Doctor Who, season 5 continues …

Episode 3 of The Tomb of the Cybermen and I’ve just got to comment on those Cybermats.  Who came up with that idea?  The version that came later, in Revenge of the Cybermen at least looked the part.

It’s clear what they’re trying to do – some of the close-ups with the almost organic eyes look fairly creepy – the problem is in execution.  When the people (including the Doctor) are trying to get away from them, they don’t seem to have any idea how to just … well … step over them.

Let’s run that way.  Oh, no, there’s a little blob of metal on the floor, quick retreat, retreat!  No, not that way because there’s … urm, another little blob of metal on the floor….

If the Cybermats either (i) had some kind of laser weapons, or (ii) could leap to the neck (as they would do in a later story), then I could understand it.  But, sadly, these Cybermats are about as dangerous as a Dalek at the bottom of the stairs.

Even the Cybermen themselves are proving to be somewhat less than they were.  They’re flummoxed by a door being shut atop the steps.  The story is effectively over already – everyone can just leave them down there.

In short, it’s rather a good thing that Tomb of the Cybermen is just a four-part story because there’s nothing like the multi-layers and depth of recent adventures.  It’s almost as though all of the good stuff happened before the Cybermen turned up.

Next time … The Tomb of the Cybermen continues