Early review of The Tenth Planet 4 animation (with screengrabs)

[Candlelight]

http://www.from-the-archive.co.uk/2013/06/animation-domination-tenth-planet.html

Looks quite cool.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

I really do wonder if the completely-gone serials will ever be completely restored. Its easier in comparison for semi-missing serials to be completed, because the rest of the story is there too, for visual inspiration and what not.

But in any case, the fact that these things are being done is wonderful, and ingenius way to refreshing the series for newcomers, sorta.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

I'm really looking forward to this release for a number of reasons. First and foremost, The Tenth Planet remains one of my favorite Cybermen stories (if not my favorite), along with The Moonbase and The Invasion, coincidentally both of which have already been animated as well (The Moonbase is also coming out this year). The Tenth Planet's depiction of the Cybermen is truly horrifying, which is as an aspect that I lament that has been lost over the years. Aside from the aforementioned serials, I think the only other stories that have really capture this horror are Big Finish's Spare Parts and The Silver Turk.

I'm also looking forward to the the animated version of The First Doctor's regeneration, even though there is an existing clip of the moment. The animated previews in comparison to the telesnaps look brilliant and I can't wait for the final product.

 

[Green Lantern]

I hope they release it separately from the regenerations box set eventually. I already have most of them on there.

Yeah Emh, in some ways the 10th cybermen look like bloody morons with lanterns on their heads, but I like to think of them as looking horrific.

In fact a story I'd make if I were the head of the show is their origin, and I'd return the cloth faced cybs. I'd have some near human like cybermen unconverted who are against it all whom the doctor sides with, and then some still emotional cybermen. Their design would basically be a less advanced version of tenth planet's, maybe have some blood on their cloth faces left over from conversions and things like bronze wires sticking out, green hands, all sorts. Would make they cybermen scary again, something which I feel nightmare in silver failed to do. They're not scary, they're just powerful. Even the RTD cybermen were more scary, at least they were physically imposing.

 

[Sindatur]

I hope they release it separately from the regenerations box set eventually. I already have most of them on there.

Yeah Emh, in some ways the 10th cybermen look like bloody morons with lanterns on their heads, but I like to think of them as looking horrific.

In fact a story I'd make if I were the head of the show is their origin, and I'd return the cloth faced cybs. I'd have some near human like cybermen unconverted who are against it all whom the doctor sides with, and then some still emotional cybermen. Their design would basically be a less advanced version of tenth planet's, maybe have some blood on their cloth faces left over from conversions and things like bronze wires sticking out, green hands, all sorts. Would make they cybermen scary again, something which I feel nightmare in silver failed to do. They're not scary, they're just powerful. Even the RTD cybermen were more scary, at least they were physically imposing.

Peter Davison Big Finish Audio Play Spare Parts (Complete with the Cloth-Faced voices). I believe I recall that Nightmare in Silver was originally going to be an Adaptation of Spare Parts?

 

[The Nth Doctor]

I hope they release it separately from the regenerations box set eventually. I already have most of them on there.

The Tenth Planet comes out on its own in November.

Yeah Emh, in some ways the 10th cybermen look like bloody morons with lanterns on their heads, but I like to think of them as looking horrific.

In fact a story I'd make if I were the head of the show is their origin, and I'd return the cloth faced cybs. I'd have some near human like cybermen unconverted who are against it all whom the doctor sides with, and then some still emotional cybermen. Their design would basically be a less advanced version of tenth planet's, maybe have some blood on their cloth faces left over from conversions and things like bronze wires sticking out, green hands, all sorts. Would make they cybermen scary again, something which I feel nightmare in silver failed to do. They're not scary, they're just powerful. Even the RTD cybermen were more scary, at least they were physically imposing.

As Sindatur has already pointed out, Spare Parts features cloth-faced and sing-song-voiced Cybermen, as does The Silver Turk (although it's only one Cyberman). That's part of the reason why I love both of those stories so much.

I believe I recall that Nightmare in Silver was originally going to be an Adaptation of Spare Parts?

