S5E1
Cynical
Written by Gerry Davis & Kit Pedler
View Graph

The Tomb of the Cybermen Part 1

When the Doctor, Victoria, and Jamie land on Telos, they encounter an archaeological expedition searching for the lost Cybermen, a quest that leads them into a deadly tomb where the Cybermen are not as dormant as believed.

The Doctor, along with his companions Victoria and Jamie, arrives on the planet Telos aboard the TARDIS. They quickly stumble upon an archaeological expedition led by Professor Parry, seeking the remains of the Cybermen, who originated from Telos. The expedition is funded by Miss Kaftan and includes the calculating Klieg, the skeptical Hopper, and the strong Toberman, among others. The group has blasted open the entrance to the Cybermen's tomb, but the doors are protected by an electrical defense, which kills one of the expedition members.

The Doctor offers his assistance, and after navigating the complex's defenses, he opens the doors, impressing Parry but raising Klieg's suspicions. Inside, the tomb reveals a network of chambers filled with Cybermen technology. The expedition divides to explore, with the Doctor, Jamie, and Victoria joining different groups. As they delve deeper, the Doctor warns of the dangers, sensing that the Cybermen are not truly dead.

One group, including Victoria, enters a projector room where she becomes trapped in a Cyberman revitalizing chamber. Meanwhile, Jamie and Haydon explore a testing room and discover a hypnotic device. Klieg attempts to activate a central control system, against the Doctor's warnings, inadvertently awakening dormant Cybermen technology.

Victoria is rescued from the revitalizing chamber, and Jamie narrowly escapes the hypnotic effects of the testing room. As the episode concludes, the Doctor realizes that the Cybermen are stirring. Back in the central chamber, Klieg and Parry continue their work, unaware of the impending danger, and suspect that the Doctor did not give the complete code to activate the tomb. Their relentless pursuit of knowledge threatens to unleash the Cybermen.


Events in This Episode

The narrative beats that drive the story

22
Act 1

The TARDIS materializes on Telos, bringing the Doctor, Victoria, and Jamie into an ongoing archaeological expedition. Professor Parry leads the team, which includes the calculating Klieg, the skeptical Hopper, and the powerful Toberman, all funded by Miss Kaftan. The expedition has successfully blasted open a cliff face, revealing a recessed metallic structure: the entrance to the lost city of the Cybermen. However, the double doors are electrically charged, and an anonymous expedition member dies attempting to open them, marking the expedition's first casualty and the inciting incident. The Doctor, arriving with his companions, immediately discerns the cause of death and offers his expertise, despite the armed suspicion of Hopper and Klieg's open hostility. He asserts his right to remain, driven by the mention of 'Cybermen.' Parry, as the expedition leader, overrules Klieg's objections and accepts the Doctor's aid. The Doctor, after a quick assessment, guides Toberman to safely pull open the massive, foot-thick doors, impressing Parry but further piquing Klieg's suspicion. As the team prepares to enter, the Doctor issues a grave warning, sensing an inherent danger within the ancient Cyberman complex, a caution largely dismissed by the eager expedition members.

Scene 3
Act 2

Inside the clean metal central chamber of the Cybermen complex, the expedition members marvel at the ancient technology. The Doctor, demonstrating an unsettling familiarity with the symbolic logic of the Cybermen, effortlessly activates additional doors, further solidifying Parry's trust but intensifying Klieg's resentment and suspicion. Recognizing the need for broader exploration, Parry divides the group. Victoria, along with Viner and Kaftan, proceeds into a projector room, where her curiosity leads her to step into a Cyberman-shaped revitalizing recess. Kaftan, without understanding the mechanism, pulls a lever, trapping Victoria inside as the lid closes. Simultaneously, Jamie and Haydon explore a testing room, where Jamie discovers a small, metallic creature (a Cybermat) and then becomes mesmerized by a hypnotic device that projects swirling light patterns onto a wall. Meanwhile, in the central chamber, Klieg, driven by ambition and disregarding the Doctor's explicit warnings against activating the dormant systems, uses the Doctor's partial mathematical guidance to initiate a complex binary-to-digital conversion. This action causes the lights to flicker and a sound of increasing power generation, inadvertently awakening dormant Cyberman technology throughout the complex. The Doctor, witnessing the immediate consequences, realizes the Cybermen are not as dormant as believed, and the danger to his companions becomes immediate.

Act 3

The Cyberman technology's activation plunges the expedition into immediate peril. The Doctor, recognizing the urgency, rushes to Victoria's aid in the projector room. He quickly assesses the situation, deduces the correct lever sequence, and releases Victoria from the revitalizing chamber, visibly shaken but unharmed. Concurrently, in the testing room, Haydon manages to break Jamie free from the hypnotic device, which Jamie dismisses as ridiculous, failing to grasp its sinister purpose. With his companions temporarily safe, the Doctor emphasizes the profound danger now present, urging caution. However, Klieg and Parry remain fixated on unlocking the central chamber's secrets, particularly the large hatch they believe leads to the Cybermen's underground tombs and records. Klieg, misinterpreting the Doctor's earlier warnings and his partial guidance, becomes convinced the Doctor deliberately withheld the complete activation code. This suspicion fuels Klieg's determination to fully decipher and activate the remaining mechanisms. The episode concludes with Klieg and Parry redoubling their efforts, unaware that their relentless pursuit of knowledge and their distrust of the Doctor are actively propelling them towards unleashing the fully awakened Cybermen, setting a perilous stage for the subsequent episodes.