Doctor Who: Revenge of the Cybermen

The "Cybermen" were never my favourite enemy of the "Doctor" - they were OK in the monochrome days with William Hartnell but I didn't really rate them later on. Anyway, this time we see Tom Baker, "Sarah Jane" (Elisabeth Sladen) and "Harry" (Ian Marter) back on the "Nerva Beacon" only discover that ... the TARDIS has got the timeline wrong again and they soon become aware that their tin-foiled adversaries are back and they are bent on destruction. Not just of humanity, this time, though - they also have their eyes on the planet of "Voga". These are a largely peaceable population who live in the caverns mining the one thing that the tinned-terrors know can destroy them. It's now up to our intrepid time travellers to thwart the cyber-plan to blow the planet - and the beacon - to bits before "Voga" goes the way of the dodo. It's a four-parter that splits into two stories and contains plenty of zapping, a bit of betrayal and some adequate visual effects filmed amidst the darkness of the caves of Wookey Hole in Somerset. The three at the helm do an adequate job with the fodder they are given, but the rest of the cast including the completely non-menacing Jeremy Wilkin and David Collings all rather underwhelm. It's all watchable enough, but I found this quite a dull and weak storyline that suggested to me that series 12 needed to take it's well earned summer break. read more