Actually, "Rise of the Cybermen"/"The Age of Steel" is a loose adaptation of Spare Parts. The audio is infinitely superior, of course.

 

[diankra]

I hope they release it separately from the regenerations box set eventually. I already have most of them on there.

Yeah Emh, in some ways the 10th cybermen look like bloody morons with lanterns on their heads, but I like to think of them as looking horrific.

In fact a story I'd make if I were the head of the show is their origin, and I'd return the cloth faced cybs. I'd have some near human like cybermen unconverted who are against it all whom the doctor sides with, and then some still emotional cybermen. Their design would basically be a less advanced version of tenth planet's, maybe have some blood on their cloth faces left over from conversions and things like bronze wires sticking out, green hands, all sorts. Would make they cybermen scary again, something which I feel nightmare in silver failed to do. They're not scary, they're just powerful. Even the RTD cybermen were more scary, at least they were physically imposing.

Peter Davison Big Finish Audio Play Spare Parts (Complete with the Cloth-Faced voices). I believe I recall that Nightmare in Silver was originally going to be an Adaptation of Spare Parts?

That was the 2006 two-parter (Rise of the Cybermen/Age of Steel). Marc Platt gets an end credit thanks. Apparently Tom McRae's original script was more like Spare Parts, but RTD rewrote it.

 

[Sindatur]

Thanks Emh and diankra.

I haven't watched the David Tennant era since, the David Tennant era (And Eccelston era, too). I only got and listened to Spare Parts in the last year or two. I recently rewatched Pertwee through McCoy (After having watched Troughton, mostly for the first time, including recons for the Incomplete stories), so McGann through Current will likely be on my rewatch list sometime in the next 6 months (As well as the Hartnell rewatch, including the Recons, which I haven't seen) , so, I'll have to watch for the similarities when I get to Rise.../Age... (And also give Spare Parts a second listen through).

So, The Silver Turk, eh? Runs off to Wiki The Silver Turk. (And to check Big Finish for price)

ETA: Ah, an Eight/Mary Shelley adventure. Bummer it's so new, the downloads for 2004 releases and earlier are under $10. Still, $12.99 isn't bad. <Scribbles The Silver Turk down on my wishlist>

 

[Redfern]

I've told this account in various threads over the years, so if any of you remember it, please forgive the rehash.

For several years, I used to roll my eyes at the first Mondasian Cybermen, finding them almost laughable. I expressed this dismissal upon OutPost Gallifrey back in '05, almost mocking the "ski masks". One member, rather than getting angry, posted two words that made me totally reverse my opinion of that first design.

Surgical gauze

Suddenly, I envisioned a Clive Barker type nightmare. Imagine an operating theatre, one with the elevated gallery surrounding the perimeter. Upon the surgical table is a patient. His normal circulation bypassed, his blood being oxygenated and pumped by a compact heart/lung device on a cart next to him. His face is bandaged with sterile gauze and rather than conventional gas based anesthesia, the pain centers of his brain are nullified by a special "cap". His body temperature is regulated by a translucent polymer "suit", fluid filled tubes branching over the contours of his frame.

As a team of surgeons ready themselves for the arduous session ahead, the patient sits upright! He's seemingly conscious, but emotionally detached from his immediate condition. He staggers from the table and seizes the portable and self contained heart/lung mechanism, clutching it to his chest and he lumbers from the operating theatre as the medical staff stand around, far too shocked to consider restraining the patient!

Now, I'm not saying that's the actual "origin" of the Mondas Cybermen. As was stated in the original serial, the process was described as gradual, one organ after another replaced with artificial substitutes as the organic tissues failed. But the description "surgical gauze" brings to mind a medical operation gone horribly awry, patients alive only due to the hardware connected to them, effectively "lobotomized" but still driven by an insatiable will to survive, even if they can't recall the "little things" that make life enjoyable.

From that moment, I think I found the Mondas Cybermen the most disturbing of all.

