lives are different to anybody else's. That's the exciting thing. Nobody in the universe can do what we're doing."
Tuck This Away to Impress Your Friends: The Doctor says that in Earth terms he is about 450 years old.
Next Up: "The Abominable Snowmen"