Rating: 
Summary: Maybe the best b&w Doctor Who episode!
Review: This 4 part episode features Patrick Troughton at top performance. Outstanding funny and highly interesting. Just one special effect is so obvious, it makes even Cybermen laugh...I highly recommend this episode as an introduction to the Patrick Troughton era and for every true fan of Doctor Who!
Rating: 
Summary: Grainy DVD
Review: I love the story and bought it only because I already have the video. I do appreciate the extras, including the home camera footage from EVIL OF THE DALEKS, and certainly will continue to buy Dr Who DVDs. But I hope that the quantity of the older stories from the 1960s will increase.
Rating:
Summary: "Who'd be a woman?"
Review: Landing on the Planet Telos, the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria run into an expedition searching for the last remains of the Cybermen. The Troughton classic is finally released on DVD, fully restored by the DWRT(Doctor Who Restoration Team), with loads of bonuses and extras. The story itself happens to be one of the BEST Cybermen serials. Although, there are some iffy accents, ridiculous dialogue and OTT acting, it's mainly a lot of fun. The enjoyment and fun level in this Who outing ranks among the best. It may not be for most of Today's Sci-Fi audience, but revelers' of B-movies and old TV programs will applaud. Not sure if I understand all that symbolic logic, though...
Rating:
Summary: The inimitable Patrick Troughton
Review: It's too bad that there aren't more complete Troughton stories for us to enjoy. Guess we should enjoy what we have. This is one of the best remaining adventures and the restoration team have done a wonderful job of cleaning it up and tossing in all the extras on the disk. The easter eggs are nice too (I won't spoil it as to where they are). The story holds up quite well to repeated viewings and I feel the commentary track is a nice addition and the humor and camraderie between Hines and Watling really makes it fun. The pop up production notes give several facts that a lot of fans probably didn't know. This DVD will be in my player a lot.
Rating:
Summary: Second Doctor remastered
Review: This is the first story featuring Patrick Troughton as the Doctor to make it on to DVD, and it's a classic! Unfortunately, very few of his stories have survived in the BBC archives, and indeed, this particular four part adventure, broadcast in the UK in the fall of 1967, was wiped and presumed lost after it's one and only UK transmission. Remarkably, prints of the tapes turned up in Hong Kong in 1992 and were returned to BBC Video, who cleaned them up and rush released them on home VHS. This edition has been digitally remastered and transformed once more, allowing for a very sharp picture and soundtrack which must be as good as the original ever was. A demonstration of the clean-up and results is included as an extra on the disc. The other extras are somewhat disappointing in certain respects. First of all, the commentary provided by Frazer Hines and (the irritatingly theatrical) Deborah Watling, who star alongside the second Doctor as his companions Jamie and Victoria. Newcomers to the show will doubtless be entertained by the warm and jovial chit-chat between the two, but those of us familiar with the world of Doctor Who will recognize their dialogue from numerous interviews the two have given over the years. Indeed the contrived "spontaneity" of their banter is now beginning to irritate me. This is highlighted by another extra on the disc, a taped panel discussion recorded in 1992, with virtually all the surviving cast and production team. Here Deborah and Frazer go through almost exactly the same "spontaneous" routine once more. This thirty minute background to the show is fascinating, if only to see how all the cast have aged over the years! Also here is an introduction from Director Morris Barry, a brief piece to camera originally recorded for the video tape release. There are a couple of fun "Easter Eggs" to find, one of which shows a scene from the show that has been restored to almost the original broadcast video quality. I'm confused as to why the entire story hasn't been restored in this way, since the picture is considerably better in this clip than the entire DVD. Test titles, a brief look at the visual effects modelling and a clip from the preceding story are also included. The story itself is very tense and well constructed, and the Cybermen very menacing. The technology of the day means that there are the inevitable fluffs and goofs, but that's almost what makes Doctor Who the cult classic that it is. The on screen captions and the commentary help to identify some of the biggest blunders. It's certainly the best Troughton story available in its entirety, which doesn't bode well for future DVD releases.
Rating:
Summary: Once lost....now found........intact!
Review: Found in Hong Kong, this "missing" Dr. Who episode is truly a masterpiece. It features the first complete episode featuring the sinister Cybermen. Even though it's filmed in black & white & has low budget special effects, Patrick Troughton soars as Dr. Who. A spine-tingling episode indeed! Highly recommended! Note to the BBC...Keep digging and find more episodes!
Rating:
Summary: Doctor Who gets a touch of the Hammers!
Review: This story was originally broadcast in 1967 and to me draws heavily on the Hammer horror movies that were very popular at the time. The setting is very up to date scientific with the whole notion of cryogenic suspension being a central part to the plot. This is of course, overlaid with the idea of the Tomb itself and the parallels between Mummies and Cybermen makes for a potentially very scary story. The Cybermen history is twisted yet again as is their appearance such that continuity is very disrupted as it would be further in later episodes. The Hammer based plot is given further creedence with the followers of the logic of the Cybermen, much like the high priests in the Mummy stories, come along with the intention of restoring their gods to their rightful place in the universe with themselves as their servants but not realising that they will be absorbed in the process. Toberman, the strong silent character is almost genie like in appearance and displays great strngth of character if not of mind, particularly towards the conclusion of the story. There are some flaws in the story to be sure but generally they are of little significance. Taken together the whole story is a masterful horror/suspense tale with superb acting by Troughton making this one of the best Doctor Who episodes ever. It is odd too, that as this was televised in 1967, almost a year before the screening of 2001 that there are the similarities in the plot concerning the idea of testing the humans for a certain level of intellectual activity before allowing further access or development. I do not wish to carry that analogy too far as there is not too strong a case but it has a passing interest. Great performances all round and a wise choice for an early transfer to DVD to be in the shops later on this summer.