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[Sindatur]

Heh, yea Redfern, it wasn't years for me, but, when they first came onscreen, I rolled my eyes and said, "Ah, Geeze, they can't be serious, these Cybermen are stupid looking. Thank God, they improved the look over the years". But, it didn't take more than a minute or two of watching them, and hearing their voice for the creepiness of it to hit home. I would love to see an interpretation with Modern Special FX Tech

 

[Redfern]

At the time of my "revelation" I had not yet seen the bulk of the serial, just photographic stills of the costumes. No, I take that back, I had seen a few video 'snippets", but it still had not yet registered until that forum member (wish I could recall his name) politely suggested I consider another angle.

But, yes, the odd "sing song" voice with the stresses upon the wrong words resonating from an gaping but otherwise unmoving mouthreally helps drive home these miserable beings are basically walking dead men. I imagine if the bandages were unwrapped, we'd see a dessicated cadavar of a face looking rather like a mummy.

Yes, it would be fascinating to see these designs recreated, but with detailing worthy of HD displays. We could see the purposely clumsy "box" strapped to the chest actually pumping fluids through the tubes that branched over the shoulders. Show the bare hands as withered and bony with traceries of tubes and/or muscle stimulating wires forming a vascular pattern. Instead of a simple "ski mask", have the fabric encasing the face look like layers of gauze wrapped around it. Make it look lod, moldy, maybe even the hint of lymphic fluids staining the material.

Ironically, the iconic "handles" were a last minute addition to help stablize the spotlight shaped mechanism atop the ribbed "cap". I suspect that would be the one element the production would want to shrink, making them a bit closer in scale to the subsequent "handle" designs, lest modern audiences giggle for the wrong reasons.

But for the most part, the basic silhouette could remain quite close to the original design, just more detailed.

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[Green Lantern]

I hope they release it separately from the regenerations box set eventually. I already have most of them on there.

Yeah Emh, in some ways the 10th cybermen look like bloody morons with lanterns on their heads, but I like to think of them as looking horrific.

In fact a story I'd make if I were the head of the show is their origin, and I'd return the cloth faced cybs. I'd have some near human like cybermen unconverted who are against it all whom the doctor sides with, and then some still emotional cybermen. Their design would basically be a less advanced version of tenth planet's, maybe have some blood on their cloth faces left over from conversions and things like bronze wires sticking out, green hands, all sorts. Would make they cybermen scary again, something which I feel nightmare in silver failed to do. They're not scary, they're just powerful. Even the RTD cybermen were more scary, at least they were physically imposing.

Peter Davison Big Finish Audio Play Spare Parts (Complete with the Cloth-Faced voices). I believe I recall that Nightmare in Silver was originally going to be an Adaptation of Spare Parts?

I knew that, but audio's are not exactly canon.

That would have been much better. I think the return of cloth faces would also be beneficial, or even some more human parts remaining too!

I hope they release it separately from the regenerations box set eventually. I already have most of them on there.

The Tenth Planet comes out on its own in November.

Yeah Emh, in some ways the 10th cybermen look like bloody morons with lanterns on their heads, but I like to think of them as looking horrific.

In fact a story I'd make if I were the head of the show is their origin, and I'd return the cloth faced cybs. I'd have some near human like cybermen unconverted who are against it all whom the doctor sides with, and then some still emotional cybermen. Their design would basically be a less advanced version of tenth planet's, maybe have some blood on their cloth faces left over from conversions and things like bronze wires sticking out, green hands, all sorts. Would make they cybermen scary again, something which I feel nightmare in silver failed to do. They're not scary, they're just powerful. Even the RTD cybermen were more scary, at least they were physically imposing.

As Sindatur has already pointed out, Spare Parts features cloth-faced and sing-song-voiced Cybermen, as does The Silver Turk (although it's only one Cyberman). That's part of the reason why I love both of those stories so much.

I believe I recall that Nightmare in Silver was originally going to be an Adaptation of Spare Parts?

Actually, "Rise of the Cybermen"/"The Age of Steel" is a loose adaptation of Spare Parts. The audio is infinitely superior, of course.

Ah excellent, might grab a copy then.

Indeed rise is, but I still think a proper origin is in order. Never heard the audio.