Doctor Who: Cybermen

Rating:
Summary: This book is EXCELLENT!
Review: The Cyberleader, a.k.a. David Banks, has furnished us Earthlings and those who feel they are actually aliens (such as myself), with a superior, highly detailed information on Cyber History and the BBC series that chronologically dramatized said history. Elaborate histories of programs, dealing with a certain aspect of it, can either border from the esoteric for adherents of the program or the way Banks does it, which is esoteric but fascinating.

The prelude to the chapter dealing with biomechanics, control-and-communication systems, artificial intelligence, and immunity from diseases are the roots of what inspired Gerry Davis and Kit Pedler to create the Cybermen and make interesting reading.

A prerequisite of the program is obviously needed, as in the case of the solar map, having Fendhal between Mars and Jupiter. The existence of Cassius, described in The Sunmakers, is not mentioned, unless it is the same as Penultima, the 13th planet. Beyond that is Planet 14, base of the Cybermen in The Invasion.

An added bonus is Gerry Davis' Cybermen origin story, Genesis Of The Cybermen. As it does not specify which Doctor, it could well be a future Doctor should the BBC come to their senses and do another series. The companion is named Felicity so either BBC will work around that or change the name, as long as it is a female companion.

The chronological order of stories matches that in The Terrestrial Index, although the variances between the proposed year stories without a definite date are minor. For example, this book proposes The Invasion took place in 1979, whereas TI puts it at 1970. In contrast, both the Discontinuity Guide and A History Of The Universe place Revenge Of The Cybermen as taking place after Attack Of The Cybermen. The Disco Guide places Tomb Of The Cybermen AFTER Attack, so go figure. Silver Nemesis was in production as this book was being written, but because it takes place in 1988, there's little debate the year of occurrence.

The various changes in Cybermen are also covered in technical detail, from the Mondasians to the streamlined "new-fashioned Cybermen" of Earthshock onward, what is called Cyberneomorphs. They are differentiated from their lookalike ancestors, the CyberFaction (The Invasion) and the Cybernomads (Revenge Of The Cybermen).

It was in this book that I first learned of the destruction of the majority of the William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton stories of the 1970's. Because of this callous lack of program preservation, we will never see Episode 4 of The Tenth Planet, Episodes 1 and 3 of The Moonbase, Episodes 1,2,4, and 5 of The Wheel In Space, and Episodes 1 and 4 of The Invasion.

The cover art by David Banks, with superior artwork by Andrew Skilleter, has the Cyberleader holding his gun, standing in front of a metallic tunnel of varying colours. And there are lots of drawings and photographs, both black-and-white and colour, scattered throughout the book.

Conclusion: this book is EXCELLENT!

Rating:
Summary: Cybermen: A behind-the-scenes book of the very best kind.
Review: The Cybermen were one of the most popular monsters featured on the long running British science fiction series, Doctor Who. Although they appeared to be seven-foot tall metal robots, the cybermen were, in fact, once human. Faced with a hostile environment and a decreasing lifespan, the cybermen replaced their organs and limbs with more durable bionic components. They surgically replaced all weaknesses, including the emotional weaknesses that made them human, becoming in the process something less than human - dehumanised machine creatures determined to survive by the conquest and assimilation of other races. (They are suspected to be one of the inspirations for Star Trek's, Borg.)

The book covers the creation of the monsters by scientist Kit Pedlar and screenwriter Gerry Davis as well as the history of the cybermen on screen. Additionally, an unofficial "events occurring offstage" history describing the evolution of the creatures over the 22 years they appeared in the series is presented together with a "Genesis of the Cybermen" plot outline from cyberman creator Gerry Davis.

The book was written by David Banks who played the CyberLeader in the last four cybermen adventures and illustrated by Andrew Skilleter, the artist responsible for the Doctor Who video sleeves. The author's enthusiasm for the series and the love for the part are clearly evident. Fans (and there are many of us) will appreciate this firsthand account of the production of a much-loved TV series and the creation of one of the classic science fiction monsters.

Although the book is not in print at the time of writing, Doctor Who is undergoing a renaissance in the form of a series of paperback novels and new adventures being released as audio dramas on CD. Given the keenness of the BBC to capitalise on Doctor Who it's certainly possible that this book will be reprinted.