Rating:
Summary: So glad this story was found for Who fans to enjoy!
Review: An Earth archaeological expedition land on Telos, in search of the tombs of the Cybermen. The Doctor, Jamie, and Victoria arrive in time to help them with a pair of doors leading to the tombs. By the end of episode 2, the creatures, suspended in cryogenically, are awakened by a member of the expedition, the Brotherhood of Logician alumnus Klieg, who plans to use them to help him rule Earth. He describes them thus: "like bees in a giant honeycomb, awaiting for a signal to awake from their winter sleep." The expedition is filled with a variety of characters, the well-meaning but indecisive leader Professor Parry, the cold logicians Klieg and Kaftan, strong and silent Toberman, the high-strung and anxious Viner, and the tough-talking American (or maybe Canadian), Captain Hopper and his crew. The Doctor thinks that, "some things are better left undone, and I have a feeling that this is one of them." As usual, his words are prophetic. The Doctor manages to gain the animosity of Klieg, whom he shows up in figuring out the logical gates to open doors in the control room. The Doctor: "I used my special technique." Klieg, "And may we know what that is?" The Doctor: "By keeping my eyes open and my mouth shut." Ouch! The Doctor's conversation with Victoria about missing her father is touching. She'd be completely happy if her father, murdered by the Daleks, was still alive, and feels that her memory of him would always be a sad one. The Doctor tells her that he can remember his family, "I have to really want to, to bring them back in front of my eyes. The rest of the time, they sleep in my mind and I forget, and so will you." He puts her present and future in perspective: "Our lives our different than anybody else. That's the exciting thing. Nobody in the universe can do what we're doing." It's interesting that Klieg is German and believes that the logicians are the superbeings, in comparison to Hitler and the Nazis. For anyone curious, his colleague Kaftan is an Arab, a fact mentioned in the novelization but not the TV program. Victoria, played by Deborah Watling, has to be one of the most sensitive companions to accompany the Doctor. This is coupled by her prude, traditional sense of values--she's aptly named, coming from the Victorian era. She's got the reputation as the loudest screamer of the women, with Mel a close second. As Captain Hopper tells her, "You scream real good, Vic." Trust her to put a Cybermat in her purse despite being warned by the Doctor! The special intro by director Morris Barry is insightful, as he talks about Michael Kilgariff, the 6'4" actor he got to play the Cybercontroller. The scene where Toberman disembowels a Cybermen got a complaint from Mary Whitehouse, Britain's Tipper Gore of television, and Barry got his knuckles rapped for its explicit nature. He didn't think it was, and neither do I. The Cyberman theme from The Moonbase, with its booming drums and sharp brass notes, is repeated here as they emerge from their tombs. Cyril Shaps (Viner) plays the Archimandrite in The Androids Of Tara. And Roy Stewart (Toberman) reappears as Tony, Rossini's henchman in Terror Of The Autons. Tomb Of The Cybermen was presumed lost forever until a copy of it was found in Hong Kong, returned to the BBC vaults, and released on video. What good fortune! It emerges as one of the strongest Troughton stories.
Rating:
Summary: Troughton rules!
Review: I vividly remember watching this from behind the sofa, aged five. The sight of the Cybermen hatching etched itself into my nightmares and I never forgot that chilling image. Surely those pitiless, noseless faces are the scariest things ever seen on television? All right, I admit that on seeing these episodes all these years later, the sets wobble, the props are made of washing up liquid bottles and the 'nasty foreigner' baddies are tiresome. But I was blown away all over again by dear Patrick Troughton - what a beautiful actor he was. I have always regarded every doctor who came after him as an imposter, including Pertwee and Baker.
How I believed him as a child - he was like my Daddy (also a doctor) who knew everything and always knew the right words to say to calm you down.
I can understand newcomers not liking this story but it supplied some of the most potent and indelible images of my childhood - and I suspect, many other English children of my generation.
Rating:
Summary: "now i know you're really MAD"
Review: OK, i write few reviews, so any one who rates this zero or one star isn't a Who fan......I rate it 5, as i think it is a starter for those getting into Who, especially those wanting to find quality Troughton videos to watch..........it has the ever entertaining Troughton and Frazier (Jamie) and also Victoria (a conservative1800's kinda girl).......my quote/title is one of merit........all the "scientists" find the Doctor and challenge him at every turn or each conclusion, and he has a smart remark for each of them.....when Kleig explains his insaine plans, Troughton plays along a few lines and when Kleig proclaims himself a God and a Brilliant Genious, the Doctor says "oh, yes, i wanted to know for sure that you were absolutely mad...now i see you are".......OK, also, there is an American character, he is a stereo-typical "John Wayne" speaking character.......i wasn't offended, i found him worthy of some quality samples (or at least sound bytes).......this is typical of 60's Britt shows........Americans and especially American Blacks have to follow a stereo-type.......so, the Americans come across as Cowboys and [i promise i will find his name and edit this] looks like like a mindless, brute idiot.........but he also becomes the hero as he is partially converted to a Cyberman but still over throws them and plays hero as the "scientists" try to flee All in all, this is a Cybermen episode and also one of Troughton's finest..........Troughton is a GREAT Doctor and the Cybermen are CLASSIC enemies.....that makes this one great episode to own........i still watch it and show it to my friends
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